Sorting has started and all the first years were quite nervous. Arnit looked around and there were around 29 students which was quite lower than his expectation. 'I guess war with the recent dark lord might be the reason behind this.'
How funny it is that while living in India, he had never heard about this war. Not just the war, but the information about the whole western magical communities is quite scarce. Same thing is here too. Hardly anyone shows interest in eastern magical communities or the other magical communities in general. Although there is ICW, still the sharing of information has always been quite low.
The sorting hat has started doing its job by distributing the first years into different houses. When it was Cedric's turn, he was sorted into the Hufflepuff house.
'How is the sorting hat doing this? It checks their personality by doing what? Mind reading? Cunning for slytherin, bravery for gryffindor, smartness for ravenclaw and loyalty for Hufflepuff. But what if a student has two or more of these qualities? Does the hat even consider a student's preference? What if someone wants to go Ravenclaw but has qualities of Hufflepuff?'
While arnit was daydreaming, other students were getting sorted. Suddenly he heard his name called out. He looked towards professor McGonagall, then at the sorting hat and took a deep breath.
As Arnit approached the stool, his heart pounded—not out of fear, but anticipation. The Great Hall was silent except for the flickering of a thousand floating candles and the curious murmurs of students watching the new first-years. Professor McGonagall held out the ancient, patched Sorting Hat, and Arnit hesitated for just a second before taking a deep breath and placing it on his head.
As Arnit placed the ancient, tattered Sorting Hat on his head, the noise of the Great Hall faded into silence, replaced by a deep, knowing voice inside his mind.
"Ahh… the most intriguing mind we have here. I can tell that you are actually letting me inside your mind to talk. We have definitely gotten a guarded mind here," the hat purred. "This is going to be a difficult decision."
Arnit remained quiet, waiting for the Sorting Hat to continue.
"Let's see… Bravery? Certainly. A sharp mind? Without question. Loyalty? Stronger than most. Ambition? Oh, it burns within you… yes, yes, you would do very well in Slytherin."
Arnit frowned slightly. Slytherin?
"Why not? You are cunning enough to conceal your true self, ambitious enough to forge your own legacy, and intelligent enough to outmaneuver your rivals. You could shape the world from the shadows, you know… and the best way to predict the future is to create it."
"I don't want to rule from the shadows," Arnit countered. "I seek knowledge not for power, but for its own sake—for understanding, wisdom, and truth. Yet, knowledge carries power, whether sought or not. Those who chase power for its own sake are unworthy of it."
The hat chuckled. "Ho, ho,ho… wise beyond age, eh. You have a mind that seeks the unknown, a curiosity that could be most useful in Ravenclaw as well…"
"Ravenclaw?" Arnit straightened slightly. "I like the sound of that."
"Oh, I bet you do." The hat chuckled. "A sharp mind like yours belongs well among the thinkers, the philosophers, the visionaries. But you wouldn't just fit there, would you? No, no… you would thrive."
Arnit nodded slowly, but the Sorting Hat wasn't finished.
"Yet… yet… you would also do well in Gryffindor."
Arnit blinked in mild surprise. Gryffindor?
"Oh, don't act so shocked," the hat teased. "You have courage in spades. You would fight for what is right, push beyond your limits, challenge injustice without hesitation. With your natural leadership, you could become the heart of Gryffindor House."
"Fighting blindly is foolish," Arnit countered. "Courage without intelligence is recklessness. I don't just rush into battles without strategy."
The Sorting Hat hummed. "That is exactly why you would excel there—your bravery is controlled, guided by logic. A rare kind of lion."
Arnit exhaled, nodding his head. "I won't mind at all. After all, headmaster Dumbledore himself was in this house once."
The hat sighed dramatically. "But don't forget the Hufflepuff."
"Hufflepuff?" Arnit tilted his head slightly.
"Ah, yes. Don't underestimate them. You have a strong work ethic, a loyal heart, and a sense of fairness that would make Helga Hufflepuff herself proud. Hufflepuff would accept you for who you are—no judgment, no hidden motives."
"Well, I do admire loyalty," Arnit admitted. "So… I wont mind the Hufflepuff too."
The hat fell silent for a moment, before chuckling.
"You truly do have the makings of all four houses."
"I suppose I do," Arnit mused. "But ultimately, I have a preference."
"Ahhh… you do, don't you?" The hat's voice was tinged with amusement. "And let me guess—the highest tower in the castle and a private room where you won't be disturbed?"
Arnit smirked slightly. "That does sound quite perfect, doesn't it?"
"You value knowledge above all—not just for power, not just for recognition, but for the joy of understanding the world. Very well, then… better be—"
The hat's voice rang out through the Great Hall:
"RAVENCLAW!"
As the Ravenclaw table erupted into cheers, Arnit removed the Sorting Hat, a satisfied smile on his face.
He went to his house table where the other students congratulated him. While he was happy about getting into Ravenclaw, there was one more reason he was happy. He found the source of the trace.
'so it's the sorting hat! No wonder, every underage wizards and witches has it. Should i remove it? Will that alert the authorities? Hmm, well right now there is no need to worry, I'll think of this topic some other time.'
After arnit, the sorting continued, putting the Weasley twins in the Gryffindor.
'Well, there whole family is gryffindor, but their prejudices against slytherin is quite apparent. Well, I won't deny that stereotypes are earned but to label the whole house as bad might be too far fetched.'
He looked towards the slytherin table, them being happy just like any other student of this school.
'I guess, being the members of the pureblood families, it's natural that the values and ideals will reflect on these kids. I wonder, would I also have become someone like that if my parents were pureblood fanatics? Well, no point thinking about it now.'
After the sorting ceremony, the headmaster himself gave a small speech about school rules and other important stuff. The moment his speech finished, there was a buffet in front of the students.
"Whoa!!!" came a collective sound out of the first year student's mouth.
'Amazing! I have read about the elves working in the Hogwarts kitchen. I would definitely like to meet them.'
Everyone started eating, while trying to learn about each other. Arnit got to know many other students, irrespective of their years. One thing became quite apparent to arnit after talking to his seniors. Most of them were quite good at their subjects but have a slightly reserved nature. Not like a full blown loner, but a few of them will not bother socialising if they can spend their time with their books. He also got to meet many ghosts roaming all over the hall and peeves which he has heard so much about from the twins. It took Arnit just a glance to tell the difference between the ghosts and peeves, the poltergeist. While the ghosts are souls of the deceased, peeves is an embodiment of chaos and mischief energy of the magical children residing in the school.
Many students were interested in arnit because of his interest and knowledge of other magical communities. So he also entertained them with his knowledge without revealing much about himself.
Suddenly a boy named Roger Davies, who was also a first year, spoke up, "so you're telling me that there is a school older than Hogwarts somewhere called india?"
"Yes, it's in India called Takshashila Academy of Arcane Arts which has its main school in the lower himalayan regions, while there are many branches of that school all over the Indian subcontinent. It was built around 300 BCE. China also had their own magic school built during that time, and so has Japan. You must already be aware about the schools in France, America and the school named Durmstrang. There is one in Egypt, Russia, Uganda, Brazil, Indonesia and the one in Australia which was built 200 years ago. Actually, there are many more big-small schools all around the world which are not registered with ICW. There are many magical communities and tribes hidden from the world. It's my dream to travel around the world, to visit these obscure magical schools, communities and tribes, learn their magic, culture and everything in between which are lost to the whole world. And not magical but non-magical too. The world is way bigger than our magical world. It will truly be a shame to not see the wonders this planet has to offer." said arnit with passion in his voice. His words really made an impact on all those students who were listening to him.
"After listening to you, I too wanna travel the world." said a third year girl named Penelope Clearwater. Others also chimed in agreement.
"While it's great to travel the world, you will need money for that. And lets not forget that everyone has their own wishes and desires, some want to pursue their career in a specific field, some want to live a stable life instead of roaming all over the world and some want to start their own family, and there's nothing wrong with that. So don't let my words get to you, I am not saying my ambition is better than yours or anything. I am sorry if someone got offended by my words." explained arnit with an apologetic smile.
After that, the students continued their chatter while dinner was ongoing.
After the completion of the feast, students were given their schedule by the head of their respective houses. For Ravenclaw, it was Professor Fillius Flitwick, who was also the charms teacher. After that, they were told to follow their house prefects, who will lead them to their dorms.
When arnit reached his personal dorm room, he first greeted his owl by giving him some treats, then he plopped onto his bed, his head buried in the pillow. 'Finally, Hogwarts…'