Chapter 21 The Sorting Hat The fleet docked at the dock, and a group of young wizards followed Hagrid to the castle. When getting off the ship, Hagrid found Neville's toad on an empty ship. Neville was ecstatic and hugged his pet tightly, fearing that it would disappear again in the blink of an eye. Katoom whispered, "Want to make a bet on when Neville will lose his toad next?" "No gambling." Bruce followed Hagrid towards the castle's oak doors without looking back. Hagrid raised his fist, which was as big as a casserole, and knocked on the castle door three times. The door opened and a tall, black-haired witch stood in front of it. This is Professor McGonagall, the Deputy Headmistress. "Welcome to Hogwarts," said Professor McGonagall. "The start-of-term feast is about to begin, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you must first confirm which college you will enter..." Hearing this, Bruce became furious.
He remembered that Katoom had promised him solemnly that he would send him to the hidden academy Azkaban. But after Bruce read books related to the wizarding world, he realized that Azkaban was a prison. What's even more infuriating is that when Bruce questioned Katum, he said nonchalantly: "Prison is a higher form of academy." That's a good point. Bruce decided to let Katum go to school one day. "…the names of the four houses are: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin." Having said that, what Bruce is more concerned about now is which college he will be assigned to. "In a few minutes, the sorting ceremony will be held in front of all the teachers and students of the school. I suggest that you tidy up and be energetic while waiting." Bruce heard two boys discussing something, Harry and his red-haired friend. "How can they put us into houses exactly?" said Harry. "I suppose there must be some kind of test." One stone stirs up a thousand ripples. When all the little wizards heard the word "test", they became panicked. Among them, Hermione behaved the most radically. She was muttering to herself and reciting the spells she had learned at a rapid speed. "Is there really a test?" Bruce asked Katum. But Katum did not answer. On the contrary, he now seemed to be busy with something and repeated a spell over and over again. "What are you carrying?" Bruce was a little panicked. "Don't worry about it. I have to prevent the secret of our time travel from being leaked." What does that mean? Will someone read my brain later? Bruce knew that Katum now knew a lot of spells, and many magics that he could not cast became easy in his hands. Then, as Katoom chanted, a very strange feeling emerged in Bruce's mind.
It was like an invisible barrier that prevented Bruce's thoughts from leaking out. Katum blew a whistle: "Just relax, you don't have to worry." Is this all right? Bruce didn't even understand why. In fact, it is far from that simple. If Katum and Bruce were not connected in soul, the brain-blocking spell would have no effect on others. But Katum would not explain these. "Now, line up in single file," Professor McGonagall said to the first years. "Follow me." The Sorting Ceremony began. The young wizards were brought into the luxurious hall of Hogwarts, and amid exclamations, a tattered pointed hat was placed in front of them. The wrinkles in his hat looked like features—ugly features—and then he began to sing. As the singing continued, the little wizards finally felt relieved. It turned out that there was no need for any test and they could determine their school just by wearing a hat. Only Hermione showed a trace of regret. Professor McGonagall took a few steps forward, holding a roll of parchment in her hand: "Whoever's name I call now, please put on your hat, sit on the stool, and wait for the sorting." "Hannah Abbott!" A little girl stumbled out of the line and put on her hat. A pause. "Hufflepuff!" shouted the Hat. The Hufflepuff table immediately applauded and cheered. "Hogwarts is really interesting." Katum suddenly said, "They are all children, but they have to be labeled first." Bruce was helpless. No matter what came out of the owl's mouth, it would taste different. "Am I wrong?" Katum turned his head 180 degrees again, looking like he deserved a beating. "The four colleges have the same classes, so why is there a need to separate them?" "Maybe it's a tradition." Bruce made up an excuse. "It's a good tradition. If there is a problem in any college, we can just cut ties directly." Katum kept chattering away, and Bruce couldn't stand it anymore, so he grabbed the bird's beak in his hand to stop him from talking. "It's useless." Katum's voice sounded in Bruce's mind again, "We can communicate telepathically, have you forgotten?" Katum felt that he had said nothing wrong and that Bruce had gone too far. Even the Sorting Hat itself thinks that there is something wrong with the sorting. In "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix", the Sorting Hat composed a new song, saying that he felt the sorting was incorrect, but he had to fulfill his duties and had to sort the houses. Bruce finally had no choice but to let go of his hand and change the subject: "Which house do you think I will be assigned to?" "Ninety percent Ravenclaw, but I suggest you talk to the Sorting Hat and not go." Bruce was surprised: "Can I discuss this with the Sorting Hat?"
"Who do you think I am? Don't you have this bit of dignity?" Katum said shamelessly, "I have already informed the Sorting Hat. He will respect your wishes. This is a privilege that only you can enjoy." Really? Bruce was skeptical: "Why are you so sure I will go to Ravenclaw?" “Because the division looks at future trends, you don’t qualify for other colleges. "Gryffindor requires bravery, but in the future you choose to coexist with fear and even use fear as a source of strength. "Slytherin requires recognition, but you are not proud of your surname and bloodline. Bruce Wayne is just a disguise for your true image. "Hufflepuff requires integrity. I don't even want to say more about this. For the justice in your heart, you will do anything except kill people." Katum's analysis involved many things about the future. Bruce didn't know whether it was true or not, but it sounded reasonable to him. "So if you say so, I have nowhere to go except Ravenclaw." "No, no, no, I want you to go to Hufflepuff. People who are assigned to other houses all have similar core characteristics. What you need now is to meet different people. Hufflepuff has all kinds of people, which will be beneficial to your future growth." Isn’t it about which college is right for you, but which college is right for you? The words sounded high-sounding, but Bruce remembered that he read in a book that the Hufflepuff common room was close to the kitchen. He always felt that this was the real reason why Katoom wanted to go to Hufflepuff. "Just go to Hufflepuff anyway. I won't hurt you." Katum sighed and spoke earnestly. At this moment, Katum was thinking about something completely different. Gryffindor's giant squid, Ravenclaw's diadem, Slytherin's chamber of secrets, and the inheritance of the other three houses have now become clear. The clue gold cup, which is only the inheritance of Hufflepuff, is in Bellatrix's vault, and Katoom can't get it for the time being. There was no other way. Katum's only option now was to see if he could find other clues about the Hufflepuff heritage in Hogwarts. So Bruce had to go to Hufflepuff. (End of this chapter)
