The Spiteful Sorting Hat

The Sorting Hat

A horrible thought struck Harry, as horrible thoughts always do when you're very nervous. What if he wasn't chosen at all? What if he sat there with the hat over his eyes for ages, until Professor McGonagall jerked it off his head and said there had obviously been a mistake and he'd better get back on the train?

Neville Longbottom, the boy who kept losing his toad, was called next. He fell over on his way to the stool. The hat took a long time to decide where it thought Neville belonged. When it finally shouted "Gryffindor," Neville ran off still wearing it, and had to jog back amid gales of laughter to give it to "MacDougal, Morag."

Malfoy swaggered forward when his name was called and got his wish at once: the hat had barely touched his head when it screamed "Slytherin!"

Malfoy went to join his friends, Crabbe and Goyle, looking pleased with himself.

There weren't many people left now.

Moon... Nott... Parkinson... Then a pair of twin girls, Patil and Patil... Then "Perks, Sally-Anne..." and then, at last...

"Potter, Harry!"

As Harry stepped forward, whispers suddenly broke out like little hissing fires all over the hall.

"Potter, did she say?"

"The Harry Potter?

The last thing Harry saw before the hat dropped over his eyes was the hall full of people craning to get a good look at him. Next second he was looking at the black inside of the hat. He waited.

"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 the small voice with a touch of malicious glee. "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?"

Please, thought Harry again, desperately, Anything but Slytherin!

"Well, if you're sure. Better be… SLYTHERIN!"

The hat's declaration echoed across the hall, but there was no eruption of cheers like those that had followed the other students. Harry remained seated on the stool, not entirely believing what had just happened. He almost expected the Sorting Hat to whisper, "Just kidding," but instead it was removed from his head.

"Wait!" he said to Professor McGonagall as she started to push him along. "I think there's been some mistake."

Professor McGonagall looked just as astonished as he did by the circumstances, but still she shook her head.

"Don't be ridiculous, Mr. Potter," she said quietly, but sternly. "The Sorting Hat is not to be questioned. Now go join your new housemates."

Shaking from nerves and nearly delirious with confusion, Harry stumbled numbly toward the Slytherin table. He was in such a state of shock, he hadn't noticed that he received the most indifferent applause yet. In fact, many Slytherins looked like they would have preferred it if Harry had been sucked into the black depths of the Sorting Hat, never to show his face again.

This was not the case with Draco Malfoy, who looked absolutely thrilled to see Harry making his unsteady way toward the Slytherin table. Harry felt his stomach twist at the sight of Malfoy's decidedly evil grin. His horror escalated when Malfoy ordered his friend Goyle to switch seats with him, placing him directly on Harry's right.