About Dean Thomas and the first sorting

[hickengruendler]

No: HPFGUIDX 59227

I have read quite a few post, that JKR made a mistake in the first 
book and forgot to sort Dean Thomas. I don't agree with this and I 
want to quote the part from the sorting to explain my opinion:

In "Harry Potter and the philosopher's stone", page 134, Bloomsbury 
edition is written (it's directly after Harry's sorting):

"He could see the High table properly now. At the end nearest him sat 
Hagrid, who caught his eye and gave him the thumbs.up. Harry grinned 
back. And there, in the centre of the High table in a large gold 
chair, sat Albus Dumbledore. Harry recognised him at once from the 
card he'd got out of the chocolat frog on the train. Dumbledore's 
silver hair was the only thing in the whole Hall that shone as 
brightly as the ghosts. Harry spotted Professor Quirrell too, the 
nervous young man from the Leaky Cauldron. He was looking very 
peculiar in a large purple turban."

After this paragraph Lisa Turbin was sorted, not directly after 
Harry's sorting. Thomas is before Turpin in the alphabet, that means 
Dean could have been sorted while Harry was watching the people on 
the High table. It's just not mentioned, because JKR writes from 
Harry's point of view and Harry's thoughts wandered off from the 
sorting to Dumbledore and the others.

Hickengruendler