34 34. Hogwarts(2)!

Ryan had never in his life seen so many candles lit at the same time. Or floating either. The enchanted sky was also a spectacle to see. His first impression of the great hall was... amazing. Not on the same level as first seeing Hogwarts, but it was amazing nonetheless. He had not seen it on his previous visit, so it was new to him as well.

He felt the gazes of all students on the first years. He also noticed Dora who waved at him. Professor McGonagall kept a stool in front of all with the dusty old hat he met before, which started singing.

"Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,

But don't judge on what you see,

I'll eat myself if you can find

A smarter hat than me.

You can keep your bowlers black,

Your top hats sleek and tall,

For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat

And I can cap them all.

There's nothing hidden in your head

The Sorting Hat can't see,

So try me on and I will tell you

Where you ought to be.

You might belong in Gryffindor,

Where dwell the brave at heart,

Their daring, nerve, and chivalry

Set Gryffindors apart;

You might belong in Hufflepuff,

Where they are just and loyal,

Those patient Hufflepuffs are true

And unafraid of toil;

Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,

if you've a ready mind,

Where those of wit and learning,

Will always find their kind;

Or perhaps in Slytherin

You'll make your real friends,

Those cunning folk use any means

To achieve their ends.

So put me on! Don't be afraid!

And don't get in a flap!

You're in safe hands (though I have none)

For I'm a Thinking Cap!"

(A/N- Yay, filler!)

Everyone clapped at the end of the song. Ryan matched the excitement of all his peers. Thanks to inheriting Loki, his acting skills have become top-notch, though his childishness usually slips through sometimes. Professor McGonagall opened a parchment and started calling names.

"Abbot, Hannah!"

"Hufflepuff!" The hat announced after a few seconds.

"... Black... Ryan" She called out Ryan's name, a bit shocked herself. She swore she didn't see his name when she was writing letters, or she would have definitely told Albus about a Black Heir. Especially after the previous Black's betrayal of Albus and her students.

The great hall had similarly fallen silent, though the muggleborns were a bit confused at what happened. Most teachers too turned to see who was the new addition to the most infamous house in Britain, as nearly all of the family had supported Voldermort one way or another.

Ryan felt this reaction was more appropriate. Susan, Hannah, and Blaise had managed to talk with him only because they were kids and Ryan had an aura that left a deep impression on anyone he wishes. Or else Susan Bones, whose whole family was slain by Voldy would not be calm while sitting with someone from the House of Black.

Ryan walked towards the stool while feeling all kinds of gazes on him. Many had curiosity, many fear, many cautiousness, and many resentments. And under all these gazes... Ryan felt comfortable. Ever since his time in Bulgaria, Ryan found that he was quite fond of the spotlight. People treating him with respect seemed to please him as that showed others were not looking down on him... and he didn't like being looked down upon. And feeling their fear always tickled his superiority complex.

Ryan sat down on the stool while McGonagall had regained her composure from the surprise and placed the hat on Ryan's head, and looked at him with analytical eyes.

'This old and dusty hat greets the heir of Hogwarts!' The Hat spoke.

"Hello there. So, what's up?" Ryan spoke from his mind.

'That would be the enchanted sky, my lord. Hohoho' The hat laughed at his own joke and Ryan chuckled. The visible chuckle made everyone wonder what was going on in his head. 'So have you decided the house, my lord?' Hat asked.

"Yes. After all, I need to follow Lady Hogwarts' request." Ryan spoke. The said request was made by her after seeing the state of the houses. She was extremely distraught on seeing how the students of houses were not living up to the standard of the founders at all, nor was the house cup being treated as a rivalry competition, but more like a dick-measuring contest. But above all, the rivalry had been stretched too far and the unity of Hogwarts was falling.

So in order to solve this problem, Ryan decided to get sorted into the house which would be the most problematic normally, which was, obviously...

"Better be... SLYTHERIN!" The hat yelled. The reactions of most students and teachers were as Ryan predicted, but he just kept a note of this and walked to the table while his robes shifted to green.

Ryan could feel a strong pair of eyes staring at him, trying to peer into his soul. 'Hmm, is he using the castle wards to check me? Good thing he and Aria had checked through all kinds of scans beforehand.' He thought and sat down.

Ryan looked at the Slytherin table and felt their feelings. Some looked happy for a noble house selecting into Slytherin, some looked calculative, some in twisted malice for some reason, probably planning to extort Ryan for something. But most of Ryan's attention went elsewhere. He spotted some kids who felt... broken. Like they were on the brink of jumping off a bridge. Half-bloods and Muggleborns... He also notice there were fewer muggle-borns or half-bloods in the house right now than when the guy Aria had scanned studied here when Ryan was starting out as Grim.

He didn't understand why the teachers paid no attention to their condition which they were not even hiding with glamor charms. The hat was made to sort them according to the founder's wishes, so it tried to place most muggleborns elsewhere, some were still bound to sort here. Then there were Dumbledore's compulsions which also affected the sorting to make sure some children of noble families always sorted to one house, like Weasley's being Griffindor or Malfoy being Slytherin. And the newly sorted Malfoy was currently staring at him with a look of confusion.

Thankfully everything was back under Lady Hogwarts, so he won't really be a problem. But even so, looking at what they have done to the kids... Ryan was going to make them pay threefold. Any slight regrets or worries about going to this house are now gone. He needed to bring the unity of houses together, then he will need to deal with the source of the disease!

*Other's POV*

Dumbledore looked at the Black brat with slight caution and slight greed. Though some usurper foiled his meticulous work in Hogwarts, he was still Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, the Second coming of Merlin. While he had abandoned Black Fortune and Sirius during the times he was establishing his and Potter's position in England after Tom's death, the brat gave Dumbledore a way to now get access to another big and influential family to support him. Pettigrew's position had also made it possible for multiple dark factions to slowly rise in Britain, which would prove useful for when Tom would regain his body and fight with Marcus, so there was another reason to not free Sirius.

He wasn't concerned with the Hat sorting the brat to Slytherin. If anything, the brat would be under Snape and he wouldn't have to observe him himself. In addition, he was sure Malfoy would not be happy about this as he had tried multiple times to get Black fortune and assassinate Sirius, but Dumbledore halted them to stall Malfoy. Sirius was just a pawn, but he could still have his use. The only reason he kept Sirius alive was because he liked to have some backup plans in case his initial would fail.

Musing to himself, Dumbledore started making plans to 'educate' young Black about the greater good slowly. He knew James would not be happy with Dumbledore trying to have a Black join them, but Dumbledore will handle that. He was the lord of light, and him bringing a family of such dark history to the light side is what he should do. Whether it was Black or Malfoy, all deserved a chance to come to the light side. They all deserved a chance... to serve under him.

For now, he will leave Snape to monitor Black while he would guide Marcus. 'In the end, all would be mine, as I rightfully deserve!'. He thought as his eyes twinkled.

Meanwhile, Snape looked over the new Black brat with an analytical gaze. He wasn't sure what to make of the boy. By all odds, the boy seemed most likely to be Sirius's son as the only other Black member who could be his father would be Regulus Black, who had died quite before Voldemort's death. And he was well aware that the son of any Black daughter would not be given the family name unless the head of the family allows it or there is no one else in the family.

This meant the son of one of the men he absolutely hates was here... and so was the other boy. Snape's vision now went towards Marcus Potter, and he immediately scowled. Except for Lily's eyes and slight hair color, the boy was a copy of his father, down to his snobbish personality. For now, he would just observe the Black brat, but the Potter brat would face the consequences of his father's actions.

Meanwhile, Voldermort also heard about a new Black while staying under Quirrel's turban and instructed Quirrel to keep a close eye on the boy. He was currently in enemy territory, and getting the loyalty of a brat from a powerful family could escalate his plans. And it would also be a perfect retribution for Regulus's betrayal of him before.

"Potter, Marcus" McGonagall spoke while others mused by themselves. Dumbledore's gaze had left Ryan who was busy getting information from Aria about all students of house Slytherin to make a list of methods to crush the prideful bastards and get hold over heirs of most families with himself, much like how Voldemort had made a faction since his 5th year.

All watched Marcus grin and walk over, then had McGonagall put the hat on him.

"GRYFFINDOR" The hat yelled, and their table went into a frenzy, yelling and cheering loudly, and Marcus enjoyed every single second of it. Ryan heard Malfoy mumble something but didn't bother paying attention. He also didn't launch my magical scans as he didn't yet know how sensitive Dumbledore's senses were, but he could be patient and observant.

Dumbledore had a grandfatherly smile as he stared at Marcus, who was greeted loudly after sorting. 'All for the greater good... my greater good.' He thought and looked at Quirrel through the reflection of his cup.

Dumbledore, leader of the light, and Voldermort, leader of the dark, both made their plans, thinking they had everything in control and people under them who would support them in whatever they instructed. But unknown to them, a new element had joined the game, one who stands alone against armies, making them his own. And the moment they would make the mistake of looking at him, they would regret it, as the moment you look into the abyss, the abyss always looks back!!