15 of the weirdest Wizarding World facts we learned from Pottermore

Wizards who take a long time to be sorted are called “Hatstalls.”

During Harry’s sorting ceremony in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Harry worries that the hat will sit on his head for a long time, eventually refusing to sort him at all and confirming that his invitation to Hogwarts has been a huge mistake. Though this scenario never actually plays out, it turns out that Harry’s fears weren’t entirely unwarranted.

According to Pottermore, there are wizards whose sorting ceremonies take far longer than others. These wizards are apparently referred to as “Hatstalls,” and their prolonged time with the Sorting Hat signals that the hat doesn’t know which house to place them in. Given that the sorting of a “Hatstall” must be longer than five minutes, it’s fairly rare to come across one. Pottermore estimates that a “Hatstall” appears around every 50 years.

Though both Hermione and Neville came close to being “Hatstalls,” neither of them actually made the cut. The Sorting Hat took only four minutes to decide whether Hermione should be placed in Gryffindor or in Ravenclaw, and it spent most of Neville’s sorting arguing with the boy. It turns out that Neville begged to be placed in Hufflepuff, but the Sorting Hat obviously won that battle.

Of the witches and wizards fans meet over the course of the Harry Potter series, there are two who can officially be classified as “Hatstalls.” Minerva McGonagall’s sorting took five minutes and thirty seconds, mostly due to the Sorting Hat’s indecision regarding whether she should become a Gryffindor or a Ravenclaw. Knowing what we do now, it’s ironic that Gryffindor’s head of house almost became a Ravenclaw.

The other “Hatstall” we meet during Rowling’s series is none other than Peter Pettigrew. This is perhaps less surprising, considering that Pettigrew’s cowardice led him to betray his best friends to Lord Voldemort. Many fans would agree that the traitor belonged in Slytherin, but according to Pottermore, the ever-stubborn Sorting Hat remains firm in its decision to place him in Gryffindor.