A/N: Written for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (Challenges and Assignments)

1st September Competition

House: Hufflepuff

Prompt: The Sorting Ceremony (watching or taking part in it)

Word Count: 376

The students were all seated in the Great Hall, mystified by the floating candles inside of the room. It was something that almost all of them seen all the time, but it was always refreshing to see when the new year came around.

One student in particular that didn't like the fashion of the candles was Pansy Parkinson. She absolutely detested the decor, considered it drab and tacky even. However, that wasn't the worst thing to her in regards to the first feast back; what she hated the most was the Sorting Ceremony. Pansy even hated her own ceremony. The dingy hat was inside of her mind and nearly messed up her hair!

When Dumbledore stood up, Pansy groaned as she knew the ceremony was about to begin. He brought that blasted hat out, Pansy inwardly thought of ripping it into shreds with an impenetrable blade.

"Oh you may not think I'm pretty,

But don't judge on what you see,

I'll eat myself if you can find

A smarter hat than me."

Pansy narrowed her eyes in the direction of the hat as it sung its song. Was it talking to her? The nerve of that horrible excuse of fashion to insult her!

"You can keep your bows black,

Your top hats sleek and tall,

For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat

And I can cap them all."

Pansy reached for the bow that was perfectly perched atop of her head. She huffed, not looking at any of her housemates. Her narrowed eyes were planted on the hat.

"There's nothing in your head, dear

The Sorting Hat can't see,

So try me, and I will tell you

Where you ought to be."

Pansy clenched her fists. "I'll show you, you piece of dead weight!" she declared loudly, pointing at the hat before storming out of the hall. The Sorting Hat paid no mind as he continued the song for the First Years.

Draco and Blaise looked to each other. "What is her problem?" Blaise asked.

Draco snorted. "What isn't her problem, mate?"

Blaise hummed in thought, tilting his head before he nodded in agreement. "That's true."

The rest of the ceremony went uninterrupted, however there was a witch on a suicide mission of planning the Sorting Hat's demise.