The Sorting Hat

Able to talk, sing and look inside minds, this enchanted hat is primarily used as a tool to sort new Hogwarts students into one of four houses: Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Slytherin and Hufflepuff. The Sorting Hat makes a grand entrance each year offering a welcome to the new students, with a speech that is usually in verse, delivered through a rip in the brim. Originally owned by Godric Gryffindor, the Sorting Hat was enchanted by all four school founders, meaning it has an extraordinary intelligence. Students can argue with the Sorting Hat's placement (Harry Potter famously did so) but the Sorting Hat can sometimes be indecisive with sorting students, a phenomenon known as a Hatstall.