Chapter 23. Sorting Hat
Uncle Vernon, although it was not on the list, still bought Dudley a broomstick, not just any broomstick, but a real "Lightning". He believed that since Dudley was going to a school for wizards, he should learn to play Quidditch, and if he was going to play the game, he should beat everyone and fly faster than the other players. Dudley didn't think about what role he would play on the field. But Harry understood - based on his size, Dudley would definitely be put in the goal, as only he could cover all three hoops with his back. The only thing left was to teach Dudley how to fly.
Harry spent the rest of the summer on Privet Drive, explaining spells and potions to Dudley. To his surprise, Dudley was determined enough to learn ten new spells in a day. He also did well in the study of magical creatures and potion-making, memorizing which ingredients to mix in what proportions. However, he struggled with divination and the history of magic. He admitted that he had never seen anything more boring in his life. Making objects levitate or change shape seemed much more interesting to him than studying lengthy reports on goblin uprisings or the influence of planetary positions on world history. Even in potion-making, he saw some movement and interest just by watching the potion boil in the cauldron and the dynamics of its color and viscosity changing.
For Harry, his cousin's progress turned out to be somewhat unexpected, as he was used to considering Dudley as a good-for-nothing, a bully who only knew how to pick on lonely children in the company of his faithful gang members. But now he saw a drastic change in him. He now recalled Ollivander's words about the importance of the wand that chose Dudley. It turned out that Dudley had bid farewell to his old life and confidently embraced change, something he himself sometimes lacked.
A couple of times, Harry taught Dudley the most basic skills necessary for broomstick flying in the living room. Remembering his first lesson with Madam Hooch, he told Dudley to place the broomstick next to him on the floor and command it to "Up." It took Dudley about ten minutes of yelling at the broomstick before it jumped into his hand. After a few repetitions, the broomstick began to obediently listen to Dudley, which made them both extremely happy. Harry was certain that if someone needed to be quickly replaced during a match, they now had a substitute player.
The days flew by (where is it flying to? Harry asked himself the same philosophical question every day), and with each passing day, September 1st drew closer.
On the morning of the day of knowledge, Uncle Vernon accompanied both boys to the train station.
"You just need to run and not think about anything," Harry told his cousin when he hesitated in front of the barrier between Platforms 9 and 10. "Don't worry, you'll easily pass through and not notice it."
It barely dawned on Dudley that he would now be able to pass through the magical wall for sure. Finally gathering his courage, he sprinted towards the magical barrier, closing his eyes one last time. The expected impact never came, and when he opened his eyes, he saw Platform 9 and 3/4. There stood a shiny scarlet locomotive, with smoke and steam rising from its chimney.
- Ah, Harry, did you see that? - he marveled as he looked at the steam engine. - It's a steam engine, a real steam engine!
"Of course, I saw it," Harry replied, emerging from behind him. "It's like seeing it for the first time every time."
On the platform, he met up with his friends. They were accompanied by Groom, some girl with pink hair, Sirius in the form of a dog, Lupin, Mrs. Weasley, and several other people Harry didn't know.
"Hello, Harry!" Hermione exclaimed with joy. "How are you? What happened that evening?"
"Hello, Hermione!" he replied with a smile. "Two dementors attacked Dudley and me, but I managed to drive them away."
"That can't be! There shouldn't be any in your area! Did the Dark Lord send them?" she asked.
"I don't know, maybe," Harry replied.
"And who is this with you, Harry?" Mrs. Weasley asked, nodding towards Dudley.
"Sorry, I didn't introduce him right away," Harry stammered. "This is my cousin Dudley."
"The one who always bullied you?" Ron exclaimed.
"Yes," Dudley answered.
"But... how?" Ron was amazed.
"I don't know," Harry replied. "On the same evening after the dementor attack, an owl flew to us with a letter for Dudley."
Ron glanced at Dudley several times from head to toe. No matter how tall Ron was, he was far from Dudley's size.
"Well... um," Ron stumbled. "Welcome to our world, Dudley."
And he reached out his hand. Dudley hesitated for a moment, but still shook Ron's hand.
"Let's go find our seats," Harry suggested.
"Well, we... Ron and I need to go to the prefects' carriage," Hermione replied.
Harry wasn't disappointed. Soon enough, he and Dudley found a compartment. As they were looking for it, Ginny and Neville joined them. The only available compartment was occupied by Luna Lovegood, next to whom they sat.
During the journey, a conversation broke out between them. Neville showed everyone a rare plant - the Mimbulus Mimbletonia - which he really wanted to show Professor Sprout; Luna read a magazine called "The Quibbler," paying no attention to the people around her; Dudley was reading something interesting in his textbooks; and Harry, Ginny, and Luna discussed who they could expect as the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher this year. According to their memory, Groom voluntarily vacated the position, assuming that as an active Auror, he could do much more than in a teaching position. Nevertheless, Harry mentally thanked the real Groom and Barty Crouch Jr. for what they both taught him. Thanks to Barty Crouch Jr., he learned to resist the Imperius Curse, which Voldemort used on him during the graveyard duel. It was Fake-Groom who showed them the Unforgivable Curses and morally prepared them to meet dark wizards. It was Groom who often demanded vigilance from the kids. And now Harry strived to follow his instructions in everything.
Even Draco Malfoy and his cronies bursting into the compartment didn't disturb their peace. It turned out that Malfoy became a Slytherin prefect and now he was showing off his newfound authority, but Ginny was still terrified of him. When Dudley, who was bigger than Crabbe and Goyle combined, stood up from his seat wanting to get acquainted with him, Malfoy only knew how to shrink and squeak something about his father and his authority.
"Disappear," Jeanne snapped at Malfoy. "Can't you see serious people are talking here?"
Malfoy's gaze flicked to Luna, who was reading a magazine upside down, and then to Neville, whose face had just been sprayed with Stinking Sap by his flower. However, the boy did not argue and hurried to leave as soon as possible.
"Who was that?" Dudley asked.
"Just a foolish one from Slytherin," Ginny answered. "Sometimes he doesn't even know what he's blabbering about, but in general, as it is usual for Slytherins, he just shows off his own ambitions."
- Uh-huh, I see. - Dudley replied.
- His dad was a Death Eater. - Jeanne remarked. - He showed up at the graveyard to greet his master.
- Who? - mumbled Dudley.
- One of Voldemort's followers, the wizard who killed Harry's parents.
- So he has followers? And how does he attract them to his side?
- Blood purity, power, money.
- I see. And what's the bonus of blood purity?
He wasn't particularly interested in all the things he could call individual people's quirks, but he understood deep down - if there's a villain, they must have a motivation, even if it's the most absurd one. He wanted to know what he should be prepared for if he ever encountered Voldemort or his followers. He found the idea of fighting for blood purity absolute nonsense, not understanding why wizards shouldn't mix with regular people. This was especially relevant to him, as he himself didn't have magical abilities until recently.
- Nothing. - Neville answered. - Hermione is from a Muggle family, yet she is the top student in Gryffindor. I still can't believe the Sorting Hat didn't put her in Ravenclaw...
- Maybe she asked the Hat. - Jeanne replied. - It wanted to sort me into Slytherin. It said, "You have nothing that's valued in other houses." I promised to turn it into ashes if it didn't sort me somewhere else.
- Harsh. It wanted to put me in Hufflepuff. - Neville shared.
- And the Hat called me just another Weasley, didn't it? - Ginny said.
- And where will I end up? - Dudley pondered.
- You won't know until you put on the Hat. - Harry replied.
Not everything that day met Harry's expectations: Hagrid was not at the Hogsmeade station (at least it won't scare Dudley - Harry thought gloomily, remembering the incident with the pig's tail), and the horseless carriages turned out to be harnessed with strange-looking creatures that he couldn't identify. This time, there weren't enough carriages for everyone, and Harry couldn't understand why.
- Who are they? - he asked Hermione.
- Who? - she didn't understand.
- The animals pulling the carriage.
- Harry, there's no one here. The carriage is moving by itself. - she replied.
- That's not true. - Luna interjected. - I can see them too. It's like this every time.
- Me too. - Jeanne said. - It's strange not to know about the Thestrals, they're mentioned in "The History of Hogwarts."
- So those are Thestrals? - Harry was surprised.
- What are you all talking about? - Dudley didn't understand.
He couldn't see Thestrals, and in his eyes, this trio looked like a bunch of crazy people.
- Touch it. - Luna said and guided Dudley towards where the Thestral's head was.
As Dudley touched the leathery head of the creature, he had an expression as if he just regained his sight after being blind for centuries.
- Wow! It's... it's alive!
Luna smiled silently and nodded in response.
After a short time, Harry entered the Great Hall. The first thing that caught his eye was the unusually large number of boys and girls waiting to be sorted. Harry guessed that they, along with Dudley, were supposed to start their fifth year. Their sorting was supposed to begin shortly after the first years. But Harry was most worried about Hagrid's whereabouts. Unfortunately, Hagrid was not behind the teacher's table either.
"It must be somehow related to that secret task Dumbledore assigned him," whispered Jeanne.
"But wasn't he supposed to be back already?"
"Who knows... maybe he got delayed on the way."
"And who is that?" Hermione asked when they had already sat down at the Gryffindor table.
There was a woman resembling a toad sitting at the teacher's table. Plump and stocky, she was dressed all in pink.
"No idea," shrugged Harry. "Our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher?"
While they discussed the new teacher, Professor Grubbly-Plank appeared and took Hagrid's place. Harry could only sigh sadly and resign himself. He would have to go to Hagrid's hut later, maybe he would show up there.
The first years arrived. McGonagall brought the Sorting Hat into the Great Hall and placed it on a stool. Within seconds, the Hat opened its mouth and began to sing. It sang for a long time, dedicating its song to the theme of unity. When it finished, the hall erupted in applause, and McGonagall started calling the students.
The Hat's song stimulated a lively discussion in the hall. Everyone was trying to understand why the Hat had felt the need to warn the students about danger and call for unity. Only Nearly Headless Nick gave Hermione a hint, answering her question: the Hat had always warned students about danger before, and it always did so when it sensed increasing danger in the world.
But Harry was not concerned with that. He was internally rooting for Dudley during that time, hoping that his cousin would not end up in Slytherin under any circumstances. Dudley's face had turned unusually pale and he was sweating, waiting for his turn. Harry could read a complex thought process on his face and eagerly awaited his turn. But when the Hat touched Dudley's head, a wave of relief washed over Harry - the Hat had sorted him into Gryffindor. Harry couldn't remember if Dudley had ever been brave or courageous, but he imagined him as even more complicatedly skilled or intelligent.
Finally, Dudley sat down at the Gryffindor table next to Harry. The Gryffindors showered him with congratulations, and only the Weasley twins added a short question to their congratulations, sending Dudley into indescribable horror:
"Hey, Dudley! Want a candy?"
He jerked forward, risking knocking over the entire table, but his brothers reassured him.
"Oh, come on, don't be scared. But by the way, we can find a job for you."
"We'll pay you honestly if you agree to taste our sweets."
"In return, you won't have to go to your least favorite classes. Deal?"
"What do you think? We came up with a cool idea, didn't we?"
Dudley thought for a very long time about his answer.
"I'll think about it," he replied, still not fully understanding if there were any classes in the curriculum that he wouldn't want to attend.
"Smart guy!" praised Fred.
"And he catches on quickly!" smirked George.
"Why did you come up with this?" Ron burst out.
He now resembled a lit firework, ready to explode at any moment.
"As the head of the house," Percy began...
"As the head of the house, you turn into Percy," George snorted.
"Listen, Ron, be a brother, not a head.," Fred turned to him. "Otherwise, you'll be getting letters from Mr. Crouch too..."
"But to bring newcomers with their..."
- Well, good. - George reluctantly agreed, while whispering conspiratorially with Fred.
- Listen, Ron... - Harry began. - Tell me, be honest. Do you notice anything unusual?
- Well... - Ron pondered. - Perhaps there is something...
- And what is it?
- That my brothers are planning to prank me, for example.
- Have you ever seen such an abundance of new students? And all of them made it to the fifth year.
Ron looked up at the ceiling thoughtfully.
- Yeah, I don't remember anything like this.
- What if Voldemort is planning something and now many people have suddenly joined the fifth year?
- I don't understand what you're talking about.
- You remember what happened last year, right? His spy among the teachers. What if now he has devised a way to give magical powers to muggles and plans to infiltrate his spy among the students?
- Well, for him it would be easier to use Malfoy and some other idiots. - Jeanne rolled her eyes. - They'll do anything for him as long as their parents send instructions from home.
- Harry! There's no way to turn a muggle into a wizard! - Hermione interjected. - If such a method existed...
- I know, I know. Then everyone in the world could become a wizard and we wouldn't have to hide.
He silently gazed at the unremarkable Japanese man, who quietly entered the hall and sat at the teacher's desk next to Dumbledore. Harry noticed three tattoos on his right hand in the shape of unfamiliar symbols.
A young girl with pink hair sat at the Gryffindor table. She didn't talk to anyone, just quietly greeted and started twirling her short hair around her finger with a dreamy expression on her face.
When the sorting was over and everyone finished eating, Dumbledore addressed the students. Among other things, he said:
- We have two changes in the teaching staff. We are pleased to welcome back Professor Grubbly-Plank, who will be teaching Care of Magical Creatures. I am also delighted to introduce to you Professor Umbridge, our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Also, I am pleased to introduce Mr. Fujimaru. As you all know, something extraordinary happened this year, and many ordinary people gained magical abilities. Mr. Fujimaru is an independent international observer and is investigating the phenomenon that occurred. He is also here to assist the newcomers in the magical world. I hope you will befriend him. Now onto the Quidditch news this year...
At that moment, he was interrupted by a fake cough. Dumbledore's bewilderment lasted only a second. Then he quickly sat down and stared eagerly at Professor Umbridge, as if he desired nothing more in the world than to hear her speech. But the other professors were not able to hide their surprise so skillfully. Professor Sprout's eyebrows disappeared under her tousled hair, Professor McGonagall's lips became thinner than Harry had ever seen them. Never before had a new teacher dared to interrupt Dumbledore. Many students smirked: this person clearly didn't know how to behave in Hogwarts.
- Thank you, Headmaster, - Umbridge began, smiling affectedly. - for your kind words of welcome.
Her voice was high-pitched, girlish, with a hint of breathlessness, and Harry once again felt a strong surge of unexplainable dislike. He knew one thing: that everything about her, from her silly voice to her fluffy pink sweater, disgusted him. She cleared her throat again - "ahem, ahem" - and continued:
"How delightful, I must say, to be back at Hogwarts again!" She smiled again, revealing very sharp teeth. "And to see so many happy little faces turned towards me!"
Harry looked around the hall, but he didn't see any happy faces. On the contrary, everyone seemed unpleasantly surprised to be addressed as if they were five years old.
"I am looking forward to getting to know each and every one of you and I am confident that we will become very good friends!"
The students started exchanging glances, some struggling to hold back laughter. Even young Fujimaru commanded much more respect from them, despite the director's wish for the students to be friends with her – at least he had the sense to remain silent at the right moment and not interrupt Dumbledore in the middle of his announcement.
"I will only agree to be friends with her until I have to borrow her sweater," Parvati whispered to Lavender, and both of them giggled silently.
"I'll help you," Jeanne chimed in.
Professor Ambrose cleared her throat again, but when she spoke again, her voice no longer had the enthusiastic breathlessness. It sounded much more business-like. The words were boring and seemed to be memorized.
"The Ministry of Magic has always considered the education of young wizards and witches to be of utmost importance. The rare talents you were born with can be wasted if they are not nurtured and honed through careful instruction. The ancient skills that distinguish the magical community from all others must be passed down from generation to generation, or else we will lose them forever. It is the primary duty of those who have dedicated themselves to the noble task of teaching to preserve, multiply, and refine the treasures of magical knowledge accumulated by our ancestors."
Here Professor Umbridge paused and nodded slightly at her colleagues, none of whom responded to this gesture. Professor McGonagall frowned so sternly that she looked very much like a predatory bird. Harry clearly saw her exchange a meaningful glance with Professor Sprout. Meanwhile, Umbridge cleared her throat again and continued speaking:
"Each new Headmaster or Headmistress of Hogwarts brings something new to the challenging task of leading this ancient school, and it should be so, for without progress, stagnation and decay would be our fate. However, progress for the sake of progress should not be encouraged, as a large part of our time-tested traditions does not need to be revised. Therefore, there must be a balance between the old and the new, between constancy and change, between tradition and innovation..."
Harry felt his attention wane: his brain switched on and off. The silence that always filled the hall when Dumbledore spoke was nowhere to be found: students leaned towards each other, whispered, and giggled. At the Ravenclaw table, Cho Chang chatted animatedly with her friends. Luna Lovegood, sitting not far from Cho, took out her "The Quibbler" magazine again. Among the Hufflepuffs, Ernie Macmillan was one of the few who still looked at Professor Umbridge, but his gaze was glassy, and Harry had no doubt that he was pretending to listen: he proudly sported a new prefect badge on his chest and had to behave accordingly. Professor Umbridge didn't seem to notice the students' unruly behavior. It seemed that a full-blown rebellion could erupt right under her nose, and she would still finish her speech. The teachers, however, continued to listen to her very attentively. Hermione, it seemed, didn't miss a single word from Umbridge, but it was evident that the words did not sit well with her.
- ...because some changes bring genuine improvement, while others prove to be unnecessary over time. Similarly, some old traditions should be preserved, while others that have become outdated should be abandoned. Let us take a step into a new era - an era of openness, efficiency, and responsibility, preserving what deserves to be preserved, improving what needs improvement, and eradicating what has no place in our lives.
She sat down. Dumbledore applauded. The teachers followed suit, but Harry noticed that some only clapped their hands once or twice. Some students joined in, but most simply missed the end of the speech, which they hadn't been listening to, and before they could truly applaud, Dumbledore stood up again.
"Thank you, Professor Umbridge, for a very insightful speech," he said, with a slight bow. "Now, I will continue. Selections for the Quidditch teams will take place..."
"It was certainly insightful," Hermione whispered.
"Just don't tell me you liked it," Ron said quietly, his face shining with satisfaction.
"Insightful" and "liking it" are different things," Hermione said. "This speech explains a lot."
"Really?" Harry wondered. "To me, it's just words."
"But there's something important dissolved in these words," Hermione said grimly.
"Oh come on," Ron said incredulously.
"Let me give you this: 'Progress for the sake of progress should not be encouraged.' Or this: 'Eradicating what has no place in our lives.'"
"Well, what does that mean?" Ron impatiently asked.
"I'll tell you what it means," Hermione said ominously. "It means that the Ministry is interfering in Hogwarts' affairs."
"And what about the international observer?" Ron asked. "He didn't say a single word!"
"I think he has seen a lot," Hermione waved dismissively. "I don't know what he can investigate here when everyone already knows that Muggles don't become wizards just like that, but his face... He's definitely not an ordinary observer, but a much more serious figure."
"Do you think he was invited here to work against Voldemort?"
"Maybe," Hermione shrugged. "Anything would be more likely than this mysterious phenomenon."
"What does the Prophet say about it?" Ron asked.
"No one knows why it happened," Hermione replied. "But many refer to the fact that Voldemort's unfortunate Cruciatus was seen not only by wizards. It is assumed that this event caused a magical shift in the world, or someone, or perhaps something, added to the world of wizards to maintain balance."
"Did you say 'something'?" Harry exclaimed. "You don't think it might be..."
They looked at Jeanne. For the past ten minutes, she had been peacefully dozing, completely lulled to sleep by Umbridge's speech. If anyone knew the answer to their question, it was her.