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Chapter 17: The Sorting Hat
Chapter 17: The Sorting Hat
Minutes later, more and more ghosts began to appear in the small room, of all shapes and sizes, giving the first-years a delightful surprise.
The young witches and wizards were indeed startled at first, but soon they realized that these ghosts were not scary at all but very friendly and enthusiastic in greeting each one of them.
To ease their nervousness, one ghost even performed a unique ghostly talent, hugging its head with both hands.
"Cool..." someone exclaimed involuntarily.
"Thank you," the ghost said, "but I can do even cooler tricks."
Seemingly in high spirits, the ghost then tossed its head into the air, performing an elegant front flip followed by an aerial spin of three and a half turns, before gracefully catching its head in its outstretched hand.
The moves were seamless and graceful, each landing executed with precision.
As expected, the performance earned applause from everyone, including Kyle.
Such talent was indeed a rare sight.
It was truly impressive.
"Thank you, everyone," the ghost bowed slightly to the audience, clearly proud of itself. "Oh, I almost forgot to mention, it was with this set of moves that I joined the Headless Hunt Club. Of course, I'm not bragging or anything; I just want to say that you all have great taste."
After that, the atmosphere in the room was thoroughly warmed up.
The young witches and wizards gathered around, urging the ghost to perform another trick.
The ghost obliged happily, treating them to a series of smaller but equally entertaining stunts that had everyone laughing.
"Hmph."
Just then, a disdainful, cold laugh suddenly interrupted them. "What's so great about that?"
Unconsciously, everyone turned to look, realizing that the speaker was another ghost.
"My apologies, Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington," said the headless ghost, recognizing his colleague with the ruff-necked collar. "I was just trying to cheer the children up, that's all."
"I hope so," came the reply.
"Of course, and I sincerely hope that Sir Nicholas will join the Headless Hunt Club this year."
Nearly Headless Nick gave a blank look to his colleague before walking through the wall and leaving.
With this interruption, the headless ghost also stopped performing and shrugged. "Well, I guess it's time for you all to start your Sorting. You should prepare yourselves. See you later."
And with that, the ghost also walked through the wall and headed toward the Great Hall.
Although the students felt it was a pity, they had no choice but to bid farewell to the headless ghost.
However, the atmosphere in the room remained lively.
After the ghost's performance, everyone was in high spirits and even more excited for the upcoming Sorting.
...... Except for Connor.
She was the only one in the room who hadn't paid attention to the ghost's performance from start to finish.
Even when Professor McGonagall returned, the little girl remained huddled in the corner, turning paler and paler, her whole body exuding an aura of despair.
Unfortunately, Professor McGonagall did not seem to notice this.
"I left you alone for a few minutes, and look at the mess you've made!" she said, frowning at the group of first years. "Your laughter could be heard throughout the Great Hall. Is it that funny, or do you find the Sorting a humorous affair?"
As soon as she finished speaking, everyone sprang into action, forming a single-file line within a minute, then following closely behind Professor McGonagall.
Connor was among them, pulled along by Kyle, moving like a zombie, her steps heavy and listless.
...
They exited the room, passed through the foyer, and went through a set of double doors, finally entering the grand Great Hall.
Compared to the entrance hall, the Great Hall was even more imposing.
The entire hall was breathtakingly vast, with four long tables filled with students yet still feeling spacious and uncrowded.
The tables were adorned with luxurious golden platters and goblets, and thousands of floating candles illuminated the room with a soft glow.
Above, the velvet-black ceiling twinkled with stars and swirling clouds, a sight that left onlookers awe-struck.
"Magic has been cast to make it look like the sky outside," a boy whispered to his companion. "I read about it in Hogwarts, A History."
Kyle glanced in the boy's direction but quickly lost interest.
It was a shame, for if he had enrolled a year later, he might have become good friends with Hermione.
The group came to a stop at the front of the Great Hall, just below the teachers' table.
Seated in the center was Dumbledore, clad in violet robes, his silver beard and hair neatly trimmed. He wore his signature half-moon glasses and regarded the new students with a gentle expression.
Seated beside him were the four Heads of Houses.
To his right was Severus Snape, Head of Slytherin, his hair slick and gleaming.
Next to him was Filius Flitwick, the diminutive Head of Ravenclaw.
On Dumbledore's left was Pomona Sprout, the amiable-looking Head of Hufflepuff.
And to her left, the spot for Professor McGonagall, Head of Gryffindor, remained empty as she was officiating the Sorting ceremony.
Including them, there were about twenty professors attending the Start-of-Term Feast, but Kyle could only recognize less than half of them, with the rest being completely unfamiliar.
However, this was to be expected, given the vast size of Hogwarts. It would be unreasonable to expect only the handful of professors he remembered from his previous life.
Moreover, half of the professors he knew were replaced annually, further reducing the number of familiar faces.
...
Kyle averted his gaze.
At that moment, Professor McGonagall placed a four-legged stool in front of the first years and set a patched, brown conical wizard's hat on it.
Well, it was sort of brown.
The hat was so dirty that despite Professor McGonagall's gentle handling, a cloud of dust rose as she placed it down.
In the candlelight, the hat also seemed to glow, clearly well-worn, and it was virtually impossible to discern its original color.
Kyle was certain that if this hat had appeared in his home, he and Chris would have surely killed each other over it.
Or perhaps, they would have both been killed by Diana.
(End of Chapter)
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