Chapter 19: Hufflepuff
Chapter 19: Hufflepuff
Kyle didn't hesitate and quickly made his way to the stage with a few strides.
Having narrowly escaped a dangerous situation, he patted his chest and sincerely looked at Professor McGonagall, "Thank you, Professor."
Perhaps not expecting that there would be such a well-mannered child in Hogwarts, Kyle's sudden action caught Professor McGonagall off guard. After a few seconds, she shook her head, "This is my decision."
Although she said this, Professor McGonagall's originally stern expression softened considerably. And before placing the Sorting Hat on Kyle's head, she deliberately patted the dust off it.
"Such a polite child, it would be great if you could be sorted into Gryffindor."
Professor McGonagall had high hopes in her heart for Gryffindor, which lacked such model students.
Last year, she dreamed of bringing Cedric to her House, but both Sprout and Dumbledore disagreed.
Let's see how it goes this year.
Professor McGonagall's gaze fixed on Kyle, and she silently prayed that the Sorting Hat would be reliable this time.
...
"Strange, very strange."
As soon as Kyle put on the Sorting Hat, he heard a faint voice in his ear, "Are you sincerely thanking me? It shouldn't be, I mean, are you really that kind of well-behaved child?"
"Of course I am!" Kyle spoke with seriousness, "You can go and ask around, whether it's the Weasley family or Mr. Scamander, they've all said that I'm the most well-mannered good child they've ever met.
So please don't slander me, otherwise, even if you're just a hat, I'll file a complaint against you."
"..."
The Sorting Hat, rarely, fell into silence, its tip unconsciously swaying back and forth, as if it were at a loss for words, or perhaps struggling with something.
After a long while, it continued, "Your shamelessness reminds me of over a thousand years ago, but back then, I was just an ordinary hat on Godric's head.
So, how about Gryffindor? I feel that it should... never mind, that's not the right place for you."
"I think..."
"Let me think." Just as Kyle was about to speak, the Sorting Hat interrupted him, "Slytherin is a better choice. There, you will achieve greatness, without a doubt."
"Um..."
"Wait, wait."
For the second time, the Sorting Hat interrupted Kyle, "No, it's still not suitable. And if you go to Slytherin, Snape will probably pour some strange potions on me later. Let me think..."
"Dumbledore has given me a difficult problem... It's a pity that if Azkaban also belonged to Hogwarts, or Nurmengard would be fine too."
...
The Sorting Hat's tone seemed to be joking, but Kyle couldn't find it funny at all... What's going on? He didn't seem to have done anything wrong, at most he had just scared Conna a little earlier. Could it be that he was going to be sorted into Nurmengard because of this?
That's not fair!
Moreover, everyone in the magical world did this, and there were plenty of people who did things even more exaggerated than what he had said. Why weren't they in trouble?
This was not fair at all.
Kyle felt that he should do something. If the Sorting Hat really shouted it out, it would be disastrous.
Azkaban was fine, as it was under the management of the Ministry of Magic, not somewhere one could just go to.
But Nurmengard was different. Dumbledore had connections there, and it would be too easy to send someone there.
Although Kyle was aware that the Sorting Hat, being a small-minded hat, was likely saying this because it was unhappy with his earlier threat to complain about it, wanting to get back at him, it was unlikely that it would shout out that place.
But what if...
A hat that had existed for over a thousand years and had its own consciousness, who knew what it was thinking? What if it suddenly decided to shout out to liven up the atmosphere?
Anything was possible.
"Um..." Kyle put on an innocent expression and said, "The song you just sang wasn't bad, especially the first few lines. The lyrics were concise, and the tune was lively, much better than the cliches of the Weird Sisters."
Upon hearing this, the Sorting Hat immediately became interested. "You think it's nice too, right? I knew it! I spent a whole year coming up with it, so how could it not be good? Only Dumbledore doesn't appreciate it. He even suggested I sing the school song. That old bee!"
Uh...
Kyle didn't plan to speak ill of the Headmaster right under his nose; that would be too risky, even if he couldn't hear them.
After clearing his throat to gloss over the situation, Kyle continued, "I'm sorry to ask, but your song sounds a bit familiar. Is it in the style of rap?"
"Rap style...?" The Sorting Hat curiously asked, "What does that mean?"
"You don't know? You must be self-taught; that's amazing." Kyle feigned a look of surprise and then explained, "Rap is also known as rap or hip-hop, and it's a very popular Muggle music style."
"Muggle music..." The Sorting Hat became even more curious.
"Yes, I think you should give it a try. It would suit you well," Kyle said sincerely. "If you need it, I can give you a gift related to it for Christmas."
"Okay... No, I mean, let's finish the Sorting first. It's been a long time, and you must be hungry. We shouldn't delay the Welcome Feast." The Sorting Hat cleared his throat and said, "By the way, where were we?"
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Kyle smiled and said, "You said I was a polite and well-behaved child, but you don't think Gryffindor, Slytherin, or Ravenclaw are suitable for me."
"Hmm? I did mention Ravenclaw... Oh, I almost forgot. That's right, you're absolutely correct."
"In that case, the result is obvious..."
"Hufflepuff!"
The moment Kyle's Sorting result was announced, the entire Great Hall, including the Staff Table, erupted in thunderous applause.
It had been a full twenty minutes—the longest Sorting ceremony in the history of Hogwarts—and it was finally over.
They were genuinely hungry because, by this time in previous years, the Welcome Feast would have already begun.
The Hufflepuff table was particularly lively, and Cedric didn't care about Quidditch team matters anymore. He enthusiastically hugged Kyle.
"Great, Kyle! I knew you'd come to Hufflepuff."
Kyle laughed and said, "You have better judgment than the Sorting Hat."
"Hmm?" Cedric was taken aback, a little unsure of what this meant.
However, Kyle just smiled and didn't explain.
Just then, several seniors came over to shake his hand. Judging from the badges on their robes, they were Hufflepuff Prefects.
This was a tradition in every House, a way to welcome new students and make themselves familiar to the first-years.
Kyle smiled and greeted them, then sat down in the empty seat next to Cedric.
A Prefect had been sitting there, but upon realizing that Kyle and Cedric knew each other, he willingly gave up his seat.
After Kyle sat down, he, like the others, turned his attention to the Sorting Hat.
Coming to Hufflepuff was what he had planned all along. After all, Newt was a Hufflepuff, and his father, Chris, was also a Hufflepuff graduate. As a wizard who also loved magical creatures, it was natural for him to come here and experience it.
At the moment, Kyle didn't want to think about Voldemort, the Dark Lord, or anything like that. He just wanted to wholeheartedly enjoy the wonders of magic and the school life at Hogwarts, and the warm and loyal Hufflepuff was undoubtedly the best choice.
The fact that the Hufflepuff dormitory was next to the kitchen was an important factor.
...
(End of Chapter)
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