The Old Ones of Hogwarts

Chapter 54: Never Make a Mistake!

The other professors had already left.

Only Snape, Dumbledore, and McGonagall remained in the Great Hall. The Sorting Hat's heart-wrenching cries ultimately broke Dumbledore's heart.

"Professor Snape, as the Sorting Hat says, it is one of Hogwarts' most prized possessions, and none of us have the right to damage it or do anything else..."

Dumbledore never addresses anyone by their first name when others are present.

He had originally planned to take Snape to visit the poor student who had just fainted, but unexpectedly, while he was tidying his beard, Snape had already gotten his hands on the Sorting Hat.

to be frank.

In Dumbledore's view, Snape's actions at this moment were not necessarily a bad thing; at least it proved that Ian did indeed hold some weight in Snape's heart.

This is the bond that saved Snape from falling into the abyss when he was on the verge of it.

"I just wanted to take a shower with the Sorting Hat on."

Snape continued carrying the Sorting Hat with a blank expression.

"A cesspool is no bathroom! Let me go! You wretched old bat!"

The Sorting Hat was shouting.

"I think you'd better say less," Professor McGonagall said, gesturing for Snape to be quiet as she noticed Snape's expression turning grim.

"Heh, you old bat, huh? Even Merlin couldn't save you today." Snape said, then put on the Sorting Hat and headed towards the bathroom.

Dumbledore raised his hand as if to say something but then stopped himself.

"Dumbledore! Help me, McGonagall!"

"I watched you all grow up! Please save me!"

The Sorting Hat wanted to struggle, but it had no power to do so.

"It's Ian! It's Ian! I'm going to tattle! That little wizard called you that! I was just imitating him!" The Sorting Hat, seeing the door getting closer and closer, finally couldn't hold back any longer.

He betrayed us once.

however.

A thousand years seemed to have made him unaware of the price of being a traitor—Snape's face grew even more grim, and his pace quickened even further.

"Then you can go take a bath in the Ravenclaw cesspool."

Snape's tone was icy.

"No!!!!"

The Sorting Hat let out a desperate scream.

"Alright, Professor Snape, stop scaring it." Dumbledore said helplessly, though he was actually a little guilty in front of Snape.

after all.

He was the one who initially promised to let Ian into Slytherin.

Who would have thought?

No matter how you look at it, you'd think he'd be a typical Slytherin child.

Why did they end up in Ravenclaw?

He had even secretly instructed the Sorting Hat last night to give Ian special consideration, but the boy was still sorted into another house by the Sorting Hat—Dumbledore certainly trusted the Sorting Hat's judgment, but Snape was clearly not happy to accept this fact.

"I'm not kidding it."

Despite saying that, Snape stopped in his tracks.

Seeing this, Dumbledore immediately spoke up, "Give the Sorting Hat some time. I believe it can give a convincing reason, after all, it has never made a wrong judgment in a thousand years."

The old bee principal's words made Professor McGonagall, who was standing next to him, nod in agreement.

"Interfering with the Sorting Hat's work is actually a transgression." Professor McGonagall is a very conscientious professor who has restrained her Gryffindor nature for many years since becoming a professor.

"That's right! I never make mistakes!"

The Sorting Hat then loudly defended itself.

"I only believe my own eyes. Slytherin will bring him glory. He was born to be Slytherin." Snape recalled several meetings with Ian.

Whether it's an orphanage.

It was the dug-up floorboards of Hogsmeade Village.

And Ian's many words and actions.

In Snape's view, it was all a constant proof that Ian would be a student in the house he was in charge of.

Ambitious, shrewd, strong-willed, and with an understanding of honor.

Based on these very, very precise qualities, Snape felt that even without any bias, he would have concluded that Ian was superior to most of the Slytherin students he had ever taught.

Such obvious traits!

Where else can we go besides Slytherin?

Look at the students who got into Slytherin this year!

Each one is inferior to the last!

Leaving aside the Grindelwald brats, the rest of the Slytherins were simply the worst class he had ever seen! And there was even a cowardly woman among them who fainted from excitement!

She fainted from excitement!

Shouldn't someone like that go to Gryffindor?

Snape grew angrier the more he thought about it.

He felt the Sorting Hat was deliberately trying to disgust him. Even the little brat from the Grindelwald family was fooled; how could such a cunning Ian not be a Slytherin?

"Silence won't save you."

Snape, holding the Sorting Hat by the tip, raised it high with an icy tone.

"I'm just thinking! Thinking about how to explain to you just how special the little boy you've taken a liking to is!" The Sorting Hat's tone was somewhat defiant.

"I'm listening, but if you're going to say something about him being smart, quick-witted, wise, fair, learned, and visionary, I think I can certainly find a way to make sure you always smell like cesspool."

Snape gave a sneer.

He certainly had a good understanding of the characteristics of students in each college.

"No! You can't do that! Dumbledore, say something!"

The Sorting Hat's expression grew even more terrified. It possessed intelligence no less than that of humans, and some even said that Gryffindor had once left a fragment of its soul within it.

These are all rumors, and there is no evidence to support them, but one thing is certain: the Sorting Hat did know the significance of a Potions Master.

"Dumbledore can't save you. It seems you really intend to fool me like this."

Snape's face darkened.

Compared to the junior wizards in the various houses, as a professor, he naturally understood some of the rules of the sorting system. In fact, the junior wizards themselves also had some say in choosing their future houses.

As long as a young wizard possesses certain qualities, the Sorting Hat will consider his request. In his view, every drop of Ian’s blood should bear the mark of Slytherin.

Even if Ian truly possessed Ravenclaw's qualities, it would be perfectly reasonable for him to be assigned to Slytherin.

"Of course not! It can't be like that! If it were just something ordinary, why wouldn't I give you face? I would definitely throw that little wizard back to your Slytherin!"

The Sorting Hat's wit is evident in its ability to even engage in simple flattery. Of course, this could also be a result of being forced into quick thinking by Snape's aggressive approach.

"But he went to Ravenclaw."

Snape's sneer carried a cruel undertone.

"That's because Ravenclaw is the perfect house for him!"

The Sorting Hat immediately shrieked, "No one is more suitable for Ravenclaw than him! I've waited a thousand years; finding Ravenclaw's successor is a mission entrusted to me by Gryffindor!"

His words did not satisfy Snape.

"Ravenclaw received the most students this year."

I never expected Snape to be counting even this.

"Those are just students! Just students! You don't understand Ravenclaw! You haven't seen her splendor! In a thousand years, no one has been worthy to be her true apprentice!"

The Sorting Hat's words caused a slight change in the expressions of Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall.

Professor McGonagall's eyes narrowed slightly.

Dumbledore's eyes, however, flickered slightly behind his glasses.

They all understood, of course, the true meaning of an apprenticeship.

That is the passing down of mantle.

It was a father-son relationship between ancient wizards—as the Sorting Hat said, students could be many, but apprentices were different. Wizards would only take in children who they felt could go further than themselves in the exploration and pursuit of magic, so that after they passed away, the apprentices could take their knowledge to see further landscapes.

"You mean that the boy named Ian has the talent to become a Ravenclaw lady's apprentice?" Professor McGonagall's expression was slightly incredulous and shocked.

"Of course!"

The Sorting Hat responded in a loud voice.

"He and Ravenclaw share the same qualities, qualities that none of you possess! Even you! Dumbledore lacks in this regard!"

The Sorting Hat's shout made Snape frown.

"Shut up!"

He didn't want the Sorting Hat to continue.

"How can you say that about Dumbledore..." Professor McGonagall also stood up to refute the Sorting Hat, not because she wanted to uphold Dumbledore's unshakeable authority.

That is, the current situation.

The Sorting Hat is probably only something Dumbledore can save.

If the Sorting Hat were really sent to wander through the dung heaps of young wizards and then smeared with a potion by Snape that would never go away, it wouldn't just be the Sorting Hat that would suffer.

She, McGonagall, is the sorting coordinator for the new students every year!

"Professor Snape, Professor McGonagall, please let it continue... Do you really think I'm such a petty person as to compare anything with a mere wizard?"

Dumbledore stopped Snape and shook his head helplessly at Professor McGonagall. Then, he looked at the Sorting Hat in Snape's hand with a hint of curiosity.

"I still stand by what I said: the Sorting Hat's judgment is infallible. In fact, I agree with it; at Ian's age, I'm not yet capable of improving or creating magic."

Dumbledore's words caused Professor McGonagall's pupils to contract slightly.

"An unenrolled freshman? Creating magic?"

McGonagall looked incredulous.

"..."

Snape's expression also froze for a moment.

Damn!

Didn't that guy say Dumbledore just let him play with the bird?

How come even creation and improvement magic has appeared?!

"That child..."

Professor McGonagall's voice trembled slightly as she spoke. She understood the meaning behind Dumbledore's words and also recalled who she had stood with when Ian was being sorted into House.

A gifted young wizard.

He stood next to a young Grindelwald.

Professor McGonagall didn't want to assume anything malicious about the young wizards at Hogwarts, but the worry that inevitably welled up inside her made her look at Dumbledore with some nervousness.

and this.

This was exactly the scenario Snape didn't want to see.

His lips were clenched tightly.

I wonder if he regrets questioning the Sorting Hat.

"Don't be nervous, they are all good children, Professor McGonagall. We should have more confidence in our students," Dumbledore said gently.

just.

Some of the subtle emotions involved go unnoticed. "If we treat them as villains from the start, how can we help them escape the quagmire of evil?"

That's a very insightful statement.

"The problem lies with my mindset."

Professor McGonagall nodded in deep agreement.

Snape secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

He was already thinking of throwing away the Sorting Hat.

however.

"Dumbledore, I'm not saying your magical talent is lacking! Of course, that little fellow's magical talent is amazing, but that's not a reason for him to go to Ravenclaw."

The Sorting Hat, however, continued its incessant chatter, seemingly trying to persuade everyone.

"Stop beating around the bush with me!"

Snape shouted at him.

"You were the ones who went on and on, why are you blaming me now?" the Sorting Hat said, sounding aggrieved.

Seeing that everyone present was getting impatient, the hat, which always liked to chatter on and on like a gossip, dared not continue to test human patience.

"It's about one's attitude towards knowledge!"

The Sorting Hat succinctly and clearly shouted out its message.

"Every young Ravenclaw wizard has a thirst for knowledge and a willingness to learn." Professor McGonagall was puzzled; she didn't think it was a very convincing reason.

Snape and Dumbledore clearly shared similar ideas.

just.

In contrast to Snape's growing impatience, Dumbledore remained listening intently and waiting.

"I'm not talking about those mundane pursuits and desires. Look at you all, that's why I said you can't understand her, that's why she lived her whole life in loneliness and being misunderstood."

The Sorting Hat's voice carried a hint of sadness, as if its timbre had changed slightly at this moment.

"For a thousand years, all Ravenclaw students have been bright and quick-witted academic achievers, but Ravenclaw's most unique trait has never been her thirst for and pursuit of knowledge."

The Sorting Hat seems to be recalling memories, as well as lamenting and regretting.

"Standing atop the mountain of wisdom, what one needs is never hard work, pride, intelligence, or effort, but rather... a naked arrogance towards knowledge."

Its words surprised everyone slightly.

But it did not stop.

"Yes, Ian has that quality. He reminds me of Rowena from back then; they both had a certain arrogance towards knowledge!"

"Knowledge is chasing after them, becoming the path beneath their feet."

"Don't question my judgment; my choice is absolutely correct!"

The Sorting Hat's wrinkled face was facing Snape.

He uttered words that resonated deeply.

The sound resonated throughout the entire auditorium.

"Ian Prince, he is the most correct Ravenclaw. I admit, Slytherin might lead him to glory, but only Ravenclaw can help him reach greatness!"