Chapter 14: A Long Ceremony
Chapter 14: A Long Ceremony
A little girl with a ruddy face and two blond braids stumbled out of the line and put on the hat as she sat down. Sean couldn’t help but take a few more glances, trying to see if there was a metallic sheen somewhere on the girl’s body.
“Hufflepuff!” shouted the Sorting Hat.
There was a burst of cheers from the long table on the right.
“Terry Boot.”
“Ravenclaw!”
There was warm applause from the second long table on the left. Sean saw Ollivander’s silver-haired granddaughter there. Her expression was calm, and she didn’t even applaud.
As more and more students were assigned to various houses, Hermione beside him became more and more nervous. When Professor McGonagall called out her name, she glanced at Sean, then quickly ran to the stool, put on the hat, and sat down.
The Sorting Hat didn’t speak for nearly a minute, longer than Seamus Finnigan that the boy was sorted before
Finally, the Sorting Hat shouted, “Ravenclaw!”
Hermione took off her hat and sighed in relief, then greeted the Ravenclaw students, who stood up to greet her. Sean showed a curious expression. Is this also one of the new changes?
In the following time, Harry and Neville were assigned to Gryffindor as they wished. Malfoy finally showed a satisfied smile after getting put into “Slytherin” from the Sorting Hat.
When there were not a few people left, Professor McGonagall finally called out Sean’s name.
He put on the sorting hat and sat down. The Sorting Hat wasn’t particularly surprised or shown any interest in Sean. However, Sean didn’t know if it was his own delusion or if it was true that a long time had passed, and the Sorting Hat on his head did not make any sound.
Just when Sean was puzzled, a slight voice finally came from his ear.
“A-“
“Huh?”
“A-ah. It’s really hard to choose the house for you.”
Sean rolled his eyes, which were covered by the brim of his hat. He almost thought he was going to be assigned to Azkaban.
The hat didn’t seem to hear his heart, and it said with some distress, “You are very talented, no matter what. Besides, it can be seen that you are a very prideful person.”
“As a member of Hogwarts, although it is inappropriate to say that. It seems that you are more suitable for another magic school.”
Sean’s mouth twitched.
“But since you have come to Hogwarts, Slytherin seems the most suitable for you.”
Sean immediately said forcefully in his heart, “I don’t want to go to Slytherin.”
“Why?” The hat said in surprise when he heard his heart.
“Because you just assigned so many new students to Slytherin.”
The Sorting Hat choked for a moment, but he continued to persuade him, “But Slytherin can help you gain glory.”
“Just put me wherever that isn’t Slytherin, as the other three are fine. Also, you smell too much.” Sean said.
The Sorting Hat was silent for a moment, then said angrily, “What can I do? I haven’t been washed for thousands of years. I’m just a hat!”
“You’re a magical hat. Aren’t you supposed to be giving the knew kids a good first impression?”
“That’s not within my responsibility. I only have one task: assign the students to which house.”
Sean didn’t notice that the two had been bickering throughout the whole moment and was seen by other students in the hall.
Hermione looked worriedly at him. She whispered to the senior student beside her, “It’s been almost ten minutes. Is this normal?”
The senior shook his head, “I have never seen the Sorting Hat spend so long on a student. Come to think of it. If it took this long for each student, the dinner would become breakfast already.”
Beside the stool, Professor McGonagall turned her head and looked at Dumbledore. The old man showed a flat smile, indicating that there was no need to worry.
Sean is still bickering with the Sorting Hat.
“I must tell the Headmaster later that the Sorting Hat wants to send me to Nurmengard.”
The hat raised his voice and said eagerly, “Why do you want to do that?”
“You said it yourself and said that Nurmengard is a perfect place for me.”
“That’s because there are no different houses over there.”
“How do you know about that? Are you trying to spy on Hogwarts or something?”
“What do you know? That’s because my clone is in Nurmengard, and we can share… never mind!” Halfway through, the Sorting Hat immediately shut up.
Sean opened his mouth wide. It was just a fight, but it seemed he had discovered something unique.
The Sorting Hat let out a few dry laughs and whispered, “Can you not tell the others about this?”
“I’ll think about it.” Sean narrowed his eyes.
“Okay, okay. If you can enter the principal’s office, I’ll tell you a secret, but you can’t tell others what happened today.”
“That’s fine by me. Anyway, wouldn’t it be better if I by myself choose the house?”
“Why can’t I keep my mouth shut…” The Sorting Hat said in a frustrated tone, “Alright then, tell me. Where do you want to go?”
Sean thought for a moment, “Ravenclaw.”
“Ravenclaw!” The Sorting Hat immediately shouted loudly.
“Huh?” Sean took off his hat, only to find that the students in the hall were all looking at him strangely. It wasn’t until he walked towards the long table that Ravenclaw burst into applause.
Sean walked to Hermione and sat down. He found that not only Hermione but the other Ravenclaw students also had strange expressions on their faces.
“Did something happen?” He whispered suspiciously.
“You think? The students in the hall have been chatting for a long time, waiting for you to end. The twins in Gryffindor even secretly played a game of wizard cards.”
“What?”
“You’ve been wearing the Sorting Hat for almost thirty minutes!” said Hermione.
Sean frowned. Although he did quarrel with the Sorting Hat for a while, it felt like a few minutes at most. Why did it take so long?
“Ronald Weasley.”
“Gryffindor!” The next student was Ron, and he was assigned to his expected house.
Seeing his doubtful expression, Hermione told him that Sean may not know what happened.
“However, the professors didn’t react that much. Maybe you’re special.” Hermione said.
Sean looked at the professor’s table in front of him, “I hope so…”