Wade quickly walked over, put on the Sorting Hat, and repeated to himself, “Hufflepuff! Hufflepuff! I want to go to Hufflepuff!”

“Hufflepuff?” a faint voice said. “Oh, maybe you didn’t hear the song I just sang. No worries, I can sing a verse just for you—where the people are honest and loyal—”

Wade: “……”

He sensed something.

The Sorting Hat continued to sing, “Hufflepuff students are resilient and honest—”

Wade: “……”

Alright, I get it, no need to sing anymore!

The Sorting Hat said, “Not afraid of hard work—”

Wade: “……”

That’s a bit much! Your voice is too loud!

The Sorting Hat rustled and said, “Although Hufflepuff never refuses any student who aspires to Hogwarts, there is a place that suits you better… um—it’s always hard for people to see themselves, isn’t it?”

Wade quickly thought, “I’m not going to Slytherin!”

“Of course—” the Sorting Hat said loudly, “Ravenclaw—”

The second table on the left began to clap, and the applause was quite restrained. Wade sighed inwardly, took off the hat, and walked toward the table decorated in blue and bronze.

—Stiff Sorting Hat! So what if I’m not honest, hardworking, and resilient? I just like to make friends with honest, hardworking people; is that a problem?

Several Ravenclaw students stood up to shake his hand, the first being a boy who said, “Welcome to Ravenclaw, I’m the male prefect, West Moore.”

Another boy leaned in and said, “You’re Wade Gray? You’re a perfect fit for our house!”

“What do you mean?” Wade asked.

“Oh, Banson, don’t tell your joke,” West said, recalling something with a wry smile.

Banson squinted and said, “Because our house ghost is also named Gray—Lady Gray.”

Wade looked at him and, after a few seconds, said slowly, “...Oh, so what?”

Banson: “……”

West pushed the boy’s head back, “I told you long ago, don’t mimic the Weasley twins; you have no comedic bloodline.”

Banson seemed crushed, slumping over the table, his demeanor turning gray. Wade thought his expression looked rather funny now.

He sat down and looked around.

No introduction necessary; in his eyes, everyone around had a name (or two) floating above their heads. However, he didn’t recognize almost anyone from Ravenclaw, probably because they had never been mentioned in the story. The only exception was a very cute girl with black hair not far diagonally across from him—Qiu Zhang—who was watching the new students and didn’t notice Wade’s gaze.

The faculty members also matched his memories—silver-haired, long-bearded Albus Dumbledore, sallow-faced, greasy-haired Severus Snape, a short man like a three-year-old, Filius Flitwick, the jittery Sybill Trelawney, the plump Professor Sprout, and the two-faced Quirinus Quirrell & Tom Riddle.

Of course, sitting at the Ravenclaw table, Wade felt like a transparent person; the professors did not pay attention to him.

The Sorting Ceremony continued.

“Michael Corner!”

“Ravenclaw!”

Before Wade, a blonde boy named Anthony was sorted into Ravenclaw and was excitedly greeting everyone. Soon after, a boy with long black curly hair named Michael Corner sat beside Wade. Following them was Padma Patil, one of a pair of Indian twins, while her sister Parvati Patil was sorted into Gryffindor.

There weren’t many new students in Ravenclaw, only about ten came in one after another, and the newcomers nervously yet excitedly observed their surroundings until a name suddenly rang out—

“Harry Potter!”

The entire hall fell silent, and then a buzz of discussion erupted.

“Potter? Harry Potter?”

“Is it that Harry Potter?”

At the Ravenclaw table, some initially aloof students couldn’t help but turn their heads and stretch their necks to see the black-haired boy walking up to the Sorting Hat.

As he put on the hat, many held their breath in anticipation—from Gryffindor to Slytherin, from Headmaster Dumbledore to the castle caretaker Filch standing at the door, everyone was watching the filthy hat and the little boy whose face was mostly obscured by it.

The chatter gradually quieted down.

Finally—

“Gryffindor!”

The Sorting Hat shouted, and the hall erupted into enthusiastic cheers and applause, with the loudest claps coming from Gryffindor, but almost everyone from Ravenclaw was also applauding—this was a treatment not afforded to others during their sorting.

“I knew he would go to Gryffindor!” Banson said seriously to West, “Harry Potter will definitely be in Gryffindor; where else could he go?”

“Shut up, Banson. Two months ago, you said Harry Potter was a fictional character who didn’t actually exist!” West rolled his eyes.

As the last new student was sorted into Slytherin, Professor McGonagall took the Sorting Hat away, and Dumbledore stood up with open arms.

“Welcome!” he said, “Welcome everyone to Hogwarts to start a new school year! Before the feast begins, I’d like to say a few words. That is: idiots! Crybabies! Scum! Twist! Thank you all!”

Hearing this classic opening line, Wade clapped vigorously.

“What does he mean?” Michael, sitting next to him, asked.

“I don’t know,” Wade replied.

“Then why are you clapping?” Michael raised an eyebrow.

“A speech that short isn’t worth applauding?” Wade countered.

Michael thought for a moment and nodded in agreement, “You’re right!”

With enthusiastic applause mixed with cheers, in the blink of an eye, the empty long table was filled with food, like roast beef, lamb chops, fried chips, mashed potatoes, and so on. Although there were a few vegetables missing, the rich aromas made it look delicious.

Starved students immediately dug in, and after most were full, the main course vanished, and many desserts appeared on the long table. With their stomachs filled, the students had to slow down and savor the food while making small talk with those around them.

Naturally, the new students’ topics centered on their family backgrounds and bloodlines.

A boy named Stephen said, “I was born into a pure-blood family; my mother was also a Ravenclaw, and my father was a Gryffindor. I’ve read all the textbooks at home.”

“And you, Wade?” someone asked.

Wade candidly replied, “My parents can’t do magic.”

“Well, magic must be a completely foreign field for you, right?” Stephen said sympathetically, “You’ll have to work a bit harder in school.”

“Yeah, I’ll do my best,” Wade said with a smile.

“Even though I’m half-blood, I think pure-blood or Muggle-born doesn’t really make a difference,” Michael said to Wade, “For example, in my family, my father is a wizard, but he’s not as smart as my mother; all the decisions are made by my mom.”