What the Sorting Hat REALLY Said, and The Good Slytherin.

[Berit Jakobsen]

No: HPFGUIDX 84922

Annemehr wrote:

> To return to Berit's parenthetical question as to why Harry is so
> worried that the hat wanted to put him in Slytherin, the bulk of the
> answer is contained in CoS ch. 11, "The Dueling Club."  Harry finds
> out he's a Parselmouth, that they're rare, and that Salazar 
Slytherin
> was one which is why the House symbol is a snake.  Then Harry is
> panicked to be told that, for all anyone knows, he could be
> Slytherin's descendant.  Lying awake that night, he fears that he 
has
> Slytherin blood, and that the hat *wanted* to put him in Slytherin
> (obviously I think Harry's mistaken on that point). IMO, and this is
> the conclusion we are left to draw ourselves, Harry fears that
> belonging in Slytherin would mean that he's a Dark Wizard at heart. 
> This anti-Slytherin bias of his is something he has yet to unlearn,

Me:

I think your answer makes sense Annemehr :-) But, the reason I think 
Rowling makes Harry only hear the first part of the Hat's "speech" in 
CoS is not only because he needed to experience firsthand that he is 
a real Gryffindor, but also because Rowling leaves a lot of clues in 
CoS about Harry's connection to the Slytherin house in general and to 
Voldemort in particular. The book is just littered with hints that 
Harry is not ONLY a true Gryffindor... He seems also to have 
inherited something from Voldemort, whether only accidental or not I 
don't know, but I don't think parseltongue is the only thing that 
makes Harry "equal" to old Voldie...

Berit