Hoggy Warty Hogwarts

You definitely know this one. And with good reason too, seeing as you can make up any melody you like to it. Yes, the Hogwarts official school song reassured the new student that anyone can be a great wizard.

‘Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,
Teach us something please,
Whether we be old and bald
Or young with scabby knees,
Our heads could do with filling
With some interesting stuff,
For now they’re bare and full of air,
Dead flies and bits of fluff,
So teach us things worth knowing,
Bring back what we’ve forgot,
Just do your best, we’ll do the rest,
And learn until our brains all rot.’

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone

The Sorting Hat Song

Perhaps the most prolific piece of headwear ever known, the Hogwarts Sorting Hat gave us a musical update on the school every year. Word has it that its work was more complex than some of your modern-day Muggle singer-songwriters.

‘Oh, you may not think I’m pretty,
But don’t judge on what you see,
I’ll eat myself if you can find
A smarter hat than me.
You can keep your bowlers black,
Your top hats sleek and tall,
For I’m the Hogwarts Sorting Hat
And I can cap them all.
There’s nothing hidden in your head
The Sorting Hat can’t see,
So try me on and I will tell you
Where you ought to be.
You might belong in Gryffindor,
Where dwell the brave at heart,
Their daring, nerve and chivalry
Set Gryffindors apart;
You might belong in Hufflepuff,
Where they are just and loyal,
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true
And unafraid of toil;
Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,
If you’ve a ready mind,
Where those of wit and learning,
Will always find their kind;
Or perhaps in Slytherin
You’ll make your real friends,
Those cunning folk use any means
To achieve their ends.
So put me on! Don’t be afraid!
And don’t get in a flap!
You’re in safe hands (though I have none)
For I’m a Thinking Cap!’

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone

An Egg-Cellent Riddle

With the Triwizard Tournament thrust upon him, Harry found himself facing many confusing nights trying to decipher the code of a rather screechy egg... After Harry took it for a relaxing bath, though, it finally changed its tune:

‘Come seek us where our voices sound,
We cannot sing above the ground,
And while you’re searching, ponder this:
We’ve taken what you’ll sorely miss,
An hour long you’ll have to look,
And to recover what we took,
But past an hour – the prospect’s black
Too late, it’s gone, it won’t come back.’

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Weasley is Our King

Ron’s dream of making the Gryffindor Quidditch team finally came true, and he even got his own chant. Unfortunately, it was put together by Slytherin, who weren’t the most complimentary of songwriters.

‘Weasley cannot save a thing,
He cannot block a single ring,
That’s why Slytherins all sing:
Weasley is our King.

‘Weasley was born in a bin
He always lets the Quaffle in
Weasley will make sure we win
Weasley is our King.’

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Odo the Hero

A word of warning. If you ever find yourself in a raucous drinking session with Professor Slughorn and Rubeus Hagrid, remember to gargle some salt water on the off-chance you get embroiled in a morbid sing-along.

‘And Odo the hero, they bore him back home
To the place that he’d known as a lad,
They laid him to rest with his hat inside out
And his wand snapped in two, which was sad.’

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince