In the Harry Potter franchise, Hermione Granger was sorted into Gryffindor, but as the smartest witch of her age, there are arguments that she should have been sorted into Ravenclaw. Hogwarts has a structure where new students go to the front of the auditorium and place the Sorting Hat on their heads. The Sorting Hat then looks into their minds using Legilimency to determine their qualities, values, and aspirations before it decides which house the students best fit into. For Hermione, the Sorting Hat chose Gryffindor.

This led many fans to question why the Sorting Hat made this decision. The traits of students sorted into Ravenclaw are highly intelligent, creative, and original, and many fans feel Hermione should have been sorted into that Hogwarts house. Gryffindor students are known for their bravery, courage, and determination, which also fits Hermione. However, at the time she was sorted, it seemed the best house for her should have been Ravenclaw, so why did the Sorting Hat choose Gryffindor?

Hermione Felt That Bravery Was More Important Than Cleverness

Hermione Was Placed In The Correct House Based On Her Personality

While Hermione was the smartest witch of her age, that was not the only thing that defined her. The Sorting Hat had to choose the best house for all of Hermione’s traits. While Ravenclaw made the most sense based on her intelligence and brilliance as a witch, the other characteristic of Ravenclaw was being creative. If Hermione was anything at first, she was stuck in her ways and almost steadfastly determined to follow things by the book. However, the Sorting Hat can see past students’ current predispositions and what they are meant to be.

One thing that Hermione has that is so important in the Harry Potter series is her sense of loyalty to those close to her. This makes her much closer to a member of Gryffindor than any other house, as her loyalty lies with those closest to her. She also showed bravery and an unwillingness to give up as she got older, which also helped her fit into Gryffindor more easily than Ravenclaw. With that said, the Sorting Hat does not work alone in naming a student to a house. The student’s inner wishes are also taken into account.

Harry Potter’s Sorting Hat Actually Took A Long Time With Hermione

The Sorting Hat Took Four Minutes To Sort Hermione Into A House

The Harry Potter books showed more about Hermione and her experience with the Sorting Hat. As with most of the movies, many things from the novels had to be left out to fit the running time. Hermione’s Sorting Hat experience is one of these things. What is notable about Hermione is that the Sorting Hat took a long time to determine which house to put her in. This means that the Sorting Hat wasn’t sure which house she belonged in, which in the world of Harry Potter is known as Hatstalls.

Professor McGonagall was a previous Hatstall, with the Sorting Hat flipping between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw for over five minutes before placing her in Gryffindor. This is exactly what happened to Hermione. The Sorting Hat spent four minutes on her, trying to decide between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw, and was considering Ravenclaw before finally placing her in Gryffindor, just like Professor McGonagall before her. Hermione admitted wanting to be in Gryffindor, which likely influenced the Sorting Hat’s final decision.

This was the same thing that happened to Harry Potter, as the Sorting Hat felt he could do well in Gryffindor or Slytherin. It also suggested Ravenclaw could be a good fit. However, when it came down to just two houses, Harry didn’t want to be part of Slytherin thanks to its reputation, and the Sorting Hat chose Gryffindor, taking Harry’s preference into account. That is likely what happened to Hermione and why she ended up in Gryfindor in the end.