Random Thoughts on Sorcerer's Stone

I've begun my annual reread of Harry Potter. Here are some random thoughts that were posted to my Tumblr about Sorcerer's Stone:

 In Sorcerer’s Stone, Petunia hears what happened to Lily on the night of her murder from Hagrid at the hut. I wonder how much Dumbledore told her in the letter and how many details she heard for the first time. I wonder if she knows how famous her sister and nephew really are. But I mostly wonder how she stood there and listened to Hagrid.

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 “Seven years there and he won’t know himself.” — Hagrid, Sorcerer’s Stone p.58 It breaks my heart to realize how much Harry actually goes through in seven years at Hogwarts. When I read this line in the first book, I know that Harry will mature and change in his seven years at school. But, when I look back at it from the end of Deathly Hallows and see the man that he grew up to be, I am proud of Harry and everything he overcame. Hagrid was right. Looking back seven years later, I’m sure Harry didn’t know himself as the self-conscious eleven-year old he was here.

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“Do either of you know what house you’ll be in? I’ve been asking around, and I hope I’m in Gryffindor, it sounds by far the best; I hear Dumbledore himself was in it, but I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn’t be too bad…” — Hermione Granger, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, p. 106 New headcanon: Everyone has always wondered why Hermione ended up in Gryffindor instead of Ravenclaw if she’s the brightest witch of her age. She entered the magic world with only the knowledge she had gained from her books and what others told her. Here we find out that she was told that Dumbledore was a Gryffindor. I think it’s safe to assume that she knew about his accomplishments at this point. She entered the school admiring Dumbledore and the great wizard that he was. So I think that the Sorting Hat wanted to put her in Ravenclaw. But Hermione chose Gryffindor because that’s the house Dumbledore was in. 

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 I don’t know why, but I always forget that “Through the Trapdoor” is my favorite chapter in the Harry Potter series until I reread it. In the scheme of the entire series, this is probably a pretty trivial chapter. It doesn’t even contain a Harry vs. Voldemort battle. But it’s when I truly fell in love with the trio and everything they represent. I love that Ron and Hermione didn’t even hesitate in joining Harry when he decided to go try to defeat Snape. I love that once they got there, it took all of them to get Harry into the last section of the journey. It is so symbolic of their friendship throughout the series. It took all of them working together to get the key. Ron played a fantastic game of chess and sacrificed himself. Hermione figured out Snape’s logic puzzle. As a child this was a fantastic lesson; it was ok to accept help from your friends and you could depend on them. The entire trio was instrumental. It wasn’t just Harry’s bravery or Ron’s courage or Hermione’s intelligence. It was all of these combined. None of them could have done it without the other two. That’s what their unique friendship is about- counting on one another when no one else is there to help them. That’s why I love “Though the Trapdoor”- it perfectly symbolizes the amazing friendship and the love they have for each other that is at the core of this series.