Hogwarts.
A small break room off to the side of the castle's Entrance Hall.
Alina was like the moon surrounded by the stars, a group of young wizards gathered around her. The ones closest to her were the ones she had spent time with on the train, Malfoy's and Potter's groups.
"Draco, you're definitely a natural Slytherin. There's no need to worry. In the future, remember to maintain the image of the Slytherin House, to always be modest, noble, and to never lose your poise.
"As for you, Hermione, mm, it's a little difficult, but from the results of the test, Ravenclaw and Gryffindor are both very suitable for you. Personally, since Headmaster Dumbledore graduated from Gryffindor House, I think it suits you more.
"Ron, don't go making trouble. Your entire family is a part of Gryffindor, so you just need to be at the side of your friends, oh, I mean, if anyone bullies your friend, you should lead the others in beating up the bully.
"Goyle, Crabbe, if we ignored your bloodlines, I would really think about putting you in Hufflepuff. Fine, fine, Slytherin.
"Neville, before I answer this question, punch Harry with all the strength you can muster, and then do it again to Draco...Mm, very good, nice! You're now just right for Gryffindor!"
As Alina simulated the Sorting Ceremony, more and more young wizards came over and began to ask about what house they belonged to.
"Alina...Big Sister, can you look at my test results and see where I'll go?"
A girl with a ruddy complexion and two golden braids addressed Alina in the way Malfoy and the others did as she timidly asked.
"Oh, before I answer this question, you first have to tell me your name. My crystal ball has warned me that if I reveal information to the wrong person, it will curse me."
Alina glanced at the stranger who had come up and spoke in a tone mimicking the fortune-tellers she saw on TV.
"Hannah Abbott..." the girl nervously answered.
Alina curiously examined the young witch, even thrusting out a hand to pinch her shoulder—ah, it was flesh, not iron.
"Oh, Hufflepuff!" the silver-haired girl relaxed as she firmly replied.
"Big Sister, these are my test results. Can you tell me where I'll be sorted?"
Finally, Harry Potter, who had been slow to come up because he hadn't been able to hear the questions very well and was too shy, finally came over, his tender face stricken with unease.
"Oh, dear Harry Potter..."
A sharp light appeared in Alina's eyes, and then she pretended to analyze the results while pensively stroking her chin...in reality, she was just trying to remember what the Sorting Hat had said.
"Difficult. Very difficult. I can see a lot of courage and a good heart. There's talent, yes, my goodness, not bad at all—you're rather anxious to prove yourself, which is very interesting..."
Alina suddenly had an idea. Since Harry didn't have a bad impression of Slytherin yet, perhaps she could place him there...
As she glanced at little Harry's expectant face, Alina recalled the face of a certain old wizard with a mean spanking hand and shivered. It was better not to be so suicidal. Shaking her head, the girl spoke with firm resolve.
"Harry Potter, Gryffindor!"
...
As one young wizard after another completed the simulated Sorting Ceremony, they began to argue about the advantages and disadvantages of their houses.
The final judgment naturally rested on their big sister, who had now established her authority, Alina.
"Right, Big Sister Alina, which house do you think is best?"
Alina smiled and replied without hesitation, "Of course, the one closest to the kitchens..."
At this moment, an inharmonious voice came from behind Alina.
"I don't believe that a few simple questions can determine which house one will belong to."
"Have you been through the Sorting Ceremony? If not, be quiet! Don't question my..."
Alina raised an eyebrow and unhappily turned around. She wanted to see which foolish child dared to criticize her.
"Ah?! P-Professor McGonagall?!"
Behind her, near the door, was Professor McGonagall, who had been quietly watching as Alina simulated the Sorting Ceremony for all the young wizards.
"Now, everyone, get in a single line," Professor McGonagall lightly huffed. Ignoring Alina, she scanned the first-year students and ordered, "Follow me."
The group walked out of the room, passed through the Entrance Hall, and went through a pair of doors into a luxurious dining hall.
The students from the other grades were already seated around four long tables, and above the tables floated thousands of candles that illuminated the hall.
Gleaming points of starlight flashed on the velvet-black ceiling, and it was hard to believe that there was a roof overhead rather than an open sky.
Sparkling golden plates and goblets were laid out on the table, and at the very front of the dining hall, another table had been set up where the teachers sat.
Professor McGonagall led the first-year students over to the faculty table and had them line up in rows, facing the entire student body with the teachers behind them. In the flickering candlelight, the several hundred faces looking at them seemed like pale white lanterns.
Professor McGonagall placed a four-footed stool in front of the first-year students, and then a pointy wizard hat on top of the stool. The hat was patched up and worn down, and there were several strange marks on it, like something inside had pushed outward against it.
The Great Hall had fallen eerily silent, everyone staring at this hat. And then, the hat began to twitch, and then a large tear opened up at its brim like a mouth, and then...the hat began to sing.
"Oh, you may not think I'm pretty, but don't judge on what you see..."
Once the hat was done singing, it was greeted with thunderous applause. The hat bowed to each of the four tables before growing still once more.
"See? It's just like I said, a simple test of your personality."
Alina tilted her head and whispered to the other young wizards, a smugness in her tone.
"Everyone, quiet!"
Professor McGonagall came forward with a parchment scroll in her hand.
"When I call your name, you will come up, put on the hat, sit on the stool, and wait for your house to be called."
As she spoke, she sharply looked again and again at Alina at the front row. A strange expression on her face, she cleared her throat and read.
"Alina Kaslana!"
It wasn't 'Ironforged Hannah Abbott'!
Dumbledore had really carried out his promise and placed her at the front of the list!
This meant that the plot of this world was very flexible!
Alina smiled. Glancing at the girl with golden braids next to her, she silently apologized and then walked out from her row.
While the entire school was watching, she suddenly stopped about two or three steps away from the Sorting Hat. She had suddenly thought of a very important problem.
The principles of the Sorting Hat did not seem to operate according to the Legilimency used by human wizards.
As one of the most important magical objects owned by Hogwarts, the Sorting Hat was said to have been the product of the Four Founders inserting their thoughts into a hat so that the hat could place the students into the houses based on their talent and character. But in Alina's view, this was really just a magical personality test jointly written by the Four Founders.
It was obvious that an extremely powerful and perpetual Legilimency had been placed on the Sorting Hat. It could read the thoughts of a young wizard and then put these thoughts through a preset process—filtering parameters established by the Four Founders—and then assigned the students to the house that fit them the best.
In other words, for a transmigrator, this hat was even more frightening than Dumbledore or Veritaserum, because it was only imitating a comprehension process. In reality, it was forcibly extracting data and then running a matching algorithm.
Alina was not so swollen with pride that she thought she could contend against the Four Founder.
The worst problem was that if this magical object could read data like a computer, then it also had a way of extracting the files in one's memory. This was much more frightening than Legilimency, which required its user to understand the thoughts being read.
"Alina, don't be afraid. Put on the hat."
Professor McGonagall looked down at the silver-haired girl and gently said.
"No, I refuse."
Alina sternly looked at the shabby hat and took a step back, firmly shaking her head.
All the teachers and students exploded in an uproar, and the smile on Professor McGonagall's face froze.
It seemed like the same answer and the same expression. It made her recall the unhappy experience from a month ago, and the witch suddenly had a bad feeling.
"What are you trying to do..."
Before Professor McGonagall could finish speaking, Alina raised her voice so that the entire hall could hear.
"I'm sorry. I've never trusted in any object that can think for itself, not unless I can see where its head is."
The girl was speaking loud enough for everyone in the Great Hall to hear, and all of them held their breaths as they stared at her in shock and admiration. No one in a hundred years had ever done such a thing.
"Miss Alina Kaslana, this is a long-standing tradition in Hogwarts. There is no second method for being sorted."
Professor McGonagall began to scowl, her lips pursed tightly, and her brows tightly furrowed. Even her glasses began to gleam with an intimidating light.
"So I just have to be sorted into a house by the Sorting Hat, right? Then, actually, there's another method."
Alina shrugged her shoulder, took out her black walnut wand from her robes, and pointed it forward. She spoke in a calm and clear tone.
"Say it! Hufflepuff!"