"Archard, Hope!"
Hope had been dreading this moment her aunt and uncle had told her about, when she would have to walk up all alone, before the entire student body and faculty, and sit on a stool to have a hat tell her which House she would be in. From her aunt and uncle's descriptions, she already had a pretty good idea of which House she would wind up in.
Hoping no one could see her legs trembling and trying not to trip, Hope eventually found herself sitting on a stool with a threadbare old hat sitting on her head. Poor thing--they should take better care of it! Hope had a fleeting desire to take it off and mend it a bit, but before she could collect her thoughts, the hat was talking to her!
"Hmm.....this your first trip out into the big, wide world, is it? Not brash like a lion, or subtle like a serpent...Hard-working, kind, helpful, though...."
Hope nodded as the hat trailed off...yes, it was just as she expected, best get on with it...
"... but not as straightforward as one might think...No, no....interesting.... a little quirky, a little dreamy, a little...different, eh? So, all things considered, I think it had better be.... Ravenclaw!
Wait! What? Hope shook her head slightly, thinking she hadn't heard correctly. It couldn't be Ravenclaw!?! She was a Hufflepuff--that was what she'd decided, listening to her family talk about it. That was what she expected. She wasn't nearly smart enough to be in Ravenclaw! She couldn't possibly keep up there, not with her bare bones homeschool education. There must be some terrible mistake!
But before she could open her mouth, the hat was being whisked off her head and a bunch of students at the table decorated in blue and bronze were clapping and the next thing she knew, she found herself on her feet and walking toward them. |