Louis walked over to the Slytherin table with a pleasant smile, greeting the students nearby.
Coincidentally, the seat he chose was right next to the proud blond boy Draco Malfoy and his two ever-present goons.
"Hi, I'm Louis Wilson," Louis said in a friendly tone.
Draco gave him a scrutinizing look. "Wilson? Never heard of that name. But whatever—if you've got some smarts, I suppose I could let you be one of my followers."
He then gestured to the two boys beside him. "These are Crabbe and Goyle."
What a cocky little thing, Louis thought, smiling ambiguously.
With the Sorting Ceremony concluded, the legendary wizard Albus Dumbledore stood up to announce the beginning of the feast. His long, silvery beard and hair gave him a benevolent air, perfectly embodying everyone's image of a kind and reliable old wizard.
As his voice faded, the once-empty long tables instantly filled with an enormous spread of food.
Greasy roast chickens, juicy steaks and drumsticks, and all kinds of sweets piled high in front of the young witches and wizards.
It was an almost dreamlike sight—even for Louis, who now possessed extraordinary power. But this moment still stirred in him a childlike wonder at the magic of it all.
"Well, it looks like it just sprouted out of nowhere, but food can't be conjured—it's just teleportation," Louis muttered as he went to spear a piece of steak for his plate, only to look up and meet Hermione's resentful gaze.
Clearly, his House choice had not gone over well with Miss Granger.
Hermione sat at the Ravenclaw table, glaring at Louis from across the aisle. Even when he smiled apologetically, she refused to let him off the hook.
And she wasn't the only one surprised by his choice.
Neville Longbottom—who had happily been sorted into Gryffindor—stared wide-eyed at Louis walking toward the Slytherin table. In his eyes, this magician boy seemed even more Gryffindor than Gryffindors themselves.
He didn't know the phrase "knowingly walk into the tiger's den," but he deeply resonated with the spirit it conveyed—the courage to face challenges head-on.
Apart from the two compartment-mates who noticed Louis, another boy had taken note as well.
"He actually went to Slytherin!" Harry exclaimed, nudging Ron, who was gnawing on a chicken leg. He pointed at Louis. "Didn't you say all Slytherins are pure-blooded dark wizards?"
"Exactly! That Wilson kid must be one too. Even if he isn't now, he will be eventually," Ron said with conviction.
"But he's a Muggle-born wizard—he's my neighbor. Lives right across from my aunt and uncle's house," Harry said. "He almost missed his invitation to Hogwarts—he only found out because he ran into Hagrid when Hagrid came to get me."
"What?! No way—a Muggle-born in Slytherin? That's impossible!" Ron exclaimed.
Unfortunately, he didn't notice how loud he was being, and his outburst echoed across the Gryffindor table.
Sitting nearby were a pair of older red-headed twins—identical in every way to Ron.
"What? That last kid sorted into Slytherin is a Muggle-born?"
"Oh no. Poor guy—he's in for a nightmare."
The twins bantered in sync, lamenting the unfortunate fate of the Muggle-born in Slytherin.
They were Ron's older brothers—Fred and George Weasley—a pair of pranksters and geniuses in crafting magical trinkets. Sadly, neither their parents nor older brother took them seriously.
Speaking of which, their brother Percy Weasley—the pompous prefect—was sitting a little farther up the table, glaring at the noisy twins with a look that practically screamed: "I'm telling Mum."
"Oh no, George," Fred said dramatically. "I think I just mastered Legilimency. Percy's face is shouting 'I'm telling Mum'!"
"You're right! And it looks like I've mastered it too!" George roared with laughter.
There are no secrets in Gryffindor. The news that Louis Wilson was a Muggle-born spread like wildfire, first across Gryffindor House, then to the neighboring tables—like an uncontrollable plague.
Before long, the rumor reached Hermione's ears.
She suddenly looked up and turned to the student who was gossiping beside her. "Louis is a Muggle-born? I mean—who told you that?"
"I heard it from over there. Everyone's talking about it. Word's even gotten to the Slytherin table," the young witch said, pointing across the hall.
Oh no. This was a disaster.
Hermione looked at Louis with deep concern. She had planned to keep his background private—at least until he made some friends. But now, just moments after the Sorting, his secret was out.
Would this cause trouble for him? Would he be bullied?
"Even if he's a magician… how's he going to handle being hated by an entire House of wizards?" Hermione thought anxiously.
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