Ancient Wizards Return to Hogwarts...

Chapter 23 Raslint of Slytherin

The Sorting Hat was too big for Rice, who wasn't even an adult yet. When he put it on, the hat slipped down and covered his eyes.

Darkness descended, cutting him off from eye contact with the outside world.

After putting on the hat, Rice found that it wasn't as dirty as it looked; in fact, it was quite comfortable. He could even faintly sense Godric's lingering scent on it, which almost plunged him back into his old memories.

A faint voice sounded in his ear: "Hmm... a familiar feeling, very familiar... Hmm?!"

Even in a whisper, Rice could still hear the shock in the Sorting Hat's voice.

"Familiarity is key," Rice thought to herself.

"Oh my God..."

The hat became stiff, and the originally soft brim became as tight as a headband, making Rice's head hurt.

"Unbelievable, unbelievable..." The Sorting Hat seemed to have become a broken record, repeating only one sentence.

Huh? Rice noticed something was off about the Sorting Hat; it seemed to have changed quite a bit since the time he was in school.

Rice didn't hide his thoughts, so the Sorting Hat naturally learned of them and quickly replied, "The other adults gave me some... training."

"How will you be trained to speak ill of Slytherin?"

Sorting Hat: ...

"Please forgive my ignorance." It began to apologize without hesitation.

"It doesn't matter anymore. Slytherin's bad reputation is something their descendants brought upon themselves. Everything will end here because I'm here." Rhys didn't blame the Sorting Hat entirely; after all, it was just a talking hat.

"Slytherin's reputation will definitely turn around," the Sorting Hat immediately agreed.

With your arrival, Slytherin will surely become great again!

"Do you want to examine my memories to decide which college I should go to?"

For Rice, it would have been easy to use magic to seal his heart, but he chose not to, and instead opened his heart to the Sorting Hat.

You are free to look at it as you please, I don't mind.

But how could the Sorting Hat dare to do that? The memories of this big shot in front of him are beyond his ability to fathom.

When it first came into contact with Rice, it only felt that the soul in front of it was somewhat familiar, but the more it looked at the boy in front of it, the more it felt that he was like an old friend...

Someone it cannot afford to offend.

It dared not think any further; as a hat, the Sorting Hat was now sweating profusely.

"You're joking." The Sorting Hat chuckled awkwardly. If this person couldn't get into Slytherin, then Slytherin House might as well just be disbanded.

"During the thousand years you stayed at the school, did you see the other three people?" When Rice asked this question, he didn't seem to have any emotional fluctuations on the surface, as if he were asking a trivial question like "Have you eaten?" But if you looked into his heart, you would naturally find something strange.

The Sorting Hat remained silent.

"All right……"

Rice did not dwell on the matter, but instead asked the Sorting Hat to keep it a secret.

"Of course, of course!" That is to say, it doesn't have hands or a chest, otherwise the Sorting Hat would definitely pat its chest and guarantee it.

Fortunately, the conversation between the Sorting Hat and Rice was a "private chat," otherwise the entire school would have been stunned by Rice's attitude and the Sorting Hat's tone.

Before him, who would dare to order this "school's prized possession" around?

After a brief chat with the Sorting Hat, Rice ended the conversation, and the Sorting Hat, finally free, shouted in the loudest, clearest voice, "Slytherin!"

The moment the word "Slytherin" was uttered, the Sorting Hat seemed to slump down as if all its strength had been drained. When Professor McGonagall picked it up again, she was surprised to find that the hat was now completely soaked.

Although Rice was an unfamiliar face, thunderous cheers still erupted around the Slytherin table.

The Slytherin students were also aware that they weren't well-liked by the other three houses—Ravenclaw might be okay, but the young wizards of Gryffindor and Hufflepuff genuinely disliked them. This external factor fostered a degree of unity among them.

Regardless of the bloodline of this handsome young wizard, his arrival in Slytherin is something to celebrate.

As for what happens next... that's a matter for later, and it doesn't conflict with their current celebration.

Even Malfoy clapped his hands twice with a straight face. He concealed his emotions, not because he thought of what Rice had said, but because he didn't want others to know that he had suffered a loss at Rice's hands.

Daphne clapped the most enthusiastically, clapping her hands very hard, her face flushed red.

She didn't consider Rice an ordinary first-year student—could a first-year student have his magical abilities? Most graduates weren't at that level!

The father also said that the magical items he sold to his father were extremely rare and valuable, and would greatly help his sister's illness. If he became close to the father, would he be able to obtain even more precious items? Perhaps his sister's illness could be cured?

It would be wonderful to be classmates with a wizard like Rice.

Some inexplicable emotions were brewing in her heart.

Seeing Rice walk down from the faculty bench, she quickly squeezed to the side to make room for him.

"Thanks."

Rice walked over and sat down in the space Daphne had made for him, then watched the Sorting Ceremony with the other Slytherin students around him.

Mohn, Nott, Parkinson, Pettier... Harry Potter!

The Hogwarts students suddenly perked up and turned their attention to the thin, dark-haired boy.

"Do you think he'll come to Slytherin?" Daphne asked in a low voice.

"Why do you think he'll come to Slytherin?" Rice asked, a little puzzled. He didn't see anything in Potter that fit the Slytherin school's image.

"It's a good thing after all, now we have Potter. Students from other houses won't keep saying Slytherin is the cradle of dark wizards anymore," Daphne pouted and muttered to herself.

It's clear that she also harbors resentment towards the college's poor reputation.

Who wouldn't mind? Which young wizard would want to go to school with the label of "potential Death Eater"?

If the "Boy Who Lived" were also a Slytherin, the house's public image might improve.

Unfortunately, the beautiful idea was shattered by a loud "Gryffindor".

Looking at the Gryffindors cheering on the other side of the Great Hall, many Slytherin students couldn't help but show disappointment on their faces.

Many Slytherin students even loudly recounted the legendary story of the House winning the House Cup seven times in a row to the new students.

The Sorting Ceremony finally ended when the last freshman, Blaise Sabine, was sorted into Slytherin.

After Professor McGonagall rolled up the parchment, picked up the Sorting Hat, and left, Headmaster Dumbledore stood up.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Please, everyone, bookmark this and read it regularly to nurture this young seedling! *sobs*

The next update will still be in the early morning. If you can't wait, go to sleep first and you'll see it when you wake up!

(End of this chapter)