Kael didn't hesitate and quickly stepped up to the stage.
Feeling blessed to be alive, he patted his chest and sincerely looked at Professor McGonagall, saying, "Thank you, Professor."
Perhaps not expecting such a polite child to be at Hogwarts, Kael's sudden gesture caught Professor McGonagall off guard. It took her two to three seconds to react, and she shook her head, saying, "It's my duty."
Even though she said this, the originally stern expression of Professor McGonagall softened considerably. And before placing the Sorting Hat on Kael's head, she even brushed off some dust from it.
"Such a polite child, it would be great if he could be sorted into Gryffindor."
Professor McGonagall felt a bit hopeful, as what Gryffindor needed the most were model students like him.
Last year, she even dreamt of luring Cedric into her house, but unfortunately, Sprout and Dumbledore wouldn't agree.
Let's see how it goes this year.
Professor McGonagall watched Kael intently, praying in her heart that the Sorting Hat would be reliable for once.
...
"Strange, very strange."
As soon as Kael put on the Sorting Hat, he heard a faint voice by his ear saying, "You truly are sincere in your thanks? That's unusual. I mean, are you really the kind of good kid you appear to be?"
"I certainly am!" Kael said earnestly. "You can ask around, both the Weasleys and Mr. Scamander have said I am the most well-mannered child they've ever met.
So, please don't slander me, because even if you are just a hat, I will file a complaint against you."
"..."
The Sorting Hat unusually fell into silence, its tip swaying back and forth mindlessly, as if at a loss for words, or perhaps deliberating over something.
After a long pause, it continued, "The shameless way you act reminds me so much of over a thousand years ago, back when I was just an ordinary hat sitting on Godric's head.
Well then, how about Gryffindor, I feel like there you might… no, on second thought, it's not suitable for you."
"I think…"
"Let me think for a moment," Kael started to speak but was interrupted by the Sorting Hat. "Slytherin seems better; there, you will achieve greatness, there's no doubt about it."
"Uh…"
"Wait, wait." The second time, the Sorting Hat again interrupted Kael, saying, "No, not right, if you go to Slytherin, Snape will surely pour some bizarre magic potion on me in the future. Let me think some more…
Dumbledore gave me such a difficult problem to solve… if only Azkaban belonged to Hogwarts, or Nimongard might work too."
...
The Sorting Hat sounded as if it was joking, but Kael couldn't laugh at all… What was going on here? He hadn't done anything wrong—well, at most he just scared Conna a bit earlier—but did that mean he'd be sorted into Nimongard?
This can't be serious!
Besides, the entire Magic Realm does this, and there are people who exaggerate a lot more than he did, yet they're fine.
This is such a double standard.
Kael felt he ought to do something. If the Sorting Hat really shouted it out, that would be a disaster.
Azkaban is under the control of the Ministry of Magic, it's not somewhere you can just go, but Nimongard is different; Dumbledore has connections there, sending someone over is ridiculously easy.
Kael knew that the Sorting Hat was probably only saying this out of dissatisfaction that he had just threatened to complain about it—trying to tease him back a little—but it wouldn't actually shout out that place.
But what if…
A hat that has existed for over a thousand years and has its own consciousness—who knows what's going through its mind? What if it suddenly had a whim to shout and liven things up?
It's entirely possible.
"Um…" Kael put on an innocent smile and said, "The song you sang earlier was pretty good, especially the first few lines. The lyrics were concise, and the rhythm lively; it's so much better than the cliché songs by the Weird Sisters."
Hearing this, the Sorting Hat brightened up. "You think it sounds good too, right? I told you, it took me a year to come up with it, so how could it not be good? Only Dumbledore doesn't appreciate it and even persuaded me to sing the school song, the old bumblebee!"
Uh…
Kael had no intention of badmouthing the Headmaster right under his nose. That would be crazy, even if the Headmaster couldn't hear him.
Clearing his throat to brush it off, Kael continued, "If I might ask, your song sounded a bit familiar—is it in the rap style?"
"Rap style…" The Sorting Hat asked curiously, "What does that mean?"
"You don't know! You're naturally talented, that's amazing," Kael feigned shock, then explained, "Rap, or hip-hop, is a very popular Muggle music style."
"Muggle music…" The Sorting Hat grew more curious.
"Yes, I think you should give it a try; it would probably suit you very well," Kael said sincerely. "If you want, I could get you a gift in that style by Christmas."
"Good… No, I mean, let's get back to sorting. It's been a long time, and you must be hungry; wouldn't want to miss dinner." The Sorting Hat cleared its throat and said, "So, where were we?"
Kael smiled, "You just mentioned that I'm a well-mannered good child, but you think Gryffindor, Slytherin, and Ravenclaw aren't right for me."
"Hmm? Did I mention Ravenclaw… oh, I almost forgot, that's right, you are absolutely correct.
In that case, the result is obvious…"
"Hufflepuff!"
As soon as Kael's sorting result was revealed, the entire auditorium erupted with thunderous applause.
It had been a whole twenty minutes—this was undoubtedly the longest sorting in the history of Hogwarts, but it had finally concluded.
They were really hungry; after all, the feast had usually started long before by this time.
Hufflepuff's table was especially lively, as Cedric, not caring about any Quidditch matters anymore, enthusiastically came over and gave Kael a hug.
"Fantastic, Kael, I just knew you would come to Hufflepuff."
Kael laughed, "You have a better eye than the Sorting Hat."
"Hmm?" Cedric blinked, a bit confused by what he meant.
But Kael merely smiled, without explaining.
Just then, several upper-year students came over to shake his hand, and from the badges on their robes, it seemed they were Hufflepuff's prefects.
This was also a typical tradition in every house—to welcome new students and at the same time get acquainted.
Kael smiled and greeted them, then sat in the seat next to Cedric.
The seat was originally occupied by a prefect, but noticing Kael knew Cedric, he graciously offered the seat to him.
After Kael sat down, like everyone else, he turned his attention to the Sorting Hat.
Coming to Hufflepuff had been his intention all along; after all, Newt was a Hufflepuff and his father Chris was also a Hufflepuff graduate. Being a wizard who also loves Fantastic Beasts, naturally, he wanted to experience being here.
Additionally, Kael wasn't interested in getting involved with Voldemort or the Dark Lord; he just wanted to wholeheartedly enjoy the magic and school life at Hogwarts, and Hufflepuff's warm and loyal atmosphere was undoubtedly the best choice.
Besides, Hufflepuff's dormitory is right next to the kitchen, and that's very important.
...