Summary

• The Sorting Hat's decision is crucial in a Hogwarts student's life, but it can be a complex process.
• True Hatstalls are rare in the Harry Potter universe.
• Characters like Hermione Granger and Neville Longbottom defied expectations in Hogwarts house Sorting.

Which Hogwarts house a student belongs to in the Harry Potter universe is a huge milestone in their character's history, but the Sorting Hat's decision-making isn't a clear-cut process. The four Hogwarts houses all have certain traits with which they are associated, and the students in each house best exemplify these characteristics. However, as in reality, the inhabitants of the wizarding world are multidimensional figures. While some new Hogwarts students may display particular signifiers more prominently than others, the Sorting Hat can also often detect competing motivations within the school's newcomers. As such, Sorting can be an inexact science.

It can be impossible to say whether a certain character would have flourished or not in an alternative Hogwarts house, but the fact that the Sorting Hat can be caught deliberating the fate of a witch or wizard speaks volumes of how important the decision can be in the life of an individual. Many Hogwarts students seek kinship in the company of their like-minded housemates, but they do also form relationships with those in rival houses. Having said that, Slytherin students tend to be a pretty insular community due to the dark reputation formed by their past graduates.

According to Every Harry Potter movie also fails to mention the word, and the Sorting Ceremony itself is not something that's shown beyond the first film. Instead, the word comes from the extended canon penned by author JK Rowling on the Wizarding World website - once called Pottermore.

7 Minerva McGonagall Was Almost A Ravenclaw

McGonagall was Sorted into Gryffindor

Hatstalls are incredibly rare in Harry Potter lore, but Minerva McGonagall is a member of the select group. In fact, the Wizard World website claims that a Hatstall will only rear their heads, "Perhaps once every fifty years." Minerva McGonagall is a fiercely intelligent woman, and it's this very intellect that almost had her go through Hogwarts as a member of Ravenclaw House. In her career as a Hogwarts professor, Maggie Smith's McGonagall perfectly encapsulates the teacher's inability to be fooled or lied to in the Harry Potter movies.

As clever as McGonagall is, the Sorting Hat still took five and a half minutes to ultimately decide to send her down the Gryffindor path. What this reveals is that the Hat eventually concluded that McGonagall's immense level of innate bravery outweighed her not-inconsiderable intelligence. In fact, the future professor's status as a Hatstall confirms that the balance between her IQ and her courage is negligible. That being said, the difference was clearly enough for the Sorting Hat to eventually make a decision. On another day, McGonagal may very well have ended up calling Ravenclaw Tower her home.

Professor McGonagall is also incredibly stubborn, a Gryffindor trait that may also have tipped the balance of her Sorting process. She also went on to become the Head of Gryffindor House.

6 Filius Flitwick Was Almost A Gryffindor

Flitwick was Sorted into Ravenclaw

While Flitwick's Sorting journey is compelling in its own right, it's made more interesting by the fact that it's almost the exact opposite of Minerva McGonagall's. While there is a notable gap between their respective Hogwarts enrollment dates, the similarities are strong. Flitwick, the older of the two, was Sorted long before McGonagall attended the famous school. During his ceremony, the Sorting Hat became uncertain whether Filis Flitwick belonged in Ravenclaw or Gryffindor - just as it went on to do with McGonagall years later. However, the Hat eventually settled on the decision that Flitwcik would be better suited as a Ravenclaw.

Flitwick is not canonically a Hatstall, as he was Sorted before the five-minute mark arrived. The fact that the Sorting Hat eventually arrived at the conclusion that it did means it judged the courageous elements of Flitwick's personality to be second to his aptitude for learning. Like McGonagall, Flitwick also went on to have a career in education - becoming the Hogwarts Charms professor and head of Ravenclaw House to generations of Hogwarts students.

So, Flitwick's prioritization of knowledge above all else is evident in his role as a dedicated educator. However, the poetic parallel between McGongall's Sorting ceremony and Flitwick's was not lost on them. When the pair eventually became colleagues, the pair were, "Amused to think that they might, but for those crucial moments in their youths, have exchanged positions."

5 Peter Pettigrew Was Almost A Slytherin

Pettigrew was Sorted into Gryffindor

Given Peter Pettigrew's status as a Harry Potter villain, it would be reasonable to assume that his time spent at Hogwarts was as a member of Slytherin House. As Robbie Coltrane's Hagrid summed up in 2001's Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone: "There's not a single witch or wizard who went bad who wasn't in Slytherin." While there's a lot to unpack within the loaded statement, Hagrid is implying that essentially every evil member of the magical community was, at one point, a Slytherin. However, Pettigrew's becoming a Gryffindor suggests that Hagrid was using hyperbole, and simply generalizing instead.

2005's Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire also reveals international Wizarding schools. So it becomes even less likely that every villain in the Harry Potter universe would come from one house in the same school in Britain.

Pettigrew is the only other official Hatsall known to Harry Potter, with the Sorting Hat becoming unsure where the student belonged. Pettigrew's years spent in service as a Death Eater suggest that the Hat ultimately made the wrong decision. Although the error is arguably very clear, the famously stubborn Sorting Hat refused to acknowledge that Pettigrew was sorted in incorrectly. Pettigrew wasn't without bravery, as proven by his status as a Hatstall. This Gryffindor trait was put on display when he hesitated to kill Harry Potter in the books, and Voldemort punished Pettigrew by forcing him to strangle himself.

Pettigrew's death differs in the Harry Potter movies when compared to the books. In fact, his last appearance in the final film comes when Dobby uses a spell on Pettigrew, causing him to fall to the ground. It's unclear whether this kills Pettigrew, and it robs him of his moment of macabre redemption from the books.

4 Gilderoy Lockhart Was Almost A Slytherin

Lockhart was Sorted into Ravenclaw

Professor Gilderoy Lockhart is an almost equal blend of immense intellect and overwhelming vanity. As such, it's easy to see why the Sorting Hat struggled to fit him into one of the two categories. The Hat eventually decided that Lockhart would be better suited to spending his time at Hogwarts in Ravenclaw, with his cerebral nature clearly being too strong to ignore. Although not openly a villain, Lockhart's desire to be in the spotlight came at some pretty dire costs. His bestselling books chronicling "his" adventures came at the expense of the minds of many other great wizards.

Lockhart's sudden turn in 2002's Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets perfectly displays the professor's Slytherin tendencies. If it hadn't been for Ron's wand being in such a state of disrepair, then both he and Harry would have found themselves at the receiving end of one of Lockhart's well-practiced Memory Charms. The older man's demeanor switches from a cowardly fool to a persona much more befitting of an evil Slytherin graduate. So, although his Ravenclaw side won out during the Sorting process, Lockhart's darker traits never vanished (until his Memory Charm backfired).

Audio clips on Pottermore from JK Rowling once described Lockhart's Sorting ceremony, but they are no longer available on Wizarding World.

3 Hermione Granger Was Almost A Ravenclaw

Hermione was Sorted into Gryffindor

There are very few Harry Potter characters more intelligent than Hermione Granger. To list many of Hermione's most notable traits, it wouldn't be surprising to discover she belonged to Ravenclaw. However, the Sorting Hat placing Hermione in Gryffindor instead displays just how intensely she embodies the characteristics of her true Hogwarts House. There is no questioning Hermione's thirst for knowledge, with this facet of her personality perhaps best represented by her requirement to use a Time-Turner in 2004's Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban to make it possible for her to attend more classes that would typically be possible.

Hermione's Sorting process in the Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone movie is relatively short, but it does show the Hat twisting its face into expressions of deep contemplation. In the books, JK Rowling has confirmed (via Wizarding World/Pottermore) that Hermione Granger fell just short of acquiring the Hatstall moniker. Hermione's wits kept the Hat busy for around four minutes before deciding to place Hermione in Gryffindor. This means Hermione escaped being a Hatsall by around one minute, but the delay she caused wasn't inconsiderable.

Although the Harry Potter movies tend to highlight the heroics of their titular character, Hermione's Gryffindor tenacity, paired with her Ravenclaw traits, is often what saves the day.

2 Neville Longbottom Wanted To Be A Hufflepuff

Neville was Sorted into Gryffindor

Neville Longbottom isn't shown as a traditional hero for the majority of the Harry Potter saga. Instead, he appears to be much better suited to being a Hufflepuff. His bumbling nature and introverted personality don't seem to align with the traits required to make it as a Gryffindor. Neville was very self-aware as he entered Hogwarts, and dreaded the thought of being expected to be courageous when he felt the furthest thing from it. Instead, Neville craved the low-stakes life of a Hufflepuff Hogwarts student - a desire that was denied by the Sorting Hat.

Slytherin is perhaps the most misunderstood Hogwarts House. Although certain students dressed in silver and green have gone on to become villains, it's not true of all Slytherin graduates.

It would make sense to see Neville in the yellow and black of Hufflepuff, but he also displays immense bravery throughout the story. Courage doesn't come easily to Neville, which makes it more impressive that he takes some of the actions he does, and proves he's a Gryffindor at heart. The very fact that Neville rescues Ron and Hermione from Nagini using the sword of Godric Gryffindor during the final Harry Potter battle in 2011's Death Hallows - Part 2 is the best piece of evidence for Neville's status as a member of the house founded by the sword's original owner.

1 Harry Potter Could've Been In Slytherin (But Refused)

Harry became a member of Gryffindor House

Slytherin is perhaps the most misunderstood Hogwarts House. Although certain students dressed in silver and green have gone on to become villains, it's not true of all Slytherin graduates. However, being new to the wizarding world, Harry Potter essentially only had Hagrid's guidance on which to map his moral com. As such, when the Sorting Hat heard Harry muttering in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone about not being Sorted into Slytherin House, the enchanted garment picked up on the steadfast opinion straight away. Ultimately, the Hat listened, and it was Harry's choices that led to him becoming a Gryffindor.

Harry has the chance to confront the Hat in 2002's Chamber of Secrets movie. Somewhat worryingly, the Hat insists: "You would have done well in Slytherin."

The Sorting Hat attempts to bring Harry around to the idea of being Slytherin during the ceremony, offering platitudes such as, "You could be great, you know? It's all here in your head." Appealing to Harry's sense of vanity doesn't work, which only further vindicates the move not to place Harry in the same house as Draco Malfoy. Besides, it's also possible that the Hat was unknowingly picking up on the piece of Voldemort stored in Harry as a Horcrux. Seeing as Voldemort was a Slytherin, it would make sense why this would confuse the famous Harry Potter Hat.

All eight Harry Potter movies are available to stream on Max, as are the three Fantastic Beasts movies.

Source: Wizarding World