Item from harry-potter-chamber-of-secrets by
A sentient, patched, thousand-year-old wizard's hat that sorts new students into houses -- and this year delivers the Sword of Gryffindor to Harry in the Chamber of Secrets, because that's what it does for true Gryffindors in need.
The Sorting Hat nearly put Harry in Slytherin. This fact haunts Harry all year, especially after the school discovers he's a Parselmouth -- a Slytherin trait. Harry visits Dumbledore's office and asks the Hat directly whether it made a mistake. The Hat, being the Hat, does not give a straight answer. But in the Chamber, when Harry faces the Basilisk alone and all seems lost, Fawkes delivers the Sorting Hat to him. Harry puts it on, desperately asking for help, and the Hat drops something heavy onto his head -- the Sword of Gryffindor. The Hat does not give swords to Slytherins. Its verdict is final: Harry belongs in Gryffindor because he chose to be there, and choice is what defines a person. 'It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.'
An extremely old, patched, and frayed pointed wizard's hat. A rip near the brim serves as a mouth. It sits on a stool during the Sorting Ceremony and on a shelf in Dumbledore's office the rest of the year.
Also known as: the Sorting Hat, Sorting Hat