"Come on, children," Professor McGonagall pushed open the Great Hall doors and led a group of young wizards inside.
Upon entering the Great Hall, even with mental preparation, Thomas was as stunned as the other young wizards by the sight before him.
Countless slender candles floated gracefully in the air, emitting a soft yet bright glow that illuminated the entire Great Hall as if it were daytime, leaving no shadow to hide.
In the center of the Great Hall, four long wooden tables were arranged in a rectangle, representing Hogwarts' four Great Houses: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin.
Each table was filled with students wearing their respective House uniforms; some conversed animatedly, others pondered silently, but all showed anticipation for the upcoming Sorting Ceremony.
At the very top of the Great Hall was another long table, which was the teachers' seating.
A dozen adult wizards with various expressions sat there, their gazes uniformly focused on the young wizards below.
And directly in front of the platform, an unassuming yet eye-catching four-legged stool sat quietly.
On the stool, a tattered wizard's hat looked particularly out of place.
This hat looked dirty and bore the marks of time, appearing as if no wizard would want to wear it.
But Thomas knew this was the magical item that would decide their fate today—the Sorting Hat.
Professor McGonagall had the children stand in several rows in the middle of the Great Hall to wait, then walked over to the Sorting Hat, a roll of parchment appearing in her hand.
The buzzing discussions among the Prefects at the long tables grew louder, all debating which young wizards looked like children from their own Houses.
Thomas glanced around and noticed that, except for him, all the other First-year Students were very nervous, even Severus. Thomas could already see the fine beads of sweat on his forehead.
"Quiet," Dumbledore tapped his goblet, and his booming voice immediately echoed throughout the Great Hall.
The buzzing discussions ceased abruptly, and everyone's gaze focused on the Sorting Hat.
A seam slowly opened on the hat's surface, gradually widening until it formed a shape like a smile, as if it were a mouth about to speak.
Immediately after, a low, peculiar melody flowed from that seam, and the Sorting Hat began to sing a song filled with magic.
"You may think me not pretty... for I am a thinking magic hat!"
Surrounded by the peculiar song, Thomas did not activate his abilities, yet he found his five senses incredibly sharp at this moment; every subtle sound around him, every speck of dust floating in the air, clearly entered his perception.
Emotions that might have been suppressed or ignored in daily life now rippled outwards like a lake touched by a spring breeze, reaching their peak.
This song possessed a magic that could stir the deepest, most intense desires and dreams within people... An interesting alchemical product. I wonder where this hat is usually kept. I really hope to have a chance to study it, Thomas observed the Sorting Hat with great interest... The Sorting Hat felt a chill run through its body, as if it had been electrocuted, and it shivered, finishing its last word with a distorted sound.
Professor McGonagall looked at the Sorting Hat in confusion; this had never happened before.
It seemed that the moment was just her illusion; the hat closed its mouth, returning to its usual serene appearance. She slowly unfurled the parchment in her hand: "Now, the young wizards whose names I call, please come up. Sit on the stool and put on the hat."
"Olaf Abbot," Professor McGonagall began calling names one by one according to the parchment.
For most young wizards, the Sorting Hat could give a House assignment almost immediately, so the Sorting Ceremony proceeded quickly. Nils Green went to Hufflepuff as he wished, while the other boys from the carriage all entered Gryffindor... "Thomas Snape." Hearing his name, Thomas nodded to Severus, walked forward, and placed the Sorting Hat on his head.
Thomas heard a faint voice in his mind, and he immediately focused: "Oh, a strange child, your memories seem to exceed your age."
Thomas didn't mind the Sorting Hat prying into his memories.
All intelligent alchemical creations are bound by laws, similar to the three laws of robotics.
If the Sorting Hat could manage the sorting of Hogwarts' young wizards, then at least one binding law was that it must keep the young wizards' memories confidential: "I have been a young wizard for less than 11 years."
"Oh, child, you have courage, talent, and wisdom, but you lack a little ambition. Besides Slytherin, which House do you want to go to?"
"No, I think Slytherin suits me very well, Mr. Hat."
"But I think, perhaps Ravenclaw suits you better... And Gryffindor, child, I see astonishing courage and protective power in your memories..."
Thomas recalled the medical experiments he had done with Sherlock in his mind... "Slytherin!" the Sorting Hat shrieked in terror. It saw the boy imagining cutting it open with a large pair of scissors and pulling out a human brain from inside the hat... Although ordinary scissors couldn't harm it in the slightest, as a hat, it couldn't stand to see such things!
Thomas smiled and stood up. Before he took off the hat, the Sorting Hat heard his polite yet terrifying voice: "Mr. Hat, if there's an opportunity, I'd really like to have an in-depth discussion with you."
"Don't you dare come closer!" a deafening voice rang in his mind.
Thomas took off the Sorting Hat, rubbing his ears in annoyance, while the Sorting Hat writhed madly in Thomas's hands, trying to escape.
"Thomas Snape, you can put down the Sorting Hat now," Professor McGonagall reminded him.
"Okay." What a simple hat.
Because Sirius Black had just entered Gryffindor, the older students at the Slytherin long table all looked displeased. Led by Lucius Malfoy, only a sparse round of applause broke out.
Thomas sat at the end of the long table, next to the few young wizards who had just been sorted into Slytherin.
"Severus Snape."
Everyone then saw a boy with a face very similar to Thomas's also put on the Sorting Hat.
Unlike Thomas's struggle, not long after Severus put on the Sorting Hat, the hat quickly shouted: "Slytherin!"
Severus rubbed his ears and sat down next to Thomas.
Thomas looked at the much-relieved Severus with a smile in his eyes: "I told you we'd definitely be in Slytherin, Severus."
"I really didn't expect you to be sorted into Slytherin, Thomas," Severus raised an eyebrow at his brother: "What did you do to that hat? Its scream just now almost made me deaf."
"It must have seen the research you did with Sherlock at the hospital in your memories," Thomas said with certainty after a moment of thought, stroking his chin.
Soon, the sorting was complete. Professor McGonagall took the Sorting Hat and left.
Hufflepuff received the most students, while Slytherin had the fewest First-year Students.
"Welcome everyone to Hogwarts, we are about to begin a new school year. Before the feast begins, I would like to say a few words." Headmaster Dumbledore, from behind the long table, stood up and tapped his goblet, and the Great Hall fell silent.
He looked at the students with a beaming smile and delivered his absurd opening remarks: "Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you!"
Although they didn't understand, the students applauded and cheered after the Principal's speech, especially those from Gryffindor, as if they wanted to tear the roof off the entire Great Hall.
Thomas felt the aroma spread. He didn't know when, but the empty plates in front of them were now filled with a vibrant yet chaotic magic swirling in the air.
A moment later, the food was filled with various dishes... steak, roasted chicken, sausages, fried potatoes, fried fish, Yorkshire pudding... It was more lavish than any meal Thomas had eaten since coming to this world. Most of the food tasted quite good, until he took a sip of the yellow pumpkin juice, silently put down his cup, and felt full...
After dinner, the Prefects of each House were responsible for leading their First-year Students to the dormitories.
Thomas and Severus walked in the middle of the line, seeing the Slytherin Prefect they had briefly met on the train, walking proudly at the very front of the procession.
During dinner, they had already heard many things about him.
Lucius Malfoy, heir to the ancient Wizarding family, the House of Malfoy, and the undisputed leader of Slytherin at the moment.