By now, he thought he knew what to expect. Filing in by name, Desmond watched the dozen ahead of him go through the sorting. It looked easy enough, just sit down and wear a hat for a moment, then listen to what house it called out. He didn't really see anyone trying to make an impression, exactly, or answering hard questions like a test.
His hand was still smarting from Gia's firm grip, though she'd let up on him since they entered the Great Hall. Des had looked at everything while he waited, and now that he was ushered to the front for his turn at the hat, his eyes had nowhere else to look. Except for Gia, who was looking at him with big eyes and bigger expectations. So he'd better not screw this up.
That was an odd thought to have just before the hat settled down on his head, and a new voice boomed inside it.
"Describe yourself in three words."
Happy, fast, and... Des had to search for a moment, how do you say 'never alone' in one word? He always had Gia by his side, or pretty close behind him. For a long time, they were only ever the twins to people other than their parents, even among family sometimes. Even now, he wanted to ask that question of Gia, and not the hat, but he didn't think talking was allowed. No one else had, so the boy kept quiet.
"Would you rather be able to change into an animal, change your appearance, or see the future?"
Everyone spent their time telling Des about his future, anyway, so there was no need for him to ask about it. Someday he'd be at Hogwarts, someday he'd run the family business, someday he would be great. Those usually came true if he just waited long enough. He didn't fret about them, or about his appearance. That was more of Gia's thing, and his sister did look nice for all the effort she put into it. So that just left, I suppose I'd like to change into an animal, it would be fun to live a different life for a bit. But only if I could come back to this one.
"If you could invent a potion, what would it do?"
I don't know if a potion does this, but I would want one that can let me talk to Gia anytime. He grinned at Gia from under the hat, even though it wasn't exactly times like these the boy was thinking of because he couldn't exactly talk right now. Maybe when I open my pocket watch or something. That way I can be up on a broom and tell her to watch my trick, or ask her something if we aren't together.
Which they might not be if the hat put them in different houses. Desmond wanted them to be together like they always were. Being all by himself, without his parents and his sister, like some of the other children he had talked with on the train and in the boats, must be awfully lonely.
"Imagine you see someone cheat in class. What do you do?"
That's a really dumb thing to do, because cheaters wind up dumb. That's not what I would say to them, I would probably say, 'you'll never get better at anything if you cheat.' Desmond was great at a lot of things, but he hadn't always been. Those times had been tough, trying something again and again until he got better. That's all you have to do, really. Cheating's not the way, just keep trying until you get better.
"Who is your enemy and how will you defeat them?"
That was a hard one for Desmond. He actually had to think about it, and all by himself. It felt like forever, or almost really, until the boy gave up thinking. I don't know if anyone's really my enemy. Some people don't like me because of my family, I guess, and say rude things about me or them.
Des didn't like those times, they made him want to lash out and hurt people. That wasn't the right way to deal with it, he knew, but he couldn't help the feelings. It only helped when he talked with his sister about it. And some people are just having a bad day sometimes, and they act mean to feel better. At least that's what mama says, who is the smartest person in the world after Gia.
He supposed the hat hadn't met Gia yet to know, and Des wasn't sure if the hat had eyes somewhere. Maybe the person wearing the hat was supposed to be its eyes, so he looked at her as if introducing them. Georgianna, you'll meet her after me, and she's who I'd talk to if someone was really my enemy. Because if you know Gia, and I know her very well, she always has a way of thinking about something that looks at the bigger picture. Every time we come up with a plan together, it always works out, and that's who I'd want helping me if I had an enemy.
When the hat fell silent after that, Des breathed easily. He had done it, like he always did. Whatever the hat called out for him would be just as much of his Destiny as getting here. And he was ready for that, too.
His hand was still smarting from Gia's firm grip, though she'd let up on him since they entered the Great Hall. Des had looked at everything while he waited, and now that he was ushered to the front for his turn at the hat, his eyes had nowhere else to look. Except for Gia, who was looking at him with big eyes and bigger expectations. So he'd better not screw this up.
That was an odd thought to have just before the hat settled down on his head, and a new voice boomed inside it.
"Describe yourself in three words."
Happy, fast, and... Des had to search for a moment, how do you say 'never alone' in one word? He always had Gia by his side, or pretty close behind him. For a long time, they were only ever the twins to people other than their parents, even among family sometimes. Even now, he wanted to ask that question of Gia, and not the hat, but he didn't think talking was allowed. No one else had, so the boy kept quiet.
"Would you rather be able to change into an animal, change your appearance, or see the future?"
Everyone spent their time telling Des about his future, anyway, so there was no need for him to ask about it. Someday he'd be at Hogwarts, someday he'd run the family business, someday he would be great. Those usually came true if he just waited long enough. He didn't fret about them, or about his appearance. That was more of Gia's thing, and his sister did look nice for all the effort she put into it. So that just left, I suppose I'd like to change into an animal, it would be fun to live a different life for a bit. But only if I could come back to this one.
"If you could invent a potion, what would it do?"
I don't know if a potion does this, but I would want one that can let me talk to Gia anytime. He grinned at Gia from under the hat, even though it wasn't exactly times like these the boy was thinking of because he couldn't exactly talk right now. Maybe when I open my pocket watch or something. That way I can be up on a broom and tell her to watch my trick, or ask her something if we aren't together.
Which they might not be if the hat put them in different houses. Desmond wanted them to be together like they always were. Being all by himself, without his parents and his sister, like some of the other children he had talked with on the train and in the boats, must be awfully lonely.
"Imagine you see someone cheat in class. What do you do?"
That's a really dumb thing to do, because cheaters wind up dumb. That's not what I would say to them, I would probably say, 'you'll never get better at anything if you cheat.' Desmond was great at a lot of things, but he hadn't always been. Those times had been tough, trying something again and again until he got better. That's all you have to do, really. Cheating's not the way, just keep trying until you get better.
"Who is your enemy and how will you defeat them?"
That was a hard one for Desmond. He actually had to think about it, and all by himself. It felt like forever, or almost really, until the boy gave up thinking. I don't know if anyone's really my enemy. Some people don't like me because of my family, I guess, and say rude things about me or them.
Des didn't like those times, they made him want to lash out and hurt people. That wasn't the right way to deal with it, he knew, but he couldn't help the feelings. It only helped when he talked with his sister about it. And some people are just having a bad day sometimes, and they act mean to feel better. At least that's what mama says, who is the smartest person in the world after Gia.
He supposed the hat hadn't met Gia yet to know, and Des wasn't sure if the hat had eyes somewhere. Maybe the person wearing the hat was supposed to be its eyes, so he looked at her as if introducing them. Georgianna, you'll meet her after me, and she's who I'd talk to if someone was really my enemy. Because if you know Gia, and I know her very well, she always has a way of thinking about something that looks at the bigger picture. Every time we come up with a plan together, it always works out, and that's who I'd want helping me if I had an enemy.
When the hat fell silent after that, Des breathed easily. He had done it, like he always did. Whatever the hat called out for him would be just as much of his Destiny as getting here. And he was ready for that, too.
![[Image: 4ewScop.png]](https://i.imgur.com/4ewScop.png)
Courtesy of the lovely Lady!