Hermione stared at Logan with an increasingly complicated expression.
If she was not mistaken, the spell he had just used was merely the Levitation Charm.
But the terrifying part was not the spell itself.
It was the control.
Logan had simultaneously manipulated dozens of moving objects, accelerated them toward multiple targets at high speed, and landed every single strike with absurd precision.
That level of magical control should not exist in a first-year student.
Even Hermione understood that much.
For the first time in her life, she genuinely felt pressure from someone her own age.
Quietly, she patted her cheeks twice to encourage herself mentally.
So what if Logan was ahead right now?
Hermione Granger had never lost to anyone academically before.
This was only temporary.
She simply needed to study harder.
Meanwhile, Harry and Ron looked at Logan with pure admiration.
To them, wandless spellcasting looked unbelievably cool.
More importantly, watching Malfoy get humiliated had been deeply satisfying.
In their minds, Logan standing up for them instantly upgraded him from Interesting New Friend to Trusted Ally.
Of course, none of the young wizards present truly understood how abnormal wandless magic actually was.
Even throughout the adult wizarding world, very few people could cast wandlessly with the casual ease Logan displayed.
At this stage, the children merely thought he looked impressive.
The rest of the journey proceeded mostly like the original story.
Malfoy returned later to recruit Harry Potter again before the Sorting Ceremony began, only to end up arguing with Harry and Ron exactly as before.
Still, Logan could not shake one strange feeling.
Every time Draco looked at him, the boy's expression became oddly philosophical.
Almost melancholic.
As though he wanted to say something meaningful but lacked the emotional maturity necessary to process it.
Eventually, Logan concluded he was probably imagining things.
...
The Great Hall of Hogwarts looked even more magnificent in reality than it had in the films.
Floating candles illuminated the enormous chamber with warm golden light while enchanted stars shimmered across the magical ceiling overhead. Long tables stretched across the hall, already packed with students from the four houses.
Ghosts drifted silently through the air.
Ancient banners hung proudly from stone walls.
The entire place radiated history and mystery.
Logan sat quietly among the first-year students while observing everything with fascination.
At the centre of the hall rested an ancient, ragged Sorting Hat.
The thing looked genuinely ridiculous.
Its torn mouth suddenly opened and began singing loudly in a strange voice, launching into a bizarre song about the Hogwarts houses.
Logan listened politely while understanding approximately none of it.
Soon afterwards, the Sorting Ceremony officially began.
"Hannah Abbott… Hufflepuff!"
"Susan Bones… Hufflepuff!"
One by one, nervous first-years approached the stool before being sorted into their houses.
Some students looked thrilled afterwards.
Others resembled children who had just been emotionally devastated by life itself.
Meanwhile, tension between Gryffindor and Slytherin was already visible. Several older Slytherins openly sneered at younger students from rival houses, while certain Gryffindors looked moments away from starting a fistfight.
Only the solemn atmosphere of the ceremony prevented immediate disaster.
Logan found the entire thing extremely entertaining.
Then suddenly—
"Logan Anderson!"
Professor McGonagall's voice echoed through the hall.
Instantly, the Great Hall fell quieter.
Logan slowly stood up and walked calmly toward the Sorting Hat.
At the Slytherin table, Draco Malfoy stared intensely at him while unconsciously mutilating the steak on his plate with a knife and fork.
"So your name's Logan Anderson…" Draco muttered quietly to himself. "Fine. I'll remember that."
Meanwhile, Logan reached the stool and placed the Sorting Hat onto his head.
At that exact moment—
[Ding.]
[Mental Protection Mode Activated.]
[External forces cannot perceive the host's thoughts or past memories.]
Logan nearly blinked in surprise.
The spellbook had this function too?
Originally, he planned to prioritise learning Occlumency immediately after arriving at Hogwarts specifically to prevent Dumbledore from casually reading his thoughts one day.
After all, Logan possessed far too many dangerous secrets.
If Dumbledore discovered the truth about his reincarnation, the spellbook, or Nyarlathotep…
The consequences would become impossible to predict.
But now?
Wonderful.
One enormous burden vanished instantly.
At the same time, the Sorting Hat wriggled uncomfortably atop his head.
Its voice sounded strangely uncertain.
"Relax, child," it muttered. "I won't hurt you. You need to calm your thoughts a little, otherwise this becomes rather difficult."
Several seconds passed.
Then more.
Then even more.
The Sorting Hat became increasingly confused.
Normally, a student's thoughts, personality, desires, fears, and memories all flowed naturally into its perception.
But Logan's mind felt completely sealed.
Like solid stone.
No matter how hard it tried, the Hat sensed absolutely nothing.
"Well now…" it muttered awkwardly. "This is unusual."
The only thing it could perceive clearly was the terrifying magical power hidden inside the boy.
And even that made the Hat uneasy.
"My goodness," it whispered. "I can't read your thoughts at all. No personality, no ambitions, no emotional tendencies… nothing."
The Hat sounded genuinely disturbed now.
"But your magical power is extraordinary. Remarkable, even. You'll certainly become a very powerful wizard someday…"
It paused uncertainly.
"Perhaps… Ravenclaw?"
The Sorting Hat was improvising desperately at this point.
It genuinely had no idea what to do.
Nearby, Professor McGonagall's eyes widened slightly when she heard the possibility of Ravenclaw.
At the Gryffindor table, Hermione, Harry, and Ron all looked visibly disappointed.
High above the hall, seated at the staff table, Albus Dumbledore silently observed Logan Anderson with unreadable eyes.
In truth, he had been studying the boy carefully since the ceremony began.
And Professor McGonagall had not exaggerated.
The magical power within Logan was astonishing.
Even more alarming, Dumbledore sensed that the boy's magical reserves appeared to be increasing continuously at an almost imperceptible rate every moment.
Tiny.
Subtle.
But undeniably present.
That observation strengthened one of Dumbledore's earlier suspicions considerably.
Then the Sorting Hat made its confused statement about being unable to read Logan's thoughts.
At that moment, Dumbledore quietly made a decision.
Very carefully, he cast Legilimency.
After all, if Logan truly possessed connections to an Obscurus, then discreetly examining his mental condition was entirely reasonable.
Dumbledore's magical perception entered Logan's mind.
And encountered nothing.
Only darkness.
Endless black mist.
Dumbledore frowned slightly.
Occlumency?
The possibility surfaced instantly in his thoughts.
But that explanation made little sense.
Occlumency was not some simple trick mastered through talent alone. It required extensive training, discipline, and experience. Even adult wizards struggled to learn it properly.
More importantly, throughout the wizarding world, very few people could resist Dumbledore's Legilimency completely.
Even if Logan somehow learned Occlumency miraculously, he still should not have been capable of blocking Dumbledore entirely.
And yet…
Dumbledore had sensed absolutely nothing.
That was undeniable fact.
.....
Want to read ahead. Then Join my P@treon 60+ exclusive chapters that are waiting for you.
Free members can get 2 advanced chapters FOR FREE.
Link: ptreon.com/Lotus_Lover
Join Right Now