"Are you disgusted with me? I'm so sad." A soft voice whispered in his ear.
"You can hear what I'm thinking?" Ethan Jones asked, somewhat surprised.
"Yes, this is a special ability that the founders gave me, but it seems to be somewhat ineffective for you. I can only sense some very strong emotions, but I cannot classify you into different Houses based on these."
"What's the meaning?"
"What I mean is, you are a natural Occlumens, just not a perfect one yet. You can try to continue learning to complete this ability. I think this will be beneficial to your development."
"The Occlumens?" He vaguely remembered that Snape had taught Harry in the movies about a spell to prevent Voldemort from spying on him, which had a similar name.
The voice continued, "Yes, you can ask the professors later. Now, listen to my command, relax your mind, and I will try to see if I can read some of your thoughts and complete the sorting."
Following the Sorting Hat's instructions, Ethan Jones took a deep breath, cleared his mind, and felt a faint tingling sensation in his brain.
"Are you done yet? I feel a little pain." After the pain reached a certain point, he couldn't help but ask in a low voice.
"Are you in pain? Then let's leave it at that for now."
The pain stopped: "It's hard to say where you should go."
But it's clear you don't belong in Hufflepuff. You harbor courage, ambition, and a thirst for knowledge. I think you could try Slytherin.
Ethan Jones was very puzzled: "Slytherin? Isn't Slytherin supposed to value lineage and never admit a Muggle-born wizard like me?"
"Muggle-born? Heh heh heh, it seems you don't know your own origins. You're not a Muggle-born wizard." The Sorting Hat seemed to be laughing.
"So, have you decided yet? Do you want to go to Slytherin?"
Ethan Jones knew little about Slytherin. On one hand, the movies didn't reveal much about them; he only knew they were a group of snakes with dark lives, many of whom became Death Eaters. On the other hand, he never imagined he would have the chance to enroll in Slytherin.
"Alright, then Slytherin it is." Since there were already many differences from the movie, he didn't mind experiencing Slytherin's life firsthand.
"Very well, then."
"Slytherin!" the Sorting Hat shouted.
The Slytherins, unaware of his family background, cheered and welcomed their new companion.
But Professor McGonagall, who had personally visited his home, was horrified.
She immediately turned her gaze to Dumbledore.
The white-haired old man looked at her with a puzzled expression, somewhat confused.
Three students had not yet completed their House selection. Although she was puzzled and wanted to know the answer, she continued to read out the next name.
"Lisa Turpin!"
As Ethan Jones took off the hat and walked toward the Slytherin table, a strange, puzzled smile appeared on his face.
He glanced at Hermione, who was covering her mouth, waved to her, and sat down next to Draco Malfoy.
He spent more than four minutes at this sorting, while the next three combined did not take as long as he did.
Slytherin had welcomed another new student, Blaise Zabini, who was the last freshman of this year.
Professor McGonagall rolled up the parchment again, picked up the Sorting Hat, and left.
Dumbledore stood up and looked at the students gathered together with a smile.
"Welcome to Hogwarts for the start of a new school year, but before the banquet begins, I'd like to say a few words."
'Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!'
Thank you everyone.
After he finished speaking, he sat down, and the Great Hall erupted in applause. Everyone liked leaders who gave concise speeches; if they had to add a few points, everyone would probably have cursed them out.
The banquet officially began, and suddenly the empty plates were filled with food.
The food was plentiful, but Ethan Jones had little appetite. He only picked out some roast meat, slowly cut it, and put it in his mouth to chew.
His mind was still on what the Sorting Hat had said, and he didn't even hear Blaise and Draco greeting him.
"Ethan! Ethan!" Draco liked the blond boy who was just like him. He wanted to have a chat with this well-mannered freshman and see if he could add another member to his little group.
Ethan Jones swallowed the tasteless beef he had already chewed and wiped his mouth with a napkin. "Oh, what is it, Draco?"
"It's nothing, everyone's just sharing their thoughts, aren't you going to join in?"
"Sure, I was just thinking about something, sorry."
As soon as he sat down, he heard Draco bragging to the other freshmen about Malfoy Manor and his family, but he was too preoccupied with his own thoughts to join in.
"Draco, I have a question for you. Do you think Slytherin has never had a single Muggle-born student sorted in since its founding?"
"Why would you ask that?" Draco looked at him strangely.
"Slytherin was originally a Pure-blood House. In the beginning, neither Half-blood wizards nor Muggle-born wizards could enter Slytherin. Later, Half-bloods were allowed to enter Slytherin, but Muggle-borns have never been included in Slytherin's admission selection."
He was somewhat dissatisfied: "Moreover, the addition of Half-blood wizards is already a desecration of Slytherin. Only Pure-blood wizards are the true heirs of Slytherin!"
"Is that so?" Ethan Jones didn't comment on this. He wanted to find Professor McGonagall, whom he knew well, and ask her clearly whether the Sorting Hat had made a mistake or whether there was indeed a problem with his background.
Meanwhile, Professor McGonagall, after returning the admission list and the Sorting Hat to the Headmaster's office, was also reporting the matter to Dumbledore in the hall.
"Professor Dumbledore, I have some questions about the sorting of one of the children I just spoke with."
"It's very important, isn't it? Minerva, you know, today is the once-a-year entrance ceremony, so I think it would be better if we enjoyed it." Dumbledore picked up his goblet, took a sip, and smiled broadly.
"Let me give you a brief overview; we can discuss it in more detail after the banquet." Professor McGonagall thought for a moment; this matter couldn't be rushed.
"Regarding this student, Ethan Jones, when I was guiding him to go shopping in Diagon Alley, I discovered that his parents were both Muggles without magical abilities, but now he has been assigned to Slytherin, which makes me a little confused."
"Muggle? Are you sure, not a Squib, but a real Muggle?" Dumbledore's expression turned serious.
"Yes, I'm sure they know nothing about the magical world, and they're not like Squibs who were banished from their families by a Memory Charm."
"This is indeed a serious matter, Minerva. Go and tell Severus that after the banquet, come to my office. We need to discuss the potential problems together."
He gestured for Professor McGonagall to go find Snape, who was talking to Quirrell, while he glanced thoughtfully toward the Slytherin table and took another sip of his drink.