Mathilda watched carefully as students successively bore a talking hat on their heads. What a bizarre instrument, she thought.

Within a few minutes of observation, she concluded that the hat would be the one deciding which house she would be joining... But how? Were decision-making hats frequent in the wizarding world? Would this sort of activity be a daily occurence?

When her turn finally came, Mathilda took slow, steady steps towards the hat. The young girl was apprehensive, not knowing exactly how to approach the hat. Finally, she sat on the stool, and the hat was placed upon her head.

Mathilda had no preference as to which house she would be sorted in. After all, she wasn't familiar with any of them.

The hat seemed to know an awful lot about the young girl: "Ah, you're not very familiar with magic, are you?" it said. "No, you're a muggle. But that won't stop you from thriving at Hogwarts."

Those last words pleased Mathilda. She smiled. She would do everything to prove the sorting hat right on that point.

"Yes, there's only one house for you", murmured the sorting hat, as if confirming his own suspicions. "RAVENCLAW!" he finally shouted.

Relieved, Mathilda left the stool and headed towards her house's table.