What does canon based mean?

Question

Theres a contest to write a song/poem that the sorting hat in harry potter would sing. They ask that the song is canon based. What does that mean?

Answer 1

A canon in literature is a book, or list of rules. So it really just means a poem based on the rules of wizardry.

Answer 2

Something that is canon is something that sticks to the official details from the book. In other words, a slash song about Draco and Harry would not be cannon. A song about Harry and Ginny during their sixth year is cannon. Be careful though; a song about Harry and Ginny's wedding or something to that effect may be considered fanfiction and not cannon.