Many people believe Slytherin only accepts descendants of pure-blood wizarding families, meaning only wizards with the purest bloodlines can enter Slytherin House.
In fact, that is a misunderstanding. Slytherin's most important criterion for selecting students is not blood status. There are actually many students in Slytherin who are not pure-bloods. Many have at least one Muggle parent.
For example, the final villain of this story, Voldemort, was a half-blood.
And the current Head of House, Snape, is also a half-blood.
Compared to bloodline, Slytherin values ambition more. Whether someone wants to become a powerful wizard or a legend in the magical world, as long as they have lofty goals and are willing to work toward them, Slytherin will favor them, accept them, and help them realize their ambitions.
"But why was I sorted into Slytherin?"
Sitting at the long Slytherin table, Ethan rested his chin in one hand, puzzled. He certainly had enough ambition and had pursued it for decades. With his divine body reshaped, his bloodline was noble enough. But his desire to cause trouble in this world was not strong. The Sorting Hat could not have sensed that, could it?
"Could it just be because my bloodline is too noble?"
The Sorting Ceremony was nearly finished. Only a few remaining names were left. Ethan looked around. Although Slytherin was often portrayed as a den of villains in books and films, in reality, the students were not much different from those in the other Houses.
They were all young people who wanted to learn magic, proud of their identity and their House, and students of Hogwarts.
"I am Draco Malfoy."
While Ethan was reviewing his knowledge of Slytherin, Draco, sitting beside him, was also observing him curiously. When Ethan turned to look at him, the pure-blood wizard spoke first.
"Ethan."
"Arendelle?"
Draco looked puzzled, trying to place the name. This sort of misunderstanding was not exclusive to outsiders. Even within Slytherin, many students believed the House was reserved for wizarding nobility.
When Draco heard an unfamiliar surname, he was visibly confused.
"A family from somewhere else in Europe?"
"No, just an ordinary one."
"A Muggle? And he got into Slytherin?"
Draco was clearly surprised. He had assumed Ethan must have at least one wizarding parent. He did not expect him to come from a completely Muggle family.
"I knew that rotten hat could not be trusted."
He scoffed and turned his attention away, chatting with Crabbe and Goyle instead.
Ethan also noticed three girls sitting across from him. From their conversation, he gathered that they were Daphne Greengrass, her sister Astoria, and Pansy Parkinson.
These girls, like Draco and the others, were all from pure-blood wizarding families. It was clear they did not think much of Ethan, the classmate from a Muggle background.
Some students already close to Draco had no interest in speaking to him at all.
Looking around, Ethan saw that aside from himself, almost all the new Slytherin students were part of Draco's social circle. He glanced at a few upperclassmen sitting nearby. Some wore expressions of disdain, mockery, or quiet amusement.
Not everyone was unfriendly. Some half-blood upperclassmen greeted him with warmth. One even walked over to offer reassurance.
"Do not worry. The pure-bloods in Slytherin can be proud, but they will not target their own Housemates. If you run into any trouble with students from other Houses, they will back you up."
Slytherins only set aside internal biases when facing outsiders.
"And once you prove yourself, they will accept you."
In the wizarding world, bloodline does not command respect. Only strength does.
Ethan thanked the older student, though he did not catch the name, and returned to quietly thinking. With his power, there was no reason to feel anxious. If anything, the ones who should be nervous were the ones foolish enough to mess with him.
Meanwhile, over at the Gryffindor table, Hermione was discussing him with her new friend.
"That poor guy. How did he end up in Slytherin?"
"Maybe because his bloodline is too strong."
Although Rin was technically an outsider, she had joined Ethan's group and enrolled in this magic school to study its system. After spending time with everyone, she had picked up plenty of information about Ethan without asking directly.
She had heard much from Leah, Sherry, Scathach, and Logan. Out of curiosity, she had looked into Ethan. The mystery made him even more interesting.
What surprised her most was that Ethan had originally been an ordinary human. Not particularly talented. Not powerful.
He had gained the ability to travel across different worlds due to an accident. Aside from that, he had been entirely average. At the time, he had been weaker than Rin herself before she entered the Holy Grail War.
By relying on his world-traveling ability and his own relentless effort, he had improved step by step until he became a true god.
When Rin first met him, he had only just become a demigod. Not long ago, he used special magic to reshape his divine body and completed the transformation.
In terms of bloodline, no one else in this castle came close. Slytherin may not select based solely on blood status, but it is still a factor. Since Ethan did not express a strong preference, it made perfect sense he would be placed there.
Rin had also heard from Hermione that Slytherin was not devoid of good people. The famous Merlin himself had been sorted into Slytherin. Thinking about it that way, Ethan ending up in that House felt completely reasonable.
Among Ethan's many credentials, one stood out. Several of his magical mentors were legendary figures. One of them was Merlin.
"Who are you talking about?"
Rin and Hermione were sitting not far from Harry and Ron. The two boys had already started listening in. The girls were not talking about Gryffindor, but a Slytherin student across the hall.
"Someone who came to Hogwarts with me. You could say he is a distant relative."
Rin used the identity they had agreed on earlier and pointed toward Ethan.
Harry and Ron looked in that direction. They saw Ethan sitting alone, awkward and quiet. He looked a little pitiful.
"Oh wow. Poor guy. Glad I was not sorted into that House."
"If you had been, at least you would have someone to talk to."
The Weasleys were a pure-blood family too. Draco never mocked their bloodline, only their lack of money. That said a lot. In the wizarding world, blood purity mattered less than strength and wealth.
Later, Ron would turn out to be right about something. There were no true pure-blood wizarding families left. The ones who had insisted on keeping their bloodlines pure had already gone extinct.
While they continued talking, the Sorting Ceremony ended. After Dumbledore's closing remarks and a flick of his wand, the long tables were covered with food. The welcome feast had officially begun. The students, still children, wasted no time and immediately began eating.
Even the pure-blood Slytherins who prided themselves on their heritage were no different. They happily devoured the food laid out in front of them.
Harry and Ron quickly lost interest in Ethan and focused on the meal. Hermione and Rin, however, did not eat as much. They continued discussing Ethan's unfortunate situation.
"Maybe we could ask a professor if he can switch Houses?"
"I do not think he cares where he is."
Ethan really did not. He casually picked at the food while reflecting on the spell Dumbledore had just used to summon the feast.
"Summoning? Transfiguration?"
The more he thought about it, the more he was certain the food had not appeared from nothing. But it also did not seem to be a conversion of energy into matter.
"Maybe raw ingredients transformed into finished meals?"
That would be understandable. It would simply skip the normal cooking steps. But in that case, the magical fluctuations should have been smaller.
"Somewhere in between, perhaps."
After finishing a chicken leg, Ethan had a basic grasp of what kind of spell it was. What mattered most to him was that the magic of this world was based on concepts and rules.
That was exactly what he wanted to study.
(To be continued.)