Closely related to the x in Slytherin concept is the idea that one day, generally at the end of one school year, but sometimes just after his name comes out of the Goblet, Harry ‘wakes up’ to the realization that he can do something about his own situation. Some of these are done reasonably well; they have Harry go through a period of depression (often rediculously exaggerated though1) as a form of catharsis for example. Many others though are fatally flawed.
A frequent problem in these stories is the idea that Harry has “secretly” been thinking “Slytherin” or “Ravenclaw” (depending on the author) thoughts all along, hiding his “natural” personality out of some machavellian plot to strike only when ready. The problem, he is eleven years old when he supposedly comes up with this grand scheme. The story is essentially going “Oh. I’m not even a teen yet, and despite being surprisingly resilliant, I have been abused most of my life. I am now going to proceed to be massively insightful about a society I have no knowledge of, normal human interaction (to suspiciously realize I am being manipulated by adults with anywhere between four and ten times my experience), and any number of other things. And I, despite the hormones coursing through my newly prepubescent body, am going to pull off the perfect acting necessary to fully suppress my natural instincts for the next n years.”
Occasionally the author attempts to remedy the utter absurbity of this situation by a line or two the effect of “as I look back, I have not been acting like myself, its almost as if someone has been manipulating my emotions and personality, I should suspect potions I have never heard of!”
As I have amply demonstrated across this site, the universe that Mrs. Rowling has given us is massively full of plot holes. We do not need to add to them this way.
No one can literally lay in bed for two or three days without going to the bathroom only to wake up and suddenly need to bolt for it. Even if significantly dehydrated, it would not explain the sudden bolt at the end.↩︎