The Sorting Hat
The Sorting Hat is the hat that decides which of the
4 houses you will be placed in at Hogwarts. It welcomes the new first years by singing. The school song changes every single year, as to welcome every new year in an individualistic way. When Harry first started Hogwarts, this was the song that welcomed him:
Oh you may not think I’m pretty,
But don’t judge on what you see,
I'll eat myself if you can find,
A smarter hat than me.
You can keep your bowlers black,
Your top hats sleek and tall,
For I’m the Hogwarts Sorting Hat
And I can cap them all.
There’s nothing hidden in your head
The Sorting Hat can’t see,
So try me on and I will tell you
Where you ought to be.
You might belong in Gryffindor,
Where dwell the brave at heart,
Their daring, nerve and chivalry
Set Gryffindors apart;
You might belong in Hufflepuff,
Where there are just and loyal,
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true
And unafraid of toil;
Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,
If you’ve a ready mind,
Where those of wit and learning,
Will always find their kind;
Or perhaps in Slytherin
You’ll make your real friends,
Those cunning folk use any means
To achieve their ends.
So put me on! Don’t be afraid!
And don’t get me in a flap!
You’re in safe hands (Though I have none)
For I’m a thinking cap!
Other songs include:
A thousand years or more ago,
When I was newly sown,
There lived four wizards of renown,
Whose names are still well known:
Bold Gryffindor, from wild moor,
Fair Ravenclaw, from glen,
Sweet Hufflepuff, from valley broad,
Shrewd Slytherin, from fen.
They shared a wish, a hope, a dream,
They hatched a daring plan
To educate young sorcerers
Thus Hogwarts school began.
Now each of these four founders
Formed their own house, for each
Did value different virtues
In the ones they had to teach.
By Gryffindor, the bravest were
Prized far beyond the rest;
For Ravenclaw, the cleverest
Would always be the best;
For Hufflepuff, hard workers were
Most worthy of admission;
And power-hungry Slytherin
Loved those of great ambition.
While still alive they did divide
Their favourites from the throng,
Yet how to pick the worthy ones
When they were dead and gone?
'Twas Gryffindor who found the way,
He whipped me off his head
The founders put some brains in me
So I could choose instead!
Now slip me snug about your ears,
I've never yet been wrong,
I'll have a look inside your mind
And tell you where you belong!
and:
In times of old when I was new And Hogwarts barely started The founders of our noble school Thought never to be parted: United by a common goal They had the selfsame yearning To make the world's best magic school And pass along their learning. "Together we will build and teach!" The four good friends decided And never did they dream that they Might some day be divided, For were they such friends anywhere As Slterin and Gryffindor? Unless it was the second pair Of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw So how could it have gone so wrong? How could such friendships fail? Why, I was there and so can tell The whole sad, sorry tale. Said Slytherin, "We'll teach just those Whose ancestry is purest." Said Ravenclaw, "We'll teach those whose Intelligence is surest." Said Gryffindor, "We;ll teach all those With brave deeds to their name." Said Hufflepuff, "I'll teach the lot, And treat them just the same." These differences caused little strife When first they came to light For each of the four founders had A house in which they might Take only those they wanted, so, For instance, Slytherin
Took only pure-blood wizards
Of great cunning, just lie him, And only those of sharpest mind Were taught by Ravenclaw While the bravest and the boldest Went to daring Gryffindor Good Hufflepuff, she took the rest, And taught them all she knew, Thus the houses and their founders Retained friendships firm and true. So Hogwarts worked in harmony For several happy years But then discord crept among us Feeding on our faults and fears. The house that, like pillars four, Had once held up our school, Now turned upon each other and, Divided, sought to rule. And for a while it seemed the school Must meet an early end, what with duelling and with fighting And the clash of friend on friend And at last there came a morning When old Slytherin departed And though the fighting then died out He left us quite downhearted. And never since the founders four Were whittled down to three Have the houses been united As they once were meant to be. And now the Sorting Hat is here and you all know the score: I sort you into houses Because that is what I'm for, But this year I'll go further, Listen closely to my song: Though condemmed I am to spilt you Still I wonder that it's wrong, Though I must fulfil my duty And must quarter every year Still I wonder whether Sorting May not bring the end I fear. Oh, know the perils, read the signs, The warning history shows, For our Hogwarts is in danger From external, deadly foes And we must unite inside her Or we'll crumble from within I have told you, I have warned you ... Let the Sorting, now begin.
The Sorting Hat chooses the students because of a very special reason. The hat originally was Godric Gryffindor's hat and was chosen when times were good between the four founders of Hogwarts. They all decided that they needed a way for the students to be sorted into houses after they had all passed away. To do this they all put parts of their brains with their own qualities into the hat. The hat then for years and years to come would be able to put the student into the house in which they reflected mostly in character to one of the four founding members. The Sorting Hat however gives out warnings in dire times and uses itself to bring the houses together in unity.