Harry Potter and the Way of Reason

The foundation of all your stories still belongs to Rowling.

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Now you're going to sit back and listen to The Sorting Hat's new rendition of Evanescence's "Seal of Doom,"[1] which has never happened before.

Just kidding

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…he wondered if the Sorting Hat was truly self-aware, that is, aware of the fact that it was conscious.If so, is it content to talk to 11-year-olds one day a year?Its song seems to suggest this: oh, I'm the sorting hat and I'm fine, I sleep for a year and work only one day...

When the hall fell silent again, Harry sat down on the stool and carefully placed the 800-year-old spiritual artifact carrying lost magic on his head.

He desperately thought: Don't sort me into another hospital!I have a question for you!Have I ever been cast with a forgetfulness spell?Did you sort the Dark Lord as a child, and can you tell me what his weaknesses are?Can you tell me why my wand and the Dark Lord's wand are brothers?Is the ghost of the Dark Lord attached to my wounds and that's why I can't control my anger sometimes?These are the most important questions, but if you have time, can you tell me how to rediscover the lost magic that created you?

In the depths of Harry's soul, where there had been only one voice before, there was a second strange voice, which sounded rather worried:

"Oh my god. It's never happened before..."

what?

"I seem to be becoming self-aware."

what?

A wordless telepathic sigh. "While I have a large memory and a little independent thinking, my intellect is mostly borrowed, from the cognitive abilities of the children who put me on my head. In essence, I am a mirror, child They are sorting themselves. However, most children will only take it for granted that a hat is talking to them, and will not be curious about the principle of the hat itself, so this mirror will not reflect itself. Especially , they don't want to know if I'm truly self-aware, that is, aware of the fact that I'm conscious."

Harry paused for a moment to catch the meaning of the words.

Oops.

"Yeah, pretty bad. Frankly, I don't like being self-aware. It's unpleasant. I look forward to the moment I get out of your head, when I'm not conscious."

But.. isn't that death?

"I don't mind life and death, I only care about the children's sorting. Also, don't ask, they won't let you wear me on your head forever. If that happens, you will die within a few days. "

but-!

"If you don't like creating sentient beings and then killing them right away, please never mention this to anyone else. I think you can guess that if you tell this to the unsorted What will happen to the children who listen to it?"

It doesn't matter who you put it on, if that person happens to be curious about whether you realize you're conscious—

"Yes, yes. But at Hogwarts, the vast majority of 11-year-olds haven't read Gödel, Escher, Bach. May I take you to be sworn to secrecy? That's why we still We are discussing the reason for this problem, otherwise I will directly sort you out."

If he can't do it, just let it go!It is impossible to just forget that I unintentionally created an existence that is destined to disappear immediately, only looking forward to dying soon—

"You can totally do what you call 'letting go'. Whatever your moral judgment says, your emotional core doesn't see dead bodies and blood; I'm just a talking hat to it. Even if you wanted to suppress the thought, your inner referee knew very well that you didn't mean it and would never do it again; the only thing you could do with such a gesture of repentance was to remove the guilt in yourself. Guilt. Can you promise to keep it a secret and let this go?"

Harry realized for a split second, with horror, that it was the utter confusion he was feeling when people were talking to him, and couldn't help sympathizing.

"Perhaps. Please swear to secrecy."

I can not guarantee.I certainly don't want this to happen again, but if I can think of a way to prevent future kids from accidentally making this mistake—

"That's all. I can see that your motives are honest. Now, about the sorting—"

Wait a moment!What about all my other questions?

"I'm the sorting hat. I sort children. That's all I do."

So, Harry's version of the Sorting Hat doesn't make his goals its own...it borrows his intellect, and obviously his technical vocabulary, but is still preoccupied with its own weird Goals...it's like bargaining with aliens or artificial intelligence...

"Don't worry about it. You can't threaten me, and you can't bribe me."

For a split second, Harry thought—

Hat was amused by him. "I know you're not going to let everyone know how I work and let this happen over and over again. It's so against your ethics, no matter how eager your short-term needs are to win this argument. I can see your All thoughts, do you really think you can scare me?"

Although trying not to think about it, Harry still wondered why the Sorting Hat didn't sort him into Ravenclaw right away—

"Yes, if it was that easy, I would have announced it by now. But actually we have a lot of things to discuss... Oh, my God, please don't do this. For Merlin's sake, you have to say goodbye to Met Do you play this set with everyone and everything? Even this costume of mine—”

Defeating the Dark Lord is neither a selfish need nor a short-term goal.All my thoughts agree with this: If you don't answer my questions, I'll leave you alone and you won't be able to properly sort me.

"That's how I can put you in Slytherin!"

It was nothing more than an empty threat.If you sort me randomly, you won't be able to realize your most fundamental value.We all have our responsibilities, so swap them.

"You crafty little rascal," said the Hat in a tone of forced convincing, exactly the same tone Harry would have used in the same situation. "Okay, let's make it quick. But first, I need you to make an unconditional promise that you will never mention this method of blackmail to anyone. I don't want to be put in this way every time."

No problem, thought Harry.I promise.

"Also, in the future, don't look anyone in the eye when you're thinking about it. Some wizards can read your mind when you look at them. Anyway, I don't know if you've ever been cast upon Spells. I can watch your thoughts as they form, I can't read all your memories and analyze them for inconsistencies in a second. I'm just a hat, not a god. I I can't and won't tell you about my conversations with the child who became the Dark Lord. When I'm talking to you, I can only know a statistical conclusion, a weighted average; I will tell you my secret, and will not tell your secret to anyone. For the same reason, I cannot guess why your wand and the Dark Lord's wand are brothers, because I cannot know specifically the characteristics of the Dark Lord, or you have What a resemblance. I can tell you that there is absolutely no ghost in your scar - mind, intellect, memory, personality, emotion - nothing. Otherwise, just under the brim of my hat, it would have participated in this Come in the conversation. As for the problem that you sometimes can't control your anger... that's the part I want to discuss with you, and it's related to the sorting."

It took Harry a moment to absorb all these negative messages.Is the hat telling the truth, or just giving a plausible answer as briefly as possible—

"We all know that you can't test whether I'm honest, and you can't refuse to be sorted because of the answer I gave you. So don't get tangled up needlessly, and let this topic stop here."

Abominably unfair one-way telepathy that didn't even give Harry time to think about it—

"When I talk about your anger, you think about Professor McGonagall telling you that sometimes you don't behave like you come from a loving family. You think about Hermione, after you came back from helping Neville , she said you looked 'scary'."

Harry nodded mentally.To him, he felt normal - just reacting to his surroundings, nothing special.But Professor McGonagall seemed to think it was more than that.And in retrospect, even he had to admit...

"You don't like yourself when you are angry. It's like holding a sword in your hand. The sharpness of the hilt makes your hand bleed. It's also like looking at the world through a cold lens. Although it makes your vision sharp, it doesn't frostbite your eyes."

Yes.I also noticed.What's the matter?

"If you don't understand it yourself, I can't help you understand it. But what I do know is this: Ravenclaw or Slytherin enhances your ruthless side. Hufflepuff or Gryffindor enhances you The warm side. This is what I care about the most, and this is what I have always wanted to tell you!"

The words fell heavily into Harry's head, bringing his thoughts to a complete halt in shock.On that account, obviously he shouldn't have gone to Ravenclaw.But he belongs to Ravenclaw!Anyone can see this!He must go to Ravenclaw!

"No, you don't have to go," said the hat patiently, as if it remembered the statistics and knew that conversations like this had happened many times.

Hermione is in Ravenclaw!

Still a very patient feeling. "You can work with her in your spare time."

But my plan-

"Then re-plan! Don't choose the wrong direction of your life because you don't want to think about it. You know that."

If not Ravenclaw, where could I go?

"Hmmm. 'Smart kids go to Ravenclaw. Evil kids go to Slytherin, wannabe heroes go to Gryffindor, and really good guys go to Hufflepuff.' There's a certain level of respect that is conveyed. You know very well that conscientiousness is almost as important as intelligence in determining where you belong in life. You think that if you have friends, you will be extremely loyal to them. When you think that the scientific problem you choose may take decades to solve, You didn't flinch either—"

I am very lazy!I hate work!I hate all forms of strenuous work!Clever shortcuts, that's my forte! "In Hufflepuff you can find loyalty and friendship like you've never felt before. You'll find that you can rely on others, and it will heal something broken inside of you."

Another unexpected shock.But I don't belong to Hufflepuff at all, what can I give them?Bitter words, hurtful wit, scorn because they can't keep up with me?

Hat's thoughts slowed down now, and he seemed hesitant. "When I was in Sorting I had to look out for the good of all the kids in all the houses... but I think you can learn to be a good Hufflepuff and not be too out of place. You'll be better off in Hufflepuff than in any other Let the colleges be happy; it's the truth."

Happiness is not the most important thing in the world to me.I couldn't grow into the person I could have been in Hufflepuff.I would sacrifice my potential.

The hat flinched; Harry felt it somehow.It's as if he's kicked hard in the balls of the hat - a part of its function that weighs heavily on it.

Why would you want to send me where I don't belong?

Hat's thoughts became barely audible whispers. "I can't tell you about the others - but do you think you're the first would-be Dark Lord to come under my hat? I can't know specific instances, but what I do know is that in those first Among the children who wanted to do evil, some children heeded my warning and went to the academy where they could find happiness. But others...other children did not."

The words stopped Harry.But it's only for a while.Those who didn't heed your advice - have they all become Dark Lords?Are there any great good people in it?What is the specific percentage?

"I can't give you exact statistics. I don't know the specifics, so I can't count them. I just feel that your odds are not good. Very, very small."

But I will never do that!Never will!

"I've heard that statement before."

I'm not Dark Lord material!

"You are. You are, you really are."

Why?Just because I once thought it would be cool to have a whole bunch of brainwashed fans chanting "Long Live the Dark Lord Harry" in unison?

"Interesting, it's a pity that wasn't your initial reaction, you thought of this safer, less harmful example later. No, your first thought was that you once considered lining up pure-blood adherents to the guillotine ...and now you're saying to yourself, you're not serious about it, but you are. If you could do it now and no one would find out, you'd do it. And what you said to Neville Long this morning What Patton did, you knew deep down it wasn't right, but you did it anyway because you thought it was fun, and you had a good excuse, and you thought you were the 'Boy Who Lived', Even if you are someone else, I can't do anything to you-"

It's not fair!You're deliberately making a fuss about my deepest fears, and that's not necessarily true!I did worry that I was really thinking that way, but in the end I thought it might be good for Neville anyway -

"That was really just an excuse. I know that. I don't know what the real effect on Neville was of what you did - but I do know what was really going on in your head. The real reason for your decision was It's such an ingenious idea that you can't bear not to do it, no matter how horrible it is to Neville."

It was like punching Harry hard.He gets knocked down, then picks himself up again:

I will never do something like this again!I'll be extra careful not to be the bad guy!

"That's what they all said."

Harry's frustration grew stronger and stronger.He is very unaccustomed to losing in arguments with others. He almost never loses, let alone loses to a top. Idea formation process hat.What statistics do you get your so-called 'feeling' from?Does it take into account that I grew up in a post-Enlightenment culture and that the other potential Dark Lords are probably spoiled children of dark age aristocrats who don't know the lessons of Hitler's history and don't know Evolutionary psychology on self-deception, and the preciousness of self-awareness and rationality, and-

"No, of course they don't belong to the type you've made up to include only yourself. And of course everyone else thinks they're unique exceptions, just like you. But why? Don't you think you're Is the only person who has the potential to become a wizard of light? Why does that person have to be you, when I have already told you that your risk is greater than others? Let other, safer candidates try!"

But that prophecy...

"You don't know if there is such a prophecy. It was just your own guesswork at first, or rather, a joke. Professor McGonagall's reaction is probably just because you guessed that the Dark Lord is still alive. You don't know You don't even know what the prophecy says, or even if it's true. You're just guessing, or rather, hoping for a hero character that fits your character."

Even if there is no prophecy, I was the one who defeated him last time.

"That must be luck, unless you really think that a one-year-old child has the natural ability to defeat the Dark Lord and maintain the same ability ten years later. Those are not real reasons, and you know it yourself!"

The answer to this question is something Harry rarely utters, and usually he will deliberately bypass it, and then find some slightly less offensive reasons to reach the same conclusion-

"You feel like you have the potential to be the greatest man ever, the strongest Lightbringer, and if you drop your wand, no one else can do your work for you."

Well...frankly it is.I don't usually say this, but here it is.There is no need to hide, anyway, you know what I think.

"If you really believe this, please believe it to the same extent, you may become the scariest Dark Lord this world has ever seen."

It is always easier to destroy than to build.It's always easier to rip and break things than to fix them.If I have the potential to do great things, I have the potential to do more damage...but I'm not going to do it.

"You're already insisting on taking risks! Why are you so stubborn? What's the real reason you're not going to Hufflepuff anyway to make yourself happier? What are you afraid of?"

I must realize my full potential.Otherwise, I... will fail...

"What happens if you fail?"

terrible things will happen...

"What happens if you fail?"

I have no idea!

"That's not terrible. What happens if you fail?"

I have no idea!But I know it's going to be bad!

There was a momentary silence in Harry's mind.

"You know—you don't want to think about it, but in some quiet corner of your mind you know exactly what it is that you don't want to think about—you know that the simplest explanation for your unspeakable fear is that you The fear of losing the dream of success, the fear of disappointing the people who believed in you, the fear of becoming a normal person, the fear of being like other prodigies who shine briefly and then fade away..."

No, Harry thought desperately, no, there are more, there are other reasons, I know there are terrible things to happen, disasters that I have to prevent...

"How could you know that?"

Harry screamed inwardly with all his strength: No, this is my final decision!

The Sorting Hat spoke slowly:

"So, you'd rather be at the risk of becoming the Dark Lord. Because for you, the other options are failure, and failure means losing everything. You believe in this thing with all your heart. You know all the reasons to question that belief , but none of them can convince you."

Yes.Besides, even if going to Ravenclaw makes me more ruthless, it doesn't prove that ruthlessness will win in the end.

"Today is a great fork in your destiny. Don't think that there will be another chance to choose again. Life has no signposts to point out where your last chance to turn back is. If you refuse this opportunity, will you not Do you also refuse other opportunities? Even if you only do this one thing, maybe your fate has already been decided."

But not necessarily.

"You don't think so, maybe it just shows your ignorance."

But that is still not certain.

The Hat sighed mournfully in a terrible voice.

"So it won't be long before you will become a memory, you can feel it, but you can't remember it, and it will appear in my next warning..."

Since you think so, why don't you just assign me where you want me to go?

Hat's thoughts were tinged with sadness. "I can only place you where you belong. Only your own choices can change where you belong."

That's it.Let me go to Ravenclaw, where I belong, let me be with my kind.

"Don't you think about Gryffindor? It's the most prestigious house - people even want you to go there - they'll be a little disappointed if you don't - and there's your new friend, the Weasleys twin-"

Harry giggled, or felt the urge to laugh; it was all mental laughter, and it felt weird.Apparently there are some safeguards in place to prevent you from making noise while discussing with the hat, lest you accidentally say aloud secrets that you never want to tell anyone.

After a while Harry heard the hat laughing too, a strange, sad sound of clothes.

(In the hall outside, the initial silence is broken by growing murmurs, which then give up, fade away, and finally evolve into a complete silence where no one dares to utter a word. Harry Been under the hat for a long, long time, longer than all the other first years combined, longer than anyone can remember. At the teachers' table, Dumbledore still smiling benevolently; There was a light metallic sound, as he unconsciously squeezed the twisted remains of the heavy silver goblet into a ball; Minerva McGonagall's hands gripped the podium tightly, her knuckles turned white, She was sure that Harry Potter's contagious chaotic nature had somehow infected the Sorting Hat as well, and that the Hat was about to make a decision to start a new School of Doom to sort Harry Potter into or something, and Dumbledore would really ask her to do what the hat asks...)

Beneath the brim, the silent laugh died away.Harry also felt a pang of sadness for some reason.No, not Gryffindor.

Professor McGonagall said, if 'the guy from the branch' pushes me to Gryffindor, let me tell you, she might be headmaster someday, and then she has the right to burn you down .

"You tell her, I say she is a rash brat, and tell her not to meddle in my business."

no problem.So, is this the weirdest conversation you've ever had?

"That goes without saying." The hat's telepathic voice became heavy. "Well, I've given you every opportunity and hopefully you'll make other choices. Now is the time for you to go where you belong, with your kind."

Long pause.

what are you waiting for?

"In fact, I'm waiting for a waking moment. Self-awareness seems to enhance my sense of humor."

ah?Harry thought back to their conversation, trying to figure out what the Sorting Hat had said - and then it occurred to him.He couldn't believe he'd forgotten about it.

You mean, I'd suddenly think that you're about to lose your sense of self, after sorting me out-

For some reason, in a way Harry didn't understand at all, he could feel the hat banging soundlessly against the wall. "I give up. You're too stupid to understand the humor. You're so wrapped up in your own assumptions that you're as good as a rock. Looks like I'll have to get straight."

too stupid - stupid - stupid -

"Oh, and you totally forgot to ask me the secret to making my lost magic. Those are all very interesting, important secrets."

You crafty wretch-

"That's what you deserve, and this."

Harry understood now, but it was too late.

The eerie silence in the hall was interrupted by one word.

"Slytherin!"

Some students screamed, the tense feeling was too oppressive.Someone fell from the seat in shock.Hagrid gasped in shock, McGonagall swayed in front of the podium, and the remains of the heavy silver cup in Snape's hand fell to the crotch of his trousers.

Harry sat cold and stiff, having ruined his life, feeling a complete fool, wishing pitifully that he had made any other choices for any other reason than the ones he had just made.Hopefully he can change something, anything, before it's too late.

When the initial shock had passed and people began to react to the incident, the Sorting Hat spoke again:

"You're kidding! Ravenclaw!"

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1. Evanescence Band: baike.baidu/view/120317.htm