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Oxford’s own start-of-year Sorting Ceremony will take place this week, a term later than expected.

The event, organised by the newly formed Harry Potter Society, will see the Sorting Hat delve deep

into students’ minds and place them in Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff or Slytherin.

A formal invitation, sent to all society members, urged them to “take the Hogwarts Express to Harris

Manchester College” and “get to know some fellow Harry Potter fans over a butterbeer”.

It also specified a number of questions which students must answer in advance, and which form the

basis of the hat’s decision. These include scenarios like “A Muggle confronts you and says that they

are sure you are a witch or wizard” and “A very strong man approaches you while you’re eating

lunch and demands that you give him some food. He doesn’t appear to be starving or poor. There is

nobody there to stop him from taking it.” In each case students must choose from a selection of four

responses.

Stevie Finegan, one of the society’s “Mugwumps” (Vice-Presidents) explained the need for such a

system, revealing that the Hat has lost many of its magical powers since it sorted Harry and friends.

She said, “Unfortunately its magical element is proving far less cooperative than we would have

hoped. As such we are having to prod it along and help it with song writing.”

Finegan promised that the house system will feature in future society meetings, telling Cherwell, “We

do have some events coming up in the future where houses will compete against one another,

including everyone’s favourite, some inter-house Quidditch – so once you’re sorted into your house,

I’d try and suss out who among your number is good with a broom!”

She also stressed the importance of school unity, saying, “Once everyone is sorted on Thursday they

will instantly find themselves having to partner up with a student from each of the other houses, in

order to compete in our Three Broomsticks Quiz and win some fantastic prizes.”

One student suggested a possible reason for the Sorting Hat’s deterioration in magical ability,

pointing out that “the hat was blown up in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, when

Voldemort sacked Hogwarts.”

Meanwhile Imogen Jones, a third-year Classicist at Corpus Christi College, feared that the hat might

entrench élitism at Oxford, claiming, “I’ve heard state school students are twice as likely to be

sorted into Hufflepuff as their privately educated counterparts.”

The event will take place at Harris Manchester College at 7.30pm on Thursday 2nd February.

Oxford’s own start of year Sorting Ceremony will take place this week – a term later than expected.

The event, organised by the newly formed Harry Potter Society, will see the Sorting Hat delve deep into students’ minds and place them in Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff or Slytherin.

A formal invitation, sent to all society members, urged them to “take the Hogwarts Express to Harris Manchester College” and “get to know some fellow Harry Potter fans over a butterbeer”.

It also specified a number of questions which students must answer in advance, and which form the basis of the hat’s decision. These include scenarios like “A Muggle confronts you and says that they are sure you are a witch or wizard” and “A very strong man approaches you while you’re eating lunch and demands that you give him some food. He doesn’t appear to be starving or poor. There is nobody there to stop him from taking it.” In each case students must choose from a selection of four responses.

Stevie Finegan, one of the society’s “Mugwumps” (Vice-Presidents) explained the need for such a system, revealing that the hat has lost many of its magical powers since it sorted Harry and friends. She said, “Unfortunately its magical element is proving far less cooperative than we would have hoped. As such we are having to prod it along and help it with song writing.”

Finegan promised that the house system will feature in future society meetings, telling Cherwell, “We do have some events coming up in the future where houses will compete against one another,including everyone’s favourite, some inter-house Quidditch – so once you’re sorted into your house, I’d try and suss out who among your number is good with a broom!”

She also stressed the importance of school unity, saying, “Once everyone is sorted on Thursday they will instantly find themselves having to partner up with a student from each of the other houses, in order to compete in our Three Broomsticks Quiz and win some fantastic prizes.”

One student suggested a possible reason for the Sorting Hat’s deterioration in magical ability, pointing out that “the hat was blown up in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, when Voldemort sacked Hogwarts.”

Meanwhile Imogen Jones, a third-year classicist at Corpus Christi College, feared that the hat might entrench élitism at Oxford, claiming, “I’ve heard state school students are twice as likely to be sorted into Hufflepuff as their privately educated counterparts.”

Clare Franklin, a second year mathematician and long-standing Potter aficionado, commented, ‘The sorting ceremony is a rite of passage, and will no doubt be the most important trial any of us face this term. As you would no doubt guess, I would rather suffer through one of Umbridge’s detentions than be in Hufflepuff, and being a Muggleborn, I’d be scared for my safety in Slytherin. But I could be quite at home in Gryffindor or Ravenclaw.’

The event will take place at Harris Manchester College at 7.30pm on Thursday 2nd February.