Hogwarts: This holy light is righteously evil

It's a very old-fashioned and off-key song, but it's still a song that helps students understand the four college's core principles.

Gryffindor champions fearless courage.

Hufflepuff upholds integrity and loyalty.

Ravenclaw favors intelligent and inquisitive souls.

Slytherin favors those with ambition.

Until the song ended.

The Sorting Hat's raspy voice has finally stopped blaring.

Not many people in the auditorium were willing to applaud its singing.

Marcos couldn't help but lean closer to Puni: "My God, this tune is off-key, worse than the giant squid in the Black Lake. I almost thought I was going to fall into the lake."

Puni nodded in deep agreement.

At this moment, Professor McGonagall stepped forward and unfolded the parchment in her hand.

"When I call your names, come forward and sit down, put on your Sorting Hats, and await your house assignment."

The list is arranged alphabetically by the new students' last names.

The first one to go up was a little girl, who was assigned to Hufflepuff.

A round of applause broke out.

The applause this time was much more enthusiastic than the applause for the Sorting Hat's song.

"Marcos Belby!"

"Oh! Why do I have to be so close to the front?"

Marcos's face turned pale. He forced himself to run forward and plopped down on the four-legged stool, letting Professor McGonagall put the patched Sorting Hat on his head.

The auditorium fell silent again, and all eyes turned to that direction.

The Sorting Hat muttered to itself for a long time before finally shouting at the top of its lungs.

"Ravenclaw!"

A long table on the right also erupted in enthusiastic applause.

Marcos blinked.

Is that all?

He then took off his hat with a sigh of relief, stumbled towards the long table, and didn't forget to turn back and wave to Puni.

"Katie Bell!"

The shy girl was so nervous that her fingers were trembling. She put on the Sorting Hat, and within seconds the hat announced the result.

"Gryffindor!"

Cheers immediately erupted from the Gryffindor long table, and Katie ran over, blushing.

Cho Chang, standing beside Penny, watched Kitty's retreating figure and tilted his head, wondering, "Could the Sorting Hat have put Kitty in the wrong house? Doesn't Gryffindor value courage?"

"A wise man keeps his talents hidden until the right time to act, and the same goes for courage." Puni smiled. "Sometimes, the fire in your heart doesn't have to be burning on your face."

Qiu Zhang's eyes widened slightly: "Oh! You actually know about these things? My father often tells me about that ancient Eastern country at home!"

"Autumn Zhang!"

Before Puni could reply, Professor McGonagall's strong voice rang out.

Qiu Zhang paused slightly, then quickly walked forward and sat down.

The Sorting Hat hovered over her head for only a few seconds: "Ravenclaw!"

Cho Chang's eyes lit up, he smiled brightly, then took off his hat, solemnly handed it back to Professor McGonagall, and jogged all the way to the Ravenclaw table, where he sat down right next to Marcos.

Then she turned back to look at the new students and waved vigorously at Puni.

Puni smiled and nodded at her.

After a while, the names on the parchment were finally turned to the back row.

"Puni Black Lestrange!"

Puni slowly walked forward and gave Professor McGonagall a sweet smile.

Professor McGonagall paused for a moment, then said, "Please have a seat."

Puni turned and sat down, and Professor McGonagall then placed the Sorting Hat on his head.

The wide brim of the hat had just covered his vision when an old and cunning voice exploded in his mind.

"Oh! A perfect, pure, and flawless Slytherin prospect!"

"The oldest pure bloodline flows through your veins; you have an almost obsessive pursuit of the origins of magic and power; and deep within you lies a ruthless ambition! At the same time, you possess an innate ability to assess situations and a strong desire for control?"

"Go, Si..."

The Sorting Hat was about to shout.

Puni's eyelids twitched.

You old hag, you haven't even asked my opinion before you're going to assign me to a college?

He was somewhat unhappy.

Because of his displeasure, some element suddenly burst forth within him—not manifesting on the surface of his body, but rather all converging in his mind.

The holy light manifested as a hammer.

He slammed the Sorting Hat into his head.

"Bang!"

"oh--!!"

The Sorting Hat shouted.

Professor McGonagall, who was standing nearby, was startled and quickly turned to look.

"Please rest assured, I am simply engaging in a friendly exchange with it. Its allocation of my college has been rather hasty, and I think I need to correct it."

Puni reached out his left hand, grabbed the Sorting Hat's mouth which was about to shout, then pulled the hat up a bit and gave Professor McGonagall his signature smile again.

Professor McGonagall stood there, unsure of what to say.

Puni took this as a tacit agreement, then put the hat back on his head and released his grip.

"Please don't yell at me from above. It's noisy and undignified. If you don't behave, I might pull you down and give you a good beating."

The hammerhead that flashed with holy light in Puni's mind almost blinded the Sorting Hat.

"What kind of magic is this? When did the Lestrange family acquire such power?"

In Puni's mind, the phantom of the Sorting Hat trembled.

—Actually, this phantom shouldn't have appeared, but the moment he put on the hat, the diary in his mind turned a page, and the figure of the Sorting Hat appeared in his mind.

"This is my awakened talent—don't you know? My dear mother once wanted to kill me, but unfortunately she underestimated my talent and ultimately fell victim to her own arrogance."

The student in the graduating class swallowed hard.

It suddenly remembered that it seemed to have heard Dumbledore mention this before, but it was usually not keen on having too much interaction with Dumbledore—that old man was just too scheming!

It can never win an argument with the other party!

Rather than talking to Dumbledore, it preferred to quietly contemplate for a whole year what it should say at the freshman orientation party.

—This is its moment of glory, making its debut in front of the entire Hogwarts!

"Oh ho ho ho... That's quite a talent, but do you even have to beat me?" The Sorting Hat said, looking aggrieved.

"Of course not, I was just a little too excited just now—I think I might be more suited to Ravenclaw. You see, I love knowledge so much, and I'm even more obsessed with the study of magic—I can spend whole nights immersed in books to explore the origins of magic. Isn't that the purest Ravenclaw trait?"

"Oh, come on, kid." The Sorting Hat shook its head. "I admit you have exceptional intelligence and a strong thirst for knowledge, but isn't your fundamental purpose in learning all this knowledge to gain more control? You're not a little guy who's good at being subservient to others!"