Chapter 31: The Sorting Ceremony Begins (Edited)

"I asked my grandmother, but she refused to tell me. Uncle Algie once mentioned that we have to defeat a troll."

Neville became nervous again. A troll! It was said that these creatures measured over 3 meters in height, and their attack wouldn't even tickle such a large beast.

"A troll?! I know what they are; I've read about them in the book 'Defense Against the Dark Arts: A Self-Defense Guide.' It says trolls have great strength and skin resistant to magic. It's not something little wizards can defeat."

Hermione also became nervous. She had no idea that the Hogwarts house selection would be so challenging! She had been preparing for a long time, thinking it was only about evaluating the magical abilities of young wizards.

But now, what was she hearing? Defeat a troll? It seemed like she needed to spend the remaining time learning offensive spells, hoping that her magic could penetrate the troll's resistant skin.

With that thought in mind, Hermione quickly got up and went to search for her spellbook to see if there were any specific spells against trolls.

"Your uncle is just teasing you, Neville. For the house selection, you only need to put on the 'Sorting Hat,' and the hat will decide which house you belong to."

Bell stated this decisively. He had no interest in following those absurd rules.

To Bell, these so-called rules were like if an adult who had been beaten by their parents as a child decided to beat their own children when they grew up. He saw no fundamental difference.

Moreover, his sister, Shanna, would enter Hogwarts in two years. So, was he supposed to watch his sister worry and be afraid until the sorting ceremony started for such an absurd reason? No, thank you!

"The 'Sorting Hat'? But how can a hat decide which house we should be in?" Hermione asked with relief, though still intrigued.

"It's said that the hat has absorbed the thoughts and personalities of the four founders of Hogwarts. It can read the minds and personalities of the students. Of course, it often also respects the students' choice and places them in the house they want."

In reality, Bell didn't like the tradition of houses at Hogwarts very much. In his previous life, he had never heard of a school that classified its students based on their personalities; they usually based it on their grades.

People change, and 11-year-old wizards are at a crucial stage in forming their personalities. So, in Bell's opinion, rather than saying they are sorted into houses based on their personalities, it's more like they are labeling the children and telling them 'you should be this kind of person.'

This was like stifling their nature!

"Which house would you like to go to?" Neville nervously asked, "Everyone in my family is in Gryffindor, so if I don't end up in Gryffindor, my grandmother will surely take me back home."

"And you, Bell?" Hermione asked.

"My family is from Slytherin, but I plan to go to Ravenclaw."

"I want to go to Gryffindor. I've heard Gryffindor is the best house, and the current headmaster, Professor Dumbledore, graduated from Gryffindor."

"There's no house that's the best, Hermione. In fact, the professors from all four houses are the same person, so the classes are identical. Professor Dumbledore became the greatest wizard of the modern era not because he graduated from Gryffindor but because he was Dumbledore."

Bell hesitated for a moment and decided to persuade Hermione. He believed that Hermione's past experiences were a suppression of her talent and that she could achieve more.

"I think Ravenclaw would be more suitable for you, Hermione. Perhaps Gryffindor could become an obstacle for you."

The young witch remained silent and showed no signs of changing her mind due to what Bell had just said.

"Of course, it's just a small suggestion from me. It's all up to you."

Bell shrugged, seemingly indifferent. Although he liked Hermione in his memories, the person he liked was the 'Hermione' from the books, not the one sitting beside him at that moment.

"I have some desserts here, would you like to eat something more?"

Feeling a bit lighter after digesting part of the food, Bell brought out some cakes and sweets.

"No, thank you, we really can't eat more."

During the remaining time, Hermione continued asking questions, some related to magic and others about the wizarding world. She became a sort of walking encyclopedia and exhausted Bell with her incessant inquiries.

'Can't you just leave me in peace for a while?' thought Bell, feeling weary.

o(≧▢≦)o

...

The sky outside was already dark, and they estimated that the train would arrive at the station shortly. The three of them put on their Hogwarts uniforms.

Very soon, the voice of the train guard echoed throughout the train.

"In 5 minutes, we will arrive at Hogwarts. Please place your luggage on the train; we will take it to your dormitories."

Following the crowd, the three disembarked from the train.

A giant, approximately 3.5 meters tall, stood in the distance, shouting loudly, calling the new first-year students to approach. He also shouted the name Harry Potter, causing everyone to look up and gaze at him attentively.

A group of people walked along a dark and rugged path, finally catching sight of Hogwarts Castle on the edge of the lake, eliciting exclamations of awe from many young wizards. Hermione even opened her mouth in surprise and had her eyes wide open, probably the first time she had seen a castle in reality.

Hogwarts Castle was much larger than Bell's house, although it lacked the exquisite charm of the Minethil mansion. Overall, both had their own unique qualities. However, Hogwarts grounds included the Forbidden Forest and the Black Lake, making the overall environment a bit more impressive.

They took small boats to cross the Black Lake and were led to a room near the entrance hall by Professor McGonagall.

A group of ghosts with a peculiar sense of humor suddenly appeared, passing through walls and flying over the heads of the young wizards, startling them a bit. For Bell, it was the first time seeing ghosts, and he was quite interested in them, eager to catch one for study.

Finally, the grand doors leading to the Great Hall swung open. The young wizards entered in a line, forming horizontal rows, while being watched by older students. Hermione and Neville, standing next to Bell, had slightly pale faces.

An old, worn, and dirty hat was placed on a chair not far from the new students. Everyone stared at the hat, and Hermione and Neville thought, "This must be the famous Sorting Hat."

Suddenly, the hat split open into a wide grin and began to sing with a raspy, unpleasant voice.

"You may think I'm not pretty,

But don't judge on what you see,

I'm a hat that thinks, you see."

Because the voice was grating and off-key, Bell decided to block out the noise from the Sorting Hat's performance.

After the hat finished singing, Professor McGonagall, who had been standing by the chair, finally spoke: "I will now call out the names one by one, and when I call your name, step forward, place the Sorting Hat on your head, sit on the chair, and await your sorting."

"Hannah Abbott."

"Hufflepuff!" The hat shouted.

"Terry Boot."

"Ravenclaw!" the hat exclaimed.

...

"Bell Minethil."