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

[Berit Jakobsen]

No: HPFGUIDX 84923

Arya wrote:

If Harry would have truly 
> had all the ideals of a Slytherin, he would have been tempted by 
the 
> Hat's words and would have been glad to be placed there.  Even in 
CoS 
> then, the Hat only says "I stand by what I said, you would have 
done 
> well in slytherin."  Harry kind of cuts it off and I belive the 
> unspoken last part of the Sorting Hat's explanation is "...if you 
> would have aspired to greatness when I presented you with the 
> opportunity."

Me: I know, I know :-) You're right! But you must admit it is kind of 
suspicious that Rowling chooses to let Harry remove the Hat before it 
has finished it's little explanatory speech? I just think she does 
that for a reason, and I don't think it's only to let Harry find out 
for himself he is a Gryffindor. At a lot of other places in CoS she 
does the same thing: Presents Harry with information to make him 
worry whether he belongs to the Slytherin house rather than the 
Gryffindor house; why, he even fears he is the Heir of Slytherin 
himself! Now, the book ends with telling us Voldemort is the Heir and 
not Harry, and that Harry is a true Gryffindor. But the reader is 
left hanging with a lot of loose ends; a lot of strange clues as to 
what really is the relationship between Harry and the heir of 
Slytherin, Lord Voldemort. Even Tom Riddle himself is puzzled and 
intrigued by the likenesses between himself and Harry... And with the 
extra information we get in OoP, we now know that Voldemort marked 
Harry as his EQUAL... Well, I'll stop there :-)

Berit