MTS: Marvel and Beyond

Hagrid, holding a lantern in his right hand, led the group through winding paths to the edge of a vast lake.

Dozens of small boats were moored at the shore. Students grouped in fours boarded the boats, rowing toward Hogwarts Castle.

Under the bright moonlight, the ancient castle in the distance glittered with lights. The traditional oil lamps on the boats illuminated the lake, creating an enigmatic and breathtaking scene.

Alex's lips curved into a slight smile as he admired the beautiful scenery before him.

Upon reaching the shore, the students walked through corridors and up staircases until they arrived at a door. Standing before them was a graceful elderly woman dressed in a green gown and wearing a witch's hat—Professor McGonagall, who had previously accompanied Alex to purchase his school supplies.

Professor McGonagall explained the upcoming Sorting Ceremony, the house point system, and the House Cup awarded at the end of the school year. After finishing her speech, she turned and left.

The moment she departed, Draco Malfoy eagerly approached Harry Potter, attempting to introduce himself and establish a friendship.

Just as Draco introduced his name, a soft chuckle sounded nearby, instantly souring his mood.

He turned to see a red-haired boy he immediately recognized as a member of the impoverished Weasley family.

Draco was about to make a cutting remark when a familiar figure caught his attention out of the corner of his eye. Turning fully, he saw Hermione curiously observing him and Alex, who was engrossed in a book, seemingly ignoring him entirely.

Draco's memory of Alex was still vivid—after all, Alex had suspended him and his two lackeys in mid-air for two hours with magic! Even when a conductor on the Hogwarts Express tried to help, none of the adult wizards' spells could undo the enchantment Alex had cast.

This discovery left Draco utterly shocked. He realized Alex's magical talent was extraordinary.

Even the Dark Lord from over a decade ago couldn't perform such feats at this age!

Draco, as a member of a prestigious pure-blood family, had received elite education from an early age. He wasn't foolish. Recognizing Alex's potential, he abandoned any thoughts of revenge and instead sought to establish a friendly relationship with him.

Though Alex wasn't paying attention to him at the moment, Draco didn't want to leave another bad impression. He decided to ignore Ron and extended his hand to Harry instead.

"Hello, I'm Draco Malfoy. It's a pleasure to meet you," Draco said.

Since Draco hadn't made any rude comments about Ron, Harry didn't hesitate. He reached out and shook Draco's hand, replying, "Harry Potter. Nice to meet you!"

After introducing himself to Harry, Draco didn't linger. He moved aside but couldn't help feeling a lingering sense of unease as he stood near Alex. After the earlier encounter, Draco suspected it would take some time before he could interact with Alex without trepidation.

Once Draco left, Ron leaned in and whispered to Harry, "Harry, you should be careful of Malfoy. He's not a good person!"

Harry was somewhat confused. "Why? I think he seems pretty decent."

"You need to understand, most pure-blood families aren't exactly good people, especially the Slytherins. Most of their elders were former Death Eaters, and they're as bad as they come."

Since Draco didn't behave as maliciously in front of Harry as he did in the original storyline, Harry didn't fully believe Ron's words. Instead, he retorted:

"Ron, the actions of their elders have nothing to do with us. When you don't understand a person, it's not good to judge them with malice."

Seeing that Harry didn't agree with his view and even rebutted him, Ron clicked his tongue in annoyance and stopped discussing Draco further.

At the same time, Alex, who was reading his wizard novel, felt that his influence on the original storyline had suddenly increased significantly. A smile curled at the corner of his mouth.

He hadn't done much, yet there was an unexpected surprise.

This is great!

A moment later, Professor McGonagall returned and led the group toward the Great Hall.

Inside the massive hall, there were four long tables, each representing one of the four houses.

The students stopped in front of a hat, waiting for the Sorting Ceremony to begin.

Before it started, an elderly man with a full head of hair and beard stood up. He was none other than the most powerful white wizard of the time, Albus Dumbledore.

Dumbledore addressed the students:

"I have a few announcements to make. First years, listen up! It is strictly prohibited for any student to enter the Forbidden Forest. That is off-limits! Also, the corridor on the third floor to the right is also a restricted area!"

Unlike the usual headmasters who would speak for an hour, Dumbledore was swift and efficient, finishing his speech in just a few sentences.

Professor McGonagall then continued:

"The Sorting Ceremony will now begin. Students whose names are called, please step forward. I will place the hat on your head, and it will determine which house you belong to."

"First up, Hannah Abbott!"

A rather unremarkable little witch stepped forward. After a moment, the Sorting Hat shouted:

"Hufflepuff!"

One by one, the other students came forward for the Sorting Ceremony.

Soon, Alex heard a familiar name:

"Hermione Granger!"

Hermione looked visibly nervous. She walked slowly forward, sat on the stool, and placed the hat on her head. After a moment, the Sorting Hat called out:

"Ravenclaw!"

As soon as the Sorting Hat declared Hermione's house, Alex felt his connection to his own body surge once more.

Hermione hadn't joined Gryffindor, meaning there would be no bond between her, Harry, and Ron, and the world's plot would shift significantly.

Next was Draco. As soon as the Sorting Hat touched his hair, it immediately shouted:

"Slytherin!"

One by one, the little wizards were sorted into different houses, and soon it was Harry Potter's turn.

As soon as the name "Harry Potter" was called, all the students immediately quieted down, hoping that Harry would be sorted into their own house.

After the Dark Lord's disappearance, it had been rumored throughout the wizarding world that Harry Potter had defeated him, which made Harry a figure almost like a savior in the magical community—an iconic figure above all others.

When the Sorting Hat was placed on Harry's head, it hesitated greatly about where Harry should belong:

"Well, this is tricky. This is really difficult.

You have great courage, and you are not bad-hearted, and you're exceptionally talented. You really want to prove yourself, but where should I place you?"

At this moment, Harry did not harbor the same bias against Slytherin as in the original storyline, and he did not repeatedly wish to avoid Slytherin.

Therefore, the Sorting Hat was torn between placing Harry in Slytherin or Gryffindor.

Just then, it suddenly heard a voice in its mind, and immediately it declared:

"Gryffindor!"

In the audience, Alex looked at Dumbledore with deep, thoughtful eyes, quickly picking up on a subtle magical fluctuation that had just passed through the air.

Clearly, Dumbledore had just subtly influenced the Sorting Hat, which was why the Hat had decisively placed Harry in Gryffindor.

If Harry had been placed in Slytherin, the storyline would have deviated significantly from the original, and Alex might have been able to directly take control of the Harry Potter world.

But he couldn't do that. The first reason was still due to the constraints of the world's rules. The second reason was that he had sensed something was off about Dumbledore's strength!

It seemed that the world's rules had detected his intrusion and had significantly boosted Dumbledore's power.

Judging from Dumbledore's current aura, his strength was nearing that of a god, and with a casual spell, he could likely destroy a city!

While the increasing difficulty of the world's rules didn't concern Alex too much, as he didn't believe he would fail, he couldn't help but smile and say a phrase from his past life:

"This is exhilarating."

After Harry Potter, one after another, the little wizards were sorted, and soon it was Alex's turn.

Alex stepped forward, glancing at the dirty Sorting Hat with some distaste, then pulled out his wand and cast a spell on the Hat.

A faint glow appeared at the tip of his wand, and under its light, the Sorting Hat's once-dirty and shabby surface visibly cleaned up, almost as if it had been cared for over the years, shining with a new luster.

Seeing this, Professor McGonagall screamed in shock:

"Alex, what are you doing?!"

Alex calmly responded:

"Professor, the Sorting Hat is too dirty. I don't want to wear such a filthy hat."

"No, no, that's not what I meant. How did you use magic to influence the Sorting Hat?"

Professor McGonagall's eyes widened, and the fine wrinkles on her face trembled in disbelief as she stared at the scene before her.

The Sorting Hat was no ordinary hat—it was enchanted by the four founders of Hogwarts.

Due to the magic placed on it, the Sorting Hat had gained a level of intelligence comparable to that of humans. Moreover, due to the enchantments, the Sorting Hat also possessed powerful magical resistance.

The magic wielded by the four founders was so immense that even the spell of a skilled Auror couldn't affect the Sorting Hat, let alone a young wizard who hadn't even started school yet.

All the professors on stage were watching this closely. Upon noticing what Alex had just done, Dumbledore furrowed his brows and fixed his gaze on Alex.

Before the start of the school year, he had two students he was particularly concerned about. One was naturally the prophesied savior, Harry Potter, and the other was Alex.

While Harry was the subject of the prophecy, Dumbledore was particularly attentive to Alex because of Alex's mysterious background.

Alex, like Voldemort—who had once been Dumbledore's proud student—came from a place connected to Voldemort, and the two shared many similarities.

Both were handsome, both came from the same orphanage, both were courteous, and in fact, Alex's appearance and demeanor were even more outstanding than Voldemort's!

In Alex, Dumbledore saw traces of Voldemort, but he also saw more brilliant qualities.

From the first time Dumbledore saw Alex, he had an intuition that Alex would either become a greater white wizard than himself or rise to surpass Grindelwald and Voldemort, becoming the most powerful Dark Lord!

In any case, Alex was destined for greatness, not mediocrity!

In addition to Dumbledore, Snape was also observing Alex. He, too, saw traces of that person in Alex.

This made his expression slightly grim as his eyes flickered back and forth between Harry and Alex.

There could never be a second Voldemort; Lily's son must not be harmed!

Neither of them paid much attention to the stares they received. Just now, when Hermione had been placed in Ravenclaw, significantly altering the storyline, Alex's connection to his original self had deepened.

Though he couldn't directly use the power of his original self yet, his abilities in the areas where his original self had power would now be greatly enhanced.

For example, spells like the Levitation Charm or Wingardium Leviosa, due to his control over repulsion and gravity, would allow him to surpass even Dumbledore in this aspect of magical strength!

The young wizards in the audience, witnessing Alex's actions, began to discuss among themselves.

Because they didn't know the many hidden secrets about the Sorting Hat, they assumed that any magic could easily clean the Hat. The ones who had already been sorted now regretted not cleaning the Hat during their own sorting, saying:

"I wish I had used magic to clean the Sorting Hat when I was being sorted. It was so filthy, I could even smell a bad odor."

"Exactly, the Sorting Hat must have been used for so many years and interacted with so many little wizards. I saw so much dandruff and oil on it. It was just disgusting."

"Who is he? He's such a clever little wizard."

"I think his name is Alex. He's pretty handsome, innit?"

While the young wizards were discussing among themselves, Alex placed the Sorting Hat on his head.

He was not afraid of the Sorting Hat reading his memories, as he had long perfected his mind defense spells and constructed numerous false memories on the surface of his consciousness.

These memories portrayed him as a studious young wizard, and if the Sorting Hat were to read them, it would likely place him in Ravenclaw.

However, after the significant increase in his power and after altering the storyline again, Alex decided to change his earlier plan.

Since his strength was now sufficient, it would be a waste not to have a bit of fun with this situation!

He quickly altered his shallow memories once more.

Finally, the clean and tidy Sorting Hat was placed on Alex's head. On the stage, Dumbledore stared at Alex intently, genuinely hoping that Alex wouldn't be placed in Slytherin. If that happened, Dumbledore would really have to start suspecting that Alex might be the next Dark Lord.

Once the Sorting Hat was placed on Alex's head, it immediately began to read his memories and kept murmuring:

"Thank you, young wizard, for making me clean again.

Damn it, even though Dumbledore could have done this too, it's me who became clean again, and yet they all ignored my opinion, letting me remain filthy for centuries.

Hmm, based on my judgment, your magic can affect me in a way no other wizard can. You must be an exceptional young wizard. So, what do you think of Slytherin..."

Before Alex could respond, the Sorting Hat suddenly stopped. It had just read the memory Alex had altered.

The cold, dark walls, the salty, wet rain, the ruins of houses, and indescribable shadows moving under the night sky, with the blood-red glow in the moonlight too striking to ignore!

Then, a figure sat high above, his face cold.

At his feet lay a mountain of corpses!

The Sorting Hat felt something was wrong with the magic it had been using, and it thought it might be hallucinating. But after verifying, it realized that the images before it were indeed part of this young wizard's memory.

It began to tremble violently, panicked to leave Alex's head, and shouted in a frenzy:

"Azkaban! He must go to Azkaban!"

°°°

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