Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or The Quest; J.K. Rowling and Green Harbor Productions do.

Meet the Hat

The twelve Paladins and their guide, Crio, were out of the Marwood and approaching Castle Saenctum. They had to run across a field of grass to escape enemy scouts on horseback. Soon, they came to a small building which wasn't far from the castle gates.

It looked like it was some kind of antechamber for guards to take cover in when defending the castle. But when Crio beckoned for them to enter the chamber, instead of arms and armor, there was a locked chest in the middle of the room. Crio walked over and unlocked it.

"What is in this treasure chest is an item which has always been something of an enigma to us in Everealm," he said as he opened the chest. "It came to us from the tunnels between the worlds through which you Paladins came, years before my time. It's very dirty, and it seems to have a face from the looks of some slits on it. All we know for certain is that it's magic, because when someone wears it, the hat comes to life and holds a short conversation with its wearer, and then it yells one of four words: 'Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, or Slytherin,' and then it would fall silent until somebody else wore it, and repeat its former actions."

He pulled out an old dusty hat with a tall, conical shape, pointed at the top, a large, wide brim, and a funny-looking "face" with black eyes and a black mouth.

Paladin Jim, the youngest of the chosen Paladins, was excited. "That's the Sorting Hat!" he exclaimed, "I had no idea it actually existed in one of the fantasy worlds!"

Crio was surprised. "You know about this, Paladin Jim?" he asked curiously.

"Of course I do," said Jim, "I've seen it before. Oh, but I guess you don't know what it's for, do you, Crio?" Crio shook his head. "Well, I can explain it for you."

"In our world, a writer named J.K. Rowling wrote a series of make-believe books called the Harry Potter series. It involved a school of magic and wizardry called Hogwarts, a Chosen One in the form of a boy named Harry Potter, who was destined to destroy an evil wizard who wanted to take over Hogwarts, and Harry's close friends and allies in Dumbledore's Army who opposed the evil Voldemort. And when new students with magic powers first came to Hogwarts, they would be sorted into one of four Hogwarts Houses, based on their talents, traits and virtues. They used the magical Sorting Hat to Sort the students into each House."

"I've heard of it too, Crio," said Patrick, "The stories are very good ones, and if the Sorting Hat exists right here before us, maybe the tunnels between the worlds also lead to Hogwarts Express, the primary means of getting to Hogwarts."

"Hmm," Crio mused, "Very interesting. So, are you saying that when this hat shouts one of those four exotic words I mentioned, they are the names of the four Houses of Hogwarts?"

"Yes," Jim nodded.

"What, may I ask, are these traits associated with the Houses?" asked Crio.

Jim explained, "The House of Gryffindor values: courage, daring, nerve, and chivalry. The House of Hufflepuff: hard work, loyalty, kindness, and tolerance. The House of Ravenclaw: intelligence, wit, creativity, and acceptance. And the House of Slytherin: cunning, ambition, self-preservation, and fraternity. Some people have linked Slytherin with evil and Gryffindor with good, but this isn't entirely fair. There are good Slytherins, and there are some bad Gryffindors, too."

Crio blinked in astonishment. "So that is what the Sorting Hat was referring to when it was placed on somebody's head. Well," he speculated next, "The Kingdom of Saenctum isn't the same as Hogwarts, so far as I know, but if these four Houses symbolize these traits and virtues, and the Hat can tell people which one they belong to, perhaps we can do a quick little ceremony here. If each of you knows which House, and which traits, belong to you, maybe it can teach us, and the Queen as well, some things about yourselves which may be useful for the Quest."

The Paladins all looked anything from moderately interested to excited. "Sure, why not?" most of them said.