The boomerang that was thrown out has finally hit its target.
McGonagall never expected that the near-incident which almost led to the first-ever new student expulsion at Hogwarts since its founding would involve two of their own clever but mischievous students.
"What on earth happened?"
Without rushing into the sorting ceremony, McGonagall made her way through the crowd and sternly approached Wayne.
She needed to understand the situation fully in order to decide whether the twins should face a week of detention or a month.
Wayne recounted the events again, sticking to the truth without embellishment. He was a straightforward person.
After he finished, it was McGonagall who found herself in a difficult position.
If one were to call it excessive, the twins and Cedric were just following tradition, and they had only elaborated more than necessary.
There was nothing seriously wrong with that.
But if she were to ignore it completely and let the twins off scot-free…
McGonagall felt extremely uneasy about that.
This incident had almost frightened off several new students, and she absolutely could not let it slide.
"Alright, I can assure you that the sorting ceremony is completely safe, so there's no need to worry," she said firmly. "Now, form two lines and follow me quietly."
Setting aside the issue with the twins for the moment, she decided to deal with it after the sorting was complete.
Though reassured by McGonagall's words, most of the new students were still exceedingly anxious, following her like automatons.
Hermione had yet to recover from the earlier shock, so to ensure she didn't fall, Wayne took her soft little hand, guiding her forward like one would with a doll.
A group of them exited the room, passed through the hall, and finally entered the Great Hall of Hogwarts.
The Hall was magnificent, filled with thousands of floating candles, completely environmentally unfriendly, yet illuminating the space as brightly as day.
Four long tables were set up side by side, and on a slightly elevated platform was a head table, which had only one vacant seat.
"The ceiling here has been enchanted to look like a real starry sky," Hermione remarked, recovering somewhat from the awe of the scene and instinctively providing some commentary.
Realizing Wayne was still holding her hand, her cheeks flushed.
Noticing that Wayne had no intention of letting go, she felt a mix of urgency and shyness, unable to voice her discomfort and simply being led by the boy.
Professor McGonagall placed a high stool in the center of the hall, atop which rested a hat.
The hat was so worn that its original color was no longer discernible, but it certainly was not the dull gray it appeared now.
After setting everything up, McGonagall shot a fierce glare at the twins from her house, leaving them perplexed, before stepping down from the platform to address the new students.
Then, the hat suddenly jumped, splitting open to sing like a mouth.
The older students were accustomed to this, but the newcomers found it quite novel.
A singing hat—what else would you expect from Hogwarts? It was filled with all sorts of strange things.
Wayne listened for a moment but soon lost interest.
It's said that the Sorting Hat sings a different song every year, used only once a year and spends the rest of the time thinking of lyrics.
But even after pondering for a whole year, it struggled to come up with anything impressive.
As the song concluded, the audience clapped in unison.
"When I call out a name, that person should put on the hat and sit down, waiting for the sorting result," McGonagall declared.
Everyone finally sighed in relief. It was just putting on a hat, after all—something anyone could manage.
Though the hat was unclean enough to draw disdainful looks from many fastidious young witches, it was still far easier than the challenges Wayne mentioned.
"Hannah Abbot!"
A girl with pigtails rushed forward.
Wayne's gaze fell on this girl, known as the "Hat-Wearing Queen."
As soon as she donned the hat, it took but a moment for the Sorting Hat to decide.
"Hufflepuff!"
The table on the right applauded to welcome Hannah.
"Susan Bones!"
The girl who had just traveled with Wayne and Hermione followed suit.
"Hufflepuff!"
With two new students sorted into Hufflepuff so quickly, the badgers were naturally delighted, and Cedric was clapping excitedly in the crowd.
Suddenly, he felt someone's gaze on him.
Turning to look, he found Wayne watching him with a light smirk.
Recalling how he had tried to impress Wayne on the train, the honest Cedric awkwardly waved at him.
Wayne simply smiled, unfazed.
Laugh all you want; in a bit, you won't be laughing anymore.
Professor McGonagall's fury had been thoroughly ignited.
"..."
"Terry Boot!"
"Ravenclaw."
The line grew shorter, and Hermione took the chance to ask Wayne which house he wanted to be in.
When she heard "Hufflepuff," her expression was one of disbelief.
The books said Hufflepuff was the most 'ordinary' of the houses at Hogwarts; why would Wayne want to go there?
But there wasn't time to dwell on it; they quickly moved on, and soon it was Hermione's turn.
She nearly ran to the stool, hurriedly putting it on, her head so small that she almost sunk the entire thing.
"Gryffindor!" the hat exclaimed, which did not surprise Wayne at all.
With no external influence, it was completely normal for Hermione to be sorted into Gryffindor.
Several more young witches and wizards stepped forward.
Wayne observed that the students sorted into Ravenclaw and Slytherin were the least numerous, especially Slytherin, which had only two sorted so far.
Ravenclaw had only four.
Hufflepuff had the most; in fact, other houses still had plenty of vacant seats, while Hufflepuff looked quite full.
"Neville Longbottom!" McGonagall called out again.
As Neville put on the hat, it took a long time before the Sorting Hat finally shouted "Gryffindor!" Neville excitedly ran off with the hat still on his head, causing a round of laughter.
His face flushed, he jogged back to properly return the hat, and Wayne was sure that, at that moment, Neville would have loved to turn into a toad, hiding away where no one could find him.
"Wayne Lawrence!" McGonagall finally announced Wayne's name.
All the new students turned to Wayne, as the earlier incidents had quite frightened them, and Malfoy ground his teeth in anger.
Many older students' eyes brightened at the sight.
What a cute little wizard! Come here and let your big sister take care of you and check your wand.
At the head table, Dumbledore lifted his head, his glasses reflecting the light and filled with curiosity.
Which house would this brilliant young wizard—who could cast a Patronus the moment he picked up his wand—be sorted into?
Under the gaze of everyone, Wayne leisurely picked up the hat and placed it on his head.
Soon, a voice echoed in his mind.
"Oh, what an interesting little wizard…"
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