A Certain Magical Hogwarts

For a fleeting moment, Cedric felt he completely understood the plight of the Niffler—especially that feeling of frustrated helplessness.

"Professor Snape, these feathers are items we acquired ourselves," Cedric tried reasoning with him.

"'Acquired yourselves'?" Snape sneered. "The Thestrals are Hogwarts property; you can't just take them."

"But it was a fair trade," William interjected. "We fed the Thestrals, and they agreed to give us their feathers. Even if we bring this up with Professor Dumbledore, it's perfectly reasonable."

"And what did you use to feed them? Don't give Thestrals any rubbish—they're rare magical creatures…" Snape sniffed the air, and his expression suddenly darkened. "Did you use dragon's blood?"

William nodded honestly.

"Dragon's blood is incredibly valuable! Do you realize how much potion could be made with even a single drop?" Snape's fury was so intense it could almost trigger an old stomach ulcer.

William and Cedric gaped at his abrupt mood shift.

"Due to such wasteful behavior, I'll be requesting that the headmaster revoke your privilege of using dragon resources," Snape threatened, his eyes flashing with a dangerous gleam.

"Now, hand over those feathers!" Snape demanded, circling back to his initial request.

Just then, the main doors swung open, and Professor McGonagall led in a crowd of first-year students.

William and Cedric continued trying to reason with Professor Snape.

Snape drawled, his voice like a venomous snake's, "If you don't mind missing the Sorting Ceremony, I wouldn't hesitate to take you both to my office to discuss this…"

The first years kept glancing back at the strange trio, but Snape suddenly fell silent, as if struck by lightning.

He turned his gaze toward the new students, and his expression grew colder.

William, defiant, responded, "I'm not afraid to take this to the headmaster, Professor. What's a missed Sorting Ceremony compared to standing our ground? Let's go; professor??"

"Where do you think you're going? I don't have time to deal with you. Now, get out of my sight!" 

Snape snarled, casting a final glare at William and Cedric before turning toward the Great Hall, seemingly focused on the ceremony.

Cedric looked baffled.

William, however, was thoughtful.

Last year, he'd glimpsed some of Snape's memories and had seen a letter he'd written to someone, indicating that Snape once loved a girl. 

Now, coming face-to-face with that girl's son… who knew what emotions the stoic Professor Snape might be grappling with.

William suspected Snape's confrontation was a pretext, just to steal an early glance at someone.

He couldn't help but wonder about Snape's feelings for Harry—did he see the boy with love, or with resentment?

William and Cedric entered the Great Hall and took their seats at their respective tables.

Cho, concerned, asked, "What happened?"

"Oh, nothing much," William replied breezily. "Professor Snape just wanted to know if I had a potion for hair loss. He's been struggling lately."

William spread the rumor with complete confidence, knowing it would soon make its way around Hogwarts.

Tonight, the air was buzzing with excitement.

The Sorting Ceremony began, and Professor McGonagall led a group of nervous first-years into the hall.

From his seat, William spotted Hermione among them, anxiously staring up at the enchanted ceiling and muttering something under her breath.

Professor McGonagall placed a small, four-legged stool at the front and carefully set the Sorting Hat on top of it.

The Sorting Hat was as old and worn as ever, patched and frayed, and exceedingly dirty.

An elegant web spun by an eight-eyed spider draped across the hat like a white veil.

The hat seemed pleased with its decoration.

The hall fell silent, and then the hat stirred. A wide rip opened near its brim like a mouth, and it began to sing:

"You might think I'm not much to look at, but don't judge by what's outside.

If you can find a hat more grand, I'll eat myself with pride…"

When the long, off-key song ended, applause erupted through the hall. The hat bowed to each of the tables in turn, then became still.

William found the performance somewhat lackluster. Next time, he thought, they should give the hat a suona. Nothing says finality like the majestic blare of a suona.

Professor McGonagall stepped forward, holding a scroll of parchment. "When I call your name, come forward, put on the hat, sit on the stool, and await your sorting."

"Hannah Abbott!"

A rosy-cheeked girl with two blond pigtails stumbled forward, placed the hat on her head, and sat down. The hat fell over her eyes.

After a brief pause…

"Hufflepuff!" it shouted.

The table on the right cheered and applauded, welcoming Hannah to their ranks.

After several more names, it was finally Hermione's turn.

Hermione nearly sprinted to the stool and hurriedly placed the hat on her head.

The hat hesitated for a long time before finally calling out:

"Gryffindor!"

Gryffindor had been one of Hermione's top choices. She didn't feel particularly disappointed or thrilled, just a little… uncertain.

When it was Neville's turn, he ran too quickly and tripped, falling flat on the floor.

Laughter echoed through the hall.

McGonagall's piercing glare quickly silenced everyone.

Neville's sorting took even longer than Hermione's.

During the process, his toad Trevor sneaked out of his pocket and spotted the spider web on the Sorting Hat.

The hat suddenly cried out, begging Trevor to spare the spider.

Professor McGonagall hurried over to rescue the poor spider from Trevor's mouth.

With an exasperated shout, the hat finally announced, "Gryffindor!"

After that, Malfoy was sorted into Slytherin, and both Ron and Harry joined Gryffindor.

Finally, the Sorting was complete.

Albus Dumbledore stood, his face beaming as he looked around at the students, his arms open wide. Nothing seemed to bring him more joy than seeing them all gathered together.

"Welcome!" he announced. "Welcome to another year at Hogwarts! Before we begin the feast, I'd like to say a few words."

"Those words are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!"

"Thank you all!"

He sat back down, to resounding applause and cheers.

….

Author's Note:

(Some might say there's a lot of the original text here, but it was essential to include this part. Classic lines from Hannah and Dumbledore are a staple of Harry Potter fanfiction.

I'll avoid this in the future.

One more thing—some readers suggested placing Hermione in Ravenclaw, but to me, Hermione is a Gryffindor at heart.

I love Hermione for her bravery and adventures. She would be just another Cho in Ravenclaw.

Of course, this is William's story, not Harry's. There won't be any "nanny" content. The first volume has already drastically altered the world, and this story will continue to do so.)

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