One of the ways J.K. Rowling leaves inquiries unexplained is by telling the story through Harry’s eyes. We really do not learn anything that Harry does not learn; and Harry constantly wants to know more about the mysteries of his past and the past of his fellow characters (Snape, Voldemort, Dumbledore, Hagrid).
There are many expectations begun in the first two Harry Potter books. Some are fulfilled, some are not. However, the important ones leave us wanting more. This is what pulls us to keep on reading the series. Without expectations being ignored, any literary text would be quite boring. We would find out the answers to what we were wondering and be done with it. After reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone I had many questions that I yearned to have answered. These included: Why did/does Voldemort want to kill Harry so badly? What happened to Voldemort after he was thwarted yet again by Harry in the end of book 1? How exactly did Lily Potter’s “love” protect Harry so powerfully? What are Severus Snape’s intentions at Hogwarts? And why does Harry seem so magically advanced for his age?
There is a tone at the end of book 1 that is teasing. It suggests there is much more to be revealed. Harry’s conversation with Dumbledore in the hospital wing is foreshadowing and intriguing. Dumblesdore leaves Harry wanting more, and therefore I wanted more. As I reader, I often felt what Harry was feeling, which most of the time was curiosity. After reading Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, my questions were: Is the Malfoy family working for the Dark Lord? Who is the heir to Slytherin? Why and how can Harry speak to snakes? Why does Professor Snape loathe Harry so much? And how exactly was Voldemort able to live through an inanimate object? Some of these questions were explained by the end of book two, while others were left open-ended. We were also led to believe that Hagrid’s giant spider Aragog is the monster roaming the corridors and causing havoc. This assumption, of course, is not true. The vital questions that keep the story alive through all seven books certainly were left unanswered. For example, it seems as though Harry has some unfulfilled destiny; we the readers, have no idea what it is at this point, or why it is so.
The text does indeed alter our expectations of what is to come. We expect that Draco Malfoy is the heir to Slytherin and that Harry must find a way to prove it! Yet, it turns out Draco is innocent in this case. By the end of book 2 we want more answers than ever. Through Harry’s eyes we are eager, and through Harry’s eyes we have got to get to the bottom of it.
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