Innocent Angel
A bit of a mess chapter. What do you mean as if they had a private conversation? The hat talks in his mind, there is no more private than that. His reaction, or the decision to insert him in that point is questionable, trying to make your MC seem stupid? Yes, yes, authors think "How would I react in this situation", rather than the important questions "How will this look to the readers", let me tell you. Slow on his feet, slow on the uptake. The house decision is illogical: Dark arts...... what does that even mean? Smart, bright. Ravenclaw.