Harry Potter: From Muggle Cousin to Conceptual Wizard

Chapter 74 Forced Reordering, the Sorting Turmoil!

The Iron-Hat Queen of Hogwarts ascended her throne, and Professor McGonagall personally placed the crown upon her head.

After a moment's thought, the Sorting Hat shouted: Hufflepuff!

Hannah Abbott abdicated in a flash, leaving the throne and running towards the Hufflepuff long table amidst cheers from the Hufflepuff upperclassmen.

Next, Professor McGonagall summoned the new students one by one, according to the list of new students arranged alphabetically by their last names, and then proceeded to the throne, crowned, banished, cheered, and abdicated.

Before long, they read out the name of Dudley Dursley, whose last name began with the letter 'D' and who was ranked relatively high.

Unlike the other freshmen who obediently stepped forward to ascend the throne, Kedari stared directly at the Sorting Hat not far away and used the special privileges that Hogwarts' supernatural consciousness had recently granted him.

"The Sorting Hat, Harry Potter and I will stay until last. You sort the other freshmen into their houses first."

As soon as Dali said this, the entire auditorium fell silent.

This was an unprecedented act of arrogance, leaving all the teachers and students of Hogwarts stunned.

"You...you are...Wow! This has never happened before!"

In the ensuing silence, the Sorting Hat spoke with great surprise, haltingly, "Alright! Since it's Ho... your request, I'm willing to comply."

The Sorting Hat agreed, but Professor McGonagall disagreed.

The vice-principal, who was known for her serious demeanor, was very dissatisfied with Dudley's repeated rule-breaking behavior, although she had to admit that there was some truth to what Dudley had said to her in front of the castle gate.

"Dullie Dursley! Follow the rules! Hogwarts is not your home! You can't do whatever you want!"

Professor McGonagall reprimanded him sternly and methodically.

Dudley smiled slightly upon hearing this: "Professor McGonagall, you didn't say that to us freshmen in the small room across from the Great Hall just now."

Professor McGonagall's face stiffened. She suddenly remembered that she had said to the new students to welcome them to the university:

Hogwarts is everyone's home, so there's no need to be nervous. Just relax and wait for the Sorting.

But now, those words have become a weapon for Dali to use against her.

"You..." Professor McGonagall was speechless with frustration.

Dumbledore, seated in his high position, sensed the awkward atmosphere and Professor McGonagall's predicament, and immediately spoke up to defuse the conflict:

“Minerva, let’s do as the Sorting Hat says! We should respect the treasures left behind by the four founders of Hogwarts.”

Dumbledore's words were clever; he didn't openly side with Dudley, but instead used his position as the Sorting Hat to give Professor McGonagall a way out.

"Professor Dumbledore, you... alright!"

Professor McGonagall was surprised by Dumbledore's words. She understood the implication behind Dumbledore's words: he was on Dudley's side.

At that moment, she even had the absurd idea that Dudley had cast the Imperius Curse on Dumbledore.

But the idea only lingered in her mind for a moment before being dismissed.

Because that's impossible.

It's unclear what charm Dudley Dursley, this unconventional child, possesses that makes her old partner, the greatest wizard in the magical world, so obedient.

Professor McGonagall sighed inwardly, took the step Dumbledore had given her, picked up the list of new students again, skipped Dudley's name, and continued with the sorting.

Justin Finley!

In the still awkward silence, a little boy stepped forward and sat on the four-legged stool, and was sorted into Hufflepuff House by the Sorting Hat.

The familiar applause and cheers became sparse, clearly indicating that many people still didn't understand how the unexpected situation could be so easily resolved.

Especially those young wizards who had been taught a lesson by Dudley’s magical whirlwind in front of the brick wall of Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, they were hoping that Professor McGonagall could avenge them!

But reality did not unfold as they had envisioned.

Professor McGonagall remained calm and continued reading the next student's name:

Hermione Granger!

"Gryffindor!"

……

Later, just like in the original story, the Sorting Hat hesitated for a long time before finally sorting Neville into Gryffindor.

Unlike the original story, Malfoy, with his calm demeanor, wasn't sorted into Slytherin before his head even touched the Sorting Hat. The Sorting Hat hesitated, and only after Malfoy's constant nagging did it reluctantly sort him into Slytherin.

The result was the same, but the process changed.

Then, Professor McGonagall read out some more names of the new students. When it came to Harry Potter, Professor McGonagall looked up and glanced at Dudley with a hint of displeasure, as if she were blaming Dudley for leading her cousin astray.

But Professor McGonagall skipped Harry Potter's name and moved on to the next one.

According to the original list order, there are only three people left after Harry, with Ron second to last.

Ron didn't give the Sorting Hat any trouble and was easily sorted into Gryffindor.

After Ron, the last freshman on the original list was assigned to Slytherin. At that moment, the double doors at the entrance to the Great Hall in the distance were quietly opened.

Dudley noticed it out of the corner of his eye, glanced at it from afar, and saw that it was Hagrid who opened the door.

Hagrid has just fed his two adorable buddies raw meat, and now it's his turn to eat at the restaurant.

Hagrid seized the opportunity perfectly. The Great Hall hadn't started serving meals yet, and Dudley and Harry's sorting hadn't taken place. He slowly walked from the left side of the Great Hall along the wall towards the faculty seating area, making sure not to make a sound so as not to disturb others.

"Dullie Dursley, Harry Potter, it's just the two of you left! Who wants to go first?"

Professor McGonagall lowered the arm holding the list of new students and pressed him with a displeased expression.

“Harry, you go first!” Dudley said directly.

Harry didn't hesitate upon hearing this. He nodded to Dudley, stepped forward, and let Professor McGonagall place the Sorting Hat on his head.

At this moment, Hagrid walked to his seat and sat down, looking at Harry's Sorting Ceremony with surprise. He had thought he would miss the Sorting Ceremony of his two friends!

The timing was perfect!

"Gryffindor!"

The Sorting Hat hesitated for a moment, then whispered to Harry for a while before finally announcing the name of Gryphon.

Seeing that Harry had been sorted into Gryffindor, Ron, Hermione, and Neville, Hagrid, Dumbledore, and even Professor McGonagall, the Headmaster of Gryffindor, couldn't help but smile happily.

Below the stage, at the Gryffindor long table, the Weasley twins, Fred and George, cheered and jumped for joy, inspiring the Gryffindor students to join in the celebration.

However, less than 30% of respondents responded.

Harry took off the Sorting Hat, put it back on the stool, and silently walked back to his original spot, next to his cousin, instead of following the normal procedure and going straight to the Gryffindor table to find a seat.

Dudley gently patted his cousin on the shoulder to comfort Harry, and then temporarily handed over the Smetine Cane he was holding to Harry for safekeeping.

Then, amidst the Sorting Hat's excited screams, he walked towards it empty-handed.