The Home Quotes in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

How we cite our quotes: (chapter.paragraph)

Quote #4

Harry spent as much time as possible out of the house, wandering around and thinking about the end of the holidays, where he could see a tiny ray of hope. When September came he would be going off to secondary school and, for the first time in his life, he wouldn't be with Dudley.

Dudley had been accepted at Uncle Vernon's old private school, Smeltings. (3.3)

We can't even begin to think about how dreadful it would be to go to Smeltings with Dudley. Luckily, Harry doesn't have to. This passage reveals that Harry was excited about going to school even before he knew of Hogwarts – just the thought of getting away from Dudley gives him "a tiny ray of hope." If just going to a different school is exciting, how much more awesome is going to wizarding school going to be?

Quote #5

…Harry could hardly believe it when he realized that he'd already been at Hogwarts two months. The castle felt more like home than Privet Drive ever had. (10.66)

Sixty days at Hogwarts, and Harry already feels more comfortable there than he did in eleven years at his aunt and uncle's. That says a lot about how unhappy he was at the Dursleys'; after such a short while, Hogwarts is already home. It's hard to say if other students also feel as at home at Hogwarts as Harry does, but Harry's definitely not alone in his excitement to arrive and reluctance to leave.

Quote #6

"I do feel so sorry," said Draco Malfoy, one Potions class, "for all those people who have to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas because they're not wanted at home." …

It was true that Harry wasn't going back to Privet Drive for Christmas… He didn't feel sorry for himself at all; this would probably be the best Christmas he'd ever had. (12.3, 12.5)

Malfoy is trying to insult Harry and the other students who are staying at Hogwarts over the break, but once again he falls short of the mark. Harry may not be "wanted" at the Dursleys, but since he doesn't consider it home, it's not much of an insult. He doesn't want to go there either. In fact, he doesn't even refer to his aunt and uncle's house as a home, calling it by its street name ("Privet Drive") instead of a home or a house. While Malfoy claims to "feel so sorry" for everyone who's stuck at Hogwarts, Harry is excited for what he thinks will be the "best Christmas" of his life.