The Sorting Hat

When J.K. Rowling thought up the idea of the house system at Hogwarts, she scribbled down her ideas on a napkin. Sometimes big ideas start out really small. 

When I was younger, I attended a hippie school in California that divided its kindergarteners into three groups- Sunflower, Day Lily, and… I can’t remember the last. I just know that I was in Day Lily. This made them easier to manage. They had three teachers, who would dump them into one play ground and take them away to three different buildings for activities. This meant that if I had a friend in another one of the groups, we could only see each other at recess. However, I understood why this system was established. It was easier on the teachers, for it made the jobs for them less difficult to manage and they could give more attention to their now reduced number of students.

My school was similar to the house system at Hogwarts. Contrastingly, the students were divided up according to their personalities, talents, and choices. This last one is very important. And who performs the sorting? This strange, ancient, moldy-looking brown hat called simply “The Sorting Hat.” Does it choose the students’ destiny, or does it merely report what they’ve already chosen? For Rowling strongly believes in the freedom of choice. Neither your family nor your past nor what you are decides WHO you will become. You get to pick. But first let’s talk about what each house is like.

“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 they 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 in a flap!

You’re in safe hands (though I have none)

For I’m a Thinking Cap!” (Rowling, Sorcerer’s Stone, p. 118)

Gryffindor

This is my favorite house, and a lot of people’s favorite. You may want to be all mysterious in Slytherin or clever in Ravenclaw, but I still prefer the good old fashioned lion heart. Symbolized by gold and red, Gryffindor’s dauntless colors make it clear where he stands. This is a bold, individualistic, brave group. They stick up for each other, but they can also be reckless. Foolish or brave? That is the question that many people ask themselves about Gryffindors. For they truly are brave, they truly don’t “look before they leap.” They rush into things, they break rules, they’re mischievous, but they truly do have lion hearts. They love fiercely, they protect those they care about fiercely, and if they don’t like you, they’re going to make it clear. And people you might not think belong somehow do. Clumsy and nervous Neville Longbottom has a strange pluckiness and sticks to his point firmly, even against peer pressure. Hermione, who’s so clever she seems as though she should be in Ravenclaw, can calm her mind and think under pressure. 

This is the house that people say I belong. This always surprised me, for I’m very anxious and never thought of myself as reckless or brave. I’ve been described as cautious. I can control my emotions, and I’m very bookish. But I do exhibit many Gryffindor qualities. I get pent up from staying in the house too long, and then I get reckless and fiery. For the Gryffindors are every bit as flaming as their colors. I get impatient, I get angry, and I can be brave, as long as there’s something I can do. If I can keep moving forward and there’s a light at the end of the tunnel, then I am able to push fear away. For being brave isn’t about never being afraid, it’s about facing your fears. Of completing the task at hand even though you’re afraid. Of having that conversation and saying that thing you’re terrified to say, but that you know you must. Of standing in front of that person and using your own body to shield them from the bullets. Of standing up against that playground bully. Of facing that tyrannical teacher. Of examining yourself honestly, and realizing you have to change. That’s bravery.

I know I’m exhausting to have around, just like other Griffyndors. I make trouble, I rock the boat. I don’t always stay in line. But I promise anyone who is willing to be patient and love a Griffyndor despite their wild ways will not be disappointed. 

Ravenclaw

This is definitely my mother’s house. They have excellent minds, keeping many facts straight at once. They solve riddles with swiftness. While a Griffyndor will sigh when encountering a riddle, a Ravenclaw will get excited. They will instantly put their brains into solving it, calmly working through the problem. My mom can calm her mind and memorize lots of scientific terms, going through them carefully. She makes minute and neat arrows across the pages of our church choir notebooks, while I make large, sloppy, and expressive Gryffindor arrows. I get impatient with her meticulousness. I just want to see the big picture, or jump from one detail to another very quickly. She wants to go through it. I do like details when it comes to things like fantasy books, but mom just wants to analyze fiction books and doesn’t understand why I don’t like watching some youtube video about someone vacuuming as much as she does. For you see, they also tend to be a little weird. This can cause them to be bullied if they don’t know how to become camillians and fit into the rest of the group. But for people who enjoy a little uniqueness and talent, they’re the perfect friends.

Hufflepuff

I thought for a long time that my sister was in Hufflepuff, for she seems similar to a lot of the Hufflepuff characters in the Harry Potter books. I still often think that she is, maybe even that more than a Griffyndor. They are “just and loyal.” My sister is loyal to friends, and she’s just, at least when it comes to her own personal interests. She’s idealistic. But I’ve also noticed that, while Hufflepuffs are very loyal and like things to be fair, they can sometimes be a little dense and crabby. My sister sometimes is, but then sometimes she shocks me by her photographic memory, so it all depends. I’m not saying you’re dumb, sister! In some ways you’re way smarter than me, I’m just remembering the time that…

Me [looking down at my pants]: “You know, I take much better care of my jeans than you do. All mine are nice, but all your jeans have holes in them.”

Sister [perfectly serious]: But, we’re sisters, we have the exact same genes.

Yes, I know. She was perfectly serious.

Slytherin

Oh, the slimey, slithery bunch. This is the place where all the baddies go. All the bullies, all the tyrants, all the scum of the earth flock to this house. They pick on each other, they use “any means to achieve their ends.” Voldemort, the most evil wizard of all time, was in this house. They are an unsavory lot. Yet Severus Snape was in this house, and he’s not completely evil. But even if someone says to me, “You know, not all Slytherins are evil, they just have a bad rep” I’m like, “Yeah, but they’re still the most likely to stab you in the back when you’re not looking.” And if they say, “What about Snape? He was brave and loving” you can say, “Yeah, but he was also vengeful and cruel.” And if they say, “But that’s just because he had a bad childhood” you can say, “Harry had a bad childhood too. He turned out a lot differently.” 

So which one of these houses did Harry Potter pick?

‘Hmm,’ said a small voice in his ear. ‘Difficult. Very difficult. Plenty of courage, I see. Not a bad mind either. There’s talent, oh my goodness, yes- and a nice thirst to prove yourself, now that’s interesting… So where shall I put you?’

Harry gripped the edges of the stool and thought, Not Slytherin, not Slytherin.

‘Not Slytherin, eh?’ said a small voice. ‘Are you sure? You could be great, you know, it’s all here in your head, and Slytherin will help you on the way to greatness, no doubt about that- no? Well, if you’re sure- better be GRYFFINDOR!’” (Rowling, Sorcerer’s Stone, p. 121)

He had the makings of many things in his head. But he renounced evil, so the Sorting Hat listened to him. He chose Gryffindor, and he never regretted it. 

So which house are you in?