Item from Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling
A sentient, patched, thousand-year-old wizard's hat imbued with the intelligence of all four Hogwarts founders, which reads the minds of new students and sorts them into houses each September.
The Sorting Hat contains the combined intelligence of Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin — each founder imprinted their values into the hat so it could continue sorting students after they were gone. It reads minds, argues with students about their placement, and takes requests into account (it considered putting Harry in Slytherin and only chose Gryffindor because Harry begged it not to). The Hat's yearly songs serve as editorial commentary on the wizarding world — in Harry's fifth year it warned about the dangers of division, which the school ignored. It can also produce the Sword of Gryffindor from inside itself, which is physically impossible and which the Hat has never explained. Neville, who spent his entire school career believing the Hat made a mistake putting him in Gryffindor, pulled the Sword from the Hat during the Battle of Hogwarts and beheaded Nagini. The Hat knew.
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. When placed on a student's head it speaks into their mind, reads their qualities, and announces their house. It composes a new song each year warning about the state of the wizarding world.
Also known as: the Sorting Hat, Sorting Hat