Chapter 23: Fish classification

Freshman after freshman came forward to put on the sorting hat and be sorted into different houses.

But none of this mattered to Fish, who was happily lying at Professor McGonagall's feet in his cat form, squinting and napping, flicking his ears and tail from time to time, looking perfectly comfortable.

As for the tattered Sorting Hat, Fish hadn't given it up, but after trying, it was clear that he wasn't able to snatch it under Minerva's care, so Fish was going to have to find another way.

For now, he would have to do as he was told.

Cats could be very patient when it came to hunting.

Lifting his eyes and looking up at the Sorting Hat that was assigning the little wizards to different houses, Fish continued to lie quietly at Professor McGonagall's feet, but with his tail wagging restlessly.

Professor McGonagall's eyes lingered on Fish's tail for a moment, knowing that the little boy hadn't given up yet, but now was not the time to lecture him, so she withdrew her gaze and continued to call out the names on the parchment.

Harry Potter looked down at Professor McGonagall's feet with a look of envy at Fish, and as time went on, a lot of unnecessary worries arose in his mind.

What if they were wrong, that he might not be a wizard, or that his talent as a wizard was so poor that none of the four houses were going to accept him, and that eventually the Sorting Hat would send him back....

Such confusing thoughts were churning in Harry's mind that they made him so nervous he wanted to vomit.

However, Harry had completely forgotten about the special reactions of the other wizards when he encountered them, and the magical effects that occurred when he held his own wand.

"Draco Malfoy!"

Between Harry's nervousness and Fish's leisure, finally reaching the surname that began with M, Malfoy strode steadily over to the four-legged stool and grabbed the Sorting Hat, which almost immediately touched his head as he shouted, "Slytherin!"

Malfoy put down the Sorting Hat with satisfaction and walked over to the long table that belonged to Slytherin.

Immediately after, Professor McGonagall knelt down and tapped Fish, who was still sound asleep at her feet, "Fish McGonagall!"

"Meow?", Fish raised his head and looked at Professor McGonagall with a confused look, he hadn't heard the sorting hat song.

"It's your turn, go and put on the Sorting Hat!", Professor McGonagall said to Fish, pointing to the hat on the four-legged stool.

"Meow!", Fish bounced on the floor, turned into a human and asked excitedly, "Are you going to give me this hat?!"

"No! I'm only letting you wear it for a little while! Stop messing with me," said Professor McGonagall.

"Hey, that's boring..." Fish pouted, reached over and picked up the sorting hat, but didn't rush to put it on his head, instead, he peeled back the slit of the twig hat that served as his mouth and stuck his head inside, "No teeth huh? How are you going to eat?"

"I'm just a hat, I don't need to eat," Although the "mouth" had opened, that didn't stop the twig hat from talking.

"Is that so? Then you are so pitiful," Fish shook his head, it seemed to him that not being able to eat was so miserable.

"Put your hat on!" urged Professor McGonagall, fearing that Fish was up to no good.

But Fish didn't do as he was told, but put his twig hat back on the four-legged stool, mouth up, and jumped onto it, turning into a kitten and burrowing into it.

"Purr...," Fish adjusted his body inside the hat and purred in satisfaction, now even more determined to get the hat.

"Hey, little guy! I'm not a cat's nest," the Sorting Hat, pinned down by Fish, growled angrily.

Of course, Fish ignored him.

"Meow!", Fish felt a squeeze on the back of his neck and then someone picked him up, followed by Minerva's stern face.

"Meow!", Not daring to provoke Professor McGonagall any further, Fish twisted and turned into his human form and dropped to the ground.

Then, without being told, he picked up the sorting hat that was next to him and put it on his head, sitting down on the four-legged stool.

The huge hat covered half of Fish's head, and with that, a small voice came out, "Let me see..."

"Extraordinary courage... There is no doubt about it, no little wizard has ever dared to steal me from the hands of a group of teachers at the selection ceremony like you. You have a strong curiosity, your talent is not weak, your pride comes from deep inside you, you are also good at using your own advantages, you can do whatever it takes when necessary.... Interesting, very interesting... So, where should I assign you?" said the Sorting Hat.

"Meow? isn't it up to me to choose which house I want to go to?", Fish asked aloud, without much thought.

"Of course, Hogwarts respects every student's wishes, my words are just a guide, so do you have a favorite house?", The Sorting Hat continued to speak in Fish's ear in a small voice that no one else could hear.

"I'm interested in all the houses except the one with the big cat with lots of hair around its head," Fish continued to reply with a wide grin, not seeing Professor McGonagall's face behind him, instantly shadowed at his words.

"Are you sure?" The twig cap merely dropped his voice and spoke to Fish as well, "You know, Professor McGonagall is the head of Gryffindor."

"But..." said Fish reluctantly with a little grimace, "That big cat can't even climb a tree, he feels stupid."

Through that strange box called a television, Fish had seen many different kinds of kindred spirits, of which the lion was the most useless at climbing trees, so he didn't think much of the big cat.

At this, the faces of all the Gryffindors darkened, while the Slytherins were all smiles.

Fish kept pointing at the Gryffindor banner, "I prefer the big spotted cats, they're much more agile than these."

"Erm..." the twig hat was probably the first time he had heard such an interesting reason, "Well then, which of the remaining three houses do you prefer?"

"The big rat first," Fish said after a moment's thought with his head cocked to one side, "There's a big rat that looks like it, and farts badly."

After Gryffindor, Professor Sprout and the Hufflepuff students blanched in unison.

But Fish, who was blinded by his hat, didn't see it, and if he had he wouldn't have cared.

"Snakes and birds are good," Fish said, licking his lips, "I like to eat them, and they're a challenge to hunt."

Now even the professors and students in the other two houses couldn't help but blanch.

"Wait!" The Sorting Hat reacted at that moment, "So you like these three houses because you like to eat their representative animals?"

"Yes," Fish replied matter-of-factly, "Don't all the restaurants out there put up signs with the food they sell?"

Fish thought he had understood correctly.

"Hogwarts is not a restaurant," the Sorting Hat felt it necessary to clarify to the young wizard, "these represent animals as an honor to the four houses."

"A stupid cat that can't climb trees and three kinds of food... What's so glorious about that?" muttered Fish in a voice that could be heard by everyone in the Great Dining Hall.

"Well... even if you have offended all four houses, there is still one to choose," The Sorting Hat sensed that if the conversation continued, no house would accept this little boy, so he ended the subject decisively and urged.

"Meow?... So the big cat, at least he's not in my repertoire," Fish said reluctantly after a moment's consideration, the lion was at least half a kindred spirit compared to joining the food houses...if a bit dumber.

"So--Gryffindor!" the Sorting Hat shouted.