Chapter 17. The former prisoner of Azkaban
Almost the instant the Sorting Hat touched Lynn's hair, the tattered, dirty hat seemed to be electrocuted, yelling:
"Slytherin!"
Lynn was completely stunned.
His hands were still holding the brim, and he hadn't even fully put it on his head yet.
He didn't have any prejudice against Slytherins, but this was too casual!
And was it even possible for a student from a Muggle family to be sorted into Slytherin?
Lynn innocently turned to Professor McGonagall standing to the side.
The professor didn't seem too surprised. She urged Lynn ,
"Your Sorting is over, Mr. Bellok . Please put the hat back. It's the next person's turn."
Lynn had no choice but to put the Sorting Hat back on the stool and walk towards the cheering Slytherin table.
Even after he was seated, Lynn still didn't understand how the Sorting Hat had made its judgment.
It hadn't even said a word to him, nor had it tried to understand his thoughts.
So, it had seen through his dark magic talent?
Lynn deduced a possibility in his mind.
But this guess wasn't very convincing; after all, while Slytherin was known for producing dark wizards, it had never stated that dark magic talent would be used as a criterion for selecting students.
The Sorting Ceremony continued, and Lynn's situation was hardly a minor incident in the eyes of the upperclassmen and professors.
Every year, there were a few students with very distinctive personalities who would prompt the Sorting Hat to make a quick judgment—this phenomenon wasn't common, but it wasn't rare either.
At most, Professors McGonagall and Fawkes, who knew Lynn was from a Muggle family, were slightly surprised.
It was indeed quite rare for a Muggle-born freshman to be sorted into Slytherin.
The upperclassmen around him were quite friendly, and with a "what's done is done" attitude, Lynn didn't think too much about it and quietly watched the Sorting Ceremony continue.
"Ian Douglas Campbell!"
As Professor McGonagall's voice rang out, the silver-haired boy who had shared a carriage with Lynn on the train, the one with the umbrella in the sunny weather, hurried towards the platform.
The Sorting Hat seemed to hesitate for a long time on his head before finally sorting him into Ravenclaw.
…
"Cho Chang!"
An Asian girl ran up to Professor McGonagall and hurriedly put the Sorting Hat on her head.
This was the only young wizard Lynn knew who was in the same year as him.
Harry Potter's first love, and also of Chinese descent.
There was also that little brat who had shared a boat with Lynn on the lake, named Hubert McKellen, who, as he had said, had indeed been sorted into Slytherin.
When he stood tall and proud, like a knight just knighted by the king, and approached the Slytherin table, seeing Lynn sitting calmly in his chair, he immediately collapsed.
It was as if the knight had discovered that knighthood was worthless, something anyone could receive.
His face flushed, he seemed somewhat exasperated, but he still maintained at least some basic courtesy.
"Why did you lie to me?"
he demanded, sitting down opposite Lynn and glaring at him.
Lynn looked at him, bewildered. "What did I lie to you about?"
"Tell me your parents are Muggles!"
"That's right. Although I'm an orphan and have never met them, they have status and assets in normal society, so they should be Muggles."
"Then why were you sorted into Slytherin!"
"How should I know?" Lynn shrugged. "Does Slytherin have a rule against admitting Muggle-born wizards?"
A Slytherin prefect sitting nearby answered the question.
"No,"
the prefect shook his head, but his gaze towards Lynn was also full of strangeness.
"Slytherin has had Muggle students before, but very, very few, maybe one every three years."
"So I'm a once-in-three-years genius?" Lynn muttered to himself.
"In a sense, yes."
The speaker was a Slytherin prefect, Betty Dries, whom Lynn had introduced herself when she sat down; she was a very capable-looking girl.
After the Sorting Ceremony, Headmaster Dumbledore's opening address interrupted the conversation at the Slytherin table.
"...Because of Professor Stock's unfortunate fate last semester, I have accepted his resignation.
Now I would like to introduce you to our newly appointed Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor, Adrian Fawkes. He is an expert in Defense Against the Dark Arts and will also be a competent professor."
Professor Fawkes smiled and waved to the young wizards from the platform.
But strangely, the applause from the young wizards below was minimal.
Even at the Slytherin table, there was almost complete silence.
Lynn had just raised his hand to applaud Professor Fawkes when he noticed that almost every Slytherin around him had a dark expression upon hearing his name, and even the professors seated on the platform seemed rather unfriendly.
Professor Fawkes' reputation didn't seem to be very good.
Lynn frowned, hesitated for a moment, and lowered his hand from the clapping.
He planned to check things out when the banquet began.
Dumbledore didn't give a long speech; after some necessary announcements, he declared the banquet open. As
soon as he finished speaking, countless steaming dishes appeared out of thin air on the empty plate in front of Lynn, instantly whetting the appetites of the weary new students, who began to devour the food.
The Slytherins ate slowly and deliberately, a stark contrast to the lively atmosphere of the Gryffindors on the other side.
"I thought that news was fake, but I can't believe Professor Dumbledore actually invited him."
A senior boy sighed.
Prefect Betty was cutting a Munich sausage.
"Isn't it ironic? If he becomes the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, the news will probably occupy the front page of the Daily Prophet for a month."
"My father warned me that if he really comes to Hogwarts, I should stay away from him unless necessary, and don't mess with him even if he wants to pluck Professor Dumbledore's beard."
"Excuse me…"
Lynn carefully interrupted their conversation, "Are you referring to the new Professor Fawkes? Is there… anything wrong with him?"
Hubert, also a freshman, looked at him disdainfully.
"You don't know anything and you still dare to interrupt our conversation."
Lynn looked at him speechlessly, thinking that this brat really deserved a beating.
"Shut up! Is this how the McLean family raises their children?"
Betty scolded Hubert with a straight face, then explained to Lynn and the other uninformed young wizards:
"While talking about professors behind their backs isn't good, I still suggest you stay away from that new Professor Fawkes.
He was sentenced to life imprisonment in Azkaban for using the Unforgivable Curse to torture and kill five wizards.
Later, thanks to the strong intervention of our Headmaster, Professor Dumbledore, and a change in his past actions, his sentence was overturned by Wizengamot two years ago, and he was released early."
*Ahem*... well, you know what I mean.
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(End of Chapter)