The Sorting Hat is a fictional character and magical object from the Harry Potter series. It is a sentient magical hat at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry that is used to determine which one of the four school houses is the best fit for each new student, whether in Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, or Slytherin. The Sorting Hat originally belonged to Godric Gryffindor, one of the four founders of Hogwarts until it was magically given life by the four founders as a means of sorting new students to be selected for whichever houses after the founders' would have passed on, knowing that they could not live forever. It was normally kept in the Headmaster's office until it was needed for the Sorting Ceremony during the annual Start-of-Term Feast at the beginning of every new school year.