A Self-fulfilling Prophecy of Sorts

The life of an essentialist could be said to be a very secure and definitive one. An essentialist knows who he is, what he is here for, and what path he is destined to choose. He is certain of his place in the world. Throughout the Harry Potter books, however, Harry's life was filled with anything and everything but certainty. This was, in part, caused by the Sorting Hat itself, which may at first glance seem like the epitome of essentialism. However, look a little deeper, and one will find that the Sorting Hat is just the beginning of an existentialistic journey that will last a witch or wizard's lifetime.
When Harry Potter first arrives at Hogwarts, he knows next to nothing about the four houses or the Sorting Hat. All he knows is what people, such as Ron and Hagrid, have told him, which is primarily that he would not want to end up in Slytherin. "There's not a single witch or wizard who went bad who wasn't in Slytherin. You-Know-Who was one"(Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, 80). The Sorting process in relation to Slytherin has a lot to do with the illusion of the Sorting Hat being very essentialistic. When Hagrid says "there's not a single witch or wizard who went bad who wasn't in Slytherin" he did not say "there is not a single witch or wizard in Slytherin who didn't go bad". For the most part, Slytherins are percieved as dark and evil witches and wizards, but just because one becomes a Slytherin does not mean that is his fate. He may just simply be very ambitious, but would perhaps not go to the sinister lengths a Malfoy or Lord Voldemort would to get what he wants. When Harry is sorted, the Sorting Hat has a particularly difficult time deciding in which house he should be placed. The Sorting Hat finds that Harry is a combination of all the houses, stating that he has "plenty of courage...not a bad mind either...there's talent...and a nice thirst to prove yourself"(121). All these different qualities show that not everyone at Hogwarts has one specific place they are supposed to be, but they may have one or two characteristics that stand out more than others. The Sorting Hat then uses those qualities for simple tradition's sake and to help the new students form some sort of identity. When the Sorting Hat questioned where to put Harry all Harry can think in his head is "Not Slytherin, not Slytherin"(121), to which the Sorting Hat responds "Are you sure? You could be great, you know, it's all here in your head, and Slytherin will help you on the way to greatness, no doubt about that-no? Well, if you're sure-better be GRYFFINDOR!"(121). Harry is very relieved to hear that he has not been chosen to be in Slytherin, however, the point that Harry misses, which turns into a reoccurring theme throughout the novels, is that he was not "chosen" to be anything. In his own mind was the power to be and choose whatever he wanted. The Sorting Hat says it all itself; "it's all in your head". There was no predetermined house which he was destined to be in; every path in his life can only be paved by himself. The reason the Sorting Hat had such a trying time sorting Harry was the same reason it had such an easy time sorting Draco Malfoy. From the time of his birth, Draco Malfoy was probably bombarded with Slytherin culture and the pure-blood way of life. Draco knew not only that he wanted to become a Slytherin for reasons of his own, but that he was a Malfoy; he was expected to be nothing less than Slytherin. It is possible that Draco's experience with the Shorting Hat has much to do with a simple self-fulfilling prophecy. Draco chose his own path, the Sorting Hat merely read his mind and granted his wish, just as it did by not placing Harry in Slytherin. That is ultimately the purpose of the Sorting Hat; to tell a witch or wizard what she or he is best suited for based on his or her own mind. It may be a rough guide to help students become situated at Hogwarts, but it never actually assigns any witch or wizard with his or her disposition, destination, or station. Throughout the novels, Harry has many opportunites to become a dark, or at least a seriously selfish wizard. The fact that he ultimately does not give in, has nothing to do with destiny, and everything to do with Harry's free will.
In the second novel, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry finds himself alone in Dumbledore's office with the Sorting Hat. Curious as to whether or not it had made the correct choice by placing him in Gryffindor, he tries on the hat. Recalling that Harry had been difficult to sort, the Sorting Hat says "I stand by what I said before...you would have done well in Slytherin"(206). Harry tells the hat that it is wrong, but throughout the novel he discovers he can speak Parseltongue, the language of Salazar Slytherin himself, and is said to possibly be the heir of Slytherin, and continues to worry about whether or not his fate will be to end up similar to Voldemort.
However, when Harry faces the Basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets, Fawkes the Phoenix, drops the Sorting Hat and it produces the sword of Godric Gryffindor for Harry's protection. This moment seems to symbolize Harry making the choice to be a Gryffindor, as opposed to a Slytherin, for, as Dumbledore later states, "Only a true Gryffindor could have pulled that out of the Hat, Harry"(334). Though Dumbledore does call him a "true Gryffindor", it is clear that this was Harry's decision, not the absolute decree of the Sorting Hat. Harry had made his place in the wizarding world what he wanted it to be, not followed a written out map for his life. Harry admits to Dumbledore that the Sorting Hat only put him in Gryffindor because he asked it not to put him in Slytherin, to which Dumbledore replies "Exactly...which makes you very different from Tom Riddle. It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities"(333). As far the Sorting Hat was concerned, life was literally what Harry had made it.
An existentialists view is usually that nothing has meaning until one gives it meaning, there is no one road by which to travel. The Sorting Hat appears to be a false idol which grants young witches and wizards with a sense of security, identity, and destiny. It is only the wisest, or at least the most introspective students who will discover that the Sorting Hat is simply there to provoke their own thoughts, feelings, and choices which will shape the rest of their free, yet still uncertain, lives.