Neville Longbottom's Sorting Ceremony

"Longbottom, Neville!" Professor McGonagall called.

Neville walked shyly down to the three-foot stool in front of the Professors table. He felt incredibly nervous.

When he finally reached Professor McGonagall and the stool, he sat, and he saw momentarily all of the faces in the Great Hall looking at him. He felt the hat being put on his head and slipping to his nose, covering his eyes. The only thing he could see now was the inside of the hat.

"Hmm… very interesting…" a voice said in his ear. "I have no doubt about you… You would give a great Gryffindor."

Gryffindor?  Neville thought. I'm not a Gryffindor! I'm not brave… I would never be able to put up with the responsibility of being in Gryffindor! I'll just let everybody down… I'll let my grandmother down…

"Not a Gryffindor? Really? Then where do you think you'd belong?"

Neville was surprised that the hat was actually answering to his thoughts.

He can read my thoughts… Errm… Please, put me in Hufflepuff… I'm not brave, nor intelligent… I belong in Hufflepuff… at least there I won't let my family down…

"Hufflepuff? Are you kidding me? No!" The hat argued. "You're a Gryffindor, and if I'm not mistaken, a good one. And boy, I am never mistaken."

Well, this time you're wrong. I'm not a Gryffindor! I can't be! My family didn't even think I was a wizard, let alone a Gryffindor! Please, put me in Hufflepuff!

"No. I'm never wrong!" the hat said. "I'm not going to put you in a house that is clearly not yours! Face it, you're not a Hufflepuff, you're a Gryffindor!"

Please! Please! Please! Everyone will be expecting so much of me if you put me in Gryffindor! I can't belong in Gryffindor! I'll take the house's reputation away! Please… put me in Hufflepuff… I'm going to let my family down otherwise! Please…

"I'm sure that you will be a Gryffindor worth of the house's name. I'm sorry kid… But I've made up my mind."

Please… Hufflepuff…

"GRYFFINDOR!" Neville heard the hat shout to the Great Hall. He heard everyone shout and clap and he stood up. He was so nervous shaking so badly that he only noticed that he had the hat still on when he was already far away from the stool.

Everyone was laughing at him. He took the hat off and went back to hand it to Professor McGonagall. Finally he sat at the Gryffindor table under roars of laughter… The Sorting Hat had been wrong… he wasn't a Gryffindor.