The Bard of Hogwarts

Chapter 19 The Unexpected Sorting

The young wizards obediently lined up in a single file, silently following Professor McGonagall's footsteps as they entered the hall one by one.

What comes into view is a magical, magnificent, and splendid auditorium.

Inside the auditorium, the other senior students sat quietly around a long table according to their respective colleges, with countless candles floating in the air providing ample lighting.

To be honest, given the solemn atmosphere right now, even Ino felt a bit of pressure, let alone the new students.

Even setting aside the row of professors at the head table, just being stared at by hundreds of eyes around the long table was enough to make one feel uneasy.

But no matter what, he was a man who had seen a lot. After a brief moment of astonishment, Ino quickly came to his senses and even took a moment to look at the legendary enchanted ceiling.

He didn't know if it was because of him, but he never heard Hermione arrogantly introduce "A History of Hogwarts" to Ron.

At this moment, Professor McGonagall gently placed a high stool in front of all the new students, followed by the enigmatic appearance of the Sorting Hat.

Listening to the hat's rap with great interest, if you were to ask him what he was most interested in at Hogwarts, the Sorting Hat would definitely be on the list.

Having been passed down for thousands of years, possessing wisdom and memory, and even having its own thoughts and independent personality, such a hat would be a legendary existence, whether placed in fairy tales, fables, or folk stories.

The hats could talk and even sing, leaving the new students speechless with amazement. At the same time, they finally learned how Hogwarts sorted its houses.

It's not surprising that the freshmen are inexperienced; even someone like Malfoy, who comes from a pure-blood family, couldn't possibly know about the Sorting House beforehand.

The Sorting Ceremony, where upperclassmen trick new students, has almost become a Hogwarts tradition.

After the Sorting Hat finished singing and the applause from the audience gradually subsided, Professor McGonagall, who had been waiting to the side, slowly unfolded the parchment in her hand.

"Now, when I call your name, please come up!"

……

"Hannah Abbott!"

As soon as Professor McGonagall finished speaking, a timid blonde girl stepped out from the crowd. With each step, her two ponytails swayed back and forth behind her head.

"A familiar face!"

Ino sighed inwardly.

Before the start of the semester, his stay at the Leaky Cauldron gave him a considerable understanding of this generous little witch who loved listening to stories.

Of course, everything has its advantages and disadvantages.

Compared to Hannah's warm and clingy nature, the bar owner Tom seemed rather cold and unapproachable.

Ino noticed more than once that Old Tom always stared at him with the eyes of someone looking at a thief.

Closer to home.

As Hannah sat on the high stool, the Sorting Ceremony of 1991 officially began.

As time passed, one after another, the freshmen put on their Sorting Hats. Because her surname came later in the list, Ino was fortunate enough to watch this scene as an observer.

Not limited to Harry's embarrassing hat-hat incident during the Sorting Ceremony, Malfoy's swift entry into Slytherin, Neville, the true sword saint, Seamus, the explosive genius, and so on...

It's worth mentioning that Hermione eventually got into Gryffindor, just like in the original story.

During this time, Ino discovered something very interesting, which also solved a question that had puzzled him for many years.

That is, after the young wizards are sorted into their houses, their collars and cuffs will change to the house's base color.

Otherwise, it wouldn't be realistic for everyone to buy plain-colored robes and then manually embroider them with color later.

(PS: The color change of the Sorting Hall robes is a feature from the official mobile game "Hogwarts Mystery")

at the same time.

As Professor McGonagall called out names one by one, the number of freshmen gradually dwindled, and the number of students who had not yet chosen their colleges was even smaller.

"Ino Swinburne".

Upon hearing her name called, Ino calmly walked towards the head seat, a gentle and obedient smile appearing on her face.

His elegant posture, coupled with his pure and clear eyes, has won him a large following among fans who appreciate good looks.

After all that, the other deans at the head table, including Professor McGonagall, showed expressions of satisfaction. After all... all teachers like well-behaved students.

Of course, there are always exceptions.

For example, another person in the main seat, Severus Snape, the head of Slytherin, who had been indifferent throughout the Sorting Ceremony, now showed a rare hint of a cold smile.

His expression was as if he were watching an opera with a familiar plot, while the other audience members were being deceived and were in tears, while he remained completely clear-headed.

As the person involved, Ino was doing his best to pretend. He wanted to see if the Sorting Hat could still talk to him and read his thoughts under these circumstances.

"Relax, it's nothing!"

Professor McGonagall gently comforted them from the high stool.

"Thank you, Professor!" Ino replied with a shy smile.

He sat down gently on the stool, appearing relaxed and at ease, but in reality, he was highly focused.

However, the next second!

The Sorting Hat didn't even touch the tips of Ino's hair before it already had the answer.

"Slytherin!" the Sorting Hat shouted hoarsely.

"Clap! Clap! Clap!"

A burst of enthusiastic applause erupted from the Slytherin table. Several of the younger girls from Slytherin House clapped until their palms turned red without them even realizing it.

"It's over..." Ino's heart skipped a beat.

He was completely numb, and countless words he wanted to say were stuck in his throat, but at Professor McGonagall's prompting, he could only resign himself to walking toward the Slytherin table.

To be fair, Slytherin wasn't really anything special; he never treated any of the houses differently.

The problem is that the Sorting Hat's actions not only thwarted his plans but also attracted a lot of unnecessary attention.

Ino felt like dying right now, considering he had just watched the entire Sorting Ceremony. Of all the new students in all the Sorting Ceremony, no one else had had their affiliation decided by just a touch of their hair like him.

Even Malfoy, who was the fastest to be sorted into Slytherin, still had to put on his hat and be in contact with Slytherin for a second before being sorted into Slytherin.

……

Ino walked toward the Slytherin table with his head down, and he could already picture the scene in his mind.

Dumbledore's meaningful gaze, even Quirrell and Voldemort's curious expressions...

Just thinking about it makes me feel uncomfortable.

Of course, it's not that the headmaster was bad; Ino never questioned Dumbledore's character.

This is a world of magic, and no white wizard is inherently dark or malicious. Even Snape, who was a master of Occlumency, was driven by a desire for redemption and protection, not cruel killing.

That being said, Quirrell was more worried about the principal's attention and concern than about the consumables.

If that's the case, then the campus life for the next few years is bound to be exceptionally 'exciting', without even a second thought.

"This has caused quite a stir..."

At this moment, all Ino wanted to do was sit at the long table, quickly integrate into Slytherin, and then live a low-key life for half a semester.

It seems that once Quirrell starts causing a huge commotion, Dumbledore will lose interest in other matters.

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(End of this chapter)