The sorting speed this year was very fast, with almost no awkward hat moments.

Before long, it was Annie’s turn.

"Annie Saru!"

At this moment, Sebastian’s ghost suddenly appeared above the hall.

Annie stood up, walked out from the Gryffindor table, and sat on the chair.

Professor McGonagall placed the hat on Annie’s head, and under her nervous and expectant expression, the Sorting Hat spoke.

With a sharp mouth, it seemed to almost swallow half of Zaporizhzhia.

"Are you all done?!?" the Sorting Hat shouted sharply, "Year after year, not letting the old hat rest, huh? Fine, Slytherin! Slytherin! No one will betray their own house!"

Annie clearly didn’t understand what was happening and why the Sorting Hat suddenly became hysterical.

Professor McGonagall was evidently also surprised, so she took the hat off Annie’s head, sighed, and said.

"Miss Saru," Professor McGonagall said, "You may return to the Slytherin table."

Annie softly replied with an "Oh," lowered her head, and hurried over to the Slytherin table, sitting beside Daphne.

Her face was flushed red, showing clearly she was extremely embarrassed.

No one expected the Sorting Hat to suddenly pull such a stunt.

Tear incontinence’s effect quickly took over, and her tears slid down her cheeks to the floor.

"Are you okay?" Daphne asked with concern.

Although she didn’t know who Miss Saru was, she knew that Miss Saru was brought in by Harry.

That meant... making sure to build a good relationship.

This was the consensus among all Slytherins—indeed, when it comes to being savvy, Slytherins are certainly sharp.

At this moment, Dumbledore stood up as the headmaster.

It’s an annual tradition for him to stand up and welcome the freshmen after the sorting ceremony.

"Welcome, our new students," Dumbledore said in a loud voice, spreading his arms wide with a brilliant smile on his face, "Welcome! And welcome back to our returning students—it’s great to have you back! There’s plenty of time for speeches, but not now—enjoy your feast!"

The hall burst into appreciative laughter and enthusiastic applause. Dumbledore sat down properly, slinging his long beard over his shoulder, keeping it away from his plate—delicious food suddenly descended from above, piling high on the five long tables with large steaks, pies, plates of vegetables, breads, jams, and pitchers of pumpkin juice, the tables groaning under the weight.

"This is wonderful," Ron sighed hungrily, grabbing the nearest plate of chicken legs and starting to pile them onto his plate, Nearly Headless Nick looked on gloomily.

"What did you intend to say before the sorting?" Hermione asked the ghost, "Regarding the hat’s warning?"

"Oh, yes," Nick said, seemingly quite pleased to have a reason to divert his gaze from Ron, who was practically devouring roasted potatoes, "Indeed, several times before I’ve heard the Sorting Hat issue warnings, always when it senses great danger facing the school—of course, its advice is always the same: unite and maintain internal stability."

"Mmm, mmm, mmm?" Ron mumbled.

His mouth was so full that Harry thought it was quite impressive he managed to make any sound at all.

"Sorry, what are you saying?" Nearly Headless Nick asked politely, while Hermione displayed a look of disdain.

Ron swallowed hard and said, "It’s just a hat, how could it know the school is in danger?"

"Don’t underestimate the Sorting Hat, Ron," Nearly Headless Nick said cheerfully, "None of us underestimate it—so, I believe that this year, this semester, the four houses will indeed unite together, do you believe it? At least, I trust the Sorting Hat’s prophecy."

"I don’t believe it," Ron said, glancing around and noticing Snape seated at the faculty table, feeling relieved, "I would rather believe that Professor Snape would wash his hair than believe the four houses would unite together!"

"That’s really a pity, Ron," Harry said with a smile, "Of course, we’ll have to wait and see, who can predict the future?"

Ron chewed on his chicken leg, glanced back at Draco, who pointed at his chest, highlighting his glowing House Captain badge, then rolled his eyes and turned away.

The banquet in the hall was very sumptuous, and with Daphne’s comfort, Annie no longer cried.

Harry showed great interest in the steak on the table, as well as the syrup fruit-filled pies.

As for the kidney pie, he ate quite a lot of them too.

Kidneys are good, you need to eat more kidneys!

After a while, the students were all full, and the hall grew louder, when Dumbledore stood up once more.

The talking immediately ceased, and everyone turned their faces toward the headmaster.

"I’m a bit sleepy, really," Harry felt his eyelids were drooping, "Jesus’ Merlin’s socks, I wonder if we can skip all the formalities and go straight to the dormitories to sleep? I’m practically dying of fatigue..."

"Obviously, that’s not possible," Hermione said with a forced smile.

"Alright, since we’re digesting yet another incredibly sumptuous feast, I ask everyone to remain quiet for a bit and listen as I mention the usual matters for the new semester," Dumbledore said, "New first-year students should know, the Forbidden Forest within the hunting grounds is off-limits to students—this is something that our senior students should also know by now."