The Sorting Hat doesn't sort

[happybean98]

No: HPFGUIDX 105843

> Cathy:
> However, in OotP it says "'Well, the Sorting Hat did seriously 
consider putting me in Ravenclaw during my Sorting,' said Hermione 
brightly, 'but it decided on Gryffindor in the end."  The Sorting had 
considered and then decided. 

happybean98:
Yes, that's what Hermione says, because she,(and all the other 
students), believe that's what the Sorting Hat does. (Happybean 
suddenly realizes she is starting to sound like Luna Lovegood). But 
what Hermione doesn't realize is that SHE, not the hat,  is the 
one "seriously considering Ravenclaw". Everyone projects their own 
thought processes onto the Sorting Hat because they don't realize 
it's reading their own mind.
 
Cathy:
> Also, in GoF the Sorting Hat says: "The founders put some brains in 
me So I could choose instead!" Not make a decision based on what the 
kid thought would be best...Choose.

happybean98:
Yes that's what the hat says because it's effectiveness depends on 
everyone believing in that pretense. If the hat openly admitted what 
was happening, the first years would be at risk of being pressured 
into houses they didn't really want to be in because they would have 
to consider not only what they wanted, but what everyone else would 
think about what they wanted. (Would Neville ever have openly 
admitted that he wanted a shot at being in Gryffindor? I think not.)

I guess technically, the hat is still choosing the house, but it's 
coming to the decision not by sizing up each student's qualities and 
strengths, but by reading what they want. Kind of like what the 
Mirror of Esired does to anyone who looks into it.


Cathy:
> The problem that I see with the 'legilimency' charm is that, a day 
could come, or may have already come, when all but the Slytherin kids 
would want to go into Gryffindor (or Hufflepuff, or Ravenclaw).

happybean98:
Well, that's true, but maybe that wouldn't be so bad. The Hat's most 
recent song was about wanting the school to come together...

Cathy:
 The Hat needs to be able to sort based on abilites not just student 
whims, especially in the case of a student, like Dean Thomas or the 
Creevey kids, who would have no idea which would be a good house to 
want to be sorted into.

happybean98:
I covered this in my other post, but the short answer is this. If 
Harry, who knew absolutely nothing about the WW, let alone Hogwarts 
until a few days before he was sorted, decided where he wanted to be, 
why couldn't anyone else?  Thanks to the Dursleys, he was the most 
ignorant of anyone, even Muggle borns, and he still quickly chose Ron 
over Draco as a friend, even though he met Draco first.

-happybean98