The auditorium, which had been buzzing with whispers, suddenly fell silent.
Both the professor and the students, who had been engaged in hushed conversations, now stared at Robert in astonishment.
Under so many scrutinizing gazes, Robert's face turned pale.
He had been in the wizarding world long enough to know what Azkaban was.
That was a wizard prison!
Why would the Sorting Hat send him there?
The Sorting Hat was supposed to assign students to their houses, and from what he had observed, students always went where it decided.
Did this mean… it was really sending him to Azkaban?
Robert wished he could find a hole in the ground to crawl into.
"Hmm?" The Sorting Hat itself seemed surprised. It had no idea why it had made such a mistake.
This had never happened in the history of Hogwarts!
Even Dumbledore looked confused. He reached out to pick up the Sorting Hat for a closer inspection.
Before he could do so, the Sorting Hat suddenly spoke again.
"Haha, I was just joking! How could it be Azkaban? It should be… Slytherin!"
As soon as the Sorting Hat corrected itself, the stunned silence in the hall was replaced by an uproar of discussion.
No one had ever heard of the Sorting Hat playing such a prank on a student.
Most dismissed it as a malfunction—after all, the Sorting Hat was as old as Hogwarts itself.
Still, thanks to this bizarre incident, Robert had become famous before even stepping away from the stool.
Robert yanked the Sorting Hat off his head and hurried away from it, as though it were cursed.
At the Slytherin table, a student named Rogers stood up with a grin and called out, "Welcome, my dear friend—the prince from Azkaban!"
Laughter erupted from the long table.
"Shut up!" Robert was furious.
Rogers chuckled and nudged him toward an empty seat. "Don't be mad, Robert. It was just a joke. You don't really think I had the power to send you to Azkaban, do you?"
Robert clenched his fists, gritting his teeth. "This is humiliating, Rogers…"
Rogers leaned in, lowering his voice meaningfully. "Humiliating, sure—but at least it's better than getting beaten up, don't you think, Robert?"
That snapped Robert out of his anger.
His embarrassment and frustration made way for realization.
This had to be Rogers' revenge!
Rogers had put on the Sorting Hat before him.
That meant… he must have done something to it!
He had found a way to make the Sorting Hat embarrass Robert—payback for what Robert had done on the train.
Robert had always known that Rogers would retaliate, and he had mentally prepared himself for it.
He had even convinced himself that he would be able to anticipate Rogers' moves.
But this…
This was something he never expected.
No matter how composed Robert tried to be, this was too much!
This guy was ruthless.
But beyond Robert's anger was something else—fear.
Because even though he was sure that Rogers was responsible… he had no idea how he did it.
On the train, the same thing had happened. The people Robert had manipulated to cause trouble for Rogers had ended up attacking each other instead.
And afterward, they genuinely believed that they had been fighting Rogers the whole time.
From that, Robert deduced that Rogers had mastered some form of magic that could confuse people—even magical objects.
Realizing this, a wave of helplessness washed over Robert.
He had studied so hard, trained relentlessly to grow stronger.
But somehow, the gap between him and Rogers only seemed to widen.
Was it possible that his belief—that he would one day catch up—was nothing more than an illusion?
"Robert, you're thinking too much," Rogers interrupted his thoughts casually. He was eyeing the food on the table with interest. "You should focus on what to eat later."
Robert clenched his jaw, then finally asked in a low voice, "How… did you do it?"
Rogers smiled. "Robert, you know me. When we first met, I was always experimenting with different kinds of magic. So, is it really surprising that I figured out one or two spells that you've never seen before?"
Robert was speechless.
While he had been desperately working to master magic and grow stronger, Rogers had been inventing new magic.
And the worst part? Robert had witnessed its power firsthand.
Faced with such a monster… did he really believe he could catch up?
Robert couldn't help but laugh bitterly at himself.
At this moment, all his previous confidence had been completely crushed.
"Robert, you seem a little down," Rogers remarked. "Are you giving up?"
"What else can I do?" Robert muttered. "I have no other choice…"
"That doesn't sound like you," Rogers said, looking unimpressed. "The Robert I know doesn't give up. He endures. And when the time is right, he strikes like a venomous snake—biting down on his enemy's throat and finishing them off in one move."
Robert looked at Rogers in shock.
Why was he saying this?
Robert had already resigned himself to defeat. He no longer had the courage to challenge Rogers.
Was Rogers trying to encourage him?
Rogers continued, "Robert, I know you have potential. I'm looking forward to seeing what surprises you'll bring me in the future."
Robert's eyes narrowed in anger.
Did Rogers think so little of him that he treated him like a joke?
Did he see Robert as nothing more than a clown who overestimated his own abilities?
Rogers, standing at the peak, looking down on him like an insignificant fool?
The thought made Robert's resentment boil over.
"You'll see the surprise I prepare for you in the future," Robert declared, voice steady with determination.
Rogers grinned. "I'm looking forward to it, Robert."
To Rogers, Robert was his best tool for earning merit points.
He couldn't let him get too discouraged—he had to push him just the right amount.
And from the look in Robert's eyes, it seemed to be working.
Just then, a student named Steyn, who had been sitting nearby, commented, "You two have such a great relationship. My sister never encourages me like that."
Robert blinked. "Encouragement?"
"Yeah," Steyn nodded. "Wasn't Rogers just encouraging you? If it were my sister, she would have scolded me to death."
Robert frowned, glancing at Rogers again.
At that moment, Rogers was already chatting with a senior student, paying no attention to Robert.
Robert couldn't help but recall everything Rogers had said.
And suddenly, he felt… uncertain.
Could it be that Rogers really had been encouraging him?
Had he been misinterpreting things all along?
As Robert reflected on all their interactions, he realized something.
No matter how many times he tried to go against Rogers, Rogers had never truly harmed him.
For instance, Robert had sent people to attack Rogers on the train—but all Rogers did in retaliation was embarrass him.
Nothing more.
And on multiple occasions, Rogers had even helped him.
Like when Rogers asked Dumbledore for a book—he requested one for Robert as well.
If their roles had been reversed, Robert knew he would have eliminated Rogers long ago.
But Rogers never did.
Could it be that… despite everything… Rogers actually considered him a friend?
Had Robert misunderstood everything from the start?
As Robert sat there, lost in thought, Rogers continued chatting as if nothing had happened—completely unaware of the subtle shift in Robert's heart.
At that moment, Annie excitedly ran over and sat down beside them.
"Rogers! Robert! I knew you two would be Slytherins too!"
Robert, still dazed, barely reacted when Annie asked, "By the way, Robert, how did you manage to get the Sorting Hat to put you in Azkaban?"
Robert shook his head. "I… I don't know."
And for the first time, he wasn't lying.
(End of Chapter)
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