Welcome to the Magical World! You’ve gotten your letter, picked up your supplies, and have made it to Hogwarts! What’s next?

Why, it’s sorting time of course and the welcoming feast! Must find out if you belong in Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, or Hufflepuff!

But how do you get sorted? One of my favorite quasi-sentient “characters” in the series of course! The Sorting Hat! While we don’t get to see a majority of the welcoming feasts in the series, and therefore do not get to listen to the Hat’s wonderful song(s) many times, I do so enjoy it’s whimsy. The song, in its entirety, for Harry’s first year at Hogwarts:

“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 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, J.K.. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (pp. 125-126). Pottermore Publishing. Kindle Edition.) 

Can you think of a better way to introduce 11-year-olds to Hogwarts and figuring out which House they will be in for the next 7 years? It wasn’t until the movies originally came out and I was thinking back to the books that I recognized the genius of this. 

Magic can be scary, wonderful, evil, blessed, or simply unusual. How do you introduce characters (and more importantly readers) to such a conflicted topic without diluting it into one simple thing? Can Magic be good AND evil? Can it be a tool AND a blessing? One of the greatest achievements of J.K. Rowling’s writing in this series is A) maturing the reading level and subject matter as the books evolve with the readers and characters and B) In my opinion, not making magic (or other intangible ideas, or people) black or white. The world is full of greys, and so many colors beyond, and to not make a single Hogwarts House, or person (whether it’s Dumbledore or Draco Malfoy), or anything one dimensional is truly the work of good writing and allows for a more range of understanding/resonance. 

Rowling also doesn’t just jump from the first child to be sorted to Harry, or even to Hermione (the first of the Golden Trio to be sorted). Instead readers are given the names of characters who will be important throughout the series from Harry’s year. All the Houses are included and at this point, and while Gryffindor is clearly favored, the other Houses are still allowed their moments to shine. 

And then it’s Harry’s turn to put in the Hat and be sorted. “Not Slytherin” Harry thinks to the Hat, to which it responds “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, J.K.. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (p. 130). Pottermore Publishing. Kindle Edition.)

Looking back the question could be asked if it was the sliver of the shadow of the soul of Thomas Marvolo Riddle that made the Hat lean towards Slytherin. The truth, however, I believe, is much more complicated. We are all complex individuals who have conflicting wants, needs, and beliefs within the individual. Harry Potter, in a world without Lord Voldemort (in another universe, perhaps) might very well have been placed into Slytherin. Dorea Potter, Harry’s grandmother, was a Slytherin, and the traits of the House are not strictly negative. 

Finally, everyone has been sorted and the Welcoming feast may begin. And so Harry gets his first glimpse of Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore: “Welcome!” he said. “Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!” (Rowling, J.K.. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (p. 131). Pottermore Publishing. Kindle Edition.) I do believe I used that phrase (or similar oddities of words) in answer to anything my smartass brain thought it fit to for a week before my parents got too fed up with me. Yes, I was the child who mimicked Jar Jar Binks as well. No, my parents did not have it easy.

We meet the ghosts at the feast, including the Gryffindor ghost Sir. Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington – or Nearly-Headless Nick. Harry gets his first scar-pain (which he believes right from the get-go is caused by Prof. Snape and not Prof. Quarianus Quarrel, who is sitting next to Snape) and Dumbledore makes some announcements, including: “And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death.” (Rowling, J.K.. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (p. 136). Pottermore Publishing. Kindle Edition.) More breadcrumbs for the “you-know what” from vault “you-know-which”.

Everyone sings the school’s song and it’s off to the dorms they go. The first years are introduced to the Fat Lady, the portrait that guards the entrance to Gryffindor tower, where in lies the dorms and the common room. Percy, as Prefect (every time I write this I just imagine him buffing his badge on his chest or something) gives the password: “Caput Draconis”, which translates to dragon’s head or head of the dragon. A fitting password for any House of the school with the motto: “Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus”, or “Never tickle a sleeping dragon”. 

Thus concludes the first night in Hogwarts for Harry Potter and his year-mates. What strange new wonders will the first full day bring? One can only dream.