Chapter 36: Whose Idea?

"Hannah Abbott."

She hopped out of the line, nearly stumbling, which drew laughter from the surrounding students. Hannah tremblingly put on the Sorting Hat, hoping the ragged, patched-up headgear wouldn't eat her brain.

The Sorting Hat seemed amused by the little witch's thoughts, shouting "Hufflepuff!" almost the moment it touched her head.

"Oh!" The Hufflepuff students erupted in loud cheers upon hearing the decision, warmly welcoming their newest member. With a smile of nervousness and excitement, Hannah hurried toward the Hufflepuff table.

"Protagonists come and go, but Hannah remains," Roger muttered, thinking of his own surname: Travis. There was no one among the new students whose name came later in the alphabet than his.

"Hermione Granger."

Hearing Professor McGonagall call her name, Hermione hurried forward. The Sorting Hat lingered on her head for a moment, muttering with slight hesitation: "Hmm, very good."

It furrowed its brow in a human-like expression, pondered for a moment, and finally announced aloud: "Gryffindor!"

"As expected!" Roger didn't look at the little witch; instead, he focused his attention on Dumbledore. He watched as Dumbledore folded his hands, calmly observing Hermione as she rushed to join the Gryffindor table.

"A girl thirsty for knowledge sorted into Gryffindor—if Ravenclaw were alive, she’d certainly beat that old bee's head in." Roger sighed softly. He had tried to intervene, but it seemed to have been in vain.

If one day he were to step into one of Dumbledore's traps, would he have the strength to resist? Beneath his oversized robes, Roger clenched his fists, then slowly relaxed them.

"Draco Malfoy."

Malfoy stepped up to the stool, and before the Sorting Hat had even settled, it shrieked, "Slytherin!"

"Poor kid," Roger thought, seeing Draco's smug expression. He couldn't help but worry for Uncle Malfoy. With such a simple-minded child, wouldn't it have been better for him to just go to Hufflepuff and graduate in peace?

"Susan Bones."

"Hufflepuff."

Then came Ron. Predictably, all the Weasley children were Gryffindors. In terms of sorting, they were just as consistent as the Malfoy family.

"Harry Potter!" Professor McGonagall smiled as she spoke the Savior's name, encouraging him to come forward.

The entire Great Hall fell silent for a moment. Everyone was fixated on which house the Savior would be sorted into. Headmaster Dumbledore, sitting on the high platform, straightened up, his hands resting on his lap, his expression calm yet expectant.

Elena, standing beside Roger, poked the drowsy boy with her pale finger. "How are you sleeping? The Savior is about to be sorted. Use your precognition to see which house he'll go to!"

"Gryffindor. I'm near the end of the list; let me sleep," Roger yawned, revealing the answer with indifference.

"Hehe, I'm ahead of you!" Elena looked at Roger proudly. "My full name is Elena Cora Smaug."

Roger saw her triumphant look and wondered how she could win at this.

"Smaug? That's a rare surname."

"Our family is from the Slavic region," Elena said with a smile, not elaborating further.

"Nana, you're a good girl," Roger said, looking at the conflicted Sorting Hat on the stage. "Help me block the view; I'm going to doze off for a bit."

"Fine, my Sleeping Beauty princess!" Elena ignored Roger's eye-roll and offered her shoulder.

"Gryffindor!"

"Oh!" The Gryffindor students' cheers nearly lifted the roof. Their newest member was the Savior, Harry Potter!

On the high platform, every professor, from Dumbledore to Madam Hooch, applauded for Harry Potter. Harry walked to the Gryffindor table, where prefects shook his hand and his classmates welcomed him warmly. Headmaster Dumbledore even raised his golden goblet in a toast to Harry.

Harry felt genuinely happy; he had found the warmth of a home at Hogwarts, a feeling he had never experienced with the Dursleys.

"Roger, you're amazing, you guessed it again!" Elena looked at the sleeping Roger, marveling at his peerless talent for prophecy.

After waiting for quite a while, all the students ahead of them had been sorted, leaving only Elena and Roger. Seeing Roger slumped on her shoulder, the young girl turned bright red with embarrassment.

In truth, Elena had been calling out to Roger when it was nearly their turn, but he was sleeping too soundly, and she couldn't bear to nudge him and make him fall to the floor.

"Mr. Roger!" Professor McGonagall looked at him helplessly.

"Mr. Roger!" She raised her voice an octave, finally jolting him awake.

"Ah, what's wrong?" Roger struggled to open his eyes, and the other students chuckled at his sleepy appearance.

"Oh, Professor McGonagall, are you returning my wand?" Roger looked at her expectantly, but the professor shook her head without a word.

"Elena Cora Smaug."

Elena kept her head down, blushing, as she let Professor McGonagall place the Sorting Hat on her head.

"Hmm, a lover of wisdom, an explorer of the unknown," the hat nodded incessantly. "Without a doubt, Ravenclaw!"

Hearing it was Ravenclaw, a surge of joy and pride filled Elena. Roger's eyes widened; he hadn't expected the girl from Eastern Europe to be a Ravenclaw.

"Roger Travis."

"Travis, another pure-blood. Definitely Slytherin," Ron said, sitting next to Harry, never doubting it for a second.

"No, Roger has a very comprehensive understanding of magical knowledge; he’ll surely be sorted into Ravenclaw," Hermione countered. She had heard Ron say earlier that all evil wizards came from Slytherin.

"Hmph, he’s definitely a Slytherin, let’s just wait and see!" Ron glared at Hermione; it was this annoying little witch who had caused him so much embarrassment on the train.

"Hmm, another difficult choice," the Sorting Hat pondered, sensing Roger's temperament and aura.

"Great talent. I smell dragon blood and moonlight."

"Huh!?" Roger asked in surprise. "Is your nose that sensitive? Wait, you don't even have a nose."

"Though I lack a nose, I possess supreme wisdom. I can smell your talents from the thoughts and auras you emit," the hat boasted, continuing its analysis. "Extraordinary aptitude for spellcasting and potions."

"How about Gryffindor?"

"Are you sure? What does that have to do with Gryffindor? I hate bravery without brains," Roger retorted firmly, even though the Gryffindor Head of House, Professor McGonagall, was standing right there.

"Oh, in that case." The Sorting Hat nodded and shouted aloud, "Slytherin!"

"See, I knew it," Ron lifted his chin triumphantly. He knew it would be Slytherin—that’s where all the bad wizards went.

Hermione looked dejected, staring at Roger as he walked toward the Slytherin table. She knew the values of the two houses were completely different, which left her worried.

The Slytherin prefects and others rose to welcome Roger Travis from the pure-blood family.

"You're from the Travis family?" Malfoy's eyes sparkled; he had heard of this pure-blood family from his father.

"That's right," Roger said, sitting on the bench, his attitude toward Malfoy quite indifferent.

Every house welcomed their new students enthusiastically. Professor McGonagall finally had to tap her goblet with a spoon to bring everyone to silence.

"May I have your attention, please?" Her voice echoed through the hall, and the students immediately focused on her.