Sorting Hat as Major Player In the Wings?

[D.G.]

No: HPFGUIDX 69800

jdr0918 wrote:
> 
> The Sergeant Majorette says:
> 
> All four of the Founders "put some brains in" the Hat, but it was 
> Godric Gryffindor's hat.
> 
Me:

Ten-four, Sarge -- nonetheless, I still wonder:  how capable of 
independent action is the Hat (or, for that matter, any of the other 
animate/semi-animate "objects" around Hogwarts?) -- This is similar, 
in some ways, to the question about paintings/photographs.  
Obviously, in the world of Wizardry, the distinction between 
being "sentient" and not being "sentient" --or, as I put it somewhat 
jargonistically earlier, having "agency" and not having "agency"-- is 
not as clear-cut as it is in Muggle world [e.g., the Weasley's car, 
which definitely seemed to recognize familiar faces or voices, 
was "smart" enough to move toward them, and in fact played at least a 
somewhat active role in rescuing Harry].  I think it might be very 
feasible that we're going to discover, at some point, that 
certain "objects" play a more important role in determining the 
outcome of events than we have heretofore believed.