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Professor McGonagall led the first years to the front of the Great Hall. She arranged them in a line. They faced the older students, and the professors were behind the first years.
The older students curiously looked at the new students' faces. They guessed which house each new student would be sorted into.
Of course, many eyes were also searching the crowd. They were trying to spot the famous Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived.
With so many older students and professors watching, Professor McGonagall gently placed a stool in front of the first-year students. Then, she set a pointed wizard's hat on top of it.
The hat was patched, worn, and terribly dirty.
The Great Hall fell silent. Everyone stared at the hat.
Dracula was also staring at the hat. A hint of old memories was in his eyes, but mostly he looked amused.
Then, the hat twitched. A wide slit opened, like a mouth.
And then it sang a song. Its voice was not very pleasant.
'You may not think I'm pretty,
But don't judge on what you see,
I'll eat myself instead of somebody,
If you can find a smarter hat than me…'
As it sang, it even twisted its body. It used 2 wrinkles on the hat as eyes to look at the new young wizards.
'I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat, far better than any other hat you own…'
Just as the Sorting Hat was looking closely at the group of nervous young wizards, it caught sight of a figure sitting at the professors' table.
'Put it on! I'll tell you where you ought to be! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Aaaargh… What the devil! Aaaargh…'
Hearing this scream, a jet-black flame quietly flickered to life in Dracula's hand.
The Sorting Hat's song and scream stopped suddenly.
Normally, the Sorting Hat would sing a rather bad song. Then the whole hall would clap loudly. The hat would bow to each of the 4 house tables, and then the Sorting Ceremony would officially begin.
But this time, the hat suddenly gave a strange cry halfway through its song and then stopped singing. What was going on?
The first years looked confused. The older students were unsure what to think. Even the professors did not understand what had got into the Sorting Hat this year.
Only Dumbledore glanced at Dracula with a knowing look.
'Sorting Hat, what's wrong?' Professor McGonagall frowned and stood up to ask.
The Sorting Hat was about to speak. But then it suddenly saw the figure that terrified it also standing up with Professor McGonagall.
'Continue singing. It was quite pleasant,' Dracula said to the tattered hat. A smirk played on his lips.
'I… I forgot the words,' the Sorting Hat said, its voice trembling.
'Then improvise a song. We must keep the Sorting Ceremony going, mustn't we?' Dracula's face wore a meaningful smile.
'Professor Dracula?' Professor McGonagall looked at him, puzzled.
But the Sorting Hat saw the faint flicker of jet-black, chilling flames dancing on Dracula's fingertips.
'I'm fine. Let's do as Professor Dracula says,' it swallowed hard—if a hat could even swallow.
Then the Sorting Hat turned to face the older students sitting at the long tables. It only felt slightly relieved when the vampire's figure was out of its sight.
It cleared its throat nervously and then began to sing again.
'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 real friends,
Those cunning folk use any means,
To achieve their ends.'
The Sorting Hat sang its improvised song. It praised the excellent qualities and unique personalities of the 4 founders. Then it suddenly changed its tune:
'But young wizards,
You should also respect their close friend,
He is knowledgeable and talented,
He is wild and free, frank and easy-going,
He is unbeatable, handsome and stylish,
He…'
Listening to the Sorting Hat's improvised song, Dracula felt an involuntary twitch at the corner of his eye. The first few lines might have had something vaguely to do with him. But the stream of overly flattering descriptions that followed was, frankly, ridiculous. It was as if the ancient hat was trying to use every complimentary word it had learned in its 1000-year life.
'Cough! Cough!' Dracula coughed heavily.
The Sorting Hat trembled when it heard this. It immediately finished its long speech:
'If you don't know him,
Just remember,
The founder's best friend is always by your side!'
The Sorting Hat finally finished its long song. The entire hall burst into applause. Amidst the cheers, students and staff alike whispered. They were all wondering about this mysterious "founder's friend" who, according to the Hat, seemed to have every good human quality imaginable.
The tattered Hat, meanwhile, seemed to peek nervously towards Dracula from where it sat. Only when it seemed sure that no jet-black flames were about to appear did it dare to give a cautious bow to each of the 4 House tables. Then it fell completely still and silent.
Although there were some unexpected moments during the Sorting Hat's song, the process was finally finished. It was time to move on to the next part.
Professor McGonagall, who had been standing for a long time, finally breathed a sigh of relief. She took a few steps forward and picked up a roll of parchment.
'When I call your name, you will put on the hat, sit on the stool, and wait to be sorted,' she said. 'Hannah Abbott!'
After the Sorting Ceremony got back on track, nothing more went wrong. It proceeded smoothly.
The most notable sorting was undoubtedly Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived. The Sorting Hat hesitated for a long time on his head before finally making a decision.
'Gryffindor!'
As the Sorting Hat's voice rang out, the students at the Gryffindor table went wild with excitement. The Weasley twins even forgot to control themselves and once again jumped up and down in the Great Hall.
And this time, no one was scolded. This was because Headmaster Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall, Gryffindor's Head of House, did not say anything out loud. But inwardly, they were both rather delighted by it.
Amidst Gryffindor's cheers and the regretful sighs from the other 3 houses, the Sorting Ceremony ended quite successfully.
Next was the part everyone had been waiting for: the Start-of-Term Feast!
Albus Dumbledore stood up.
He looked at the students with a smile, opening his arms to them. It seemed nothing made him happier than seeing all the students gathered together.
'Welcome!' he said. 'Welcome to another year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our feast, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!'
'Thank you!'
Everyone had been waiting with empty stomachs for a long time. After Dumbledore's brief speech, everyone began to eat.
Dracula tapped the edge of his plate with a spoon. He replaced its contents with a bowl of Polish duck blood soup. Then he savoured it with satisfaction.
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