THE FIFTH FOUNDER ⚡️ [h.p./founders era]

Twenty-One

(hehe surprise)

"Lyra!" Simon called my name as soon as Salazar and I were back in the castle. "Mr. Salazar!"

His shouts and quickened pace toward us made my heart sink as I jumped to the conclusion that something terrible had happened. But as he came closer, the grin on his face was the validation I needed that everything was okay.

"You have to come see this!" The little boy grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the Great Hall. If he could, he would be sprinting, but all I could manage was a quick walk as I looked back at Salazar curiously. He chuckled at the boy's eagerness and followed us to the Hall.

Once we were inside, Godric, Rowena, and Helga were already there, circled around a stool in the center of the room.

"What is going on in here?" Salazar asked, announcing our presence to the three.

Simon was bouncing at this point as he led me toward the circle. He pushed past Godric and pointed at the stool, a bright grin written all over his face.

"It's a talking hat!" Simon giggled excitedly, looking up at me for approval.

And sure enough, it was. On top of the stool sat a brown, pointed hat with a wide circular brim. It swayed back and forth and its eyes were shut, opening every few seconds to look around before they shut again. Its mouth was a long, thin line that kept humming or grunting and it kept mumbling to itself.

"Can I try it on, please?" Simon ran over to Helga. The poor boy just couldn't hold in his excitement.

"No, certainly not. Not until we are sure it is safe to." Helga responded strictly and Simon's demeanor fell dramatically. "Once it is safe, I will make sure you are the first student to try it on."

This satisfied him enough, and his bright grin found its way back to his face.

"Why wouldn't it be safe?" Salazar asked, stepping closer to the hat himself.

"Well, we aren't sure what its capabilities are yet, nor what its personality is like. It hasn't spoken yet." Godric answered, running his hand over his auburn beard.

I could imagine it now: a small child goes up to the stool and the hat is placed on their head, and all of the sudden, the hat refuses to let go. That would not be ideal.

"And the hat will need to sit on each of our heads before it can a student. The hat needs to know each of us and then it will be able to sort the most accurately." Rowena said. "Once on your head, it will be able to read your passions and desires. Not necessarily your mind, but close enough."

"It's so ugly." Simon whispered and I couldn't help but laugh at him.

It made me happy to see how far Simon had come since he arrived. From being a frightened child to a curious and excited young boy, he gave me hope that more children would get to experience a safe environment where they can learn and explore.

Godric carefully lifted the hat from the stool, and the hat let out a long, quiet murmur of protest from its thin line of a mouth. He swiftly placed the hat on his own head, not giving himself any chance to cower at the dangerous possibilities.

We all held our breath, afraid to take our eyes off of him, as if something terrible was about to happen. Would the hat strangle him? Take over his mind and attack us?

The more I thought about it, the worse the idea of the hat sounded. Surely it wouldn't be too hard to sort the children ourselves, I thought.

But after a few moments, nothing seemed to happen. The hat remained silent, but at least it wasn't shouting curses or writhing around like a worm.

"How do you feel?" Rowena asked carefully, still keeping her distance from him.

"Strange. I can feel where he is in my mind, but I can't close off certain parts to him. He can see everything." Godric observed, his eyes shut in concentration.

"That's good, there's no way of lying to him." Rowena noted triumphantly.

"That's good as long as no one abuses his ability." Salazar added. I could see it: wizards using the hat on other wizards to find out information.

"The hat will not reveal any of your thoughts to others." Rowena shook her head. "It is sworn to secrecy, and it will only use the knowledge it gains for one purpose: sorting."

Godric lifted his arms up to take the hat off, but suddenly, the hat contorted and clung to Godric's head. "It... won't...come...off," Godric struggled to say as he tried to pry the hat off of him.

Simon covered his eyes and I put a hand on his shoulder comfortingly, though I wanted very much to do the same.

Salazar drew out his wand and cast a spell that stunned the hat. The anthropomorphic being relax and fell off of his head, lying on the ground in a pile of old fabric.

A ring had formed on Godric's forehead where the hat refused to let go. Thankfully it did not cut through his skin, but it was close and turned Godric's already naturally pink skin a bright red.

"I don't want to put that on anymore." Simon shook his head.

"It could've been worse." Godric noted, picking the hat up off of the ground and placing it back on the stool. "I think it just got scared."

"Scared? It tried to rip your scalp off!" I laughed at Godric's reckless optimism. "Surely there's something else we could do."

"We're almost there, I can practically smell it." Godric replied. "It just needs a little more work, that's all."

"No one else tries it on." Rowena said sternly. "That includes you, Godric. We'll leave it alone tonight and come back to it tomorrow."

Everyone agreed with her compromise. I was tempted to destroy the hat myself when no one was looking, but I decided against it because I trusted Rowena's judgment.