Allen, accompanied by Annie and the Weasley twins, finally managed to find an empty compartment on the crowded train, no easy feat, especially when the corridors were overflowing with wide-eyed first-years excitedly roaming about.

As for Percy, he had long since disappeared, according to George, it was because he had his eyes on the position of Head Boy.

Though Allen didn't quite understand how disappearing and being ambitious were related, he still nodded in agreement. Unlike the ever-carefree twins, Percy had been extremely diligent during Allen's time at the Burrow. Clearly, having two older brothers who were already prefects put a lot of pressure on him, and he was working hard to live up to that standard.

Of course, Allen wasn't about to play prophet and tell Percy he was "destined" to become Head Boy, especially since Percy was easily the proudest of the Weasleys and not one to be swayed by flattery.

After stocking up on snacks, the group quickly settled into casual conversation, something they'd grown used to during Allen's time at the Burrow. The only regret was that their usual targets for teasing, Ginny and Ron, weren't with them. First-years like them, who knew next to nothing about Hogwarts, made for the perfect audience. No matter how outrageous their stories got, the two would always listen with awe and admiration.

Annie, however, was another story. Having already been to Hogwarts once, the boys felt too awkward to brag in front of her, after all, boasting in front of someone who knew the truth just didn't work.

Since second-years and first-years used different modes of transportation, Allen and the others could only watch Annie join the crowd of new students being led by Hagrid along another path. Allen had a sneaking suspicion this dramatic lake route was meant to intimidate the newcomers, after all, Hogwarts looked especially grand when seen from across the water.

Following the flow of older students, Allen and his friends arrived at the carriages, if those creatures pulling them could even be called horses.

Ignoring the strange, skeletal beasts known as Thestrals, Allen calmly boarded like the other students. Only those who had witnessed death could see them, and Allen had no desire to stand out as someone who could.

Once they got off the carriages, the students quickly lined up under their Heads of House, though not without a lot of hushed chatter and speculation. Everyone was wondering who this year's Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher would be, and more importantly, how long they'd last.

Of course, that kind of talk didn't go unnoticed and was soon shut down by the professors. The students were ushered into the Great Hall and directed to their house tables to await the arrival of the new first-years.

Before the first-years even entered, however, the upperclassmen were already buzzing with curiosity about a new face at the staff table. If their guess was right, he was likely the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, a big, burly man with a full beard and a round belly. Strangely, paired with his ever-smiling face, he didn't look ridiculous at all. In fact, he gave off a cheerful, warm-hearted vibe, like a born optimist.

At the moment, he was enthusiastically downing goblets of mead, so much that Allen counted at least ten empty cups in front of him, drawing amused glances and laughter from all around the hall.

It was clear this professor was quite popular already, even Professor Snape hadn't shown his usual disapproval, which was no small feat.

Still, until Dumbledore introduced him, everyone could only stare and wonder what his teaching style would be like. After all, Hogwarts' Defense Against the Dark Arts position was practically a gamble each year. Whether the students learned anything useful largely depended on luck. Judging by this man's demeanor, perhaps their luck wasn't so bad this time?

Soon, however, their attention shifted to the incoming first-years. Led by Professor McGonagall, the nervous-looking children hurried into the hall, each of their faces practically shouting "anxiety."

In that moment, Allen finally understood why Hogwarts kept the details of the Sorting process a secret, watching the terrified expressions of the new students was simply too enjoyable. It was a tradition worth keeping.

The Sorting Ceremony proceeded smoothly until it was Annie's turn. Unlike the others, she wasn't the least bit nervous and casually placed the Sorting Hat on her head.

The moment the hat touched her head, it shouted, "Slytherin!"

Slytherin?

A wave of shocked murmuring swept across the Great Hall.

Allen was well-known by now, and nearly every student had seen him accompany Annie to the train. Even the professors who were in the know had been sure that Hufflepuff would gain an exceptionally talented new witch. But now? The girl destined for Hufflepuff had been sorted into Slytherin?

Merlin's beard! Was this a joke?

Professor Snape smiled for the first time, clearly amused by the unexpected twist. After all, Annie was one of the three students he himself had evaluated and deemed highly promising. The fact that she'd been "snatched" from Hufflepuff definitely delighted him.

Someone at the Slytherin table was the first to recover from the shock, whistling and clapping enthusiastically.

But what followed was even more shocking.

After the Sorting Hat's declaration, Annie gave a respectful bow to the professors and cheerfully ran, not to the Slytherin table, but straight to Hufflepuff.

Ignoring the confused applause and laughter from the Slytherin table, she approached the Hufflepuff table and, with a polite request, had the bewildered student next to Allen scoot over so she could sit down, like nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

Yes, in front of the entire stunned school, Annie sat down like a perfectly normal new Hufflepuff, waiting eagerly for the feast to begin.

Allen was just as dumbfounded as the rest, he had no idea how things had suddenly turned out like this.

"Big brother, what's wrong? Why isn't anyone continuing?" Annie asked innocently, as if nothing unusual had occurred.

Before Allen could respond, Professor McGonagall stormed over.

"Miss Annie, please return to your assigned House's table."

"Assigned House? What's that? Why can they sit with my brother", she pointed at a few other first-years seated at Hufflepuff, "and I can't?"

Allen slapped his forehead, only now realizing that he had never explained the four Houses to Annie. In fact, to avoid conflict, he and the twins had made it a point not to talk about inter-House rivalries at all.

"Well… Annie, tell me, what did the Sorting Hat say to you?"

"It said something about pure bloodlines, great talent, and strong ambition or whatever… I told it to hurry up and make a choice…" she replied, utterly innocent.

Professor McGonagall's face twisted into a complex expression, but it was nothing compared to the look on Professor Snape's face after she explained Annie's response.

Unfortunately, the Sorting Hat's decision could not be overturned, that had been Hogwarts tradition for nearly a thousand years.

So, amidst the extremely frustrated expressions from the Slytherin table, particularly a spectacularly sour one from Professor Snape, the Sorting Ceremony continued.

••┈┈┈┈┈༓┈┈┈┈┈•••

A/N: The last chapter was a mess. J.K. Rowling clearly loves the Weasleys too much. I had to reread the original descriptions of the Burrow just to get the details right, and ended up having to delete a lot of my own writing. So… this version will have to do.

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