The Sorting Ceremony Begins

Chapter 6 The Sorting Ceremony Begins

A large, imposing wizard with a thick beard emerged from the darkness, carrying a lantern and waving his arms as he shouted, "I am Rubeus Hagrid, the game keeper at Hogwarts, in charge of guiding the first-year students! Are there any more first-year students?"

"Everyone's here? Alright, watch your step, follow me!"

Hagrid led about a dozen nervous yet curious freshmen along a rugged and narrow path, stumbling along for a while, until a wide lake suddenly unfolded at the end of the path. On the opposite shore stood a magnificent ancient castle that soared into the clouds, its lights shining brightly under the cover of night. The towering towers on its top pierced the sky, echoing the twinkling stars and exuding an ancient and mysterious aura.

"Hogwarts is just ahead. You can get there by taking a boat from the shore. No more than four people can be on each boat!" Hagrid shouted back to the stunned first-year students, then led them to the shore and watched them board the boat one by one.

Avada, Baron, and Cho Chang were already quite familiar with each other, so they naturally chose to travel on the same boat.

"Everyone's seated? Then—let's go!"

Hagrid filled an entire ship by himself, and at his command, all the ships moved automatically without wind, sailing smoothly and steadily toward the ancient castle on the opposite bank. Along the way, the new students remained silent, their eyes fixed on the majestic castle that would soon hold seven years of their lives, filled with curiosity, nervousness, or awe.

The small boat carried them through a canopy of ivy covering the cliff face to a secluded, open entrance, then along a dark tunnel to a place resembling an underground dock, finally climbing onto a surface of gravel and pebbles to a massive oak door. Hagrid stepped forward and knocked three times on the door with his fist.

The door opened a crack, revealing a kind-faced witch wearing a patched greyish-brown robe.

"The new student has arrived, Professor Sprout," Hagrid said in a deep voice to the witch.

"Thank you for your hard work, Hagrid."

Sprout nodded gently, then with a slight wave of her hand, the door behind her, which had been only slightly ajar, swung wide open, the enormous opening almost large enough to fit a house. She stood before the door, smiling as she gazed at the throng of people below, and spoke in a clear voice:

"Welcome to Hogwarts, first-year students!"

"The opening banquet is about to begin. However, before you officially enroll, you will need to undergo the Sorting Ceremony to enter one of the four houses: Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin."

"Your house is like your home at Hogwarts. You will attend classes with your classmates, live in your house dormitories, and spend your free time in the common rooms. Your good conduct will earn your house points, while misconduct will deduct points. At the end of the year, the house with the highest score will receive the highest honor of the year, the House Cup."

"The sorting ceremony is about to begin. It will be held in front of the entire school. Please keep quiet, tidy yourself up a bit, and then follow me."

Sprout led the way through the gate, followed by the freshmen who filed in and stood in the foyer, giving them time to tidy themselves up and whisper among themselves.

"I once asked my mother about the process of being assigned to a hospital," Qiu whispered mysteriously to Avada and Baron. "But she just smiled and told me I would find out when I got there, and she wouldn't answer no matter how much I pressed her for an answer."

“My parents did the same,” Baron said seriously. “I’ve also asked other elders, but without exception, they all remain silent. I suspect that the Sorting process may involve magical contracts that prevent students from revealing the specifics of the Sorting process.”

"But why is that?" A boy who overheard their conversation asked, "Is the sorting process dangerous, or even illegal?"

Another girl joined the discussion: "It's not that serious. My father works in the Department of Law Enforcement, and he's a Hogwarts graduate. If there were any problems, he would have investigated them already."

"My parents also told me that if you're a bad kid, you'll be assigned directly to Azkaban..."

The clamor of voices gradually grew louder, leaving Avada speechless.

It's only because there are fewer people in the magical world that they can maintain such a strange understanding in such a strange place.

"alright."

Sprout clapped his hands, silencing the murmurs: "Everyone line up and follow me into the Great Hall to prepare for Sorting."

"Also, some ghosts will appear later. Don't panic. They won't hurt you, they can't even touch you. At most, they'll make you feel a little cold..."

As he spoke, Sprout led the new students through the corridor and into the magnificent hall. Students from other years were already seated around four long tables, above which thousands of candles floated in the air, illuminating the dining room. Gleaming gold platters and goblets adorned the four tables. The teachers were seated at the head table, where another long table was set up, behind which sat Headmaster Dumbledore and several other wizards and witches.

Sprout gently placed a four-legged stool in front of the first-year student, and then placed a topped wizard's hat on the stool. The hat was patched, worn, and looked dirty, as if it hadn't been cleaned in a long time.

Avada was surveying the faculty seats, trying to identify the professors he recognized. But then he saw that the moment the Sorting Hat appeared, all the professors, including Dumbledore, simultaneously extended their fingers and lightly touched their ears. Many upperclassmen in the audience also took out their wands and made the same gesture.

Then, a wide slit appeared in the brim of the Sorting Hat, like a mouth, and it began to sing loudly…

Holy crap!

As soon as the Sorting Hat spoke, Avada's expression changed drastically, and he quickly pulled out his wand and pointed it at his ear.

"Close your ears and plug your ears!"

As the spell he had figured out took effect, Avada felt the world become completely quiet.

After the Sorting Hat finished singing, the entire audience erupted in applause, seemingly celebrating their liberation. Avada Kedavra waved his wand, removing the spell from his ears.

Professor Sprout stepped forward and stood beside the Sorting Hat, holding a piece of parchment in his hand: "Whoever I call your name now, put on the hat, sit down on the stool, and begin the Sorting."

"Michael Duncan!"

A blond boy excitedly ran onto the stage, almost falling off the stool as he sat down.

"Gryffindor!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a huge round of applause erupted from the long table on the right side of the middle.

"Shabi Nott!"

"Hufflepuff!"

The long table on the far right, where there were the most people, erupted in applause.

"Henry Summers!"

"Hufflepuff!"

……

"Cho Chang!" Sprout called out. Cho took a deep breath, clutched the hem of her coat, and stepped forward to put on the Sorting Hat. A murmur of discussion arose at the long table below.

"Wow, it's an Asian face! It's rare to see that!"

"It seems the first Chinese wizard at Hogwarts was decades ago, this should be the second!"

"And she's so beautiful..."

The Sorting Hat hesitated for a moment on Cho's head before shouting, "Ravenclaw!"

The cheers at the Ravenclaw table were noticeably louder than before.

"Baron Shafik!"

Baron turned back and smiled at Avada, then stepped forward with his head held high and put on the Sorting Hat.

"Slytherin!" The Sorting Hat shouted almost as soon as it touched his hair.

"Tch." At the Gryffindor table, two red-haired faces were huddled together, whispering: "He's so quick to join Slytherin, he can't be a good guy."

"Be mindful of your words." The tall, red-haired wizard beside them glanced at them. "After all, you're freshmen."

Baron was quite satisfied with the result and strode towards the Slytherin table.

Professor Sprout was about to read the next name when he looked at the student list, suddenly frowned, and remained silent for a moment.

"Next, uh... Mr. Ken!"

Before Avada could react, a buzz of discussion arose at the long table below:

"What's going on? Why isn't there even a full name?"

"That's not necessarily true. Maybe his name is Mister Ken?"

"This is so perfunctory! Were his parents drunk when they named him?"

"The last name this perfunctory was Tonks, wasn't it...?"

"Shut up, you bastard!"

Avada sighed silently, stepped forward, and put on his hat amidst the stares of the crowd.

On the first day of school, he became famous throughout the school.

(End of this chapter)