Hogwarts Raven

The other professors had already left. Only Snape, Dumbledore, and McGonagall remained in the Great Hall. The Sorting Hat's heart-wrenching cries eventually softened Dumbledore's heart.

"Professor Snape, as the Sorting Hat said, it is one of Hogwarts' treasured possessions. None of us have the right to damage it or engage in any other... actions."

Dumbledore never addressed anyone by their first name when others were present.

He had originally planned to take Snape to visit the poor student who had fainted earlier. Unexpectedly, while he was adjusting his beard, Snape had already laid hands on the Sorting Hat.

To be honest, Snape's current behavior, in Dumbledore's view, wasn't entirely bad. At least it proved that Ian held some significance in Snape's heart.

This was a bond that could pull Snape back from the brink of the abyss.

"I just want to take the Sorting Hat for a bath." Snape continued to hold the Sorting Hat and spoke with almost a blank expression on his face.

"A dung pit is no bath! Let me go! You vile old bat!" The Sorting Hat screamed.

"I think you should talk less." Professor McGonagall, seeing Snape's expression darken, quickly made a silencing gesture toward the Sorting Hat.

"Hmph, old bat, is it? Not even Merlin could save you today." Snape said as he prepared to take the Sorting Hat toward the bathroom.

Dumbledore raised his hand, wanting to speak but hesitating.

"Dumbledore! Save me! McGonagall!"

"I watched you grow up! Save me!"

The Sorting Hat wanted to struggle but had no ability to do so.

"It's Ian! It's Ian! I want to tattle! It was that young wizard who called you that! I was just copying him!" The Sorting Hat, seeing the door getting closer, finally couldn't hold back.

'It had become a traitor.'

However, a thousand years of existence seemed not to have taught it the cost of betrayal— Snape's face grew even darker, and his steps quickened.

"Then let's take you to Ravenclaw's dung pit for a bath."

Snape's tone grew icy.

"No!!!!"

The Sorting Hat let out a despairing scream.

"Alright, Professor Snape, no need to scare it anymore," Dumbledore spoke with a tone of helplessness. Facing Snape, he also felt a bit guilty.

After all, he was the one who initially promised that Ian would be placed in Slytherin.

'Who would have thought? No matter how he observed, Ian seemed like a standard Slytherin.'

How did he end up in Ravenclaw? He had even secretly instructed the Sorting Hat last night to give Ian special consideration, yet the child was still sorted into another house— Dumbledore, of course, trusted the Sorting Hat's judgment, but Snape clearly wasn't happy with this outcome.

"I'm not joking with it."

Though Snape said this, he still stopped in his tracks.

Dumbledore quickly spoke up, "Give the Sorting Hat some time. I believe it can provide a convincing reason. After all, it has never made a wrong judgment in a thousand years."

The old headmaster's words made Professor McGonagall nod in agreement.

"Interfering with the Sorting Hat's work is already an overstep." Professor McGonagall was a dedicated professor. Since becoming a professor, she had restrained her Gryffindor nature for many years.

"Exactly! I never make mistakes!" The Sorting Hat loudly defended itself.

"I only believe what I see. Slytherin would bring him glory. He was born to be a Slytherin." Snape recalled several meetings with Ian.

Whether it was at the orphanage or the dug-up floor in Hogsmeade, Ian's many words and actions continuously proved to Snape that Ian should be a student of his house and he would have thrived.

'Ambition, cunning, strong will, and an understanding of glory.'

In these precise traits, Snape felt that even without any bias, he would consider Ian more outstanding than most Slytherin students he had taught.

Such obvious traits!

Where else could he go but Slytherin? Look at the students sorted into Slytherin this year!

Each one is more mediocre than the last!

'The Grindelwald kid aside, the others were simply the worst batch of Slytherins he had ever seen! Among them was even a coward who fainted from excitement! Fainted from excitement! Shouldn't such a person be sent to Gryffindor?' The more Snape thought about it, the angrier he became.

He felt the Sorting Hat was deliberately trying to annoy him. Even the Grindelwald kid had been fooled. How could such a cunning Ian not be a Slytherin? 

"Silence won't save you."

Snape lifted the Sorting Hat by its tip, his tone icy as he raised it high.

"I'm just thinking! Thinking about how to explain to you how special that little boy you fancy really is!" The Sorting Hat's tone carried a hint of stubbornness, though it was lacking in confidence.

"I'm listening, but if you're going to say he's smart, clever, wise, fair, learned, and visionary, I'm sure I can find a way to make the smell of the dung pit linger on you forever." Snape sneered.

He was well aware of the traits of students in each house.

"No! You can't do that! Dumbledore, say something, you are the Headmaster for crying out loud!" The Sorting Hat's expression grew even more terrified. It possessed intelligence no less than a human's. Some even said Gryffindor had left a fragment of his soul within it.

These were, of course, rumors without evidence. But one thing was certain: the Sorting Hat truly understood the weight of a Potions Master's words.

"Dumbledore can't save you. It seems you really intend to fool me." Snape's face was dark when he heard the Sorting Hat.

Compared to the young wizards of various houses, as a professor, he naturally understood some of the Sorting rules. In fact, the young wizards themselves had a bit of a say in their future house.

As long as they possessed some corresponding qualities, the Sorting Hat would consider the young wizard's request. In Snape's view, every drop of Ian's blood should have been marked with the Slytherin emblem.

Even if Ian truly possessed Ravenclaw qualities, sorting him into Slytherin would still be entirely reasonable.

"Of course not! Definitely not! If it were just that ordinary, why wouldn't I accept your request? I would have thrown that young wizard into the Slytherin house!"

Even simple flattery was within the Sorting Hat's capabilities, a testament to its wisdom. Of course, this might also be a quick wit born from Snape's relentless pressure.

"But he went to Ravenclaw." Snape's cold smile carried a cruel edge.

"Because Ravenclaw is the most suitable house for him!" The Sorting Hat quickly screamed, "No one is more suited to Ravenclaw than him. I've waited a thousand years to find Ravenclaw's heir, a mission entrusted to me by Godric Gryffindor!"

His words did not satisfy Snape.

(To Be Continued)

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