Blood and Artifice (was The Sorting Hat)

severusbook4 severusbook4 at yahoo.com
Fri Aug 22 17:11:19 UTC 2003


No: HPFGUIDX 78423

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Shirley" <shirley2allie at h...> 
wrote:
> > Talisman wrote: <heavily snipped>
> > >Debates about the Sorting Hat blossom and subside on this site, 
> with 
> > >the regularity of the seasons.  I haven't followed a Sorting 
Hat 
> > >thread lately, 
> > 
> > >And, of course, we know the Hat would have been happy to put 
Harry 
> > >in Slytherin.
> > 
> > Margaret: 
> > I actually have a theory on this (see post #76525 for the whole 
> > thing, *I* think it's interesting ;-)  The gist of which is that 
> the 
> > hat, with its sneaky little sense of humour, was not going to 
put 
> > Harry in Slytherin HOUSE.  It commented on the fact that he 
didn't 
> > want to be in Slytherin, and then said :
> > 
> > "You could be great you know, it's all here in your head, and 
> > Slytherin will help you on you way to greatness, no doubt about 
> > that." (SS-paperback)
> > 
> 
> ->>snipped<<-
> 
> now Shirley:
> I don't have CoS with me, but I just re-read it last weekend.  You 
> are correct with your 'semi-quote' about what the Sorting Hat said 
to 
> Harry when he was sorted.  However, later in CoS, when Harry is in 
> Dumbledore's office and puts the Hat on again, the hat says - 
> something to the effect of - it stands by what it said, he would 
have 
> *done well in Slytherin* (emphasis mine).  This stood out to me, 
> because I was happily laboring under the impression that the hat, 
> during the sorting, was telling Harry that Slytherin would help 
him, 
> but that he didn't have to be *in* that house.  So, I think the 
Hat 
> *was* saying it would put Harry in Slytherin HOUSE>.
> 
> Also, I'm not sure that Harry has ever told any of his friends 
about 
> either of those exchanges with the Hat....
> 
> Shirley, who really needs to get back to work, but keeps getting 
> pulled back to see what the next posts will say....

Severus here:

the section of book you are talking about is quite misleading in my 
opinion.  Harry starts out by saying that the hat was wrong, does he 
mean that he thinks he belongs in the Slytherin house and was not 
suppose to be in Gryffindohr?  And the had says it stands by it's 
choice, and but says he would have done well in Slytherin, it is 
slightly misleading.  Harry asks DD about his own doubts of being in 
the right house, and DD replies only a true Gryff could have pull 
the sword out of the hat.  Does that mean Harry was saying the hat 
was wrong for putting him in G or that it was wrong for suggesting S?
Nothing seems to suggest either, and we are left wondering, maybe 
another of JKR's rather misty things that may be used later for some 
kind of confirmation?  And remember DD says we are defind by the 
choices we make.  And Harry chose not to go into Slytherin.

Severus "Gothic Nutter" Snape





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