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By Root 723 0

bag of personality traits, and the hat does its best to sort them out. Postponing the process wouldn’t change that. Look at Neville Longbottom—the Sorting Hat takes a while to place him probably because he has courage like his parents, but he also has Herbology skills like a Hufflepuff. Both qualities help him later on in life, so what difference does it make which house he is in to begin with? Any smart person such as Hermione might be given a choice between Ravenclaw and some other house, because that person could excel at any subject. No one has to be an outcast just because of their house affiliation. Lily and Snape remain friends for years after entering Hogwarts, but it is Snape’s bad choices that finally condemn him to be alone. The Sorting Hat is not to blame for all of Snape’s problems.

The proof of the Sorting is in the results, and most people are exactly right for their houses. Cedric Diggory is the ultimate Hufflepuff. The Weasleys all belong in Gryffindor. Luna Lovegood has the airy wit of a true Ravenclaw. Draco can’t be a more perfect Slytherin. If the System isn’t broken, why change it?

Verdict

Is the Sorting System just another sign that the wizarding world’s pecking order begins in childhood? Or is it just a noble tradition that has served as the bedrock of Hogwarts history going back to the Four Founders? Traditions don’t have to last forever, and it would be nice if students could switch dormitories each year to see how the others lived, but alas, it never happens in the books. The houses just don’t mingle enough—it’s almost as if Hogwarts has its own caste system, as in India. Considering the themes of change and redemption, Dumbledore is absolutely right. Verdict: Hogwarts sorts too soon.

What is the most useful magical object for preserving history?

Magical Paintings

The living masterpieces hanging around at Hogwarts are the most useful magical objects. They aren’t just wall decor, they are unique traces of real people who can speak and interact just as they did in life. They can move around between portraits in the same building and between locations if they have more than one image. So these amazing creations are so much more useful than a ghost trapped at Hogwarts or a magical photo that can’t speak. Like house-elves, the paintings are somewhat limited in their movements (they have to stay inside frames for one thing), but their personalities still show through, and they have free will to speak their minds, doze off, and tell jokes.

The portraits have a job: to serve the Headmaster of Hogwarts, as the painting of ex-Headmaster Armando Dippet points out in OotP. Some paintings guard the entrances to the various houses, such as the still life paintings outside the kitchen and Hufflepuff house, and the Fat Lady and Sir Cadogan for Gryffindor house. What the paintings do for the headmaster is often serious business. When Mr. Weasley is bitten by the snake at the Ministry in OotP, Dumbledore asks one portrait named Everard to keep watch at the Ministry and sends Dilys Derwent to St. Mungo’s to get information from the Healers. That’s really important because time is of the essence and paintings can move back and forth much faster than people using the Floo Network. Best of all, the government cannot interfere with the portraits or track their movements, unlike living people.

The human portraits have feelings, so the Fat Lady is terrified when Sirius Black slashes her canvas with a knife in PoA. Later, the painting of Sirius Black’s great-great-grandfather Phineas Nigellus tells Dumbledore he is worried the same thing might also happen to him. But Phineas is also saddened when his great-great-grandson dies and the family name of Black dies with him, which shows that these paintings can form attachments to the living.

Phineas is a unique portrait who becomes a fully developed character. He moves between the headmaster’s office and Grimmauld Place in OotP, where he watches over Harry and orders him not to run away from home. So it’s funny that later the portrait of Phineas is taken along