"Ivan Aiferi!"
"Ivan Aiferi!"
The hall was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop, and no one said anything.
Ivan was wondering when he was suddenly poked in the back. He looked back and saw a blonde girl gesturing at him with her lips pursed: "Mr. Aiferi, Professor McGonagall is calling you! It's your turn!"
Ivan turned his head and saw that he was standing in a European-style hall, surrounded by students wearing cloaks. There was a worn-out wooden chair in the middle of the hall, and a broken hat was placed on the chair.
"Is this a cult ritual?" Ivan kept muttering in his heart.
"Ivan Aiferi, please come forward!" Professor McGonagall's voice was still so calm, but as soon as the voice fell, everyone's eyes shot over.
Suddenly someone pushed Ivan from behind, and he staggered forward, approaching the broken hat.
As he walked, Ivan muttered softly: "I am Ivan, but I am not Ivan Aferri..."
"Okay, kid, come here." Professor McGonagall walked up, put a hand on Ivan's shoulder, and led him to sit on the chair. Then, she put the Sorting Hat on his head.
The hat twisted uncomfortably on Ivan's head, and then spoke in a funny and naughty tone.
"Hey, kid, don't be so shy. Believe me, you are not the first person who is nervous in a place like this. Just close your eyes and it will be fine soon-it doesn't hurt at all!"
Ivan rolled his eyes.
"I bet you must be from a Muggle family, right? Every few years, there are always some new little wizards who don't believe that magic is real. They think it's all a trick, and they want me to make a long-eared rabbit out of my body. I told them that there was nothing in my hat, but they just didn't believe it."
The Sorting Hat kept telling stupid jokes, and its mouth was almost open to the edge.
"Okay, young man, let's see which college you are suitable for."
"What is this? No!" Before the Sorting Hat could make a sound, a dark red flame came out of the Sorting Hat.
The dark red flame instantly engulfed the Sorting Hat, making a "crackling" sound, and a burnt smell spread. The flame was like a greedy venomous snake, winding around the edge of the hat and licking every inch of its fabric. The students in the hall exclaimed, and a few timid ones even stood up from their seats, their eyes full of fear and confusion.
Professor Dumbledore cast a large protective spell at lightning speed, controlling the flame within a certain range to prevent it from spreading to other students. His wand drew a silver-white arc in the air, instantly forming a transparent barrier to block the flame in it.
The flame quickly burned the Sorting Hat to ashes, but it didn't even light Ivan's hair.
"A small spirit of an artifact dares to invade the consciousness of the only descendant of my Kongshan Taoist Temple. You are really idle." A consciousness sounded in Ivan's mind.
"Grandmaster, you are here too. I thought I was the only one who traveled through time." Ivan's voice was filled with surprise and emotion, as if he was talking to an invisible existence. His fingers unconsciously touched the ring on the ring finger of his left hand. The surface of the ring was shining with a faint luster, which seemed to resonate with his emotions.
At the moment when he finished speaking, the ring flashed a dazzling light, and then a small electric current rushed out of the ring and rushed straight to Ivan's head. The speed of the electric current was so fast that Ivan didn't even have time to react. His hair was electrocuted and stood up, like weeds blown by the wind.
"Hiss-" Ivan took a breath, raised his hand and touched his hair, with a helpless smile on his face.
"I forgot that the ancestor doesn't like people touching him."
The students in the hall were completely shocked by this scene. Many of them stared with their eyes wide open and their mouths wide open, as if they had seen something incredible. Even Professor McGonagall was stunned. Her brows were deeply furrowed, and her eyes moved back and forth between Ivan and the ashes of the Sorting Hat, as if trying to understand everything that was happening in front of her.
Professor Dumbledore walked forward slowly, his long silver beard flickering slightly in the candlelight. His eyes were deep and serious, but also a bit inquisitive. He walked to the ashes of the Sorting Hat, squatted down, and carefully observed the remaining black fragments. After a moment, he stood up, waved the wand in his hand lightly, and whispered: "Restored to the original."
A soft silver light shot out from the tip of the wand and enveloped the ashes. The ashes slowly condensed in the light and re-formed the wrinkled Sorting Hat. As soon as the hat returned to its original shape, it immediately let out a terrified scream, the sound was sharp and piercing: "No! I don't want to be on his head again!" Its brim shook violently, as if it wanted to flee the scene.
Dumbledore frowned slightly, and turned his eyes to Ivan, with a hint of deep meaning in his eyes. He reached out to put the Sorting Hat back on Ivan's head, but the hat struggled desperately, and his voice was crying: "Dumbledore, please! I can't remember what happened just now, but my intuition tells me that if I get close to him again, I will be in danger!" Its brim even began to curl up, like an animal curled up in fear.
Dumbledore was silent for a moment, and sighed softly: "It seems that we need to temporarily suspend the Sorting Ceremony." He turned his head and nodded slightly to Professor McGonagall: "Minerva, please continue to preside over other matters. I will be back soon!" After that, he turned around and left the auditorium with the Sorting Hat, his steps were steady but a little hurried.
"Ivan Avery, please return to the team first." Professor McGonagall's voice broke the silence. Although her tone was calm, there was still a hint of vigilance in her eyes. Ivan nodded and turned back to the freshman team.