Chapter 4: The Sorting Hat

The first-year students followed Hagrid into the castle. Hagrid handed them over to Professor McGonagall, who wore emerald-green robes, and she led them to a small chamber at the far end of the Great Hall. With a stern expression, she informed the first-years that the Sorting Ceremony would soon take place and introduced the four Houses of Hogwarts.

"Finally, I suggest you use this time to tidy yourselves up and look presentable, as you will soon appear before the entire school."

Professor McGonagall's gaze flickered over Neville's cloak, the smudge on Ron's nose, and Allen's face mask, while Harry nervously tried desperately to smooth down his hair.

Seeing the nervous young wizards around him, Allen couldn't help but feel a bit tense himself.

Before long, Professor McGonagall returned.

"Now, form a single line and follow me," Professor McGonagall told the first-year students.

Allen followed the line closely; he saw that Harry was so nervous his walking gait had become distorted. They exited the room, crossed the entrance hall, and entered the magnificent Great Hall.

Although he had seen it in short videos before, Allen was still stunned by the sumptuous and magical splendor of the Great Hall.

Students from other years were already seated around four long tables. Professor McGonagall led them to a four-legged stool at the head of the tables, upon which sat a tattered, pointed wizard's hat.

Allen noticed that everyone in the Great Hall was staring at the wizard's hat; the hall was dead silent. At that moment, a wide slit opened in the hat like a mouth, and it began to sing...

After the song finished, Professor McGonagall stepped forward a few paces, holding a piece of parchment in her hand.

"Now, when I call your name, you will put on the hat, sit on the stool, and wait for your Sorting," said Professor McGonagall.

"Hannah Abbott!"

A rosy-cheeked little Miss with two golden braids stumbled out of the line, put on the hat, which covered her eyes completely. She sat down, and after a brief pause—

"Hufflepuff!" shouted the hat.

The table to the right applauded and cheered for Hannah, welcoming her to their table.

"Terry Boot!"

"Ravenclaw!"

"Justin Finch-Fletchley!"

"Hufflepuff!"

"Allen Finis!"

Allen's heart tightened; he quickly stepped forward, placed the hat on his head, and sat on the stool. As the hat covered his eyes, Allen inexplicably calmed down, leaving only a world of darkness and waiting.

At that moment, a faint voice came to his ears, sounding somewhat surprised.

"Why can't I see your thoughts? This is the first time I've encountered such a situation; let me try a few more times!"

Thus one minute, then two minutes passed; until five minutes had gone by, the hat still made no move, and everyone in the Great Hall began to buzz with quiet discussion, causing Allen to grow nervous again.

"Has my identity as a transmigrator been discovered?" he thought anxiously.

Just then, that faint voice appeared again.

"Impossible! This is impossible! In over a thousand years, this is the first time something like this has happened; the spell bestowed upon me by the four founders of Hogwarts cannot see your personality or traits! Something must be wrong! Let me think carefully!" The voice sounded somewhat frantic.

"What use is this spell?" Allen asked in a small voice, his tone slightly trembling.

"This spell allows me to see your personality and traits; right now I feel blocked by you, unable to see anything. Have you studied Occlumency? No, no! The feeling of being blocked by Occlumency is not like this!" The voice sounded somewhat exasperated.

Allen immediately calmed down; as long as his identity as a transmigrator hadn't been discovered, any other situation was acceptable, but why couldn't it see his thoughts? Could it be due to his strange talent? If so, that would be excellent.

As long as he didn't say it, no one would know he was a transmigrator; a hint of secret joy arose in Allen's heart.

"I have a sick brain!" After saying this, Allen instantly realized the ambiguity in his words. "Uh... what I mean is, my head previously suffered very severe magical injury, and I still have aftereffects; perhaps it is influenced by that," Allen quickly explained in a low voice to the hat.

"Hmm? That explanation is indeed possible; it seems your brain has undergone some magical changes due to the injury, making it immune to my spell! Magic is truly wonderful! Oh~ that's a good phrase; I'll add it to next year's lyrics..." the voice muttered on.

The murmuring in the Great Hall grew louder; no one had ever seen someone wear the Sorting Hat for so long without being Sorted, and Professor McGonagall looked at Allen sitting on the four-legged stool with some concern.

The quiet conversation under the hat continued. "So what do we do now? I feel like I've been on here for ten minutes, and the people in the Great Hall seem to be getting impatient!" Allen asked somewhat anxiously; he didn't want to attract such attention right upon enrollment.

"If I can't see your personality and traits, I can't perform the Sorting! This is my first time encountering such a situation; it seems I must sort you through other means. Let me think carefully about where to put you! How about Hufflepuff? You look so frail; you need to eat more to grow stronger! Oh~ and you have a pig nose; do you like eating very much? The Hufflepuff common room is right next to the Hogwarts kitchens; going there would be good for you! Wow~ what a good decision!" The voice continued to ramble.

Allen rolled his eyes and said, "I came here to learn magic!"

"Not Hufflepuff? Then let's consider others; seeing as your surname isn't from a pure-blood family, you'd be bullied in Slytherin, so that's out! Between Ravenclaw and Gryffindor, which one to choose? Such a difficult choice! So hard! Emmmm.... do you have any preferences yourself?"

Thinking of his purpose for coming to Hogwarts, Allen said softly, "Professor Dumbledore previously told me that the aftereffects caused by my magical injury might be treated through the study of Transfiguration; which House would be better for studying Transfiguration?"

"For studying magic, Ravenclaw suits you; they are all clever people there, and you can find many like-minded individuals. However, Gryffindor has produced many masters proficient in Transfiguration, such as Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall, who both graduated from Gryffindor House. These two are truly hard to decide between..." The voice remained hesitant.

Hearing the discussions in the Great Hall grow louder in the darkness, Allen also felt somewhat anxious and quickly made a decision: "Then let me go to Gryffindor; I want to become a new Master of Transfiguration!"

"Then let us follow your will! I believe you will achieve great things in Gryffindor as well! Good luck, little wizard with a sick brain!" The voice became relaxed.

Next, Allen heard the hat shout loudly: "Gryffindor!"

He quickly removed the hat, returning from the darkness to the bright Great Hall; the light stung his eyes, making him squint. He took off the hat, jumped down from the four-legged stool, placed the hat on the stool, and said "thank you" in a voice only he could hear, before running somewhat awkwardly toward the Gryffindor table.

A burst of intense applause erupted around the Gryffindor table; a pair of red-headed twins grabbed Allen and pulled him to sit between them, asking somewhat eagerly, "What were you whispering about with the Sorting Hat for over ten minutes?"

Allen pointed at Professor McGonagall, who was continuing the Sorting, indicating he wanted to watch; the two brothers had to let it go.

"Hermione Granger!" Professor McGonagall continued reading names from the parchment.

Hermione almost ran to the stool and hastily jammed the hat onto her head.

"Gryffindor!" shouted the hat.

Allen, who had been watching the ceremony intently, was startled in his heart: "The protagonist trio is actually in Gryffindor House! If I had known earlier, I would have chosen Ravenclaw!"

Immediately after, Harry Potter and Ron Weasley were indeed Sorted into Gryffindor House. Allen felt like dying, but since he had chosen this House, he would have to see it through with tears; he constantly comforted himself in his heart. Even if we are in the same House, can't I just stay far away? In the future, I will avoid interacting with them unless absolutely necessary and won't get involved in their affairs; he secretly made this resolution in his heart.

After the last new student was Sorted, Professor McGonagall picked up the Sorting Hat and departed.

Professor Dumbledore stood up, looking at the students with a beaming smile, spreading his arms wide as if nothing made him happier than seeing the students gathered together. "Welcome!" he said. "Welcome to Hogwarts to start a new school year! Before the banquet begins, I wish to say a few words. That is: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you!" He sat back down. Everyone applauded and cheered.

Next, Allen's plate suddenly piled high with food; Allen felt his saliva continuously secreting, and seeing everyone else start eating, he also picked up the food on his plate and began to chew heartily...

While eating, Allen listened to the conversations of the young wizards around him and observed the professors sitting at the high table, hoping this would help him recall more of the plot, but ultimately found it futile.

What Allen didn't know was that when Dumbledore's gaze swept across the hall, it lingered slightly on him for a moment...

After singing the school song under Dumbledore's direction, Allen, full and satisfied, felt somewhat drowsy.

Led by the Prefect Percy, the new students arrived at the Gryffindor Tower; Percy guided the Misses through one door to their dormitory, then led the boys to their beds: five four-poster beds hung with deep red flannel curtains. Their trunks had already been sent up. Exhausted and unwilling to speak further, they each changed into their nightclothes and collapsed into sleep...

The next morning, Allen was still sleeping in a daze when he heard voices speaking nearby.

"Ron, let's get up and have breakfast!"

"Harry, let me sleep a little longer..."

Allen jolted awake, instantly understanding what had happened. He felt like crying but had no tears, wishing he could slap his own jinxed mouth twice. He had said to stay far away, yet ended up in the same dormitory as him.

The plan was completely ruined!

Note: The House Sorting list is arranged by the first letter of the surname. The protagonist's surname starts with F, so he will be placed before Hermione Granger.