Keith followed the first years out of the chamber and walked into the great hall. There were hundreds of students sitting along the long tables and hundreds of candles floated above.

  He looked around and saw that no one was actively keeping them afloat and opened his mouth slightly in admiration. This was the sort of magic he had never seen in his life.

  Slightly curious, he focused his attention on one of the candles and squinted his eyes in concentration, making it tilt to the side slightly.

  The melted wax dripped and fell right on top of a girl’s hand, making her wince and look up at the candle that had gone back to standing straight once again.

  Keith shifted his attention back to Professor McGonagall as she walked to the center with a stool and a dirty old hat in her hands. The stool was placed down first and the hat went on top of it.

  The hall went silent all of a sudden and this silence stayed for a few short seconds before the hat twitched. A rip near the brim opened wide like a mouth, and the hat began to sing:

  “Oh, you may not think I’m pretty,

  But don’t judge on what you see,

  I’ll eat myself if you can find

  A smarter hat than me.

  You can keep your bowlers black,

  Your top hats sleek and tall,

  For I’m the Hogwarts Sorting Hat

  And I can cap them all.

  There’s nothing hidden in your head

  The Sorting Hat can’t see,

  So try me on and I will tell you

  Where you ought to be.

  You might belong in Gryffindor,

  Where dwell the brave at heart,

  Their daring, nerve, and chivalry

  Set Gryffindors apart;

  You might belong in Hufflepuff,

  Where they are just and loyal,

  Those patient Hufflepuffs are true

  And unafraid of toil;

  Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,

  If you’ve a ready mind,

  Where those of wit and learning,

  Will always find their kind;

  Or perhaps in Slytherin

  You’ll make your real friends,

  Those cunning folk use any means

  To achieve their ends.

  So put me on! Don’t be afraid!

  And don’t get in a flap!

  You’re in safe hands (though I have none)

  For I’m a Thinking Cap!”

  ‘Cheeky hat…’ Keith thought as his thoughts went to the words that the hat had said, especially about Slytherins.

  ‘Make real friends? But mom said that they only think of themselves and will be the first to leave you when things get bad…’

  Professor McGonagall now stepped forward holding a long roll of parchment.

  This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

  “When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted,” she said. “Abbott, Hannah!”

  A pink-faced girl with blonde pigtails stumbled out of line, put on the hat, which fell right down over her eyes, and sat down. A moment’s pause, the hat shouted, “HUFFLEPUFF!”

  The table on the right cheered and clapped as Hannah went to sit down at the Hufflepuff table. Keith saw the ghost of the Fat Friar waving merrily at her.

  Professor McGonagall’s voice boomed again, “Black, Keith!”

  Not expecting his name to come out so soon, he stumbled forward and hurried towards the stool before sitting down with his heart pounding excitedly.

  Then, he felt the hat on top of his head.

  “Hmm” said a small voice in his head, "Ah… a simple decision indeed. With ambition such as yours, you would rise to greatness in Slytherin. I wonder, however… why do you resist?"

  "No—no, not Slytherin! I don’t care if I’d be great there. I refuse. Pick another. Gryffindor, Ravenclaw—anything but that!"

  There was silence for a few seconds before he heard the voice again, “Those two suit you the least among the four houses. Gryffindors are brave and chivalrous. Are you brave? Certainly, you are.

  “But bravery alone does not make a Gryffindor. You lack the chivalry, the noble self-sacrifice. Your recklessness is not for heroics. It is for vengeance, for proving yourself. A Gryffindor leaps to protect others without hesitation. You, Keith Black, hesitate when it comes to protecting those you don’t know or like.

  “The lion in you stirs only for those you hold dear. When you act, it is not always for the greater good, but for your own sense of justice. That is not the mark of a true lion.

  “As for Ravenclaws, knowledge fascinates you, yes, but not for its own sake. You do not chase wisdom as a Ravenclaw does. You chase mastery. You seek knowledge only as a tool to wield. Clever? Indeed. But not the mind of a true scholar.

  "No, the eagle(1) is not your kin. You belong where ambition thrives… or where loyalty runs deeper than blood."

  “I will never join Slytherin. The Malfoys were Slytherins for generations weren’t they? And so were most of the death eaters. I’ll never join the house that the people who killed my father and they… they… my mother…”

  He felt wetness on his cheeks but didn’t open his eyes. He took a deep breath before exhaling heavily.

  “Hufflepuff,” Keith muttered in his mind. The word felt strange, unfamiliar. He had never imagined himself there. But… what choice did he have? Anywhere was better than Slytherin. “Fine. If that’s where I fit, then so be it. But why… why Hufflepuff? I don’t think I suit that house either.”

  "You would burn the world for those you love. That is no ordinary loyalty—it is the loyalty of those who would die before they let their loved ones suffer. You do not seek power for yourself alone, but also to protect, to avenge. Your recklessness is not just for glory, it is also for the sake of protecting your loved ones. And that, Keith Black, is why you belong in Hufflepuff.

  “You do not choose your friends by status, skill, or merit. You choose without reason, without hesitation, by instinct and by heart. And once you have chosen… you never let go. That is the mark of a true badger."