Dylan felt a bit speechless in his heart.
From his perspective, since Gryffindor had the Sword of Gryffindor and the so-called house legacy, it only made sense that the other three houses would also have their founders' legacies.
So, if he ended up in Ravenclaw, he'd have the chance to explore Ravenclaw's legacy.
The Sword of Gryffindor was certainly useful, but it didn't really suit him. He wasn't one to swing swords around.
"Great! Dylan, you've been placed in a house!"
Dylan, walking to the Gryffindor table amidst applause, made his way directly to Neville's side and sat down.
He wasn't surprised that this little chubby kid was placed in Gryffindor.
What did surprise him was seeing Professor McGonagall sitting down next to him.
After a brief interaction with Dylan, McGonagall had expected him to join Ravenclaw.
But it turned out to be Gryffindor.
This unexpected turn of events actually pleased her. At least, Dylan was now officially one of her students.
Meanwhile, sitting at the head of the table, Dumbledore noticed Dylan walking to the Gryffindor table and squinted his eyes slightly, a smile playing on his lips.
"Ollivander is being overly cautious."
Two weeks ago, Dumbledore had received a letter from Ollivander. The letter detailed what had happened when Dylan selected his wand, warning Dumbledore to keep an eye on him.
Ollivander had suggested that Dylan might turn out to be another Tom Riddle.
But now, this young wizard hadn't been sorted into Slytherin or Ravenclaw, but had instead joined Gryffindor, a house of knights and bravery.
Dumbledore felt Ollivander might have been a bit too sensitive.
After all, a wand was just an instrument to channel magic. As long as the right guidance was provided, the tragedy of Tom Riddle wouldn't repeat itself.
"The Sorting Hat couldn't possibly detect that I've mastered the Unforgivable Curses," Dumbledore mused.
As Dylan sat down, he noticed that Dumbledore didn't seem to have any suspicions about him, which made him relax a little.
The Occlumency he had been practicing was still difficult for him to master.
He was also worried that trying to block his thoughts might draw more attention. If no one suspected him in the first place, applying Occlumency on himself might make them wonder what he was trying to hide.
That would only make him seem more suspicious.
"To be honest," Dylan thought, "the so-called three Unforgivable Curses aren't all that."
After an entire holiday spent researching them, his understanding of the Unforgivable Curses had deepened.
Everyone called them cruel, but in the time of the Four Founders, chaos was the defining feature.
The Inquisition, the Muggle-hunting campaigns…
What magic or methods were not cruel back then?
To Dylan, Avada Kedavra and the Cruciatus Curse were hardly unforgivable. They barely ranked compared to the truly dark magic of the era!
They were just rookie spells.
"However, by now, most of those dark magics are probably lost," Dylan thought. "Otherwise, how could spells like Avada Kedavra have been classified as Unforgivable Curses?"
As Harry and the other new students were sorted into their houses, the Sorting Ceremony didn't take long.
Dumbledore gently waved his hand, and suddenly, a feast appeared before everyone, filled with exquisite and abundant food.
Neville, already famished, brightened up at the sight and immediately began cutting into the roast meat with his knife and fork.
Dylan, on the other hand, took his time cutting into his steak, eating in a somewhat absent-minded manner.
"If I'd been sorted into Hufflepuff, I guess I'd get food like this every day, right?" Dylan mused.
If one were to make an analogy, Hufflepuff's kitchen could be compared to a snack street right below the school dormitories.
Whenever they got hungry, they could simply go downstairs for a bite.
In fact, if they lived in the Hufflepuff dorms, they wouldn't even need to go downstairs; they could just step outside and there would be a kitchen.
"Whoosh~"
Suddenly, Nearly Headless Nick floated into the room.
The ghosts of the school also began to settle into their seats.
Dylan wasn't particularly fazed, but many of the younger students around him—some even in their second or third year, flinched slightly in discomfort.
Nick drifted past Dylan and flew straight toward Harry, who was sitting not far away.
Neville seemed to feel like he and Dylan had become familiar with each other, and the conversation started flowing more freely. He wasn't as shy or reserved anymore and, while eating, would occasionally chat with Dylan.
"You won't believe what my great-uncle did just to see my magical talent!"
Dylan listened quietly, only responding when Neville spoke with excitement. His eyes would occasionally drift toward Harry, who was sitting a few spots away from him.
At this moment, Harry was still very shy, sitting with Ron, but the other students around them were showing great interest in him. Even with the ghosts floating nearby, it didn't dampen their desire to gossip.
"Dylan, you know so many spells! You must come from a very pure-blooded family, right? I never expected you to be in Gryffindor."
Neville's voice wasn't exactly quiet, drawing the attention of several students around them.
Even Harry and Ron glanced over, and Hermione raised an eyebrow, eyeing Dylan curiously.
"Pure-blooded? No, I'm from a Muggle family," Dylan said openly, with no intention of hiding his background.
"What? Muggle family? Dylan, you're not joking, are you?" Neville blinked in surprise, and his toad croaked in agreement.
"There's nothing to joke about," Dylan said with a smile, brushing it off casually.
"But... the magic you've used so far doesn't seem like ordinary magic!" Neville's mouth dropped open.
"Oh, I read a lot of books and materials during the holidays. I self-taught most of these spells," Dylan explained nonchalantly.
His words left the surrounding Gryffindors in shock and awe. What kind of wizard spends their holiday self-teaching magic?
Holidays were supposed to be for fun, weren't they?
Among the crowd, one girl stood out, her eyes shining brightly. It was Hermione.
She looked up, swallowing the food in her mouth, and stared at Dylan as though she had found a kindred spirit.
But then, she couldn't help but compare Dylan to herself.
When she heard Dylan mention the books he had bought, especially the first-year textbooks, and how he had barely finished half of them during the entire holiday, she felt a surge of pride.
She had already previewed half of the first-year textbooks!
Not only that, but she had also bought several additional reference books to read!
But then, the next moment, Dylan's words left her stunned.
"Basic magic practice isn't that difficult. I don't find the content in the textbooks hard to understand, so I plan to just listen to the professors explain it during class."
"And outside the textbooks, I've been studying The Advanced Guide to Transfiguration. There are some very tricky parts in it, though, especially regarding how to perform live transformations safely and stably. I'll have to wait until school starts to ask Professor McGonagall about it."
"What?!"