In the antechamber beside the Great Hall, the first-years waited for Professor McGonagall to return. Quite a few of them had already resigned themselves to the idea of an exam.
After all, if only one person hadn't revised, they might panic before a test—but once everyone realized that most people hadn't revised either, giving up became a shared comfort.
"How many times do I have to tell you to be quiet today?" Professor McGonagall's voice rang out as she appeared at the doorway at some point, gazing at the students in the room like a stern homeroom teacher.
A long-buried sense of dread surfaced, and even the usually calm Chu Yang shuddered violently.
"Line up at once and prepare to enter the Great Hall, where you will complete your Sorting Ceremony."
Under Professor McGonagall's piercing stare, the first-years jumped to their feet.
They quickly formed orderly lines and obediently followed her.
Professor McGonagall led them out through a side door and toward the main entrance. As they approached, the massive doors swung open automatically, and the group stepped into the magnificent hall beyond.
Four long tables filled the hall, each belonging to one of the four Houses. At the very front stood a slightly smaller long table, reserved for the teachers.
Thousands of candles floated in midair, illuminating the hall as brightly as day.
Statues lined both sides, alongside blazing braziers.
The enchanted ceiling mirrored the night sky, stars appearing now and then, creating the illusion of dining beneath the open heavens.
At first glance, Chu Yang found the Great Hall stunning—but that impression was quickly replaced by other thoughts.
If only they replaced the candles with adjustable LED lights, he mused. Candlelight is unstable, bad for the eyes, and it drags down the ceiling's visual effect.
Magical as it was, Hogwarts struck Chu Yang as increasingly out of step with the world.
The wizarding world felt like a stubborn old man—conservative, resistant to change, steeped in decay—standing still while the Muggle world had already boarded the train of progress.
Chu Yang knew exactly how much technology would reshape the world in the next twenty years. If this generation of young wizards didn't adapt, the balance of power between wizards and Muggles might very well be overturned.
Lost in thought, Chu Yang suddenly sensed someone watching him. Following the gaze, he saw Albus Dumbledore seated at the center of the staff table.
The wisest, most powerful, and most respected wizard in the magical world was studying Chu Yang with open curiosity.
Nearby, Professor Sprout was also waving enthusiastically at him.
She even kept pointing at herself.
What does that mean?Is she telling me to choose Hufflepuff?
Chu Yang stared back blankly, utterly confused.
Professor Sprout was so anxious she nearly stood up to shout.
"Ahem." Dumbledore coughed lightly.
The subtle reminder made Professor Sprout restrain herself and sit properly again.
That small exchange, however, caught the attention of Professor Snape seated beside Dumbledore.
Until now, his focus had been fixed on Harry Potter…
And aside from Snape, Quirinus Quirrell—more accurately, Voldemort within him—was also observing Chu Yang with growing interest.
Before the teachers' table stood a four-legged stool, atop which rested a battered, patched, pointed hat.
It was hard to believe that this ragged thing was the Sorting Hat—imbued with the thoughts of Hogwarts' four founders.
As Professor McGonagall led the students to the hat, the Great Hall fell into complete silence. Everyone knew what was about to happen.
"Before the Sorting Ceremony begins, Headmaster Dumbledore has a few words for you," Professor McGonagall announced.
Dumbledore rose. He didn't say much—just two reminders: one, that students were forbidden from entering the Forbidden Forest, and two, that the corridor on the right side of the third floor was strictly off-limits.
Chu Yang had no interest in the third-floor corridor anyway.
But the Forbidden Forest…
That was a gold mine.
Even if Dumbledore himself tried to stop him, Chu Yang wasn't about to listen.
"When I call your name, step forward. I will place the Sorting Hat on your head, and it will decide which House you belong to," Professor McGonagall said, lifting the hat and fixing her eyes on the list.
"So that's it? That's all there is to Sorting?"
"What about the exam, Hermione?"
"Thank Merlin—as long as there's no exam, I don't care where I end up."
As the first-years whispered among themselves, Professor McGonagall began calling names. The very first was the future proprietor of the Leaky Cauldron—Hannah Abbott.
Fleeting protagonists, eternal Hannah, Chu Yang thought, recalling a long-standing joke as her name was announced.
"Hufflepuff!"
While Chu Yang was still musing, he heard Professor McGonagall call out:
"Chu Yang!"
He took a deep breath and stepped out of the crowd.
As a transmigrator who didn't truly belong to this world, Chu Yang felt genuine pressure standing before the Sorting Hat.
He didn't know just how powerful the Sorting Hat's Legilimency really was.
Did it only read surface-level personality traits?
Or could it directly peer into memories?
Chu Yang had briefly considered avoiding the Sorting altogether, but the moment he noticed Dumbledore watching him, he abandoned that idea.
Trying to pull tricks in front of the greatest wizard of the age was not a wise choice.
A sudden weight settled on his head. Chu Yang snapped back to reality—the Sorting Hat had already been placed on him.
All he could do now was pray that the hat wasn't as powerful as he feared.
Meanwhile, the instant the Sorting Hat landed on Chu Yang's head, it found… nothing.
It was as though it had been placed atop a slab of stone.
The hat was stunned. In a thousand years, it had never encountered anything like this. Had it finally grown too old? Impossible. It was bound by contract to Hogwarts itself. The Book of Admittance and the Quill of Acceptance—those two silent fellows—were still perfectly fine. How could it be the first to fail?
Just as the Sorting Hat prepared to push harder, to probe deeper—
It sensed a palace, vast and ethereal.
A structure far more majestic, more awe-inspiring, and more imposing than Hogwarts itself!
Then, faintly, other things emerged…
Thrones.
Countless thrones.
As it tried to comprehend what it was seeing—
Whether shattered or whole, every throne erupted with an irresistible, overwhelming power!
Upon nearly a hundred thrones, shadowy figures condensed into being.
Those figures opened their eyes in unison and coldly fixed their gaze upon the Sorting Hat.
In the real world, the Sorting Hat suddenly let out a horrifying scream.
(End of Chapter)