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[gtprincesssb]

Ok so very dumb question...

I just need some opinions from the general public... This may seem very obvious but I just want some other opinions... what is the general thought about Harry being the heir of Gryffindor?

Comments

[nimbrethil]

I don't think that carries any weight though, and not least for what you yourself said. The Sorting Hat was inclined to put Harry in Slytherin, which, if being the heir of an original Head of House carried weight, would have meant that Harry was a Slytherin heir.

A more apt explanation of why the Sorting Hat chose Gryffindor for Harry instead of Slytherin would be that Harry possessed qualities that would have been highly regarded in either of those Houses, enough of an even divide that either House would have been appropriate and that Harry could choose his own way.

There's also the fact that before the Sorting Hat said anything, Harry was whispering 'not Slytherin, not Slytherin!', and it could be that the Sorting Hat chose the next best choice in lieu of Harry's not wanting the other House.

I don't think there is an Heir of Gryffindor. That concept arose within fandom, did it not? As a cliche opposite-equal to the Heir of Slytherin? The closest the books have come to any such notion is when Harry pulled the Gryffindor sword out of the Sorting Hat, which doesn't have to mean anything beyond Harry's character simply being an exemplary example of a Gryffindor student. Or is the Heir of Gryffindor actually meantioned somewhere?

One thing that interests me, though, is why anyone would think that JKR's killing off of all the grandparents as well as James and Lily in wanting Harry to have been utterly alone would rule out the possibility of his being the Heir. The original Heads of Hogwarts lived a thousand years prior to the story, right? So whether or not Harry is an orphan in the most complete sense of the word doesn't seem to bear any relevants on his candidacy as Gryffindor's heir.