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Discussion Questions

1. Why is Harry is so interested in the box Hagrid removed from Gringotts?

Because he’s Harry? I mean he’s a curious kid. I’d be curious too if Hagrid had removed something secret from a vault the same day it got broken into, and on my birthday no less. That date was seared into Harry’s brain, especially because it was his birthday, not to mention it was his first time anywhere magical. Also, Harry is almost predetermined to seek out trouble both by genetics and by fate. Harry is just like his father, James, who always flouted the rules. Plus, the fate of Harry and Voldemort are intertwined, which is why Harry’s wand shares the same twin core with Voldemort’s wand. Plus, it’s written in the stars, as the centaurs predict. The prophesy means that Harry will go seeking the thing that Voldemort himself seeks. It was just sort of bound to happen for the sake of the story.

2. Do you feel, from what we know so far, that Professor Snape is an effective teacher?

Do I think he’s an effective teacher? No, not based on the way he treats his students. He called his students dunderheads and Neville an idiot boy. Snape ignored knowledgeable students like Hermione Granger, picked on Harry Potter, and showed unfair favor towards Darco Malfoy and the other Slytherin students. That is no way to treat students. It does make me wonder why the wizarding parents don’t object more (I know Hermione’s parents are dentists and wouldn’t know better, but I’d expect the Weasleys to object more).

“You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making,” he began. He spoke in barely more than a whisper, but they caught every word — like Professor McGonagall, Snape had the gift of keeping a class silent without effort. “As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don’t expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses.  .  .  . I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death — if you aren’t as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach.”

Rowling, J.K. (2012-03-27). Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (Harry Potter, Book 1) (pp. 136-137).

Snape makes Potions actually sound cool, and if it weren’t for Snape being so vile towards his students, I think Potions would actually be one of my favorite classes (I always loved chemistry). Snape’s extremely intelligent and that he knows his subject — potions — inside and out Yes. He may wish to teach the dark arts, but he clearly has a love and admiration for potions — which is clearly where he excelled in school himself. Being as gifted as he is, however, he lacks the patience to teach novices. If there had been a university of wizardry and witchcraft beyond age 17, I’d say that Snape would’ve made a good professor to very advanced students. However, I think he resents having to teach students whom he perceives as untalented. I’m surprised Snape doesn’t pay more attention to Hermione in the beginning. However, I’m not sure he had the right temperament to be a teacher. Perhaps it’s his bitterness over not being able to teach the dark arts and not getting to marry the love of his life that makes him lash out. Snape couldn’t stand to look at Harry, who is the spitting image of Harry’s dad, James Potter, with the exception of Harry’s green eyes, which remind Snape of Lily’s eyes.

Bonus fluff question: 3. What would be your favorite subject at Hogwarts (in First Year)?

Transfirguration, by far. Not only is it some of the most complex and dangerous magic at Hogwarts, but it’s jut so cool. I would definitely seek to become an animagus like Minerva McGonagall.

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*looks, blinks*

WTH?

"That’s how you know you’ve really got a home. When you leave it, there’s this feeling that you can’t shake. You just miss it." Neal Cassidy

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hurray! hopefully, MRJ will see that and be able to feel proud and acknowledged by those fans who loved his portrayal of Baelfire.

"That’s how you know you’ve really got a home. When you leave it, there’s this feeling that you can’t shake. You just miss it." Neal Cassidy

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But here is my my question: was your husband placed into his “house” based on a set of mostly ill-defined characteristics at a young age? Magic hat aside (unless you’re husband has a magic hat in which case…we need to talk….) was he judged to meet certain criteria and then placed accordingly? Was it arbitrary? Did he get to pick?

No, he didn’t get to pick. He said he was randomly assigned to a house. Unfortunately, there was no magic sorting hat involved. But, that actually helps to illustrate my point. Which is better — to be sorted into a house at random or to be placed into a house based upon one’s personality traits, preferences, and talents? I would actually argue the latter  is preferable. As has been  previously written, the magic hat does take into account the wishes of the students: Harry, Ron, and Draco all end up exactly where they want to be. Important to note is that the sorting  hat doesn’t put Harry in Slytherine, where he doesn’t want to be. That in and if itself shows just how fair the sorting system actually is. As I argued before, I don’t think Harry is unique in this regard. I think many students’ wishes, different talents,  and personality traits get taken into consideration by an advanced, complicated magical algorithm  before the hat makes the best possible decision based on many different, complex variables. I think the house chosen is the best possible fit based upon the best possible information available at that time.

Now, I fully realize children probably change the most from the age of eleven to the age of 18. I myself did, but even though my new experiences helped add to my growing perspective as I matured, I also feel like the core of me remained the same. As Harry learns, who we are is shaped not just by our environment or parents’ values, but also how we choose to act when no one else is watching. Our preferences may vary over time, but as has been pointed out, our actions speak volumes about how we live our lives and how we treat others. Yes, some people are more academically gifted than others; yes, some people excel at sports. Perhaps those high-achieving students might be better grouped together in the advanced classes, because they thrive in that sort of environment like in Ravenclaw for example. Not everyone can thrive in an academically rigorous classroom, just as not everyone can excel at sports or the arts. But what I think J.K. Rowling is getting at with her sorting hat isn’t so much that some people are better than others or that one’s success depends only into what group one belongs to or which family one comes from.

That is why House Slytherin, which was founded by someone who didn’t want to admit muggle-born wizards to Hogwarts, gets it wrong. That is not to say that no good wizards come from that house,  but is it any wonder that so many dark wizards come from that house when it tends to attract wizards like Draco who bully and belittle anyone who is not just like him? That is why I propose that the hat really chose to put Harry into Gryffindor. It wasn’t just because Harry had a bias against Draco Malfoy or because Harry is exceptionally brave, but because of the sort of values Harry holds dear and the kindness and respect he had for underdogs like himself. Harry doesn’t care a wit that Hagrid was expelled from Hogwarts, that Ron is poor or that Hermione’s parents are muggles. Harry’s heart balks at the mistreatment of others because he himself was mistreated entire life. Harry never loses his spirit or compromises his values of fairness and kindness towards people who treat others on decency and respect. Harry may not get on well with Draco, but then again, Draco is a bully who bullies others just like Dudley did to Harry. That isn’t to say Harry is perfect, but he does stick up for people like Neville Longbottom, who is an easy target for people like Draco.

I do agree with the perspective that at the end if the day, it doesn’t ultimately matter which house  one belongs to as much as how one treats others and how one lives in harmony in the world. While our perspectives may change over time, it’s our actions and treatment of others that reveal what kind of people we are. Houses Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Gryffindor did have some bad eggs  (e.g Professor Quirell is from Ravenclaw) but isn’t it curious that they are so far and few between? Ask why is it that so many more dark wizards were from Slytherin? Could it be because of the values the founder of that house espoused? No wonder Voldemort himself attracted so many likeminded wizards from House Slytherin than from any other house!

Moreover, I wouldn’t be surprised if the hat has access to some deep reaches of students’ minds. Maybe the hat can read all of the minds, both hidden and not hidden. If so, maybe the hat had omniscient like magical powers that can read the kind of values one holds dear at one’s core.

 Now in the Greek system you do not have to pledge if you don’t want to, but Harry doesn’t really get that choice. Once that Hat shouts Gryffindor, he’s there for life… What if the Hat had decided “screw you Harry Potter! I’ll put you in Slytherin instead?”

I would say that while the hat is tempted to put Harry in Slytherine it doesn’t. Isn’t that the very definition of fairness? Harry got to have his say! Had Harry been put into Slytherin against his will, I’d better understand this point, but he wasn’t, so it’s a bit of a moot point to say “but what if he had been?” The hat probably only puts students where it knows they’ll be happiest. My feeling is that the students who get put in Slytherine are the ones who really want to be there, like Draco Malfoy. Was there ever a case of a student who actually hates his or her house and wanted a transfer? While I don’t know the answer to that question, it could be that all students are happy where they are because that is where they’re meant to be?

One last point before I end this long post. The story called “Divergent” was mentioned, and while I haven’t read it, my friend has. She said that there is a clear advantage of the Hogwarts sorting hat over the Divergent system; namely, in “Divergent” the characters  have to sever all ties with the faction they come from if they choose to change to a new faction. At Hogwarts, students are free to form inter-house friendships, as many students do in the later novels.

"That’s how you know you’ve really got a home. When you leave it, there’s this feeling that you can’t shake. You just miss it." Neal Cassidy

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I miss him. I miss Neal.

Me too. Most of all, I miss MRJ, but I’m glad to see he’s being productive and that he has a new show.

That PSA was golden.

"That’s how you know you’ve really got a home. When you leave it, there’s this feeling that you can’t shake. You just miss it." Neal Cassidy

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1. Do you think the Hogwarts Sorting System is fair? Should it be replaced?

Unpopular opinion: I think it is fair, especially if one takes into account that the sorting hat doesn’t only consider one personality trait when making a decision. As @Josophine pointed out, the hat takes into account Harry’s many exemplary traits, including his own stated preference not to be in Slytherin. I think it probably does the same for all of the students, and that it takes into account their wishes. I also think Harry isn’t unique in his ability to guide the hat to its decision. In the case of Ron and Draco, they both really wanted to be in Gryffindor and Slytherin, respectively, and that is where they end up. Also, in support of this view that Harry isn’t unique in his ability to influence the sorting hat is the intriguing case of Sirius Black. His entire family were part of Slytherin, and yet Sirius wanted nothing to do with his family’s biases against muggle-born wizards or their condoning of dark magic. Therefore, the hat sorted Sirius Black into Gryffindor. Could Sirius have had the same conversation with the hat that Harry did about not wanting to be in Slytherin? I think so.

Also important to keep in mind is that there actually is a real cultural background from which J.K. Rowling drew her inspiration for Hogwarts’ houses; obviously, magic sorting hats aren’t real, but the rivalry, the competition and the house teams really do exist in many British boarding schools. For example, my husband went to a British boarding school, and he confirmed that he himself belonged to a house. He said there were 4 different houses that competed with each other for house points each year. The competition was based on a system of merit points which students earned based on academic and athletic achievements. Moreover, demerits could be given for poor behavior. The advantage of the team system is that students were more inspired to become high achievers and not to misbehave, for fear of letting down their fellow house members. He said there wasn’t much of a downside since everyone knew everyone else, because the student body was small to begin with and everyone had classes together.

In a larger school, like I think Hogwarts is, having blocks of classes and teams can bring comfort to students. Had it not been for those teams, Harry might’ve felt lost in a sea of people. I think people have deep desires to feel they belong, which is why they tend to join clubs, sports teams, and the like. While Hogwarts does have different houses pair up (e.g. first-year Gryffindor and Slytherin students have potions class together) it would be better to have more Hogwarts-wide events. Perhaps having more student-run clubs with students from many different houses would be one way of building more inter-house friendships. We know Dumbledore’s Army lures many students from different houses together: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw. Notice, that Slytherin doesn’t produce students who want to openly defy Voldemort — with the exception of Severus Snape (but he’s not a student, but a professor) and possibly Narcissa Malfoy, Draco’s mom.

Where I would consider the sorting system to be unfair is if the hat’s decision is final or not. What I want to know is whether once a member of a house, then always a member. Do students have the ability to change houses after the first year to see if they might be a better fit elsewhere? Has any wizard or witch ever transferred from say Hufflepuff to Ravenclaw?

2. Is the Hat ever wrong?

That sort of goes along with my question stated above. I do wonder if the hat can sometimes make mistakes like in the case of Wormtail, who wasn’t brave at all yet was in Gryffindor. So why was he even sorted into that house? Interesting to note is the fact that Peter Pettigrew was a Hatstall — it took the sorting hat more than 5 minutes to sort Peter into Gryffindor House! Could Peter have been pleading to be placed into Gryffindor becase he hero worshiped Harry’s dad and Sirius Black? I propose that Peter was sorted into Gryffindor per Peter’s request, probably against the advice of the sorting hat. Peter was the one character in canon to go bad from that particular house, so I know that dark wizards can come from outside of Slytherin, but he was especially cowardly–even Voldemort said Peter only became a Death Eater out of cowardice.

On the chance it ever could be wrong, then what? What if Harry had been sorted into Slytherin against his will and ended up miserable there? Could he have gone to Dumbledore in protest? Are the students stuck there, or can they transfer out to another house? What if a student is a late bloomer or gets picked on in one house. Is there a chance to switch houses per a student or parental request?

3. Is Harry’s fear of Slytherin justified?

Yes, as discussed before at length. Based on what Harry knows so far, it is. And he had good reason to be very wary! He is already linked to Voldemort in ways he doesn’t yet understand. After what Mr. Ollivander said about the wand choosing he wizard, he’s wanting to distance himself from any further association with You-Know-Who. Yet the twin of Voldemort’s wand chose Harry. That would be enough to trouble any young boy. Though he doesn’t yet understand why that happened, he senses he wants noting to do with the type of “terrible greatness” that killed his parents and branded him with a lightning bolt. He would avoid being put into Slytherin, where that sort of magic is more than just tolerated by many of that house’s alumni. Also, Harry would’ve been surrounded by enemies (aka children of Death Eaters) if he’d been sorted into that house. If Harry had been sorted there and openly defied Voldemort in support of Dumbledore the later books, I doubt his fellow Slytherins would’ve responded positively to Harry.

5. As a very minor question, why on earth did the Hat take so long with Seamus Finnegan?

Like I wrote before, I think the hat takes into account the many complex wishes, desires and different personality traits of the students and then comes up with the best fit. so perhaps Seamus took longer because he had “divergent” personality traits.

Part of it could have had something to do with him being a Half-Blood. His dad is a muggle, while his mom is a witch. Harry was also a Half-Blood, which also could have complicated the Sorting Hat’s decision making.

Just to clarify, I don’t think Harry counts as half-blooded, seeing how his mom was a witch and his dad a wizard. To count as half-blooded, one parent must be fully muggle and the other fully magical. Technically, Lily was born of two muggle parents, but she herself was magical. Her son Harry, being the offspring of two magical parents, would count as “pure-blooded” (not that I actually care for such distinctions). Right?

"That’s how you know you’ve really got a home. When you leave it, there’s this feeling that you can’t shake. You just miss it." Neal Cassidy

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My original point was about what motivated 11-year-old Harry to distance himself from the house that produced his parents’ murderer. Let’s suppose that neither Ron nor Hagrid had told Harry which house Voldemort had been in. Suppose instead that Luna Lovegood had told Harry that Voldemort was a member of House Slytherin. I’m pretty sure preteen Harry wouldn’t have wanted to be sorted into it. It doesn’t really matter who told Harry what house Voldemort was in or even which house Voldemort had been in. What mattered was the objective fact of Harry wanted nothing to do with the person who made his life wretched the day he became an orphan.

According to Hagrid, “There’s not a single witch or wizard who went bad who wasn’t in Slytherin. You-Know-Who was one.”

Rowling, J.K. (2012-03-27). Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (Harry Potter, Book 1) (p. 80)

True, Harry does have that information from Hagrid that there has never been a wizard who went bad who wasn’t from Slytherin. However, as mentioned, Luna Lovegood could’ve just as easily have told Harry that bit of information. We’ll just have to take Hagrid’s word for it that no other Hogwarts house has ever produced a dark wizard. (There may have been a wizard who practiced the dark arts who graduated from a Hogwarts house other than Slytherin, but I don’t know of any).

Next, here is the thing that really makes Harry not want to be like Voldemort, and by extension, to be put into Slytherin. It’s what happens in Mr. Ollivander’s shop in chapter 5. Mr. Ollivander tries several wands on Harry, but but the wand that chooses Harry isn’t just any old wand.

“I remember every wand I’ve ever sold, Mr. Potter. Every single wand. It so happens that the phoenix whose tail feather is in your wand, gave another feather — just one other. It is very curious indeed that you should be destined for this wand when its brother — why, its brother gave you that scar.”

Harry swallowed.

“Yes, thirteen-and-a-half inches. Yew. Curious indeed how these things happen. The wand chooses the wizard, remember.  .  .  . I think we must expect great things from you, Mr. Potter.  .  .  . After all, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did great things — terrible, yes, but great.”

Harry shivered. He wasn’t sure he liked Mr. Ollivander too much.

Rowling, J.K. (2012-03-27). Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (Harry Potter, Book 1) (p. 85). Pottermore Limited. Kindle Edition.

From the start, Harry wants nothing to do with the type of dark magic that gave Harry that scar and took his parents from him. That is all down to Harry and his freedom of thought. I propose that it’s the event that happened in the wand shop that really puts Harry off wanting to have anything else in common with Voldemort. He already shares more in having a twin wand and a scar than is comfortable. Harry already worries about what that actually means. That fear accounts for Harry’s overwhelming desire not to be put into Slytherin, as we’ll read in the chapter 7. Harry has no idea why the twin wand of Voldemort’s wand chose Harry. What is clear, however, is that Harry is not pleased by the thought of having the twin wand of Voldemort, nor does Harry want any further association with the kind of “terrible greatness” of which Mr. Ollivander speaks.

I think that Harry’s desire to be disassociated from Slytherin has more to do with Harry’s own unspoken fears about why that particular wand chose him than it does a bias against all Slytherins or Harry meeting Ron. Harry fears the words that Mr. Olivander spoke about Harry. “The wand chooses the wizard, remember.  .  .  . I think we must expect great things from you, Mr. Potter.  .  .  . After all, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did great things — terrible, yes, but great.” Harry may not know much about magic yet, but he is clearheaded and discerning enough to know that he doesn’t want to be the sort of wizard that Voldemort turned out to be — the kind who does terrible, but great things.

The question I asked is two fold. Voldemort and the Weaselys end up in Gryffindor. Harry is now presented with a conundrum. The villain who killed his family (bad) and the family who just “adopted” and helped him (good) both belong to the same House. In other words, the house you belong to must not define the kid of person you are destined to become. He sees that a house can produce both. But, like I said, JKR set it up so that it seems black and white (or green and red) when the whole series–but specifically this matter–is anything but.

I understand where you were coming from, but I still don’t think Harry would’ve wanted to be a member of Gryffindor had Voldemort been associated with it. Harry fears being somehow connected with Voldemort after the wand incident. It might be that Harry would’ve seen the more nuanced view, but I still think the personal losses Harry suffered at Voldemort’s hands, combined with Harry’s fears about having the twin wand to Voldemort’s own wand, would’ve been enough to put him off and make him want to join say ANY house Voldemort had been part of.

Voldemort/Draco = Slytherin = bad. The Weasleys = Gryffindor = good. Therefore Slytherin = bad and Gryffindor = good, without thinking that maaaaaaybe there’s something in between. That maaaaaaybe there’s more to both houses than what Harry is seeing/hearing. That’s actually a HUGE theme of this first book as a whole, the idea that things aren’t what they seem..

I agree here. Both Professor Snape and Albus Dumbledore are prime examples of layered, complex characters who’re both more than they appear. They also just happen to be members of House Slytherin and House Gryffindor, respectively. Harry isn’t yet knowledgeable enough about Snape and Dumbledore to know their pasts. However, my point wasn’t to do with Harry failing to see that there are shades of gray and that each house can produce good wizards.

Independent thought doesn’t mean that you’re incapable of being wrong in your thought. If anything it means you have the capability to be wrong (or perhaps a better word here is narrow minded) more often.

I don’t think Harry is just being narrow-minded. It’s true he doesn’t know enough yet about Hogwarts’ houses to know that there was there could be a handful of good wizards from Slytherin. Yet, he’s also smart enough to conclude that he doesn’t want to be in that house because that is where Voldemort went. For Harry, his not wanting to be sorted into that house has less to do with unfounded prejudice against all Slytherins than it has to do with not wanting to be put in the same house where as a particularly dark wizard who killed his parents.

"That’s how you know you’ve really got a home. When you leave it, there’s this feeling that you can’t shake. You just miss it." Neal Cassidy

[Slurpeez]

This is a logical fallacy though. It’s an unsubstantiated “fact” in Harry’s mind. Not all bad wizards come from Slytherin. And not all wizards in Slytherin go bad. It’s our choices that define us (to quote Dumbledore). A boy from Gryffindor can just as easily chose to go dark side as a boy from Slytherin can chose to be a hero. So Harry doesn’t learn anything; he is told by people with a strong prejudice against Slytherin and that influences him.

No, it’s not, because I never said all bad wizards come from Slytherin nor that all graduates of that house go bad. You’ve misread what I wrote. I said it’s a fact that one particularly bad wizard who murdered Harry’s parents belonged to Slytherin. That’s a fact in the story, and one that Harry is aware of. That is not in dispute. My claim is that Harry could’ve learned that objective fact from anyone, even Draco Malfoy, and Harry would have most likely come to the same conclusion independently. I think Harry is capable of more independent thought than he’s been given credit for here. Yes, he’s underage, he’s inexperienced and unaware of how magic works. Yet, Harry IS fully aware of human nature having been afflicted by negative experiences for his entire life. The fact that a really really evil wizard who chose to harm people and killed his parents went to Slytherin is what really dissuaded Harry from wanting to be associated with it — not just the source of that new fact (i.e. Ron and Hagrid).

If Voldemort had been from Gryffindor, but Ron wanted to go to Gryffindor because it was where his parents and siblings had been, what would Harry think then? He’s using two examples (Draco and Voldemort) to color the whole house.

If Harry had found out that Voldemort had belonged to Gryffindor, I doubt Harry would’ve wanted to belong to it. You make Harry sound incapable of independent thought. It’s true that Ron wanting to go to Gryffindor and Albus Dumbledore being an alumnus of that may house may’ve influenced Harry. Yet, had Voldemort also belonged to that house, I highly doubt Harry would’ve wanted to associate with it also. Harry learned that Voldemort had killed his parents, and I think Harry, even at the tender age of 11, would’ve wanted to distance himself from that association altogether.

"That’s how you know you’ve really got a home. When you leave it, there’s this feeling that you can’t shake. You just miss it." Neal Cassidy

[Slurpeez]

What do you think would have happened if the Malfoys met Harry at the platform instead of the Weasleys? What if Draco had sat in Harry’s compartment instead of Ron?&

I think Harry could have just as easily have become best friends with a boy like Dean Thomas or Seamus Finnigan, or perhaps even Neville Longbottom. The fact that Harry just happens to meet the Weasleys first, and in particular, Ron, is just down to luck (or rather, author’s intent). The fact that Harry finds companionship with Ron is probably down to both boys bonding over Ron being from a wizarding family and being able to explain everything magical to Harry, Harry buying Ron lots of magic frogs, Harry’s fame, and the shared new adventure of going off to school together; those are the things that help to solidify their friendship. It is also the fact that in Ron Harry finds someone who, much like him, who is a bit of an odd ball. Harry is used to being picked on and feeling less than noticed, much like Ron, who is the next-to-youngest boy in his family. Harry likes the feeling of simply being able to do something nice for someone else like buying him candy. Up until a month ago, Harry had also had to wear hand-me-downs and had never had any money, similar to Ron. Harry likes the feeling of having something to share with someone for the first time in his entire life. Ron, in turn, gains notoriety by being friends with Harry. Ron even gets to explain everything magical to the famous Harry Potter. They’re 11-years-old, so things like having a famous friend who happens to know next to noting about being a wizard makes Ron feel special, especially because he’s number 6 of 7 children in a rather remarkable wizarding family.

Would Harry have become friends with Draco Malfoy had Draco sat next to him on the train? No, because Draco reminded Harry of Dudley straight off the bat the first time they met in Diagon Alley. Draco is as big a bully as Dudley is. The fact that Harry spent his entire life being bullied by Dudley means that Harry would not be friends with a bully like Draco is. As Harry told Draco, he knows how to spot the wrong sort for himself;  Draco put down Hagrid, muggles, and Ron in front of Harry. Also, Harry would’ve really disliked the Malfoys if he’d met them first; they’re just like the snobbish, elitist, and hateful Dursleys, only in reverse. The Malfoys hate non-magical people just as much as the Dursleys hate all magical people. They’re two extremes but they have a LOT in common: hate for the other. Harry, who is used to being hated and bullied by the Dursleys, has a heart for the underdog, which is partially why he’s drawn more towards people like Ron, Hagrid, and eventually Hermione. Harry would never have gravitated to the Malfoys, especially once he got to know them and what they did to oppose his own parents.

How do you think Harry’s sudden friendship with Ron colored his view on Slytherin? Do you think it affected his decision in the next chapter?

Ron and Hagrid are just a source of information about You-Know-Who. I don’t think Harry’s viewpoint was colored or slanted as a result. He simply learned the fact that the person who had killed his parents came from a certain house. While Hagrid and Ron dislike Slytherin and who comes from it, I don’t think Harry ever would’ve gravitated towards it once he knew the truth: the person responsible for killing his parents was a product of House Slytherin. The person responsible for taking away his family and leaving him an orphan could never in 100 years be the sort of person Harry would ever hope to copy or to associate with (this isn’t some story in which characters inexplicably and suddenly become besties with their abusers/tormentors). As soon as Harry learns that Slytherin is where bad wizards come from, there was no way Harry would’ve wanted to join that house. But Harry could’ve just as easily have learned that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named went there from any other wizard besides Ron Weasely. Harry could’ve even learned that fact from Draco and Harry’s repulsion to Slytherin would’ve been just as strong. Ron just happened to be from a wizarding family and was therefore able to tell him loads of information. But, like I said, anyone could’ve told Harry those facts, and Harry would’ve drawn his own conclusions about Slytherin being a pit of vipers.

"That’s how you know you’ve really got a home. When you leave it, there’s this feeling that you can’t shake. You just miss it." Neal Cassidy

[Slurpeez]

https://twitter.com/MRaymondJames/status/610496609944649728

"That’s how you know you’ve really got a home. When you leave it, there’s this feeling that you can’t shake. You just miss it." Neal Cassidy

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