A meeting with the Sorting Hat…

At the Hogwarts start-of-term feast every September, the hat is placed on a three-legged stool in the Great Hall. Before the sorting begins, it sings a new, often rambling song which details its history. Students then take turns placing the hat on their heads. The hat reads their minds and loudly proclaims its house decision. Sometimes, the hat takes a long time to decide (over five minutes), a phenomenon known as a “hatstall”.  Fortunately, our Sorting Hat knew every head and declared its verdict with speed!