Hogwarts Houses And The Sorting Of New Students

At the beginning of each new school year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the Harry Potter sorting hat decides which house new students will be assigned to. This magical hat assigns students to one of four houses, Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw house.

Each of the four houses bears the last name of its founder.  Following are the qualities that each of the founders appreciated in his or her students.

Godric Gryffindor praised courage and strength of heart. Salazar Slytherin valued determination and resourcefulness. Rowena Ravenclaw appreciated wisdom and intelligence. Helga Hufflepuff favored honesty and dedication.

The original owner of the sorting hat was Godric Gryffindor. The Headmaster is the keeper of the sorting hat, also called the talking hat, until the sorting ceremony when it is brought forth to the assembly.

During the sorting ceremony each first year student has his or her name read out. When their name is called they come forth, take a seat, and the sorting hat is placed on their head. After deliberating for a moment the sorting hat announces the house the student is to be assigned to. It can take anywhere from a few seconds to a minute for the sorting hat to deliberate. It is also possible that the Harry Potter sorting hat may speak directly to the student before making a decision as in the case of Harry Potter.

In the case of Harry Potter the sorting hat announced that fame and glory would come to him if he joined Slytherin House.  In spite of this, Harry was specific about his desire to join Gryffindor because both of his parents had been there. He convinced the sorting hat to comply with his request and was placed in Gryffindor house

The Harry Potter sorting hat has also been known to warn of imminent danger. It is not clear how the sorting hat gets this information but has been proposed that it could be from the headmaster Dumbledore.

The sorting hat is an interesting character and plays a significant role at Hogwarts. No Hogwarts party should be without one!

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This entry was posted on Friday, October 9th, 2009 at 11:00 am and is filed under Harry Potter Sorting Hat. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.