When the great double doors were flung open, a burst of bright light burned into Ari's eyes like fireballs. Once she blinked a few times and her vision adjusted, she saw Professor McGonagall standing before them. She looked as stern and imposing as ever with her emerald green robes and pointy witch hat, but she gave Ari a small nod when she saw her.

"Professor McGonagall, hi!" Ari squealed, her voice breaking through the dignified silence of the castle.

"Shh!" the snotty girl Ari had sat with on the boat placed her finger priggishly to her lips. In the light of the entrance hall, Ari could better make out her huge, distinctive bird nest hair.

"What?" Ari demanded. "I'm just saying hi!"

"Quiet down now," Professor McGonagall commanded, her hawklike eyes passing over them.

Ari flashed a pointed glance at the snotty girl, who rolled her eyes and stalked off when Professor McGonagall led them away. They passed through a small chamber, but Ari was so in awe by the castle she could barely walk straight. So this was what the inside of dreams looked like… it was more glorious than anything she could have ever imagined. All above her head were long, majestic arches, which were so tall and elegant they seemed to stretch all the way to the heavens. There were torches on the wall lighting up their path like miniature stars, their orange flames flickering and making mesmerizing patterns on the walls. The spellbinding power radiated from every inch and crack of the structure, filling up her empty heart with warmth and light.

She was so busy staring at everything she totally forgot to listen to Professor McGonagall, who was in the process of describing the house names. But all the names went over Ari's head, and somewhere down the line, people made of shimmery dust kept popping in and out of the room. Ari was so busy staring at those funny-looking people that next thing she knew, the professor was telling all of them to get in a line and file out of the hall. Ari's heart sped up again and she hurried in line with the others. Where could they be going now, she wondered?

Professor McGonagall led them out of the chamber and into the biggest room Ari had ever seen. If she had thought the chamber she had been in was magical, the Great Hall was even more magical. There was no ceiling and the top of the room opened up to the heavens in an infinite night sky. Ari gasped when she saw it. The numerous stars sparkled against the velvety, inky blanket like jewels. The spacious room was filled with floating, twinkling candles, which made Ari feel like she had been transported into a sky full of stars herself.

They passed through the aisle between four long tables stretching across the Great Hall. Ari had never seen such long tables, and it was like all the inhabitants of the earth had been packed into the seats. Their faces reflected back at her like tiny suns, glowing and indistinct. And given their perky, expectant expressions, it was clear they had been waiting for them. Maybe these were the same people who had been waiting for Ari in her dream. And now, after all this time, she was finally here for them.

She was feeling so disoriented, staring up and around at everything, she felt a bit dizzy when the first-years finally stopped in front of what appeared to be a huge stage, overlooking the Great Hall. There was a long table on the stage, where a bunch of grown-ups were sitting. Ari squinted against the bright light and tried to get a better look at them. But her attention was distracted when Professor McGonagall came in front of the students with a stool and placed a weird, battered-looking wizard's hat on top of it. Before Ari could wonder what this was all about, the hat opened its mouth and suddenly started singing.

"Oh wow!" she squealed, slapping her hands to her face. "It's singing!"

"Of course it is," one kid said beside her like it was the most natural thing in the world. "It's the Sorting Hat!"

"What's the Sorting Hat?" Ari echoed, but the kid placed his fingers to his lips and told her to be quiet.

And so Ari stayed quiet and tried to listen to the hat's singing. She couldn't really understand what the hat was saying, things about a raven's claw and slithering and whatnot. But it was still a fun tune to listen to, and of course, the fact that a hat could sing so well in the first place made it ten times better.

When the song was over, Professor McGonagall called the names of students off a long roll of parchment. For a moment Ari thought she was taking a roll call. But she quickly got confused when she noticed that once a student's name was called, they would sit down on the stool the Sorting Hat had been on. Only once the student sat down, the professor placed the hat on the student's head, and then the hat would yell out something. There was raven claw, the thing she had heard in the song, plus something that sounded like pufflehuff.

"What's a pufflehuff?" Ari asked the same kid beside her. He didn't respond, so she poked his shoulder. He turned his head toward her, frowning. "What's a hufflefluff? And why's the hat yelling all that gibberish?"

"It's not gibberish!" the boy scoffed, rolling his eyes. "Those are the house names!"

"What house?" she demanded.

But she didn't have time to question the kid more, because that was when he walked forward and took his own spot at the stool. Ari watched as Professor McGonagall placed the hat over his head, and there was a few moments of silence before the hat yelled out raven claw. The entire Hall burst out into excited cheers, even though Ari had no idea what any of it meant. How weird. Frowning, she scratched her head and looked around. Everyone else seemed entranced and their eyes were glued on the hat. Maybe this was some sort of ancient wizarding ritual that she couldn't understand?

Well, whatever it was, it was starting to get boring. Ari yawned and shifted restlessly on her feet, hoping her name would get called soon. She was starting to get tired from all this standing, and she noticed that when your name got called, you could go and sit down at one of the big long tables.

Ari was getting so exhausted she was just about to just lie down on the ground and fall asleep right then and there, when Professor McGonagall yelled out: "Rossi, Ari!"

Ari perked up immediately. Finally! She was just about to die of boredom! She pushed to the front of the crowd and skipped up to the stool. She sat down and met Professor McGonagall's gaze for a split second, and she thought she saw the professor nod once, before she lowered the hat over Ari's head. The brim covered her eyes and she only saw blackness, as though someone had turned off the lights in the room.

In this vacuum of space, it was completely silent. She could only hear the thudding of her heart, which echoed through her ears like a drum. It was so dark and quiet here, even quieter than the lake… it was like outer space here. It was peaceful… too peaceful. Before long, Ari forgot that the hat was over her head and her muscles started to droop. She was getting drowsy and just about to doze off again when she heard a small, sudden voice in her ear.

"Hello, there."

Ari screamed. Now what was that?! Something was speaking… or was it? It sounded like something was talking in her head, and all around her at the same time. Either way, it was weird, and she didn't like it! "Ah, sorry about that!" the same voice said. "Did I scare you?"

"Who are you?" Ari demanded. Like with the strange voice, she couldn't tell if she had spoken out loud or in her head. Everything felt extra confusing when she was under all this darkness. "And how are you talking? What's going on?"

"Why, I'm the Sorting Hat, of course!" exclaimed the voice. "And you're in the process of being sorted. Don't worry, it's perfectly normal for me to talk like this. I talk to most of the students, in fact! As the Sorting Hat, you see, I'm in charge of deciding which houses to put all the students in at the beginning of the year. Do you know what the four houses are?"

"No."

"That's all right! I'll be happy to explain!" And then the voice gave a loud throat clear before continuing matter-of-factly, "at Hogwarts, students can be sorted into one of four houses: Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff. Each house has different qualities and you get sorted into a house depending on what you value. In a nutshell, Gryffindor values bravery and chivalry, Slytherin values ambition and cunning, Ravenclaw values knowledge and wit, and Hufflepuff values diligence and fairness."

"Sounds confusing," Ari said, all the jargon flying over her head. "I don't think I caught a single word you said."

The hat chuckled. "It's all right. All you need to do is keep me atop your head, and nothing can go wrong. I've taken a good look into your mind, and oh yes, it's wonderful! I can see you've got a clever way of looking about the world, a certain spunky wit, an unquenchable curiosity… mm, yes, you would do quite well in Ravenclaw, I'm sure."

"Ravenclaw?" Ari repeated blankly.

"Mm, yes… and I also sense a fierce desire for independence, a bright optimism, and loyalty for your friends and family… a strong, resilient spirit, filled with life and light… Gryffindor works too, yes, I can see that…"

"Gryffindor?"

"And what's this? A tolerance for difference, a fair, open mind, like a true Hufflepuff… and you've got strong ambition to succeed and prove yourself… hmm, I daresay you've got some Slytherin inside you, too!"

"Slithering?" Ari could feel her head spinning with all these weird, tongue-twisting names. "What's going on? What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that you have multiple traits where you could do equally well in multiple houses," the hat explained. "And it's making my decision tricky… particularly tricky, since I can only choose one house for you."

"Can't I have all of them?" Ari asked. "The houses, I mean?"

"No, I'm afraid not," the hat sighed. "Each student can only belong to one house. And it pains me to separate you all, such bright, inquisitive souls, all unique and talented in your own ways… Alas, it is my duty, a tradition since the founding days of Hogwarts."

"Can't you change the tradition?"

The hat laughed softly. "Unfortunately, I'm afraid that particular matter is not within my power. But you have a very open mind. I like it. I believe you will understand better than anyone else that not everything is shaped by boundaries. It pains me to put you, and everyone else here, in a box. One day, I hope you will be able to break free from the box and soar free into greater and unexplored heights. What do you think?"

"It sounds wonderful!" enthused Ari. "I've always wanted to fly!"

"Wonderful," the hat said. "Once you grow your wings, you'll see that you have the entire world at your fingertips… but just know no matter where you go, you will exceed brilliantly. So, where would you like to begin your journey, little one? Do you have a house in particular that you'd like to be in?"

Ari thought for a moment, frowning. She had already forgotten which qualities belonged to which house, and at that point she was just tempted to pick a random house to get it over with. But at the same time, she was still kind of curious to learn about the strange ways of the wizards. "Can you repeat what you said about what house does what?"

"Certainly! And perhaps I can give you some background information while we're at it, to further guide your choice." And then the hat cleared his throat again and talked more about each house and their mascot and the people associated with it. A lot of the hat's explanation was just a lot of confusing jargon that Ari struggled to keep up with. But when the hat said Professor McGonagall's name, Ari perked up.

"Did you just say Professor McGonagall?" Ari asked, cutting over the hat's long-winded ramble.

"Why, certainly, I did!" the hat said. "I was just explaining how Professor McGonagall is the head of Gryffindor! Basically, a head of house is a teacher assigned to be the authority figure in their specified house. In essence, the head's duty is to look after the house's students and maintain a structured, controlled environment within their house."

"Wow, that's amazing!" Ari exclaimed. "So she's not only the Deputy Headmistress and a teacher here, but also the head of Gryffinhouse?"

"Indeed! It's impressive, isn't it?" the hat exclaimed fervently. "And she's not only in charge of the Gryffindors, but Professor McGonagall herself was placed in Gryffindor house when she was a wee student like you. Still remember like it was yesterday…" the hat gave a sort of wistful-sounding sigh, "she was like you, stuck on this stool for quite a while. Even back then, she was brilliantly well-rounded, and I was conflicted between placing her in Gryffindor or Ravenclaw. But in the end, I did what felt most right and went with Gryffindor. Much like how I sense with you, I knew no matter where she went, she would succeed. And I suppose it came true, eh? She's become quite the formidable witch, and now she's leading on as equally gifted youngsters and giving them a place to shine."

"That's amazing!" Ari enthused again. "I wanna be in Gryffinhouse, too!"

"Oh? You'd like to be in Gryffindor?" the hat repeated.

"Yeah! Professor McGonagall seems really smart and nice. It'd be nice to have her around, I think. And it's a nice-sounding name, too. Griffins are really amazing animals! Aren't they lions with wings, or something?"

"Indeed, they are. And the mascot for Gryffindor is a lion, too," the hat replied. "And it's fitting. Lions are fierce, unwavering, assertive, at the top of the food chain. And one day, the lion can grow the wings of an eagle and soar into the sky. Once lions can learn to fly, they are truly unstoppable — becoming the king of both the land and the air."

Ari smiled. She could almost picture it, as she spread her wings and soared into the great blue sky above. Free, limitless, beautiful. She would quite literally be on the top of the world. Maybe learning to fly was something they learned at this magical school. She could hardly wait to grow her own wings and take off into the cosmos.

"Then, my child," the hat's gentle voice probed her out of her exhilarating daydream, "I wish you the best of luck in your magical education and self-growth. I hope that one day, you can look back at this point and be proud of yourself and how far you've come."

"Thank you," she smiled. "I guess we'll just have to wait and see, huh?"

"Yes, indeed," the hat chuckled. "Well, child, it's been a pleasure talking to you and getting to know you. Unfortunately, I'm afraid our time is up and we must part now. Are you ready for your decision?"

"Yes, I am!" Ari declared, nodding. The brim of the hat slipped lower down her eyes, but her heart was as firm as ever.

And with that, the hat suddenly said, "GRYFFINDOR!" Only, this time, the voice wasn't in her head anymore, and she could clearly hear it had yelled out for the entire world to hear.