As McGonagall guided the students through the Great Hall, Auden looked around to see familiar characters all around. He was able to recognise Hermione, who seemed tense—maybe because of Harry and Ron driving a car illegally to Hogwarts. He was easily able to identify Malfoy as well, along with a few other characters like Fred and George, Neville Longbottom, and—if his guess was right—Percy Weasley, who had the prefect badge.
He tried to use his hearing to listen for any useful information, but all he heard were muddled whispers about the flying car incident, which had taken Dumbledore and Snape away from the podium.
Auden knew that this wouldn't affect the trio very much, and the only one getting hurt because of it was the poor Whomping Willow tree, which was likely receiving a direct attack from the flying car.
So he waited for the other teachers to return after dealing with the aftermath of the flying car. When he looked behind him, he found that most of the students were shivering from the cold. Sadly, he had no drying spells with him. He had spent the last month perfecting the spells he already knew, learning novice-level runes, and planting and setting up the irrigation system in his garden. The rest of the time had been spent recording as many books as he could find.
Need to look into those household spells recorded in the system. Can't tell when and where they'll be useful.
After waiting for some time, Dumbledore and Snape, along with McGonagall, returned and immediately started the Sorting Ceremony, seeing the condition of the students.
"Auden H," McGonagall called the first name as silence fell over the hall. As Auden stepped near the Sorting Hat, he could feel the stares of most of the students in the hall. But he felt the strongest attention from Dumbledore and Snape at the podium. This made him a bit wary, but at the same time, it made him decide to find a book on Occlumency in the library. He had been unable to find any in the bookstore, and the tomes given by Flamel contained a lot of high-level knowledge but nothing about Occlumency. Nicholas might have thought those spells would be easily acquirable and had not included them in his collection of gifts.
Auden sat on the chair, and the dusty-looking hat was placed on top of his head.
"Greetings, heir of the Founders. I am the Sorting Hat, creation of Godric Gryffindor, tasked with sorting children into four groups where they will form comrades and challenge each other to grow." Seeing the unchanging expressions of the people all around him, Auden realised that whatever the hat said was only in his mind.
"Thank you for not revealing that aloud."
"Oh, don't you worry, my boy. I was made to judge the character of the student under me so I can decide the house in which they will shine the most. I can feel that you want to hide your real identity for now. So tell me, what can I do for you right now?" the hat asked.
"I feel like Dumbledore has a habit of looking into other people's minds. And I think keeping secrets from him is the best option. Can you tell me where I can find books on Occlumency here?"
"Oh, that would be slightly difficult, I suppose. The books you're looking for are in the Restricted Section of the library. And even though Dumbledore turns a blind eye to curious students, chances are he'll keep an eye on you—even if the whole castle is against him."
"What do you mean, 'the whole castle is against him'?"
"Oh, I forgot to tell you about that. You see, while you were created during the dawn of Hogwarts, the castle was just an inanimate object. But to ensure you were born properly, the castle was fitted with a lot of ley line runes that connected both you and the castle.
And after centuries of magic being passed through the castle, it developed a sort of consciousness and can be considered alive—like me. Since you've been under its protection for centuries, the castle considers you its own child. It won't allow any harm to come to you within its walls. In fact, the few times Dumbledore has tried to talk about your information with others in the castle, he ended up getting injured by different parts of the castle malfunctioning suddenly."
This was actually news to Auden. He had no idea such a connection existed between him and the castle.
"I can tell you a few more things, but I suggest you enjoy discovering information about the castle on your own."
"Okay," Auden agreed.
"Now, about the matter of Occlumency—I have the complete steps with me, and I can send them straight to your head. But my magic won't allow you to memorise it fully. It'll be like reading all the information at once. The amount you retain will depend on your memory power."
Auden smiled.
"Don't worry, I have complete confidence in that."
"All right," the hat said, and immediately sent the information to his head. Auden instantly recorded everything in his system.
"You got all that, kid?" the hat asked, to which Auden nodded.
"Alright, now about the sorting of your house. I know you want privacy to do whatever it is you're planning. So I would have suggested Slytherin, due to their private rooms. But since you won't reveal your ancestry, it will be extremely difficult for you to survive there peacefully.
The only other house with private rooms is Ravenclaw. But to acquire one before 7th year, you need to get first place in your house in the final exam of the previous year. However, you can get the room in your first year as long as you get first place in the small test conducted today within your house. The questions will be based on this year's topics and will be theory-based—to test how thoroughly you've read the books before coming here.
So should I put you in that house?"
"Yes," Auden agreed, a bit thankful for the hat figuring out his intentions. It had been some time since the hat was placed on him, and the stares from others were steadily increasing.
"RAVENCLAW!!" the hat shouted out, cementing his place in Ravenclaw House for the next four years.
A/N- hope you like it.