Hall of the Auditorium
Faint cries echoed from outside, prompting laughter to erupt among the senior students. The twins collapsed under the long table, laughing uncontrollably. Dumbledore, seated at the staff bench, noticed the commotion and couldn't help but smile, despite not knowing the cause.
What a lively evening! What an enthusiastic group of students! It couldn't get any better than this.
In the next moment, the castle doors swung open, and Professor McGonagall entered, a look of urgency on her face, accompanied by the sounds of distress from outside. The smile faded from Dumbledore's face as he took in the sight of the miserable first-years sobbing.
"Dumbledore, something's happened, but I'll explain later," she said, hurrying over to him. "Let's proceed with the Sorting Ceremony first."
"Very well."
...
Amidst the low sobs, the Sorting Hat began to sing a familiar tune—one that hadn't changed for many years. Its voice was high-pitched and somewhat difficult to hear. After the song, the Sorting Ceremony commenced in earnest.
Professor McGonagall held a piece of parchment. "Next, I will call the names of the students. When your name is read, come forward and don the hat, then wait for your sorting!"
"Hannah Abbott!" A little girl with rosy cheeks and two golden braids stepped nervously out of line and approached the Sorting Hat.
"Are you going to hurt me?" she asked, her eyes wide with fear.
"Don't worry, I'm just a hat. I can't hurt you," the Sorting Hat replied, trying to reassure her.
Hannah's vigilance didn't wane. "Do you have anything sharp hidden in you? Like a sword? I don't want to get stabbed!"
The Sorting Hat was taken aback. How did she know about the Gryffindor sword?
"Now, now, Hogwarts won't hurt little wizards," Professor McGonagall chimed in, exasperated. "Let's move this along."
"Okay." Hannah gingerly touched the Sorting Hat before placing it on her head.
The Sorting Hat thought, *These first-years are quite cautious this year!*
"Hufflepuff!" it declared after a moment.
Applause erupted from the Hufflepuff table as she joined them, and the energy in the room lifted. The sorting picked up speed as more names were called.
"Susan Bones!"
"Hufflepuff!"
"Terry Boot!"
"Ravenclaw!"
As the sorting continued, Draco Malfoy was soon called, and the Sorting Hat promptly declared, "Slytherin!" The Gryffindor table cheered as Harry, Ron, and Hermione were assigned to their house.
Then came Kyle's turn.
"Kyle Mo…"
Professor McGonagall hesitated slightly at the last name. The infamous surname that conjured images of darkness was not going to be dismissed.
"I'm here!" Kyle raised his hand enthusiastically, clad in his black robes, with handsome, striking features and a sunny smile. He instantly caught the attention of many young witches, their hearts aflutter.
Perched on his shoulders were two house-elves, looking adorable.
As he approached the Sorting Hat, Kyle was filled with curiosity. Sorting! This was the moment that would reveal the true nature of a young wizard. Would he land in Hufflepuff? Or perhaps the Sorting Hat would uncover his hidden bravery and place him in Gryffindor? Maybe it would recognize his intellectual curiosity and assign him to Ravenclaw? As for Slytherin…
Pfft! How could someone as kind as he be sorted into Slytherin?
The students at the tables watched with interest, especially the teachers who knew Kyle's background. They were eager to see which house he would join.
"It's Kyle! I wonder where he'll end up," Harry whispered to Ron.
"I have a feeling it might be Slytherin!" Ron replied, crossing his arms. The two had already sensed they'd been tricked on the train—something wasn't right.
Lost in thought, Kyle placed the Sorting Hat on his head.
"Azkaban!"
"Must be Azkaban!"
The Sorting Hat gasped, clearly startled. As soon as it settled on Kyle's head, the world around him shifted—darkness, evil, blood.
Merlin! In all its years at Hogwarts, the Sorting Hat had never encountered a wizard with such an aura of "darkness."
For a moment, it forgot about the sorting altogether and shouted, "Azkaban!"
[Ding! Fear detected!]
[Ding! Treasure chest being extracted for the host!]
[Ding! Congratulations to the host for obtaining a golden treasure chest!]
The hall fell eerily silent. Everyone stared in shock, mouths agape.
Who was this? Had the Sorting Hat really just called out Azkaban?