Magical objects were, for want of a better word, scary.
Many items through the ages had been charmed to perform all sorts of magic that nothing would surprise even the most hardcore wizard any more.
Well, almost all of them.
The Sword of Godric Gryffindor that could encase itself in whatever it had penetrated.
The wand of Salazar Slytherin that was, according to legend, the only wand that could sleep when it's master did.
The pensieve in the Headmaster's office, which had seen many memories, and held them as if they were precious gemstones.
The Room of Requirement, that had been used over and over again in many different ways for those who had been fortunate enough to find it.
The Foe-Glass that could alert you to your enemies.
The Marauders Map - which would tell you the movements of everyone at any time inside the Hogwarts Castle.
Alastor Moody's glass eye - which was terrifying to look at, but made it possible for him to see who was at his back.
And of course the Book of Magical Birth Recordings. This book was magical because it wasn't the teachers who sent letters to the students when they turned 11, telling them that they had a place at Hogwarts. Every single magical birth was recorded, and a special quill was used to write the names down.
Indeed a scary object.
But there was one magical item that couldn't be described as such.
Funny, joyful, honest, factual, and unbiased were the words that could be used. But not scary. There was nothing fearful about this item, in fact, he had the best job in the world, well according to him anyway.
The Sorting Hat.
He had seen many witches and wizards grace the halls of Hogwarts, and he knew that he had the toughest decision to make on some days. Most days it was plain sailing, but he was allowed to afford an error here and there.
Actually, the correct term for his 'mistakes' was called HATSTALL.
If he took more than 5 minutes to sort a student, then he had hatstall.
And these moments were so far apart that it hardly justified him being scary. The Sorting Hat had made a few mistakes in the past, and he never wanted to do that ever again.
He remembered them all.
Horace Slughorn
Gilderoy Lockhart
Severus Snape
Remus Lupin
Peter Pettigrew
Hermoine Granger
Neville Longbottom
In that order.
His HATSTALL moments had perhaps done harm and damage to those people, but he liked to think not. The war was won, and the hat himself had even fought in the battle.
He had been thrown to one side during the battle, but he had come back strong and determined when he had collected the Sword of Gryffindor and had Neville Longbottom kill Nagini with it. So he liked to believe that he had done good in the end.
But you try to figure out how an eleven year old's mind works in just seconds. Their heads are filled with a lot of things. Wonder at being invited to Hogwarts - who their friends will be - will the decision please their parents - the deepest desires of their hearts - will they be accepted - is there going to be pudding - the fact that they have magic- it all mattered.
And even though the Hat itself never touched Draco Malfoy's head, he had been quite easy to place. Being raised with Slytherins in Malfoy Manor - a Slytherin environment - it had been a no brainer to put him in that very house.
The most controversial sorting that the Hat had made to date however, were none of the above mentioned.
It was a young boy who had both good and bad inside him.
