card Sacred rite at Hogwarts each school year.First-years publicly sorted into Gryffindor,Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, or Slytherin by theenchanted Sorting Hat. Procession into theGreat Hall, Hat deliberates, declares House,student welcomed by cheers. Identity:beginning of one's journey. Belonging: theache of being chosen. Tradition: unbrokenritual spanning centuries. Choice: destinyshaped not only by nature but by will.