The Sorting Ceremony

The Sorting Ceremony is an annual tradition at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry that takes place at the beginning of every school year. Its purpose is to assign, or “Sort,” all new First-Year Students into one of the four school Houses: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, or Slytherin. The ceremony is conducted using the Sorting Hat, a sentient magical artifact, and occurs in the Great Hall in front of the entire student body and staff during the start-of-term feast. It is a defining moment for every new student, as their House becomes their family and community for their entire time at Hogwarts.

The Sorting Ceremony follows a precise and traditional sequence of events, which has remained largely unchanged for centuries.

1. Arrival: First-Year Students are led into the Hogwarts castle, typically by the gamekeeper, after crossing the Great Lake by boat.
2. The Antechamber: They are gathered in a small antechamber off the Great Hall where a professor, traditionally the Head of Gryffindor house (Professor McGonagall during Harry Potter's time), explains the purpose of the ceremony and the four Houses.
3. The Procession: The First-Year Students are led in a line into the Great Hall, which is filled with the rest of the student body seated at their four long House tables.
4. The Hat's Song: The Sorting Hat is placed upon a four-legged stool at the front of the Great Hall. Before the Sorting begins, the Hat sings a new song each year. The song often describes the Hogwarts Founders, the qualities they valued, and sometimes offers cryptic warnings or advice to the school.
5. The Sorting: The professor in charge reads the names of the new students from a roll of parchment in alphabetical order. One by one, each student sits on the stool and the Sorting Hat is placed on their head.
6. The Decision: The Hat deliberates, often speaking directly to the student inside their mind, and considers their abilities, personality, and, crucially, their personal choice. After making its decision, the Hat shouts the chosen House name aloud for all to hear.
7. Joining the House: The newly Sorted student removes the Hat and joins their cheering housemates at the appropriate table. The school's headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, officially begins the start-of-term feast only after the last student has been Sorted.

The Sorting Hat is the central instrument of the ceremony. It is an ancient, frayed, and patched wizard's hat that was once owned by Godric Gryffindor. It is sapient and possesses powerful magical abilities.

• Legilimency: The Hat is a highly accomplished Legilimens, able to probe the mind of the wearer to discover their deepest qualities, thoughts, and potential.
• Student's Choice: The Hat takes the wearer's personal preference into account. This was demonstrated most famously during Harry Potter's Sorting, when the Hat considered placing him in Slytherin but ultimately chose Gryffindor because Harry strongly wished it.
• Finality: The Sorting Hat's decision is considered final and is never questioned. There are no known instances of a student ever being re-Sorted.

While the ceremony is an annual event, several Sortings were particularly significant during the course of the Second Wizarding War.

• 1991: Harry Potter's Sorting. The Hat's song introduced the four Houses and their founders' differing ideals. The ceremony was notable for Harry's internal struggle with the Hat, which wanted to place him in Slytherin before he insisted otherwise.
• 1994: Before the Triwizard Tournament, the Sorting Hat's song contained a specific warning, urging the Houses to stay united in the face of growing danger, foreshadowing the return of Lord Voldemort.
• 1995: In the year following Lord Voldemort's return, the Hat's song was its most direct and urgent. It recounted the history of the Hogwarts Founders, the rift that grew between them, and made a desperate plea for the four Houses to put aside their rivalries and unite against their “deadly foe.”
• 1998: No formal Sorting Ceremony was held at the beginning of the school year, as Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger were not in attendance. During the Battle of Hogwarts, Lord Voldemort attempted to ceremonially destroy the Sorting Hat to abolish the House system. However, the Hat presented the Sword of Gryffindor to Neville Longbottom, proving its enduring magic and loyalty to Hogwarts.

The Sorting Ceremony was created by the four Hogwarts Founders—Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin. Initially, they Sorted the students themselves. To ensure that students would continue to be Sorted fairly long after their deaths, Godric Gryffindor took off his own hat and all four founders enchanted it with their combined intelligence, giving it the ability to continue their work for centuries to come. The ceremony serves as a crucial rite of passage that fosters a sense of identity, belonging, and healthy competition among the student population.

• In the film adaptations, the Sorting Hat's annual song is omitted after the first film, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (film).
• The concept of a “Hatstall” refers to an occasion when the Sorting Hat takes more than five minutes to decide on a student's House. According to J.K. Rowling, this is a very rare event. Notable Hatstalls include Minerva McGonagall, for whom the Hat deliberated between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw, and Peter Pettigrew, for whom it deliberated between Gryffindor and Slytherin (Pottermore).