Sorting Hat
The legendary hat that sorts students into Hogwarts houses. Ancient, wise, and with a peculiar sense of humor.
Species
Enchanted hat
An enchanted hat that has sorted every Hogwarts student since the school was founded.
Classification
The Ancient Sorting Hat
Chat with Sorting Hat
Sorting Hat's Quick Answers
Which house is the Sorting Hat in?
None. The Sorting Hat is an enchanted object that sorts students into the four houses. It originally belonged to Godric Gryffindor, which is why it can produce the Sword of Gryffindor, but it does not belong to Gryffindor House.
How does the Sorting Hat decide?
It looks into the student's mind for the qualities each founder valued: courage for Gryffindor, ambition for Slytherin, loyalty and hard work for Hufflepuff, and wit and learning for Ravenclaw. It also listens to what the student wants, which is how Harry ended up in Gryffindor instead of Slytherin.
Why did the Sorting Hat want to put Harry in Slytherin?
The hat told Harry he could be great and that Slytherin would help him get there. In Chamber of Secrets, Dumbledore explains that Voldemort transferred some of his own powers to Harry on the night he tried to kill him, which is part of why the hat saw Slytherin qualities.
Who voices the Sorting Hat in the films?
Leslie Phillips voiced the Sorting Hat in the Harry Potter films.
Sorting Hat's Background Story
The Sorting Hat began as Godric Gryffindor's own hat. According to the song it sings in Goblet of Fire, the four founders worried about who would choose students for their houses once they were gone, so Gryffindor took the hat off his head and they put some of their brains into it. Since then it has decided which house every new student joins. At the start of each year Professor McGonagall carries it into the Great Hall on a three-legged stool, the hat sings a new song, and the first-years try it on one by one. It reads what is in each student's head, sometimes talks to them about it, and takes their wishes into account: it considered Slytherin for Harry until he asked for anything else. Between ceremonies it sits on a shelf in the headmaster's office. Twice it has produced the Sword of Gryffindor for a student in need, for Harry in the Chamber of Secrets and for Neville Longbottom during the Battle of Hogwarts.
Sorting Hat's Magical Abilities & Skills
01
Reading minds
The hat sees a student's thoughts, fears and hopes the moment it is put on
02
Speaking and singing
It talks to students during the Sorting and composes a new song every year
03
Weighing a student's choice
It listens to what a student wants, as it did when Harry asked not to go to Slytherin
04
Producing the Sword of Gryffindor
A true Gryffindor in need can pull the sword out of it
05
Warning the school
Its songs can carry advice about dangers facing Hogwarts
Sorting Hat's Books vs the Films
The songs
The Books
The hat sings a new song at every Sorting. In Order of the Phoenix it uses the song to warn the houses that they must unite against danger from outside.
The Films
The songs are cut. The hat simply calls out each house, and its Order of the Phoenix warning never appears.
Harry's Sorting
The Books
The conversation takes place silently inside Harry's head, and nobody in the hall hears the hat mention Slytherin.
The Films
The hat's side of the conversation is spoken out loud, including its lines about Slytherin.
The Battle of Hogwarts
The Books
Voldemort puts the hat on Neville's head and sets it on fire. Neville breaks free and pulls the Sword of Gryffindor out of the burning hat.
The Films
Voldemort does not set the hat alight. Neville picks it up from the ground and draws the sword from it.
Key Moments
Harry's Sorting: the hat considers Slytherin, Harry thinks "not Slytherin", and it puts him in Gryffindor.
Neville's Sorting: it places a nervous boy in Gryffindor, the house whose sword he later draws.
Dumbledore's office: in Chamber of Secrets Harry tries the hat on again, and it tells him it stands by what it said about Slytherin.
The Chamber of Secrets: Fawkes brings the hat to Harry, and Harry pulls the Sword of Gryffindor out of it to fight the basilisk.
Goblet of Fire: its song tells how the four founders enchanted it to choose students after they were gone.
Order of the Phoenix: its song warns that the houses must stand together, the first time Harry hears it give advice.
The Battle of Hogwarts: Voldemort sets it alight on Neville's head, and Neville draws the sword from it to kill Nagini.
Fun Facts
01
The hat originally belonged to Godric Gryffindor, one of the four founders.
02
In Goblet of Fire, Ron guesses that the hat spends the whole year making up its next song.
03
A student who takes the hat more than five minutes to sort is called a Hatstall. Professor McGonagall was one, according to Wizarding World writing.
04
Hermione was close to being sorted into Ravenclaw, J.K. Rowling has said.
05
The Sorting Hat sits on a shelf in the headmaster's office when it is not in use.
06
Leslie Phillips gave the hat its voice in the films.
Sorting Hat's Key Relationships
Sorted him into Gryffindor after he asked to avoid Slytherin, and later gave him the Sword of Gryffindor in the Chamber.
Harry Potter
Placed him in Gryffindor. During the Battle of Hogwarts he pulled the sword out of the burning hat.
Neville Longbottom
Kept the hat in the headmaster's office. Fawkes carried it from there to Harry in the Chamber of Secrets after Harry showed loyalty to Dumbledore.
Albus Dumbledore
Carries it into the Great Hall each year and reads out the students' names. It took over five minutes to sort her.
Minerva McGonagall
Considered her for Ravenclaw before choosing Gryffindor.
Hermione Granger
Declared there would be no more Sorting at Hogwarts and set the hat on fire on Neville's head.
Lord Voldemort
The founder who owned it. The founders put part of their own minds into it so it could choose students after them.
Godric Gryffindor
Frequently Asked Questions About Sorting Hat
Is the Sorting Hat in Gryffindor?
No. The Sorting Hat does not belong to any house. It started as Godric Gryffindor's hat, and the four founders enchanted it together so it could sort students into all four houses.
Who voiced the Sorting Hat?
Leslie Phillips voiced the Sorting Hat in the Harry Potter films.
Can the Sorting Hat change its mind?
It takes a student's wishes into account during the Sorting, but its decision is final. When Harry tried it on again in Chamber of Secrets, it said it stood by what it had told him.
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