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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ruin Explorer" data-source="post: 9736283" data-attributes="member: 18">That's basically a massive retcon though isn't it?There's no evidence, textually, that it has anything to do with the student's choice (with the possible exception of Harry, who himself continues to insist the hat chose for him), until, years after the fact, after years of people, including newspaper columnists and reviewers, criticising this, Rowling clumsily retcon'd it. Everyone in the books acts and talks like the hat just chooses for them. Including Dumbledore in your example - he's implying it's not a choice, that in fact the hat chooses for people.So we can absolutely hold her accountable for this. Her attempting to later retcon something doesn't reverse how it obviously worked initially. If she acknowledged the retcon you could at least argue that she had a change of heart, and say "Okay, fair enough". But she never did. This is a pure later retcon.And when even were the events you refer to exactly? Which books? Because I'm suspecting the the Albus Severus (lol these names, at least it's not Cho Chang or Kingsley Shacklebolt I guess) one is in what, the Cursed Child? A play written 20 years later?I think it's fair to say "Well, she did later retcon that, albeit in a way many might find unconvincing", but to claim that was always her intention? No. Her own books don't support that.And Dumbledore's "Man this rubbish hat sorts people too early!" rings incredibly hollow and fake when he continues to let the hat do it. Pick a lane, Dumbledore.EDIT - Also pick a lane on whether the hat can be wrong or not, frankly, because Rowling has both said it never is, but also implied, via Dumbledore, that it is. Yet I believe textually (maybe I forget, it's been years and I didn't read all the books), all Slytherin kids are evil/side with evil? No exceptions? Only like, a couple of ex-Slytherin adults are not evil?EDIT EDIT - Also this is more of an observation than an argument, but... it seems like a lot of very serious Harry Potter fans don't actually agree with the claim "Kids just choose their houses, the hat doesn't choose", like at all, like not even slightly. That this isn't some clear settled issues that's been retcon'd successfully. It seems like most fans think you don't choose. Some are actively angry about the idea that you might choose, and think that's just nonsense, obviously the hat chooses, and the hat knows better! So I'm not sure your claim has the compelling evidence supporting it that you suggest. Please could you tell us the exact supporting sources? You don't need to quote or give page numbers, just the book or play in question would be more than fine.That's ignoring that it's almost as profoundly messed-up to ask kids to choose anything at 11. Hell I got asked which school I wanted to go to at 11 and I chose totally wrong (for the record I chose the school equivalent of Ravenclaw but to be fair the main alternative was basically Hufflepuff). Putting "Wow dat's messed up yo" in Dumbledore's mouth (who she also retcon'd being gay when the lack of gay representation was repeatedly pointed out! Bit of a retcon target on ol' DD's back) and having him do exactly nothing about it doesn't detract from it being messed-up either lol. Also are you asking me to buy the idea that the kids choose voluntarily, there's no quotas or anything, and Hufflepuff is the exact same size as the other houses, not 1/10th as large? Because I've met kids. I've been a kid. I know that like maybe 1-2 kids in a class of 20 would pick the house with an obvious dumb name and who are known for being basically "dim/weak but hardworking/decent". And also Ravenclaw would have like 2x as many people in it as the other houses put together and a wild mix of actually-smart kids and dumb kids who thought they were smart.</blockquote>

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