Harry returns from Hogwarts Legacy

Chapter 370 Side Story 2: Cassandra's First Encounter, Sorting House
Upon seeing the little girl, Gareth suddenly sat up straight and looked out the window.

The little girl didn't go to see Gareth, or rather, she didn't come here for Gareth.

"So what they said is true."

The girl spoke, her voice arrogant and somewhat domineering.

Harry had never heard this tone before, and instinctively disliked it.

"Among the new students this year, there is a boy with a scar on his head?" the girl asked again.

Harry knew this was directed at him.

"Hello, miss." He couldn't pretend not to hear like Gareth, so he could only greet him.

“Tell me your name,” the girl said.

"Harry, Harry Potter." Harry's voice lacked confidence.

This is the wizarding world, and the girl in front of him is clearly a young lady from a wealthy family. Harry, who has no one to rely on, dares not offend her.

"Potter..." the girl became alert, "Are you from the Potter family?"

“No, no.” Harry quickly shook his head. “I’m an orphan, not a member of the Potter family.”

The girl nodded.

“I’m sorry.” Her apology was extremely arrogant. “I am Cassandra Malfoy, you will remember this name.”

“Yes, Miss Malfoy,” Harry nodded quickly.

Cassandra glanced at the scar on Harry's forehead one last time, then turned and left.

Harry breathed a sigh of relief.

"Who is she?" Harry asked Gareth cautiously, his voice low, as if afraid Cassandra would hear him.

“You don’t even know her!” Gareth exclaimed as if he had heard something unbelievable. Then he added with a start, “Oh, that’s not surprising. You’re a Muggle, so it’s normal that you don’t know the Malfoy family. Remember, never mess with her. That’s my advice to you. If you anger her, the consequences will be severe.”

"Huh?" Harry scratched his head. "Why?"

“Her father is Septimus Malfoy!” Gareth’s voice was soft but powerful. “You know what? Everyone says that Mr. Malfoy is the real Minister for Magic, and the current Minister for Magic is just a puppet of his family—and his son, Cassandra Malfoy’s brother, Ignisius Malfoy, is an outstanding wizard who can get twelve O’s in OWLs! And Mr. Malfoy is also a member of the Hogwarts Board of Governors. If you mess with Miss Malfoy, just one word from her and her father and you’ll be expelled from school!”

Harry immediately grasped Miss Malfoy's status; she was a young lady not to be trifled with.

“I understand, Gareth,” Harry nodded and said seriously.

“I really don’t know why Miss Malfoy would be interested in you,” Gareth said, shaking his head. “I’ve heard she has a bad temper—well, she’s a bit arrogant and difficult to get along with.”

is it?

Harry shook his head, not taking it seriously.

He knew that he and Miss Malfoy were from two different worlds, and perhaps the young lady was just acting on a whim and wanted to see a child from the Muggle world.

"By the way," Gareth added, "have you decided which college you want to go to?"

“Not yet,” Harry said honestly. “I don’t know which houses Hogwarts has—by the way, which house is Headmaster Black in?”

“Slytherin,” Gareth said. “Oh, Merlin’s socks. Headmaster Black is the most unpopular headmaster in history, lots of people tell me that!”

The most unpopular principal?
Harry recalled what he saw and heard when he met Headmaster Black while collecting his bursary...

“I absolutely refuse to go to Slytherin!” he said firmly.

"Why?" Gareth asked.

“Because Headmaster Black is from Slytherin,” Harry said with a shrug.

The train continued its rumbling journey, and the sky gradually darkened.

“I think we should change into our robes, Harry,” Gareth urged. “It looks like we’ll be at Hogwarts soon, we need to get ready.”

Harry glanced out the car window; it was already dark, and he could see mountains and forests under a deep purple sky.

At this moment, the train seemed to slow down.

"The train will arrive at Hogwarts in five minutes. Please leave your luggage on the train and we will take you to school."

The sound echoed through the train, making Harry so nervous that his stomach churned, and Gareth turned pale.

“Oh, Sorting.” Gareth seemed to have thought of something bad. “My aunt told me that Sorting seems to involve fighting trolls, oh my god…”

“Troll?” Harry clearly didn’t know what a troll was.

“It’s just…” Gareth thought for a long time but couldn’t think of a suitable adjective.

The train slowed down and finally came to a stop. Passengers jostled and pushed their way to the doors and onto a small, dark platform.

The night air chilled Harry, and then a lamp flickered above the students' heads. Harry heard a voice with a very strange accent call out, "First-year students, first-year students, come this way!"

Harry stood on tiptoe and looked up, and saw a middle-aged man standing on a high place, holding a lamp in his hand.

“I am the key custodian, Gladwin Yue, from Cao County,” he introduced himself.

Mr. Yue has an Asian appearance, looks somewhat oily, and has rather small eyes.

They followed in Mr. Yue's footsteps, making their way along the path to the lake, where small groups of three to five boarded the boat.

Everyone remained silent, gazing at the enormous castle that soared into the clouds.

As they approached the cliff on which the castle stood, it seemed to tower above them.

"Duck!" Mr. Yue shouted as the first group of small boats approached the cliff.

Everyone lowered their heads as the small boat carried them through the ivy curtain covering the front of the cliff to a hidden, open entrance.

They followed a dark tunnel that seemed to lead them underground to the castle, eventually reaching a place resembling an underground dock, before climbing onto a surface of gravel and pebbles.

Climbing the steps, Gladwin took out his key and opened the oak door.

The students followed Gladwin, walking on the stone-paved floor.

This was the castle's entrance hall. Harry looked around; the hall was big enough that the Dursleys could have moved in.

They arrived at a small cabin, and Gladwin knocked on the door, saying, "Ms. Weasley, I've brought everyone here!"

The door opened, and standing in the doorway was a familiar face to Harry.

It is Professor Matilda Wesley.

“Welcome to Hogwarts.” Professor Weasley gestured for everyone to enter, and once they were all in place, he continued, “The Sorting Ceremony is about to begin, but before you take your seats in the dining hall, you must first decide which house you will be sorted into. The Sorting Ceremony is a very important ceremony, because during your time at Hogwarts, your house will be like your home. You will attend classes with your fellow students, live in your house dormitories, and spend your free time together in your house’s common rooms.” “The four houses are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own glorious history and has produced outstanding wizards and witches. During your time at Hogwarts, your excellent performance will earn your house points, while any misconduct will deduct points. At the end of the year, the house with the highest score will receive the House Cup, a great honor, and I hope that whichever house you are sorted into, you will bring glory to your house.”

"In a few minutes, the college selection ceremony will be held in front of the entire faculty and students. I suggest that you take some time to tidy yourselves up and look your best while you wait."

As he said this, Professor Weasley glanced intently at Gareth, whose face was pale.

“I’ll come pick you up when they’re ready,” Professor Weasley said. “Please keep quiet while you wait.”

Just then, Harry noticed that several pale ghosts were floating down from the ceiling.

He was terrified, standing there trembling, too scared to move.

The others weren't so calm. A dark-skinned girl screamed and sprinted backward.

“New students.” A chubby, monk-like ghost smiled at them. “It seems you are waiting for your sorting. I won’t disturb you any longer—I’m really sorry to have startled you, children.”

After saying that, the three ghosts floated away again.

“He’s quite polite,” Gareth said. “But I’ve heard there’s this guy called Peeves who’s a real thorn in the side of both the students and the professors.”

"Really?" Harry struggled to process the word Peeves, unable to understand why a ghost would have that name.

A short while later, Professor Weasley also returned.

“Now, line up in a single file,” Professor Weasley said to the first-year students. “Follow me.”

Harry lined up with his classmates, following behind a boy with his head down, with Gareth behind him.

They left the room, passed through a door, and entered the luxurious auditorium.

Harry had never seen such a magnificent and magical place. Students from other classes were already sitting around four long tables, with thousands of candles floating in the air above illuminating the dining room.

On the platform at the head of the table was a long table, which was for the faculty and staff.

Professor Weasley placed a four-cornered stool in front of the faculty seating area and put a worn-out pointed wizard's hat on it.

The hat was very worn; Harry suspected it hadn't been washed in at least ten years.

Just then, the hat twisted its body, a wide slit appeared on its edge, and it began to sing a nonsensical song.

Harry didn't listen closely to the lyrics, but the hat had an accent.

“So, it seems all we need to do is put on this hat.” Gareth breathed a sigh of relief, and color returned to his face. “My aunt tricked me into fighting a troll; what a good aunt she is!”

As if he had heard those words, Professor Weasley smiled at Gareth.

She took a few steps forward, holding a roll of parchment in her hand.

“Whoever I call now, put on your hat, sit on the stool, and await Sorting,” she said. “Stella Abercrombie!”

A little girl with freckled, silver-gray hair quickly stepped out of the line. She put on a hat that just covered her eyes.

After a brief pause—

"Gryffindor!" the hat shouted.

The Gryffindor table applauded and cheered for Stella, welcoming her to her seat.

The instant the hat announced the house, Harry noticed that Stella's robes had also changed to the Gryffindor style.

"Quesida Bloom!" "Gryffindor!"

"Astria Cricht!" "Ravenclaw!"

"Ominus Gunter!"

Harry saw the boy who had been standing in front of him with his head down walk out and sit on a stool.

"Slytherin!" he yelled before the Sorting Hat even landed on his head.

"Imelda Reyes!" "Slytherin!"

"Cassandra Malfoy!"

Upon hearing the familiar name, Harry saw the blonde, beautiful, and proud girl walk out of the crowd and sit arrogantly on a stool.

Before the hat even touched her hair, he shouted, "Slytherin!"

Cassandra stood up with satisfaction and looked around arrogantly.

The Slytherin students rose to their feet and applauded, cheering that Miss Malfoy had finally arrived in her loyal Slytherin.

"Harry Potter!"

Hearing his name called, Harry stumbled forward and sat down on the stool.

As the hat was put on his head, he suddenly heard a voice.

"Hmm... It's difficult, really difficult. You can see you have a lot of courage, and you're not a bad person. You're talented, oh my goodness, that's good—you have a strong desire to prove yourself, so, that's very interesting... Where should I assign you?"

"No Slytherin, no Slytherin!" Harry thought to himself, determined not to be in the same house as that—that annoying Headmaster Black.

In other words, I don't want to become that kind of person.

"What a pity you don't want to go to Slytherin. Slytherin could actually help you achieve great things!" Seeing that Harry was determined, the voice sighed and said, "Alright, since you don't want to go, then... Gryffindor!"

Harry stood up and, amidst the enthusiastic applause from his Gryffindor classmates, sat down on the bench.

He turned his head and continued looking at the branch campus.

“Anne Salo!”

A quiet little girl stood up and sat on the stool.

"Slytherin!"

"Sebastian Salu!"

Another boy, slightly shorter, stepped out from the crowd. Judging from his name, he should be Anne Sarou's brother.

"Slytherin!" the hat announced loudly, a fleeting look of satisfaction in the boy's eyes.

“Papie Sweeting!” Professor Weasley called out again.

A little girl with short hair walked up and sat on the stool.

After a moment's thought, the hat shouted, "Hufflepuff!"

(End of this chapter)