Hermione went back to change into her school robes while Adam and Neville were following Trevor the toad.
Harry Potter who just saw these three lively helpers leave, couldn't help but think about having them as his friends. He wished to learn the magical spells, just like how they had used to help them.
'Were my parents also this amazing?' Harry sadly thought to himself. He decided in his heart that he would try to become their friend when he reaches the Hogwarts. They looked kind and helpful so there was no reason for him to not to try and become their friend.
Harry looked at Ron who still stayed silent since Adam and friends came to their compartment. He didn't know what Ron was thinking about but he didn't pry about it and reminded him to change in to his school robes, "Ron, Let's change. We will soon be reaching at the station."
Ron finally woke up after Harry's reminder, he warned harry in a serious tone, "Harry, you should stay away from them. It will be very bad if you were seen with them."
"Why? What do you mean?" Harry looked puzzled.
"I heard about him, Adam Taylor, from my father. He told me to not have much contact with him. My father never said something like this before so it must be very serious." Ron looked at Harry, trying to act as serious as he could. With the darkening of the sky outside the window, Harry couldn't help but feel a little fear as he heard Ron's words. He had regarded Ron as his first friend so he couldn't help but take his words seriously.
"Why did he say that?" Asked Harry.
With voice full of enthusiasm, Ron conveyed Adam and Hermione's story about the thing that happened a month ago in the Flourish and Blotts. It was not the exact story as Ron had exaggerated many things in his story. Harry listened to it carefully. He didn't know what disarming charm or Transfiguration was, but he was sure that it was definitely powerful and difficult to learn from Ron's tone. But contrary to Ron's intentions, Harry was even more determined to be Adam's friend after hearing this story. Adam seemed kind, helpful and also powerful person to him.
"Then isn't he good with magic and also kind towards everyone? Why should we stay away from him?" Harry questioned Ron as he felt even more puzzled, why did he have to stay away from if all that Adam did was to help his classmate.
"You don't understand it, Harry. The one who he had conflicted with was one of the followers of that man who must not be named, atleast my dad thinks so. Somehow he was not put in azkaban after you know who's death. So staying with him will only lead to danger. Trust me, not many people will stay near him in the Hogwarts. Atleast I won't go near him." Ron looked at Harry who was still not convinced so he whispered, "And there are also rumours that he is from some hidden pure-blood family."
"What is this hideen pure-blood family?" asked Harry as he started changing into his school robes.
"Oh! You don't know about pure-blood families?!" Ron asked but still continued, "Let me tell you then. Families with no muggle ancestors are known as pure-blood families in the wizarding world. My family is also considered as a pure-blood family. They are really powerful in the wizarding world... Most of the families, not all of them. But anyways, these hidden pure-blood families are different from normal pure-blood families and act really mysterious. They call themselves pure-blood family but never show up in front of the world so many pure-blood families thought they were lying but those who voiced their doubts against them were mysteriously killed." Ron saw that Harry was stunned after hearing word 'killed' from his mouth so he immediately ended this topic, "In short, these hidden pure-blood families are really evil and dangerous. They just do things in secret without letting anyone know who they are or where are they from. My mum said if Adam is really from one of those families then Hogwarts will really be in danger, even with Professor Dumbledore's presence. And if he is really a muggle-born, then it will be him who will be in danger. So no matter what happens, staying with him will only bring danger."
Harry stayed silent all the way to the station after this conversation. He didn't really care about these things, but he was thinking if Adam, just like how he was in his previous school, would be all alone in the Hogwarts because of these things. Ron had told him that the other classmates would not get close to Adam so it was possible that he would've no friends in the Hogwarts. Harry knew how it felt to have everyone ignoring him so he really didn't want something like this to happen to Adam so he had already decided to befriend Adam, ignoring these rumours about him. At this moment, there was a noise outside Harry's compartment as he saw three students who were also First-year like him entered his compartment. But this time they were not Adam, Hermione and Neville. One of them was a pale boy that harry had already met during his visit to Diagon Alley. This blonde boy did not leave good impression on him during his visit to the Diagon Alley.
After a while, hogwarts express finally arrived at the station. The scene outside on the station was the same as Adam had seen in the Harry Potter movie but it was just more darker and eerie. Everyone started to get down from the train while Neville had once again followed behind his toad who managed to run away when he was not paying attention to it.
Adam saw that nearly everyone had already exited the train and were now gathering on the platform. He got up from his seat and looked beside him. Hermione who had been quite active during the journey was sitting silently with her hands clenching onto her robes.
"Hermione, let's go. Everyone else has already left. You don't want be late, do you?" Adam asked Hermione, he had noticed that she was nervous so he wanted to say something to calm her down but he had no words to do so. He was not that good with this kind of conversation. All he could do in this kind of situation was to follow some cringey words that he had read in some third rate novels in his previous life and say them, just like how he had done at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor on his first meeting with Hermione. He could not help but still feel embarrassed about his words from that day.
"Adam...I feel nervous. What will I do if everyone thinks the same about me as Malfoy said that day?" Hermione muttered while looking down at her feet. Those words that Malfoy said to her had left a psychological shadow in her mind, it was still there even after a month had passed since that incident.
"I will still be there with you in the Hogwarts, just like how I stood beside you that day. Now there will also be Professor Flitwik, Professor McGonagall that I mentioned to you before and also our principal Dumbledore. So you don't have to be afraid about these people or their words. Just ignore them or tell these things to the professors." Adam said while putting his right hand on Hermione's head.
"What if I get bad marks? What if I can't learn magic taught in the class?"
Adam was silent for a few seconds when he heard these questions, he lightly caressed her hairs and answered,
"You won't get bad marks. You have already learned so many spells without anyone teaching you so you don't have to think that you can't learn magic taught in the class."
"What if...?" Hermione asked again as she looked at Adam. She had calmed down after getting these answers but it looked like she still wanted to hear what Adam was going to say.
"Then we will practise and learn together, just the way we did in the leaky cauldron."
Hermione smiled at Adam when she heard this but then she thought of something which immediately froze her smile. she asked,
"What if... What if we are assigned to different houses?"
Adam had explained her about the houses and some of the things in the hogwarts but he still had left the details about sorting ceremony for her to witness on her first day.
Why did he have to do that? ... Just for fun.
Hermione had already asked Adam this question many times during the past month but he always gave vague answers like 'I don't know', 'It doesn't matter', 'We'll think about it at that time'. Adam was relaxed but Hermione was still worried about this. She did not want her only friend to go to the different house. Now she was determined to get the proper answer from Adam before letting him leave.
Adam saw that Hermione was really worried about this so he looked right into her eyes and asked, "Hermione, do you really think me as your friend?"
Hermione's reply came almost immediately, "Ofcourse, You are my only best friend." saying this she looked at Adam with some kind of expectation. She did not want to be the only one thinking of other as a best friend. She wanted to know if Adam also thought of her as his best friend. For her who had read many books and stories, friend and best friend were somehow completely different concepts. She wanted to have a best friend with whom she could share everything without the other party getting bored or tired of her. She wanted to have someone who would be with her even if everyone hates her. That's what she had learned about the best friends from her story books.
Adam saw this expectant look in her eyes. He smiled brightly and ruffled her brown hairs with his hands, "Since we are best friends, then does it matter which house we will be sorted in to? Let alone different houses, even if we were in different school, we would still be best friends. Now let's go, we might not even get sorted to any house if we are late."
Hermione nodded cheerfully before getting up from her seat to leave but then she heard Adam's seemingly happy voice, "By the way, you don't always have to try to tame your hairs. I think your messy hairs also looks quite good, just the way they are right now. Fluffy." Adam chuckled while pointing at her hairs. She finally noticed that her well set hairs were already messed-up by Adam. She glared at him while trying to fix them but she ultimately failed.
Just when they were about to open the door of their compartment, they heard footsteps approaching their compartment with faint whispers sounding quite clear in the tranquillity of the empty train. Both Adam and Hermione looked at each other and with a tacit understanding, both of them went silent trying to listen to the approaching whispers.
"Are all the ingredients that I asked for in it?" Adam heard this voice but he could be sure that it was faked as it sounded very very artificial. But the one who replied this person was someone Adam was familiar with. Adam could never forget this voice which yelled at him in the duel a month ago.
"I don't know. My father just asked me to give it to you. He didn't say anything else." The one who spoke was Draco. His tone did not have usual arrogance in it. But rather contained nervousness in it, maybe because Draco was actually unaware of the identity of the other party.
Adam could easily guess from his tone that the other party was probably someone whom Malfoy family could not afford to offend. And the only one who met this condition was someone who was supposed to teach them the defense against the dark arts this year in the Hogwarts.
"Looks like your father is still very careful, not even telling his own son about me. Or maybe he doesn't believe me. He is careful, but still a coward." Unknown person laughed in low voice. Hearing this, Adam was now sure that this person was definitely their DADA teacher- Quirinus Quirrell who was carrying no-nose monster on the back of his bald head.
Adam could not help but try to hear if he could get some useful information from their conversation but he was instantly disappointed. As they did not continue their conversation with hagrid's voice interrupting them.
"Anyone left in the train?" Hagrid voice resounded in the train. Surprised Draco immediately turned his head to look at the other party, just to find that there was no one in the place where that person stood at. He looked around but didn't see anyone around him. Draco knew that the other person had left so he quickly left to get down from the train.
Adam and Hermione who kept their mouth shut, finally breathed a sigh of relief. Adam was worried that Voldemort might find him while Hermione was more worried that Draco might find her. She had just regained her confidence after talking with Adam, she didn't want to lose it right away. Both of them waited for the sound of the footsteps to disappear before quickly leaving from the different exit away from their current location.
Adam and Hermione followed far behind Hagrid and Draco who were walking in the front. They supported each other as not to fall on this steep, narrow path. After walking for a bit, narrow path suddenly opened onto the edge of great black lake. On the other side of the lake, Both of them could see a vast castle with many turrents and towers, which rested on a high mountain. It's windows were sparkling with light in the starry sky.
First-years who arrived here earlier were still trying to sit in the small boats in the group of four. Neville was still waiting for them so they joined him to sit in the boat which was later lead towards the castle by Hagrid. After sitting in the boat, they found out that it was Neville who asked hagrid to look for them so they thanked him. But didn't tell him that hagrid didn't find them.
As the fleet of boats closed on towards the castle, everyone stared at the great castle that was still getting bigger and bigger as they got closer. Adam could feel his heart beating madly when he saw this magnificent castle. He had seen this castle in the movies and also in the fan arts but he felt that nothing could actually hold a candle to this real thing.
Adam was in a daze from the moment he saw this castle till he arrived inside the castle in front of the huge front door which was opened by a tall, black haired witch who wore emerald-green robes. Adam had already met this witch but most of the First-years were still not familiar with her so they turned silent looking at the stern face of Professor McGonagall. Everyone could tell that she was probably not someone who you would want to get on the bad side of.
Hermione was not nervous anymore. Her nervousness was completely suppressed by the excitement she felt after entering the castle. She excitedly explained many things about the castle to the young witches and wizards around her. Many were surprised to hear these things while some witch and wizards just looked at her weirdly with annoyed expression. They felt that Hermione was pretending to know everything. One of those wizards was Ron Weasely, who had been looking at them since the time they got on the boat. Adam didn't know what Ron was thinking about him and Hermione but he was sure that it was nothing good.
Everyone followed Professor McGonagall all the way into the small, empty chamber of the hall. They could hear hundreds of voices coming from somewhere close to the.. Everyone could guess that rest of the school was probably at the place where this noise came from.
"Welcome to Hogwarts," said Professor McGonagall. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your Houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your House will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your House, sleep in your House dormitory, and spend free time in your House common room.
The four Houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each House has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your House points, while any rule- breaking will lose House points. At the end of the year, the House with the most points is awarded the House cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever House becomes yours. "The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting."
"I shall return when we are ready for you," said Professor McGonagall. "Please wait quietly."
Everyone waited nervously for a while. Hermione was nervous about the sorting ceremony but she was still much better with Adam standing by her side than the most of the students who didn't know anything about this ceremony.
Soon Professor McGonagall returned to lead the First-years across the hall through a pair of big doors of the great hall. Thousands of candles were floating in the mid-air above the four long tables, each representing different house. Ceiling of the great hall looked nearly non-existent. Everyone could only see the starry sky above their heads instead of the ceiling made up of the stones.
"It's bewitched to look like the sky outside. I read about it in Hogwarts, A History" Hermione explained as she saw this ceiling. Adam could only smile at her words as he had already heard these exact words countless time whenever he watched the first movie of the series in his previous life.
'It looks like not many things had changed in this world. And atleast people seem to be the same.' Adam thought to himself.
Everyone was nervous when they saw so many students sitting at the long tables in the hall. Adam guessed there must be atleast five hundred students. It seemed that their batch of First-year students was probably the smallest since a long time. There was also a long table at the top of the hall for teachers. Most of them looked the same as they were in the movie but just a bit younger. Professor Flitwik smiled at him when Adam looked at him. Adam returned a smile before looking at the other teachers. Soon Adam's eyes stopped on a teacher with greasy black hairs and a gloomy look. Professor Snape stared at Adam when he noticed Adam's gaze. It lasted just for few seconds before Professor Snape turned to look at his BELOVED Harry Potter. Even though Adam was hit by Sectumsempra so many times in the duel, he did not have any kind of resentment towards professor Snape. In fact, he wanted to talk to this genius, unsung hero. Severus Snape was not a nice guy to talk to in the movies but he was still a hero in Adam's eyes. Adam just hoped that he was still the same in this world too.
Everyone stopped when they nearly arrived at the front of the hall, in front of the four long tables where everyone else was sitting. Everyone was looking at the First-years with enthusiasm. Some of them even betting to see where the saviour of the wizarding world would be sorted to.
Professor McGonagall silently put a four-legged stool in front of the First-years. She then placed a old pointed wizard's hat on it. This hat was patched and extremely dirty. Everyone was guessing what this hat was put there for. Hermione pulled corner of Adam's robe to ask about this hat but Adam just smiled at her without saying anything. She was annoyed that Adam did not tell her anything yet but she still felt her nervousness disappearing when she saw Adam's reassuring smile.
Everyone silently looked at the hat. They were stilll thinking about the use of this hat when it suddenly twitched and suddenly a rip near the brim opened wide like a mouth and it started singing-
"Oh you may not think I'm pretty,
But don't judge on what you see,
I'll eat myself if you can find
A smarter hat than me.
You can keep your bowlers black,
Your top hats sleek and tall,
For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat
And I can cap them all.
There's nothing hidden in your head
The Sorting Hat can't see,
So try me on and I will tell you
Where you ought to be.
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 your real friends,
Those cunning folks use any means
To achieve their ends.
So put me on! Don't be afraid!
And don't get in a flap!
You're in safe hands (though I have none)
For I'm a Thinking Cap!"
The whole hall burst into applause. The Sorting Hat bowed to each of the house's table and became silent once again.
Hermione understood what this sorting ceremony was after hearing the song. She nudged Adam with her elbow and glared at him for keeping her in suspense for so long just so she could get a old, dirty hat on her head. Adam smiled at her and gestured forwards as professor McGonagall stepped forward near the sorting hat.
Professor McGonagall held a long roll of parchment in her hands, "When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," she said. "Abbott, Hannah!"
A girl with blonde pigtails stumbled out of the line towards the sorting hat. Professor McGonagall put sorting hat on her head, after a moment of pause, It announced, "HUFFLEPUFF!"
One by one, everyone was getting sorted into their houses. Hermione had already forgotten about her nervousness and was very excited to get sorted into while Adam was thinking where he would be put into.
"Granger, Hermione." As soon as her name was called out, Hermione quickly walked and sat on the stool. Professor McGonagall put sorting hat on her head. Sorting hat stayed silent for a long time so everyone was looking at Hermione with surprised faces.
"Interesting, really interesting. You have the courage to face any kind of difficulties. You are loyal to your friends. You would become a great Gryffindor. But you also have the thirst for knowledge. You love to learn new things. You think books as your friends. You can be one of the smartest Ravenclaw.
Hmm? I sense great kindness hidden in your heart. You could even become a Hufflepuff if you want to but it doesn't seem that suitable for you.
It's been a long time since I saw a talent such as yours. So I will respect your opinion, where do you want to go?" Hermione heard a small voice in her ears. She could tell that it was sorting hat speaking but she had not thought that she would get such evaluation from the sorting hat. She was happy but also nervous.
Neville had become her friend but she had just met him today so she did not think much about him. But Adam was different. He was with her since the day she had set foot in this wizarding world. She wanted to join the same house as him so that she could study with him, enjoy reading and discussing books with him. She wanted to be in her best friend's house but he was not yet assigned and she didn't know where he was going to be assigned.
"Mr. Sorting Hat, can I ask you about something?" Hermione asked politely but she did not actually wait for sorting hat's answer as she continued, "I want to know where one of my friend will most likely be assigned to. I wanted to join the same house as his."
"Hmm? Interesting, no one had ever made such a request. For such an interesting question, I will try to answer you. Tell me his name and when did you meet him." Sorting hat's voice once again resounded in her ears.
"He is Adam Taylor. I met him last month. Since then we met everyday." Hermione replied. She did not know why sorting hat asked this but if it could really help her, she did not care what weird questions sorting hat asks her.
Sorting hat stayed silent for a whole minute before its voice appeared in her ears, "Another interesting first-year. Full of courage. Kind towards others. Helps without thinking about his own safety. Unusual thirst for knowledge. Full of wisdom. Caring towards his friends." After saying this sorting had once again went silent. Hermione felt happy when she heard sorting hat praise her best friend.
Everyone in the hall was looking at Hermione, while she was busy chatting with the sorting hat. Everyone thought maybe this little girl was one the most talented wizards, that's why it was taking so long for sorting hat to decide which house she would be put in.
Even Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall and other teachers were surprised. It had been long since a 'Hatstall' had appeared in the Hogwarts. Hermione had even passed 5 and half minutes mark that was probably the longest sorting time in the past century which was held by Minerva McGonagall, their Transfiguration teacher. Even Adam was surprised as he knew that in the original story it did not take so long for Hermione to be sorted into Gryffindor. If he knew that Hermione was enquiring about himself, he would probably face palm himself.
No one in the hall knew what was going on but Hermione's face was suddenly full of smile. Just few seconds after she started smiling, Sorting hat shouted, "GRYFFINDOR!"
Hermione looked at Adam and smiled before running to the Gryffindor table to sit. Adam didn't know what had happened but he was happy to see Hermione being cheerful.
Professor McGonagall called out next name which was also one of the few that Adam was looking forward to, "Greengrass, Daphne."
Blonde little witch walked to the front and sat down on the stool. Sorting hat was once again fell into silence when it was put on Daphne's head. It took nearly 4 minutes before it put Daphne into the 'Slytherin'. Adam could not help but feel Daphne's gaze falling on him again and again as she walked to the slythering long table.
Sorting ceremony went smoothly as Harry Potter was also put into Gryffindor. It took a while for him to get sorted into Gryffindor but it was not as long Hermione or Daphne. Finally near the end of the ceremony, it was Adam's turn.
Professor McGonagall called out Adam's name but when his name resounded in the great hall, every single student and teacher went silent. Most of the wizards had heard about his name from their parents but Adam didn't know about this as he didn't care about other's affairs during the last month practise. He didn't even care about what rumours were spreading about him as he didn't want to explain anything to anyone.
"Difficult. Quite difficult. Your heart is full of courage. It longs for adventures. You would be quite suitable for Gryffindor. But you have other options as well.
Your mind has a unusual thirst of knowledge. It is rare to be seen in a wizard of your age. You would even be considered quite average even in the era of ancient warlocks, which can be considered a great achievement. Not even current Headmaster could be compared to you at your age. So You would fit perfectly in the Ravenclaw as well.
Your heart is kind but you won't help them unless they are useful to you or you have favorable impression of them. So you can be or can't be in the Hufflepuff, who are known for their kindness and acceptance of everyone. You just have to learn to accept everyone which will help you a lot in the future.
Slytherin is not for you but you have the ambition to go on the adventures. You want to get people's attention. You want to gain fame and wealth, unparalleled in the whole world with your adventures. But at the same time, you are also looking for a peaceful future with your parents. " Sorting hat said in Adam's ears. These words made Adam think about himself. He didn't know what he really wanted.
Adam only knew that he wanted to enjoy new adventures and live peacefully with his parents. He didn't know if sorting hat's words about him wanting fame and wealth were true or not. He thought for a while as sorting hat waited patiently for him.
Adam wanted to go on his own adventures and write an amazing book about his adventures for the world to know. In a sense, he actually really wanted to gain fame and wealth with his adventures. So he knew that sorting hat did not just guess randomly. It was definitely based on his memory but then again did his system secret was also known by sorting hat? Will it tell this thing to Dumbledore?
Adam thought for a while and asked in extremely low voice, "Can you read my mind? Then can you see everything in my memories?" Adam didn't want his secret to be divulged so he was really worried about this.
"I can read every student's memories. But you are different. I can't see anything in your mind prior to few months. Everything is blank. Even in these past few months that I can see, there are many things that are blinded by something. I can't see your memories of everynight when you sit alone without doing anything. Sometimes I can't even see your memories from the time you slept, as if you are even hiding your own dreams." said Sorting hat. Sorting hat somehow felt tired after having so many troublesome students to sort in a single night and now it had to sort this bizarre student into a suitable house.
Adam breathed in a sigh of relief after knowing that sorting hat could not see his memories about the system. But he was also surprised when sorting hat mentioned his dreams. Adam felt like he had seen a very long dream in past month before he started using the dreaming potion. But he was not able to remember any of those dreams. Adam was about to say something but was stopped by sorting hat before he could even say a single word.
"It's not just your memories. I can't even see your future, which is even more bizarre than anything else." Sorting hat said in weary tone, as if it was really tired. Sorting hat said this casually but its words were enough to stun Adam.
"You can see the future?!!" Adam asked in shock. Adam knew that sorting hat could read memories so reading thoughts was probably normal too so he thought these words in his mind to convey them to sorting hat.
"Ofcourse, I can. I was made by the will and the magical abilities of the four founders. One of the founders, Helga Hufflepuff was a Seer, extremely powerful Seer. But you are a bit wrong too. I can not see THE future, but just A future. What I see is just a possibility, not the actual future. I am just a artifact made by four founders, not a real wizard." Sorting hat explained.
"So will you tell these things about me to the Headmaster Dumbledore?" Adam asked again. Adam was happy that his system was hidden from the sorting hat but he was not sure if he could hide it from the Dumbledore. Dumbledore was one of the most powerful wizards in the history of the wizarding world. He was not even worse compared to ancient warlocks because of his Elder wand so Adam was really nervous about it.
"I am supposed to inform and warn Headmasters if there appears a talented wizard in the Hogwarts who could one day become a threat to the existence of the Hogwarts." Hearing sorting hat's words, Adam knew that he was going to get reported to Dumbledore, who would definitely try to look into his mind. Just when Adam wanted to see if he could persuade sorting hat to not to tell his secrets to Dumbledore, he heard something from sorting hat, "But you are different. I won't tell anything about you to the Headmaster."
Adam was surprised and happy about it. he was about to ask why but before he could ask, sorting hat had already delivered him with the answer, "Don't ask me why. I can not tell you because I, don't understand it myself. I am created by the will of the founders. What I decide is not out of my own accord, but it is what founders would want to do if they were here."
Just when Adam wanted to ask more about this thing, Adam heard a voice coming from the high table where all the professors were sitting. Adam turned around to see that it was professor Dumbledore who had spoke, "Sorting hat..."
As Dumbledore was about to speak something, sorting hat interrupted him with a loud shout, "GRYFFINDOR!"
"Why did Dumbledore suddenly speak? and why Gryffindor?" Adam quickly asked the sorting hat. He didn't understand why Dumbledore suddenly spoke and also he wondered why Gryffindor and not any other houses. He didn't mind being in the Gryffindor but he still wanted to know why.
"You are sitting here for the past 10 minutes so it's expected for him to see if there is something wrong with you. And I put you in the Gryffindor because I told that little girl that you would be perfect for this house and she joined it because of you. I can't sort you into any of the houses so why not just fulfill my promise to that little girl. But if you don't want to be in the Gryffindor house, tell me now and I will change it." Sorting hat made a weird sound when professor McGonagall was about to pick it up. It made her step back as sorting hat continued to explain why it put Adam in the Gryffindor. "You have the heart of the Gryffindor. Your mind can be considered a pure Ravenclaw. Your partial kindness can not be called as Hufflepuff but you will easily mix in with them as Hufflepuff accepts everyone. You have great ambitions of the Slytherin but I don't recommend you that house. Current Headmaster is biased towards the Gryffindor so it would be better for you to be in the Gryffindor to avoid many troubles. Now decide."
Adam could easily guess that the little girl in sorting hat's words was probably Hermione. He glanced at her, just to see her looking happily towards him as he was already sorted to Gryffindor but he was still not satisfied with sorting hat's answer but then he heard its next words which made him think that Dumbledore was really biased towards Gryffindor even in the original story. Maybe it was a misunderstanding that everyone had about him or it might be true but since sorting hat said this by itself then it was mostly likely the truth. And as sorting hat had said, it would actually be really good to be in the Gryffindor to avoid unnecessary trouble.
"Since you have chosen it, I will follow your advice." said Adam but then he thought of something and asked, "Do you want me to clean you?"
"Yes, please. It's been decades since I was last cleaned. Headmaster and teachers are forbid from using magic on me so they just forget about me after the sorting ceremony. I have to remind them many times so that I could even sing few songs in the entire year." Sorting hat complained before shouting one more time, "GRYFFINDOR!"
"Why can't they use magic on you?"
"Because they are forbid by hogwarts castle. Every Headmaster and Teacher has a kind of contract with Hogwarts castle which let's them use the castle for teaching purposes. It also lets them assign or deduct house points from wherever they are in the castle. They are forbid from using magic on me so that they can not manipulate my sorting ceremony." Sorting hat explained quickly, before telling Adam to leave, "We can talk another time but now you should leave quickly."
Adam saw that this time even professor McGonagall did not step forward after the announcement. So he got up from his seat and politely put sorting hat on the stool. Adam kind of liked this talking hat, he was sure that this talking hat knew many secrets from the past. So he was thinking about finding an opportunity to have a talk with it.
Adam gently took out his wand from his robes and pointed it at the Sorting Hat. Everyone looked at him curiously, to see what was he going to do.
Maybe because Adam was really happy or he really wanted to clean the sorting hat, he could feel his wand resonating with his magic. It was the same as it was in the duel but just a little weaker. Adam was thinking if he should use the Scouring charm that can clean objects (Scorgify) or the wiping spell that can remove the dust like things from the objects.
In the end, Adam cast the Scouring Charm and thought of using the wiping charm if the first spell did not work well.
"Scourgify" As Adam said the incantation, pattern on his wand glowed with a faint silvery light. Everyone in the hall could see it but no one knew about these patterns, including Dumbledore so they just ignored it.
The charm that Adam cast surprised everyone in the hall, not because he successfully cast this cleaning spell but because effect of his charm was completely different from the normal Scouring charm.
A big soap bubble floated out of his wand towards the sorting hat. Professor McGonagall was nervous as she saw this big soap bubble completely enveloping the sorting hat but she didn't stop it as even she was curious about it. After the sorting hat was enveloped by this big soap bubble, many small soap bubbles started to appear inside this big bubble. Sorting hat was not visible as it was covered by these soap bubbble. It lasted just for few seconds before big soap shined brightly and exploded, leaving the clean sorting hat on the four-legged stool.
Even Adam was surprised by this scene. He knew this happened because of his wand but he was not sure why this happened. He did not even visualise his charm to act like this, so there was no reason for it to become like this. And this charm that he just cast was far more better than the one he had learned in the past month. Adam could now determine that his wand could somehow enhance the effects of the magical spells when its patterns were shining like this. Adam was really happy because of this discovery but it just cost triple the magical power that he usually needed to cast this spell which was not suitable for frequent uses, not that he could use it as he pleased. It was completely his wand's will when it wanted to work a bit for him.
Adam walked slowly to the Gryffindors long table and sat beside Hermione who was happy to have him in her house. She excitedly started asking Adam about this unusual Scouring charm.
Adam didn't know why but except for teachers and some students, no one applauded when he was assigned into the Gryffindor house. He had seen professor Flitwik applaud for him with great excitement. He smiled gratefully towards him. As for other students, Adam didn't think too much as he guessed that they were probably stunned because of how long it took for him to be sorted by the sorting hat.
Professor McGonagall continued with the sorting ceremony. And just in few minutes, it was already finished. Dumbledore had gotten to his feet. He had a bright smile on his face.
"Welcome!" he said. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! "Thank you!" He sat back down. Everybody clapped and cheered while many first-year students looked at their headmaster as if he was as an idiot. Adam knew about the meaning of these words, at least what he had see in many discussion forums in his previous life. He whispered them to Hermione in very low voice so that no one could hear it.
Empty plates on the tables were now piled with food. Everything looked so delicious that even Adam could not hold back as he started to feast on these dishes. Hermione could only nudge him from the side to tell him to watch his manners which was completely ignored by Adam in the face of such delicious food. Adam even ignored the ghosts that were talking with them.
'First we eat then we do everything else.' Adam thought in his mind as he continued to enjoy all different types of dishes while Hermione helplessly looked at him then turned to Percy to ask about the lessons.