A/N: This is my second in a series of Harry Potter creatures & magical objects based on a deck of memory game playing cards I once got from The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Universal Orlando.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter; J.K. Rowling does.
The Sorting Hat
The Sorting Hat's wisdom was unfathomable.
Ever since it was first brought to life by Godric Gryffindor so long ago, it could see into anyone's mind and read it like a book, and perceive accurately what sort of person each wearer of the Hat was, inside and out. As a result, it has always been the infallible sorter of Hogwarts students into each House, with its different traits and talents.
Now there were some who argued that sorting the children and adults into Houses with different traits and abilities caused unhealthy rivalries within Hogwarts. True, there was some friendly rivalry with the Quidditch games, but the Houses also had conflicting views of each other. Gryffindor saw Slytherin as cowardly, greedy, dirty, and vain, doing nothing to save others, just themselves, while Slytherin saw Gryffindor as macho, rash, reckless, and self-righteous, wasting their precious lives away. And Hufflepuff saw Ravenclaw as arrogant, disloyal, lazy, and overly dramatic, competing against each other fanatically, while Ravenclaw saw Hufflepuff as over-exerted, soft, weak-minded, and meek, always accepting people into their ranks who couldn't, or wouldn't, take care of themselves.
Long story short, the point is such people thought that this division and semi-friendly rivalry would eventually lead to Hogwarts' demise, reminding them that a house divided against itself cannot stand.
While Professor Dumbledore and the Ministry of Magic understood and acknowledged these concerns, they always insisted that the Sorting Hat knew what it was doing. Godric didn't intend for the Hat to divide Hogwarts against itself, nor did the other founders. He wanted it to place every student in a place where he/she could best nurture their talents, and his wisdom was infused into the spirit of the Hat. The brave and daring could work together to protect the world. The loyal and kind could strive to make the world a nicer place to live. The wise and witty could be the scientists, philosophers and inventors of magic, and the cunning and ambitious could cooperate to achieve success and greatness in life and use it to excel at every facet of life. And so far, even with all its rivalries, Hogwarts has shown no signs of disintegrating from within, not even by the Death Eaters.
And why did Hogwarts need a stoic Hat? Godric made sure that this Hat had its own personality and a sense of humor, too, almost as if it had a life of its own. A good idea to keep the people in Hogwarts from getting bored while discovering where they belonged in the world of magic. A boring or stiff-necked Hat just wouldn't do!
May the Sorting Hat always keep Hogwarts on the right path to discovering the ultimate mysteries of magic!