#79 - Chapter 79: Tricking the Sorting Hat

After breakfast, Sebastian arrived at Hogwarts through the fireplace.

The air in the office felt a bit stuffy, as it hadn't been cleaned for a long time.

"Whirlwind Sweep."

The office windows opened, and the stale air, along with all the dust in the room, flew out under Sebastian's control.

Standing by the window, having just taken a breath of fresh air, Sebastian was pleasantly surprised to find that Hogwarts had undergone a different kind of change.

A row of greenhouses had been newly built near the edge of the Forbidden Forest, their glass walls shimmering in the sunlight.

Not bad!

It seems Old Dumbledore has already arranged the work-study program after receiving the money.

Professor Sprout is really efficient; the greenhouses are already prepared.

Now everything is ready; once the young wizards are in place, they can start working.

Looking at his magical watch, and realizing that it was almost time for his appointment with Dumbledore, Sebastian walked briskly towards the Headmaster's office.

Upon entering, Sebastian was surprised to find that the Headmaster's office was empty.

Old Dumbledore actually stood him up?

This was a first.

Just as Sebastian was wondering, the Headmaster's portrait on the wall moved.

A wizard with a goatee shouted at Sebastian, "Sebastian, Dumbledore asked me to tell you something."

"He received a request for help from Minister of Magic Fudge this morning, so he went to the Ministry of Magic.

However, he will be back soon, so wait here for a while."

Not here?

This is so boring.

Sebastian sat down helplessly, then started chatting idly with Phineas's portrait.

Just when Sebastian was bored to death, the Sorting Hat on the shelf started talking.

"Slytherin boy, why do you have the aura of Gryffindor on you?"

Hearing the Sorting Hat's question, Sebastian's eyes lit up.

That's right!

This is Gryffindor's hat.

And he had obtained Gryffindor's inheritance.

In that case, would the Sorting Hat listen to him?

In his previous life, among the discussions of the witty netizens, whether the Sorting Hat had any inside deals was always an unresolved question.

Now that he had this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, he had to try it out properly.

He immediately spoke, his voice full of anticipation.

"I have gained Gryffindor's approval and obtained the inheritance he left behind. For Gryffindor's sake, can you do me a small favor?"

With that said, Sebastian's mind moved, and layers of Shield Charms flashed in front of him.

"Oh, no wonder," seeing the long-lost Shield Charm, the Sorting Hat suddenly understood, "You have gained Gryffindor's approval, so we are on the same side."

"What request do you have? Tell me."

"Can you arrange for a few students..." Sebastian held the Sorting Hat in his hands, asking with a serious expression.

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

Before Sebastian could finish speaking, the Sorting Hat righteously refused his request.

"I am a fair and impartial hat, and I sort students based on their qualities."

"There is absolutely no behind-the-scenes manipulation.

Give up on that idea."

Heh!

What a fair and impartial hat!

If Sebastian were a native of the magical world, he would definitely be superstitious about authority.

He would believe in this alchemical item created by the four founders and imbued with their thoughts.

However, Sebastian's soul came from the Muggle world of information explosion.

His knowledge was no longer limited by the small magical world.

Sebastian firmly believed that in this world, any decision made by a sentient being could not be completely fair and impartial.

At most, it was only relatively fair.

If the Sorting Hat was just an ordinary alchemical item, a program, and all its decisions were based on pre-entered conditions,

Then saying it was fair and impartial would have some credibility.

Unfortunately, the Sorting Hat had its own thoughts.

It could think, communicate with people, and even write a Sorting Song every year.

In this case, the fairness it could achieve was questionable.

In the end, the Sorting Hat was just an alchemical item belonging to Hogwarts, and at Hogwarts, the headmaster was the one with the most authority.

Sebastian had the right to suspect that when a wizard became the headmaster of Hogwarts, would he have the right to give some instructions to the Sorting Hat?

Perhaps this secret could only be known after becoming headmaster.

"When young wizards have distinct personalities, I believe you can be fair and impartial."

"But in this world, there are always many special circumstances. Let me ask you."

Sebastian sneered and asked the Sorting Hat a soul-searching question.

"A young wizard who is both diligent, studious, intelligent, ambitious, and a believer in blood purity, how would you sort him?"

"A young witch who is both brave, fearless, courageous, united, friendly, loyal, and upright, how would you sort her?"

"In the history of sorting, there are often young wizards who are suitable for multiple houses. Every time this happens, you have to spend a long time judging."

"People always say that the achievements those young wizards later make are enough to prove the accuracy of your sorting."

"But who can prove that if those young wizards went to other houses, they would not have achieved amazing success?"

Speaking his mind in one breath, Sebastian felt much happier.

Little rascal!

This set of theories was praised by many professors at last year's opening banquet.

I don't believe that after such a combination of punches, you, this broken hat, can still tell east from west.

As Sebastian had expected, a series of questions rained down, leaving the Sorting Hat somewhat speechless.

It could not prove that those young wizards with multiple qualities would not become mediocre if they went to other houses.

It had been created for a thousand years, and after such a long time, its wisdom had long understood one thing.

That is, if a person possesses many good qualities, then he will be more likely to succeed in whatever he does than ordinary people.

It opened its mouth and stammered out a sentence after a long while.

"Keep your voice down, it's early in the morning, and some people might still be sleeping in."

"For Gryffindor's sake, tell me first, who do you want to arrange?"

"I declare in advance that I will only consider your arrangement if the conditions are similar."

"You must remember that I am still that fair and impartial Sorting Hat."

It's done?

Sebastian was a little surprised; he thought he would have to spend a lot of effort talking.

However, he had persuaded the Sorting Hat with just a few words.

What about the Headmaster of Hogwarts?

For the Sorting Hat, do the words of the Headmaster carry more weight?

At this point, Sebastian couldn't afford to let his imagination run wild. After thinking for a moment, he said a few names.

"Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle, if possible, sort them into Hufflepuff."

"Are you sure?" The Sorting Hat's voice was somewhat doubtful, "These two names sound like pure-blood families. Would they be suitable for Hufflepuff?"

"I'm sure," Sebastian's tone carried a hint of emotion, "I've observed them, and they are very suitable for Hufflepuff."

"Their minds are so simple right now that all they think about all day long is eating."

"Their idea of going to Slytherin is all instilled by their fathers; they don't have any opinions of their own."

"Hufflepuff is the best choice for them."

To be honest, just thinking about the batch of problem children who will be entering Slytherin this year gives Sebastian a headache.

If there is no intervention, the two little fatties will definitely enter Slytherin as in the original book and become Malfoy's lackeys.

Sebastian had observed them during the summer vacation. Compared with other problem children, these two little fatties had the least thoughts.

In this case, letting these two little fatties enter Slytherin would completely ruin them. It would be better to let them go to a friendly environment while their minds are still relatively simple.

At least, they can meet a group of like-minded foodie friends in Hufflepuff.

Of course, there is another advantage to doing so, which is to divide Malfoy's small group in advance.

Sebastian also wanted to see if Malfoy would still be so arrogant without two little bodyguards.

"Well, if the situation is really as you say, I will consider it."

The Sorting Hat only considered it for a moment before agreeing to Sebastian's proposal.

"That's just the two of them, right?"

Sebastian hesitated for a long time and sighed softly.

"Just the two of them..."