The magical hat that sorts students into Hogwarts houses is called the Sorting Hat.
At the start of a student’s first year, the Sorting Hat is placed on their head during a ceremony in the Great Hall. It examines the student’s mind, character, abilities, and sometimes preferences before assigning them to Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, or Slytherin.
According to Hogwarts history, the hat originally belonged to Godric Gryffindor, one of the school’s four founders. The founders enchanted it to continue sorting students after they were gone. Its ability to speak and read minds makes the ceremony both a practical school tradition and a major storytelling device.
The Sorting Hat does not simply impose a fixed destiny. Harry’s experience suggests that personal choice matters: the hat considered placing him in Slytherin, but Harry strongly preferred Gryffindor. It is therefore different from magical objects such as the Mirror of Erised, Marauder’s Map, and Invisibility Cloak.