The Sorting Hat doesn't sort /WAS The sorting hat seems to think Harry...

[delwynmarch]

No: HPFGUIDX 105874


I, Del, wrote:
> > Moreover, considering the reputation of Hufflepuff House (a load of
> > duffers, if I'm not mistaken), I doubt many people would *want* to 
> > be Sorted there.

happybean98 answered :
> Well, we are reading the story primarily from Harry's point of view, 
> so I wouldn't dismiss the house simply because Harry thinks it would 
> be embarrassing to be there.

Del replies :
It wasn't Harry who called the Hufflepuffs a load of duffers, it was
Hagrid if I remember correctly. Moreover, Hufflepuff quite simply
doesn't have *any* trait that would appeal to most 11-year-old kids.
Hard working ? Duh ! General niceness ? Rather die than admit it !
Maybe it would attract a few insecure kids, who would feel like it
would pamper them more than the other, more demanding Houses, but that
could in no way justify the vast amount of Hufflepuffs there is.

happybean98 wrote :
> Remember, Cedric Diggory was in Hufflepuff and got selected school 
> champion in book 4. He also had the admiration of both Cho and Fleur 
> at different times. Harry was even jealous of him.

Del replies :
He had the admiration of girls who were smitten with his good looks.
But other than that, he was looked down upon by many people, one main
reason being precisely that he was from Hufflepuff. As we are told at
the end of GoF, Hufflepuff is a House that rarely gets any glory. Why
would any normal kid want to be Sorted into such a House ??

I, Del, asked :
> > And finally there's of course the problem of the Muggle-borns : how
> > are they supposed to make their choice ? Just by talking with other
> > students, like Harry did ? 

happybean98 answered :
> But I think most eleven year olds have more ability to choose their 
> friends than you think. Remember, Harry met Draco Malfoy in the robes 
> shop well before he met Ron and Hermione, and even though Draco was 
> keen to befriend Harry, Harry didn't reciprocate. 

Del replies :
Yes, Harry met *Draco*, who would turn any normal boy away from him in
2 seconds. But what if he had met, say, Theo Nott ? What if they had
sympathised (they are both loners, and Theo never did or said anything
bad to Harry), and Theo had told him 
- I hope we'll be in the same House. I'll probably be in Slytherin,
all my family went there. It's a cool House when you want to really
get to do things, it really helps you, that's what my father told me.
And you, do you know where you'll be Sorted ?
- Oh, no, not really. But it would sure be cool if we were together !
- Well, anyway, let's meet at the station, shall we ?
- Sure, see you there !
Et voila ! Harry is in Slytherin.

happybean98 wrote :
> Also, Harry was an exceptional case because the Dursley's should have 
> told him about Hogwarts, and the WW, but they chose not to. Hermione 
> was muggle born, but she figured out the house system by 
> reading "Hogwarts a History". 

Del replies :
Actually *Hermione* is the exception here. She was probably the only
one who read that book. I'm pretty sure none, or very very few, of the
other Muggle-born students knew about the different Houses.

happybean98 wrote :
> but I still say that if Harry knew nothing about the WW, let alone 
> Hogwarts until a day or so before he was sorted, and he still managed 
> to figure out where he wanted to be, why couldn't anyone else?

Del replies :
(Harry learned about the WW a whole month before he got to Hogwarts,
but that doesn't matter to our discussion.)
Because not everyone else happened to meet Draco Malfoy and have him
remind them of the big brute that made their childhood miserable.

And because not everyone else was lucky enough to meet Ron on the train.

Anyway, Harry did *not* manage to figure out where he wanted to be. He
knew where he did *not* want to be, in Slytherin. He also knew that he
hoped to be with Ron, who waas *probably* going to be Sorted in
Gryffindor, but that wasn't absolutely certain. What was certain
though, by the time Harry got Sorted, was that Hermione had been
Sorted in Gryffindor, and Harry did *not* wish to be with Hermione. A
big mess, with no definite choice.

Del