As the first headmaster from Slytherin in many years, and the most unpopular headmaster in Hogwarts history, Phineas Black's question was not only curious to himself, but every former headmaster on the portrait showed a strong curiosity. They all stared at the current headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore, who was sitting behind his desk, waiting for his answer.
Dumbledore was not surprised by this question, and he also knew very well what Headmaster Black would say to him next. He had a calm and serene expression on his face, as if he had already anticipated everything that would happen tonight.
"If you mean to suppress him in a duel–"
After thinking for a moment, Dumbledore still answered the question, "Maybe I can still do it for now, but I'm afraid this situation won't last long." He spoke in a low and gentle tone, without any arrogance or fear.
"Only suppress?" Armando Dippet frowned and said dissatisfiedly, "We all know your humbleness, Albus, but you don't have to be like this in front of us."
He was the oldest and longest-serving headmaster of Hogwarts, and he had worked with Dumbledore for a long time so he had high regards for Dumbledore's abilities.
"Not humble, Professor Armando,"
Dumbledore said gently, with a touch of appreciation in his tone, "He has improved a lot compared to a few months ago. To be honest, I didn't expect him to improve so fast. Bryan's Inferno Curse was very impressive tonight. The extremely stable spell structure made the Inferno, a difficult-to-control flame, show a shocking structural stability. Even I can't easily eliminate such an Inferno. If his magical attainments can maintain such an astonishing speed of growth, I'm afraid it won't be long before I run out of tricks."
Dumbledore's answer satisfied Phineas in the frame, but the problem was that he was too satisfied and felt uneasy. He knew that Dumbledore was not exaggerating, and that Bryan Watson was indeed a formidable wizard at a young age.
"So, Albus–" Phineas said uneasily, "What about the young man's soul–"
He wanted to know if Bryan had succumbed to the dark side.
"Still intact," Dumbledore smiled inexplicably, "This is the only thing that makes me feel relieved tonight."
He did not explain how he knew this, but he seemed to have a secret way of detecting Bryan's soul state.
There was another brief silence. The former headmasters of Hogwarts on the wall were all powerful wizards with extensive experience in their lifetimes. They were all thinking, among the outstanding young people they had seen in their days, which one could compare with Bryan Watson. They could not think of anyone who had such a talent, such a potential, and such a mystery.
"–So,"
Phineas was proud and showed a sense of wisdom,
"We don't have much choice, do we, Albus? Winning over that young man, and let him join our cause, is the only choice. Otherwise, oh, forgive me for being blunt, Albus, if we anger that young man, he decides to join forces with the Dark Lord whose name is not even dared to be mentioned, then we are doomed. One of them has won over the direct descendants of most of the pure-blood families in the wizarding world, and the other is notorious in the underground world where the ancient secret witchcraft sects are active. To be honest, if they join forces, they can walk into Hogwarts openly, and you can't stop them, Albus."
He painted a terrible future, and moreover, the possibility of this terrible future happening was not low, if they mishandled it.
"That child is very kind,"
Unexpectedly, Mrs. Dilys spoke up for Bryan,
"We all know that child's style. He has almost no opponents in the wizarding world, but he has been restraining himself for years, trying not to hurt others. And, he has been supporting the Muggle orphanage that raised him."
"The only reason he keeps restraint is Albus Dumbledore."
Armando Dippet said sharply, "He respects and fears Dumbledore, but he does not trust or follow him. He has his own agenda and his own secrets,. He is a wild card, and we cannot afford to lose him to the other side."
"Not so."
At this time, a hoarse and husky voice sounded slowly in the office, attracting everyone's attention to a shelf behind Dumbledore.
"Bryan Watson, that child, I remember very clearly–"
The ragged and wrinkled Sorting hat on the shelf shook its tip and said slowly,
"He was probably the most difficult child to assign in my thousand years. A small body, but with an unimaginable mature mind. It was difficult, really difficult–"
The Sorting Hat's speech aroused Dumbledore's great interest. He turned around and facing the Sorting Hat, he eagerly said,
"Can you please tell me more?"
"Of course, no problem, Headmaster Dumbledore," the Sorting Hat muttered in a mumbling tone, as if he was reluctant to reveal his secrets,
"We all know what qualities the four founders value. Gentlemen, for a thousand years, I have peered into the souls of countless little wizards. Most of the children, their thoughts and qualities are very easy to figure out. I don't have to spend much effort to send them where they belong. There are also more difficult ones, such as Harry Potter. Slytherin and Gryffindor will both help him have an unlimited future. However that Potter can't be compared with Bryan Watson."
"What do you mean?" Dumbledore's curiosity became stronger, and he realized that he had made a mistake. He had been trying to see through Bryan Watson's layers of disguise to see his soul, but he had overlooked the fact that he had already had a chance to glimpse the real Bryan Watson. The Sorting Hat had seen him more clearly than anyone else, and he could share his insights with others.
"Very interesting, extremely rare, unprecedented, headmasters"
The Sorting Hat chuckled, his voice full of wonder and amusement, "Gryffindor's courage, Ravenclaw's wisdom, Hufflepuff's kindness, Slytherin's ambition. He has them all, gentlemen, Bryan Watson has it all. It's a wonderful thing, Dumbledore, if Potter can pull out the Sword of Gryffindor from me, proving that he is a true heir of Gryffindor, then Bryan Watson should be called the heir of Hogwarts. He has all the qualities that the four founders value!"
There was silence in the room after the Sorting Hat's speech. The headmasters were stunned by his words, and they looked at each other with disbelief.
"All the qualities that the four founders value."
Dumbledore also fell into some kind of surprise, his eyes became hollow, and he whispered softly, as if he was talking to himself,
"Yes, this is indeed surprising."
"But you put him in Slytherin, didn't you?"
Armando Dippet, who had the lowest tolerance for evil, once again sharply expressed his opinion, his voice full of accusation and resentment, "This means that in that guy's heart, ambition always outweighs everything!"
"Not so, respected Headmaster Dippet–"
The Sorting Hat once again refuted Armando's words, and he said with a hoarse voice and a chuckle, as if he was enjoying the debate,
"At that time, I mean, when a child from the Muggle world enters the wonderful magical world for the first time, he needs ambition, that ambition for power, to protect himself from harm. But this does not mean that ambition dominates in that child's soul. His entry into Slytherin is just a specific choice at a specific age. if that child is sorted again today. he could be anywhere, gentlemen–"
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