No. of students/why sorted?/Lupin's mistake (Snape's strange behavior)

[Adana Robinson]

No: HPFGUIDX 31718



Re the number of students at Hogwarts, I see no reason why JKR's estimate of 
about 1000 is irreconcilable (is that a word?  It's what my checkbook is 
every month...) with the few that we see.  Much the same way that there were 
435 crew members on the Enterprise (the original series) but we only ever 
saw 7 regular ones, and 2 red-shirted short-lived ones per episode.  And (to 
pick an example at random) are we supposed to believe that that high-rise 
apartment complex the Jeffersons "moved on up" to only contained one set of 
neighbors?  We see students, and events, filtered through Harry's point of 
view, and the things and people that don't directly impact him get shunted 
out of sight.

Re the sorting, my question is, why are students sorted into houses at all?  
I'm American, and know very little about British schools, but I have a dim 
notion that when they do have houses, kids are put into them at random (I 
say this with confidence, *knowing* that I will be gently but quickly 
corrected if I am wrong!).  Basically names are pulled out of a (mute) hat.  
But in the Potterverse kids are selected for houses based on specific, 
sometimes hidden (Neville) character traits.

Why?

Psychologists tell us that "labeling" a child (or a grown-up, for that 
matter) is a sure way to lock him into that type of behavior. If you 
consistently expect a certain type of behavior, you will more than likely 
eventually get that behavior.

Wouldn't that be a sure way to cause trouble?  Say you're only 11 years old 
and you've just been sorted into Slytherin.  You know the reputation they 
have, apparently it's no secret.  When you get the (quite normal) urge to do 
something awful, instead of considering the consequences, you think, "Oh, 
I'm fated to do this because I'm a Slytherin" and off you go.  You begin by 
using your house as an excuse--"I must be awful, I'm here, aren't I?" and 
the more you give into those impulses, the less able you are to resist them.

Not to say that there aren't truly rotten people in Slytherin, but some seem 
to be just weak, looking for leaders.  Wouldn't they benefit from being in 
houses with stronger people, who would be more likely to lead them in the 
right direction?  Hagrid says "There's not a single witch or wizard who went 
bad who wasn't in Slytherin."  Which is *not* the same thing as saying "All 
the witches and wizards in Slytherin went bad."

So why would you put all your kids with evil tendencies together with all 
your weak-minded "follower" kids?  Recipe for trouble, if you ask me.

The only possible explanation I can figure is that you need to know which 
kids have what character traits so that you can train them towards their 
strengths--possibly Gryffindor students might need more DADA training, since 
their bravery will land them in situations which more timid people might 
avoid, and Slytherin students might need extra Potions training because 
they're much more likely to poison someone than stand up to them in a fair 
fight--but that's a really weak explanation.  Plus it doesn't hold water 
when you consider that many houses have classes together.

So why are they sorted at all?  Any thoughts?

Re Lupin's mistake (now Snape's strange behavior)
>--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "cindysphynx" <cindysphynx at h...> wrote:
So Snape, in a rare and
> > uncharacteristic moment of professional courtesy and compassion,
> > brings the potion to Lupin.
> >
> > One thing about the whole potion brewing issue is intriguing to me,
> > though.  Snape has to brew the potion and then walk it from the
> > dungeon up to Lupin.  It strikes me as odd that Snape would do
>Lupin
> > this favor.  I would expect Lupin, as the junior faculty member, to
> > be required to visit the dungeon to retrieve the potion.  Maybe
>Snape
> > isn't that bad after all?
> >
> > Nah.
> >
> > Cindy

"heathernmoore" <heathernmoore at yahoo.com> replied,

>   I don't think Snape walking the potion up to Lupin would
>necessarily fall under professional courtesy, so much as "oy, that
>git *has* to have this, and now I have to drag it all the way
>upstairs because the lazy ponce can't be bothered to fulfill his
>responsibility now that Dumbledore has done him such a favor and
>allowed him access to the students although I'm sure once the
>Headmaster hears about *this* negligence on Lupin's part he'll
>finally listen to reason and it's really an imposition that I have to
>be involved at all and if he thinks he's in such good odor that he
>can slack off and be waited on as if I were a common house elf he's
>got another think coming."
>

*Grin* I think this sounds exactly right.

I wondered about Snape's behavior the first time I read this passage.  The 
first time the students see him bring the potion, he seems to be very 
concerned about making sure that Lupin takes it.  It's understandable that 
he would make the potion if Dumbledore asked him to, but given what we know 
(or think we know) about him, it would be more in character for him to make 
it, wait for Lupin to come fetch it, and if he didn't, to shrug and say, 
"Well, I did what I was supposed to."  If Lupin runs amok, so much the 
better, from Snape's point of view--another old school enemy down.

At this point (IIRC) we don't know that they are old school enemies, but we 
can already see that there is at least a massive unfriendliness, and this 
seeming concern on Snape's part is suspicious.  It seems to to HRH, too; 
they warn him about drinking anything that Snape makes.   And the other 
strange thing in this scene--Lupin is not concerned at all.  He drinks it, 
no problem.  If this is such a difficult potion to brew, it would be easy 
for Snape to put something nasty in it and claim that he made a mistake, he 
didn't really *mean* for Lupin to break out in boils.  But Lupin is not 
worried.

Is this all of a piece with Hagrid's absolute certainty that Snape wouldn't 
harm Harry?  Is there something that all the grown-ups know about Snape 
(besides the DE thing) that HRH doesn't?  Even Lupin, who has the best of 
reasons not to trust Snape, does so anyway.

Adana

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