Rigel activated his Occlumency the moment the hat touched his head, keeping his thoughts as calm as possible.
He didn't think he could hide all his thoughts with his current occlumency, instead, he only hid the most important parts of his memory, mainly his past life.
As for the adventure book and the world of Adventure? The hat couldn't see anything about that, the book itself guaranteed.
A good occlumens does not create barriers in his memories, instead, he hides what he wants to hide through the trivial.
Rigel read this in a book and readily agreed, it was much easier to hide part of the memory by using other memories as decoys.
Rigel wanted to go to Gryffindor, so the memories he placed on top were clearly moments where he demonstrated courage.
Of course, these were recent memories that he had "lived" precisely for that purpose, in case he actually decided to join Gryffindor.
Rigel could fabricate false memories, but he doubted the hat wouldn't notice, so he lived through some small adventures at home to prove his 'courage'.
like sliding down the stairs using the banister, chasing a rat with Jack, and playing a trick on Kreacher by dropping a bucket of water on him, which proved very difficult because the elf was reluctant to use doors.
Later, Rigel had to apologize to the wet elf, but it was all for the "greater good".
Furthermore, he also gave Calypso some 'burping tea', which made her very angry. She chased him while burping, and Rigel had to pay dearly for it. Basically, he went on a date with her just to drink tea at Madame Puddifoot's, but it made Rigel turn as red as a beet. Calypso was very happy, and she even took a picture of it.
Rigel regretted it, but it was too late, at least he got the memory he needed.
Not only that, Rigel also managed to get memories for all the houses, Ravenclaw and Slytherin were the easiest. Rigel didn't need Slytherin memories, he would bet that in a normal situation the Sorting Hat would send him straight there.
Ravenclaw was also a possibility, after all, although he learned for power, the fact was that he spent a great deal of time learning, he just needed to make those memories evident while hiding the reason.
Hufflepuff, he needed to act kindly, it was quite easy, he just needed to create some memories by helping others, planting plants and things like that.
In any case, with the memories ready, Rigel placed them all at the top while hiding what he wanted to hide.
What the hat saw was a lively and hyperactive child, laughing and playing pranks, although it was a little stunned, it didn't dig any deeper, after all it's a selection artifact, not an interrogation tool.
"Gryffindor!" Shouted the Sorting Hat.
The professors froze, the Slytherins froze, Draco froze, but the Gryffindor table was already applauding, the other two tables followed suit, clapping politely.
Among them, the twins were so excited that they gave a standing ovation.
Ron frowned, clearly having seen Rigel with Malfoy, and whispered to Harry. "Damn, that guy ended up in Gryffindor. I bet he used some dirty trick. With that lemon-sucking face, he should have gone to Slytherin."
Harry said nothing, still nervous as his turn approached.
Professor McGonagall even forgot to remove Rigel's hat for a moment, she remembered something, clearly with mixed feelings, but she quickly came to her senses and removed Rigel's hat. Minerva felt a sense of responsibility growing within her, she would not allow history to repeat itself under any circumstances.
Rigel felt the stares around him, the most pronounced being those of Draco, who looked at him as if he had betrayed him, Dumbledore, who looked at him expressionlessly, but there was weight in his eyes, and finally, Quirrell, who was trembling all over. Rigel felt that his beloved father must be having an aneurysm right now, or rather, giving Quirrell an aneurysm.
Rigel pretended not to notice anything, went to the Gryffindor table, his robes changing to red and gold as he sat down next to the twins. There wasn't much room, but the twins still made room between them for him to sit.
This was clearly a maneuver by Rigel, the twins were very well-known, loved by some, hated by others, but in Gryffindor, practically everyone liked them. Rigel sat with the twins, the twins liked Rigel, so nobody would worry about his last name, at least the first impression wasn't a snake joining the lions, but a small lion following two older lions.
Two lions still without manes, of course, but with plenty of stockpiled dung bombs, so the Gryffindors were still reluctant to mess with the twins, attracting their attention was bad enough, let alone provoking the kind of revenge that ended with the toilet exploding while you were using it.
Oliver also helped, not too far away, he waved to Rigel, Rigel smiled and waved back, Oliver is the captain of the Quidditch team, that is, the game that practically every young wizard idolizes, if Oliver, the team captain, likes Rigel, it's yet another cover for Rigel.
Rigel felt it had been well worth being annoyed by the twins in the train carriage.
The Gryffindors quickly turned their attention to Rigel and focused on the rest of the sorting process, Rigel took the opportunity to glance at the Adventure Book.
//-//
[Achievement unlocked: A Magical Journey (Fragment - 3/4)]
[How to obtain: Follow these steps to unlock the achievement: First Fragment -> Board the Hogwarts Express / Second Fragment -> A Boat Trip / Third Fragment -> A Singing Hat / Fourth Fragment -> A cozy, warm bed.]
//-//
So the last step is to get to the dormitory bed? Sounds easy, Rigel nodded, then turned to the team.
He watched Neville run with the hat still on his head to the Gryffindor table, only to turn back and hand the hat to McGonagall, who gave him a look of obvious disapproval while laughter from all the tables rang out.
He saw Draco get sorted into Slytherin, but even that didn't lift his spirits, he glared intently at him with a furrowed brow as he made his way to the Slytherin table.
Finally, Harry's sorting call arrived, everyone fell silent, when the hat, after several minutes, shouted Gryffindor, the Gryffindor group jumped excitedly, even Rigel feigned excitement, clapping loudly, Harry was filled with relief and ran to the Gryffindor table.
When the selection process ended, nothing had changed, at least among the characters he knew, except for Rigel himself, everything was the same.
However, Draco and Quirrell's persistent stares were starting to give Rigel a headache.
Sighing, he ignored it for now. Dumbledore finally stood up at the end of the sorting. He saw the old man glance at their table, first at Harry, then at Rigel, but he quickly looked away.
"Welcome!" He said, his voice echoing through the great hall. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our feast, I'd like to say a few words: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you."
The next moment, their table was filled with delicacies, there was everything, meats, pasta, vegetables... you could find whatever you wanted on that table.
Rigel calmly prepared his plate, or tried to, the Gryffindor students were far less polite than those at the other tables. Hands flew freely as students grabbed what they wanted. If it weren't for the abundant quantity, there would probably have been fights. Perhaps that's why there was so much food, even if the students couldn't eat it all.
"Hey, Rigel, try this pumpkin pie, it's great." Said Fred, placing a piece of pie on his plate.
Rigel's eyes trembled, Fred had picked up the pie with his own hand and placed it on his plate as if it were nothing. Rigel, who was holding his fork and knife, for a moment wanted to throw the pie away, but in the end, he swallowed that feeling.
He's a Gryffindor now.
Therefore...
Rigel tossed his cutlery aside, imitating the Gryffindors, and began stuffing food into his mouth, which made Fred and George nod with great satisfaction.
Fred had done this on purpose, noticing Rigel's 'noble' air, he knew Rigel wouldn't last long in Gryffindor if he didn't change. They thought they would have to work hard to make Rigel fit in, but Rigel realized it on his own.
Rigel stepped out of his comfort zone, the twins were pleased, and in the end even the professors seemed a little stunned by Rigel's move, several of them were still looking at him, especially McGonagall and Quirrell, although for completely different reasons.
Quirrell kept looking at him because he sensed that the Dark Lord had a very clear interest in this boy, but McGonagall was having a headache wondering if Rigel going into Gryffindor was a good or bad thing.
She looked at Harry, then at Rigel.
Potter, Black... is it destiny?
Will the ending be the same?
McGonagall didn't want to let her prejudices cloud her judgment, so she forced herself not to think about it. She had decided, the moment Rigel was selected for Gryffindor, that she would make him a good and honest wizard. If he had gone to another house, she might have stayed on the sidelines, but now she viewed Rigel as her responsibility.
The future would never be the same, not in her eyes.