There is no imaginary feeling of being seen through, and there is no heavy pressure. The old man's eyes were kind and wise, and the smile on his lips looked very gentle.
He caught Luke's gaze and smiled and nodded at Luke. Luke returned the gesture in kind. After all, this was not the time for them to greet each other with formal etiquette.
Professor McGonagall moved a four-legged stool under the expectant and nervous eyes of all the young wizards, and placed a pointed wizard hat that looked dirty and worn on it.
The auditorium was silent, the old students were looking forward to it, and the freshmen were anxious.
In this atmosphere, the hat twisted and cracked a wide slit, like a mouth.
Then he sang...
"You may think I'm not pretty,
But never judge a book by its appearance,
If you can find a prettier hat than mine,
I could eat myself.
…
You may belong to Gryffindor,
There is courage buried deep in my heart,
Their courage, courage and boldness,
To make Gryffindor outstanding;
You may be a Hufflepuff,
The people there are honest and loyal,
Hufflepuff students are stoic and honest;
Not afraid of hard work;
If you are smart,
Maybe into the wise old Ravenclaw,
Those who are wise and knowledgeable,
There they will always meet their comrades;
Maybe you'll go to Slytherin,
Maybe you can make sincere friends here,
But those cunning and insidious people will use any means to
to achieve their goals.
Come wear me! Don't be afraid!
Don't panic!
In my hands (although I don't even have a hand) you are absolutely safe
Because I am a thinking magic hat! "
To be honest, the first moment the hat finished singing, Luke and Hermione beside him frowned almost instinctively. At the same time, thunderous applause also sounded in the auditorium.
"I always feel like this hat is the biggest Slytherin black hat."
Luke couldn't help but think to himself. What does "those cunning and insidious people will do whatever it takes to do it?"
What makes Luke feel even more helpless is that after listening to this passage, the students in the Snake Academy did not seem to have any reaction, but instead felt a little proud. Only a few people consciously or unconsciously frowned at the content of the lyrics. Head, looking a little dissatisfied.
This made Luke feel that he still had a long way to go, but also lamented that he could still find a few normal helpers in Slytherin...
He took a deep look at the hat that was bowing to the four dining tables one by one, as if he was thinking of something very rude.
Professor McGonagall walked forward and looked at everyone, holding a roll of parchment in her hand.
"Whoever's name I call now will put on his hat, sit on the stool, and wait for the sorting."
She glanced at the new students with sharp eyes, then unfolded the roll of parchment and spoke.
"Hannah Abbott!"
Then, a little girl with a rosy face and two golden braids stumbled out of the team and put on her hat.
After a moment, the Sorting Hat shouted loudly: "Hufflepuff!"
There was applause at the Hufflepuff table, and the fat monk in the ghost waved at her.
…
"Tyler Barbara!"
In the midst of everyone's gaze, a girl who was dressed in ordinary clothes and had long golden hair, but her head was lowered and her face was covered by her hair, making it difficult to see clearly. She walked to the bench and put on the sorting hat.
Puzzlingly, the hat fell into silence, seeming to be entangled.
After about two or three minutes, when everyone was getting impatient with waiting, Hat finally made a sound.
"Slytherin..."
Luke felt that the Sorting Hat's tone could now be described as uncertain, even confused. The sound is also much quieter than before.
And the girl named Taylor took off the hat after saying it, and then walked towards the Slytherin table still looking listless.
The Slytherin students gave him enthusiastic but restrained applause. There is always a shortage of weirdos in Hogwarts. Not to mention the students who lower their heads and say nothing now, even students who haven't talked to others for seven years have appeared.
Luke, on the other hand, looked at the girl with some suspicion. In his impression, this girl never appeared in the original work. But he could vaguely feel that this girl might not be simple.
"Luke Gaunt!"
Professor McGonagall called out his name, and Luke came to his senses and walked towards the stool. The atmosphere there seemed to make everything more solemn. The surname Gunter has many meanings. Noble, rich, fierce, terrible...
Not to mention the students who knew something about this, even the teachers looked at Luke with a little more scrutiny in their eyes.
Especially Snape. Anyone with a discerning eye knows that the child in front of him is most likely to go to Slytherin. This is the practice of the Gaunt family. However, according to Professor McGonagall, there seems to be something different about the child in front of him, and I don’t know if this will be a factor that interferes with the choice of hat.
At the Slytherin table, a group of students even looked at Luke with burning eyes. They all know that the founder of Slytherin House is Salazar Slytherin, the ancestor of the Gaunt family.
Therefore, they are undoubtedly full of expectations for the arrival of a Gunter, and of course, scrutiny is inevitable.
Everyone can feel the strange atmosphere permeating the entire auditorium. This made Ron, Harry, and even Malfoy couldn't help but look envious.
Being noticed by everyone and being the focus of everyone's eyes, isn't this what children of their age desire most?
And Luke has fulfilled this desire.
Luke picked up the hat and put it on his head.
A small voice came from my ears.
"You are really a strange child. You have the ambition to change the world, the courage to protect all the good things, the wisdom beyond ordinary people, and the perseverance of the heart. I am very confused, child."
And Luke said directly in his mind: "I'm going to Slytherin."
"You don't have to make a decision so quickly, kid, think calmly. I know you have Slytherin blood flowing in your body. But I can also feel the aura and talent in you that are similar to my master. You are very similar, you and They both look alike.”
This silenced Luke for a moment. To be honest, he was stunned for a moment. He felt that whether it was ambition or blood, it basically showed that he and Slytherin were naturally bound.
But the hat suddenly said that he was very similar to his master, and he analyzed it in terms of breath and talent. The owner of this hat is Godric Gryffindor...
But after a moment, Luke said firmly again: "Slytherin!"
Hat was silent for a long time: "This makes me feel that you two are more similar."
"But, if you insist..."
"Slytherin!"
With a shout from the hat, huge cheers and warm applause erupted from the Slytherin table. Even Dean Snape was clapping his hands gently, but there was a hint of caution in his eyes.
Just when Luke was about to take off his hat, the sound of the hat came to his ears again.
"I can feel your dissatisfaction with me, child. But as far as I know, this is what Slytherin House is like now. If you don't like it, then try to change it."
Luke paused his hand, smiled, and spoke in his mind.
"That's exactly what I'm going to do."
