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We know that when the Killing curse rebounded on Lord Voldemort, it split a portion of his soul which latched on to the only other living thing in the room - Harry. My question is, are we to assume that there were absolutely no other living creatures in the room at that time? I think it's safe to assume that there were insects, bacteria etc. And they are living, if I'm not wrong. So, is there even a possibility that the soul could have attached to them?

I know it sounds childish, but I was curious. One could say that non-humans in the HP world do not have souls, but that is not the case. We know that members of the Headless hunt, for example ride on ghostly horses and Mopsy Fleabert has written an entire book about animal spirits. So, was the room free from all organisms except Harry and her mother?

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Why does the piece of Voldemort's soul attach itself to the only living thing i.e. Harry?

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    Just let it go, people, just let it go already! It's been almost 20 years since the first book was published; those aren't the actual matters that Rowling wanted to make us think about with this book!
    – Gallifreyan
    Commented Dec 13, 2016 at 18:51
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    @Gallifreian that's a pity. I was just planning out writing a ff about gryffy the gecko's adventures at Hogwarts. Also, it's a legit question. i am also curious about souls in the potterverse
    – user68762
    Commented Dec 13, 2016 at 18:58
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    @Gallifreian - Says the guy named in honour of a 50 year old TV show that was made with such a low budget that they simply taped over some of the early episodes
    – Valorum
    Commented Dec 13, 2016 at 19:41
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    @Himarm Hm? I don't think the question is about the statement that Harry was the only other living thing in the room. It's about the feasibility of said scenario.
    – DBPriGuy
    Commented Dec 13, 2016 at 21:01
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    @Himarm - Given that the genesis of this statement is Dumbledore (who's wrong about Harry being a Horcrux), it seems valid to question his interpretation further.
    – Valorum
    Commented Dec 13, 2016 at 21:07

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Because Harry was the only living thing in the room.

JKR: So because Voldemort never went through the grotesque process that I imagine creates a Horcrux with Harry, (SU: Mm-hm.) it was just that he had destabilized his soul so much that it split when he was hit by the backfiring curse. And so this part of it flies off, and attaches to the only living thing in the room. A part of it flees in the very-close-to-death limbo state that Voldemort then goes on and exists in.

PotterCast - JK Rowling Interview (Pt 1)

Taken literally, it could be imagined that Voldermort's curse was sufficient to kill every other living thing in the nearby vicinity including small mammals, insects and bacteria.

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    i mean, ok. seems like a stretch to conclude killing every other living being, but i guess what else can one say
    – anon
    Commented Dec 13, 2016 at 21:03
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    @ChahatUpreti - As I said, if you take into account that the spell was sufficiently powerful as to destroy a house, it's certainly plausible that it could have sterilised the room.
    – Valorum
    Commented Dec 13, 2016 at 21:04
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    Even the cat? ?
    – ibid
    Commented Dec 13, 2016 at 22:25
  • @ibid - Especially the cat.
    – Valorum
    Commented Dec 13, 2016 at 22:56
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    I don’t disagree with the possibility of the curse having killed everything else in the room, but surely it’s worth mentioning the distinct possibility that bacteria, for example, are not sentient or ensouled enough for Voldemort’s soul to glom on to them.
    – Adamant
    Commented Dec 14, 2016 at 5:25