Item from harry-potter-prisoner-of-azkaban by
A sentient, thousand-year-old wizard's hat that reads the minds of new students and sorts them into houses — sitting on its shelf in Dumbledore's office, knowing more about every student than they know about themselves.
The Sorting Hat contains the combined intelligence of all four Hogwarts founders. It reads minds, argues with students about their placement, and takes requests into account — it considered putting Harry in Slytherin and chose Gryffindor because Harry begged it not to. This year the Hat sits quietly in Dumbledore's office, having done its work at the start-of-term feast. Its role in Prisoner of Azkaban is background rather than central, but its presence in the headmaster's office is a constant reminder that it knows every student's deepest qualities — including the courage buried in Neville and the loyalty hiding behind Ron's insecurities.
An extremely old, patched, and frayed pointed wizard's hat, so dirty it might once have been black. A rip near the brim serves as a mouth. It sits on a stool in the Great Hall during the Sorting Ceremony. It composes a new song each year.
Also known as: the Sorting Hat, Sorting Hat