This was it. This was Hogwarts. It was so different, yet so very similar compared to how she'd imagined it; it was just as enchanting as her brain had pictured it, but even more so - and not to mention so incredibly large! She'd expected to spend the entire boat trip chatting with Rex and Sirius and Mr. Bulstrode about what was to come, but her eyes had been distracted by the light's reflections off the boats and then...the castle!
Now she was indoors, eagerly awaiting her turn at the Sorting Hat. She'd heard enough about it to be able to name it, but was fairly clueless about just how it worked (or at least she had been before realizing it spoke! She'd never heard of an object speaking with any sort of sentience; it was absolutely extraordinary!)
When her time came, Flora sat upon the stool and allowed the Hat to be placed on her head.
Flora considered the question. It was one she'd spent hours of trying to approach the question with every angle - what her strengths were, what sort of people she wished to be around, etc. She had not, however, considered that her feelings would even mattered, and now sat atop the stool, her mind drawing a complete blank.
"I suppose that's for you to decide, though I personally don't feel I'd make a good Gryffindor," she replied. "You see, I've made an entire list on the matter, and after weighing the pros and cons, I don't think I'm well-suited for the house," she continued before realizing, oops, she was rambling.
Flora scoffed. "I'd snatch the parchment out of their hand and tell them to do their own assignment," she responded before continuing. "And if they refuse, I'd have no other option but to report them!" She didn't want to earn a reputation as a snitch (she cared far too much about being liked by her peers), but she wouldn't want her friend facing potential ramifications if the professor couldn't determine who did the original work! Besides, what would they learn if they cheated? She'd be doing them a favor by telling them to quit!
Apart from their general descriptions, Flora knew very little about each creature. She had done a little research (mostly consisting of flipping through books until she found the page she was looking for) on unicorns after receiving her wand at Ollivander's, so it seemed like the best choice.
"Unicorns!" she chirped in response. "They show that you can be elegant and wise and feminine, while also being respected by everyone. I want to be likable but absolutely dread the idea of being walked all over!" Her Mama would never allow herself to be walked over - no good socialite would!
That was a no-brainer!
"I'm going to marry and become a socialite like my mother," she declared with confidence. "My entire childhood was devoted to my education in the feminine arts -" Years of piano classes - penmanship practice - flipping through French books! "- and to waste it would be most illogical!"
Flora tried to think of her actual friends, rather than merely a hypothetical one. She thought of Rex, and how he'd been so very miserable while trapped in Hogsmeade - or Arabella, when her reputation had been put as risk when she'd wandered away from her chaperon with the wild Miss Bénet.
"Well, you'd comfort them, I suppose. It would depend on the friend, though," Every person was different - that was obvious, she thought. "If a situation can't be helped, you give them comfort." There was no use in trying to solve problems that couldn't be solved (or that she, an eleven-year-old girl, couldn't solve). "But if it can be helped, offer them all the solutions. Sometimes they're just over-thinking things."
"I like to think I'm very sensible," she said with a nod. "I don't like people who make ridiculous claims and unreasonable demands - the type of people who have no rational bone in their bodies. Imagine assuming someone's dead because you can't find them - it's ridiculous!"
Her mind went to Mr. Fudge. "Some people think I must be a silly girl because I love fashion and wear frilly dresses, but my head's screwed on tighter than theirs."
Now she was indoors, eagerly awaiting her turn at the Sorting Hat. She'd heard enough about it to be able to name it, but was fairly clueless about just how it worked (or at least she had been before realizing it spoke! She'd never heard of an object speaking with any sort of sentience; it was absolutely extraordinary!)
When her time came, Flora sat upon the stool and allowed the Hat to be placed on her head.
"Which house would you like to be in and why?"
Flora considered the question. It was one she'd spent hours of trying to approach the question with every angle - what her strengths were, what sort of people she wished to be around, etc. She had not, however, considered that her feelings would even mattered, and now sat atop the stool, her mind drawing a complete blank.
"I suppose that's for you to decide, though I personally don't feel I'd make a good Gryffindor," she replied. "You see, I've made an entire list on the matter, and after weighing the pros and cons, I don't think I'm well-suited for the house," she continued before realizing, oops, she was rambling.
"You catch a fellow student copying your friend's homework in their absence, how do you deal with this situation?"
Flora scoffed. "I'd snatch the parchment out of their hand and tell them to do their own assignment," she responded before continuing. "And if they refuse, I'd have no other option but to report them!" She didn't want to earn a reputation as a snitch (she cared far too much about being liked by her peers), but she wouldn't want her friend facing potential ramifications if the professor couldn't determine who did the original work! Besides, what would they learn if they cheated? She'd be doing them a favor by telling them to quit!
"Centaur, unicorn, kelpie, or abraxan?"
Apart from their general descriptions, Flora knew very little about each creature. She had done a little research (mostly consisting of flipping through books until she found the page she was looking for) on unicorns after receiving her wand at Ollivander's, so it seemed like the best choice.
"Unicorns!" she chirped in response. "They show that you can be elegant and wise and feminine, while also being respected by everyone. I want to be likable but absolutely dread the idea of being walked all over!" Her Mama would never allow herself to be walked over - no good socialite would!
"What would you like to do once you leave Hogwarts?"
That was a no-brainer!
"I'm going to marry and become a socialite like my mother," she declared with confidence. "My entire childhood was devoted to my education in the feminine arts -" Years of piano classes - penmanship practice - flipping through French books! "- and to waste it would be most illogical!"
"Your close friend is miserable, what do you do about it?"
Flora tried to think of her actual friends, rather than merely a hypothetical one. She thought of Rex, and how he'd been so very miserable while trapped in Hogsmeade - or Arabella, when her reputation had been put as risk when she'd wandered away from her chaperon with the wild Miss Bénet.
"Well, you'd comfort them, I suppose. It would depend on the friend, though," Every person was different - that was obvious, she thought. "If a situation can't be helped, you give them comfort." There was no use in trying to solve problems that couldn't be solved (or that she, an eleven-year-old girl, couldn't solve). "But if it can be helped, offer them all the solutions. Sometimes they're just over-thinking things."
"What do you consider to be your best trait?"
"I like to think I'm very sensible," she said with a nod. "I don't like people who make ridiculous claims and unreasonable demands - the type of people who have no rational bone in their bodies. Imagine assuming someone's dead because you can't find them - it's ridiculous!"
Her mind went to Mr. Fudge. "Some people think I must be a silly girl because I love fashion and wear frilly dresses, but my head's screwed on tighter than theirs."
