Hey everyone! This story was brought to you by Games and Sports: Quidditch Fouls assignment, Geek Pride, Murder Mystery May, and International Workers Day on Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Also for Link Maker on Monthly Challenges for All. Also for Quidditch Supplies, Reserve League, and Book Club on The Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition.
Games and Sports: Quidditch Fouls assignment: Task 8 - Write about trying to spell/curse/etc. an item.
Geek Pride: Hunger Games Collectible Mockingjoy Pin (prompt) Write about being 'chosen' for something.
Murder Mystery May: (location) Horizont Alley
International Workers Day: Ceasar Chavez (Era) Founder Wandmaker (word) magic
Link Maker: Harry Potter characters used, 2,244 words
Quidditch Supplies: (color) midnight blue
Reserve League: The Sorting Hat Chaser 2
Book Club: (color) Green
Warning for a bit of fluff and foreshadowing. Word count is 2,244 words. I hope you all enjoy Finding its Voice.
Voices. That was the first thing that the Sorting Hat remembers in its whole entire life. Voices of the people that worked on it. Talking to each other as they slowly but surely stitched and stitched it together. The needle piercing the fabric like an ever-present itch that the hat could not scratch. What with the whole lack of hands and all that.
Then, with a final flourish of stitches, the sewing was done. Which was a huge relief to the hat? Now it could be left alone to its own devices. Without the constant itch of the stitches. But that was not to be, of course.
It was set as the centerpiece of a window. The hat knows that much because the sight that meets it isn't usually the one that met it on a daily basis. It a much lighter sight that met it. People were milling about in the world outside of the hat's new prison. Some, mostly men, stopped to look at the hat. It could hear the whispers of admiration for it, as it sat between the midnight blue curtains of the hat shop where it had been made.
It noticed two particular men, who had stopped to look it, as they whispered back and forth between each other. The one man was dressed in a crimson red doublet and trousers while his friend wore a mint color doublet with matching trousers. The men seemed to be friends. That was the word that the hat had heard his makers use for each other over and over again.
"What a magnificent hat," the crimson garbed man, pointing towards the hat, "don't you think, Salazar?"
The hat brimmed with pride at the compliment it had just received. It had only ever been complimented by its creators before now. It didn't know why it should be proud of the compliment but it knew it should.
"It is a magnificent hat, Godric," the mint green garbed man said. "Do you want to go in a take closer look?"
"We still have work to do, Salazar," the man called Godric told the dark-haired man he'd been talking to. "We can come back and look at hats later. Wouldn't you agree?"
The hat felt a surge of something strange go through it. It didn't know what this feeling was but it hoped that the men would be back before it was sold to someone else. It watched as the duo were approached by a pair of women. Maybe the women would convince one of the men to buy the hat. It turned its attention to the dark-haired woman in the midnight blue dress standing next to one called Salazar. She was looking at the hat in admiration. Perhaps she could convince one of the men to buy the hat.
"That is a very lovely hat," the woman said as the men led the women away from the store. "I'm surprised that one of you hasn't snapped it up yet."
The blonde woman in the yellow gold dress laughed gently. She was saying something that the hat couldn't really because the group was too far away.
The hat felt like it's would have fallen to the ground if it had had a heart to fall to the floor. It had been hoping that one of the men would buy it. It had felt a connection with the one called Godric right away. Not that it would mind the one called Salazar buying it.
After the first initial meeting of the hat and the man it was hoping would one day buy it, the days passed by with the hat trying to look unassuming. Trying to make itself less desirable. Less noticeable by regular passersby. He knew the men that had been talking about it days ago were special. Different than the ones that passed by on a daily basis.
After a while the owners of the store began to look more and more discouraged about the lack of people's attention for the hat they'd worked so hard on. Thinking that it was time for them to put something newer up front and center, they took the hat out of its midnight blue curtain home. It was put on a shelf next to the register, a bright and shining hope taking over it. Maybe, just maybe the man would come back and buy it? Maybe this was the way its hope would be met?
"I don't understand why the hat hasn't sold yet," the owner of the shop sighed, looking over at the hat. "It should have sold twice over by now. This is one of our best works of art."
"I know, my friend," the creator of the hat said, putting a hand on the other man's shoulder. "It is our best work yet. Perhaps the people of this town don't understand good fashion?"
The other man was about to answer when the tinkle of the bell that indicated that a customer had entered the store sounded. A bright shining hope flared yet again in the hat's mind. It would be bought today. It could feel it in the very fiber of its being.
"Hello, good sirs," a voice that the hat had heard once upon a time. The man who'd been wearing crimson a few months ago stepped into view. This time he was dressed all in scarlet. He was holding a tattered looking hat in his hands. "I was wondering if you gentlemen could help a fellow out?"
"What exactly can we do for you today, Godric?" the owner of the shop asked, lifting the hat and putting it on the counter near the register.
The hat knew that now was it chance. It had to look like the best hat in the world. The only hat that this man would ever want to buy. Making itself look its best, it took a tumble off the counter and made itself roll towards Godric's feet.
The feeling the hat bump against his feet knelt down and picked it up. He studied the hat and smiled. He must have remembered seeing it when it was freshly made and shining. Sitting in the position of authority. The position of power that each hat in the store wanted to be put in.
"I am in the market for a new hat," Godric said, chuckling for a reason the hat didn't understand but soon would. "I was hoping that this one would still be here. Is it still for sale?"
The shopkeepers shared a surprised look between each other. They hadn't expected anyone to want to buy one of their elder hats. Everyone always went for newer items. The ones that were in fashion.
"Are you sure that this is the hat you want, sir?"
"I'm sure. This hat and I were destined for each other."
The owner of the store smiled a knowing smile. He'd heard of people saying that they were meant to be with other people but never in his life had he heard of someone being destined for a hat. Nonetheless, he took the money that Godric gave him for payment. He watched as his greatest creation was lifted and put on the jet black head of hair. Then it was gone from the store for good.
Perched jauntily upon the head of its new owner, the hat couldn't help the elated feeling it had. It had been dreaming of being bought by this particular person. Now that it was, it wanted to find out what would happen next. It wanted to see where this man would take it next. To see what adventures this man could get into.
It wasn't disappointed when the man turned and with a pop disappeared from the town square where he'd gone after buying the hat. It also wasn't surprised when they'd reappeared in another town square.
This town square was much different from the one where the hat's store had been. It was full of people which was the only similarity. But the stores were much different. There was a pub, a bustling business with many people going in and coming out. There was a home that looked in complete disrepair. Several other shops that the hat had never seen before.
The hat wanted to ask where they were. It wanted to ask a number of questions. It wanted to know about everything. But Godric didn't stop at any of the different shops and pubs in the village. He walked towards a lane leading out of the village.
The lane was covered in a mixture of snow and bare trees and shrubbery. At least that was what the hat thought that each article was called. It had seen trees and shrubbery before. There several trees across from the store it had been made in. There was also a little bit of shrubbery beside the windows of the store too. It could also remember seeing fat flakes of the snow coming down from the sky above, while it sat safely behind the window in the store.
It was so lost in its own memories of life at the store, that the hat hadn't noticed that a huge castle-like building was looming up in the distance. Upon noticing the castle though, the hat couldn't help feeling that this castle was homier than the store it had been made in.
"I see you finally bought that hat," a woman's voice spoke up as they neared the gate of the castle. It was the woman that had been dressed in midnight blue. She wore a different color blue dress today but the hat thought she looked best in midnight blue. "Salazar wants to know the answer to the question he asked before you left."
"I'm sure he does," Godric said, sighing as he placed his hand on the hat's brim. "I don't understand why he must have his answer now."
The hat as though in agreement with its new owner sent a shock through the hand that was touching it. It was though in that one little shock hat was saying in its own way that it was the answer to the question that had been asked.
"An idea has just formed in my mind, Rowena," Godric said, racing towards the castle. "Tell Salazar that he will have his answer in a matter of minutes."
Godric raced towards a room in the castle. A room that was full of books that the hat didn't know what to make of. The man read and read. The words made no sense to the hat but they seemed to make sense to Godric. The man smiled and took the hat off of his head.
"I think that if I do this right," Godric told the hat, "you and I and everyone else will be able to communicate with each other. Won't that be interesting fun?"
The hat wanted to affirm that it agreed that would be interesting fun indeed. But it couldn't talk. It was just a hat. It sat on the table next to the book while the man began to say a bunch of words that it couldn't understand. That it had never heard before. Then a jet of light came towards the hat. The jet of light hitting the hat square in the middle and then it was able to hear the thoughts of its new owner.
"I hope it worked," Godric thought as he picked up the hat and looked at it. "Hello, my dear hat. Can you hear me?"
"Of course, I can hear you, Godric," the hat said,
"You have a voice," Godric's thought raced. "The hat has a voice. I've owned a hat that had a voice. I wonder if the others will be able to hear it too."
Not soon after that Godric met with Salazar, Rowena, and their fair-haired friend in a large room with a big table set up a flight of steps. Each person turned to look at Godric as he walked into the room.
"I want you to meet the way we are going sort our students," Godric said, holding up the hat so that they can all see it. "This is our Sorting Hat. Say hello, hat."
The hat thought a hello and watched as the confused faces waited for something to be said. The hat's owner must have looked confused because Rowena mentioned something about not being thus.
"Perhaps, you performed the spell wrong," the fair-haired woman said, taking the hat in her hands and looking at it. "It is quite an excellent hat."
"Why thank you, my lady," the hat said in the woman's mind.
The woman's mouth dropped open as she stared at the hat. She turned to Godric. "This absolutely amazing," she exclaimed. "This will work perfectly. We just have to put the hat in close proximity to the person being sorted."
"Perhaps, you could place me on their heads," the hat suggested.
"A brilliant idea, dear hat," the woman, who was addressed as Helga, said, smiling brightly at each and every one of them.
It took both a conversation between both Salazar and Rowena with the hat to convince them of the plan. But soon everyone was in agreement. They began to teach the hat the traits that each of them wanted in their students and soon the hat knew exactly what traits each wanted. It was now ready for its job. Its new purpose in life.
I hope you all enjoyed Finding its Voice as much as I enjoyed writing it.