A/N: The challenge was to write a 100-word drabble in which one character discovers another character's secret. Here, Harry unwisely mentions a certain fact to someone who just can't handle the shocking truth.
Disclaimer: Harry Potter, the Hogwarts Sorting Hat, and all their associates are characters belonging to J.K. Rowling. I claim no rights to them, their surroundings, or their situations. Much to my sorrow.
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When a flustered McGonagall announced that the Sorting Hat had gone missing, Harry knew it was his fault.
After a frantic search, it was finally found--on the lake bottom, weighted down with rocks.
Harry apologized profusely for letting it slip in a fit of pique, but the damage was done. The Hat was deeply traumatized.
Then again, so was Snape. "You don't understand!" he howled as they hauled him off to St. Mungo's. "It wanted to put him in Slytherin! SLYTHERIN!"
If that year saw an unusual number of ambitious, cunning, pureblooded first-year Hufflepuffs, everyone pretended not to notice.