[HPforGrownups] Re: Only Children/ Likeable Slytherins?

[Hana]

No: HPFGUIDX 37998

>The Sorting Hat itself doesn't give much away, only telling us of >their ambition, although the first Sorting Hat song does make the >chilling assertion that they will use any means to achieve their >ends.
>
>Eloise

I find this statement interesting.  The part about ambition isn't a problem -- after all, just because someone is ambitious, doesn't mean they're evil.  Wanting to eliminate evil threats, or stop wars, or become the best wizard/witch are all ambitions that might be considered noble.

The part about the ends justifying the means being "chilling" is really interesting.  You're making it sound very evil (which, granted it can be) but isn't that what Harry and friends do in every single book?  In PS/SS they sneak out after hours, they enter the forbidden corridor, they snoop for information when told not to (many times), they break past the traps to get to the stone, they trick Hagrid into giving information away etc.  The end result -- keeping the stone from Voldemort -- is very noble but they break a lot of rules to do so, not caring about the means as long as Voldemort is stopped. 

There are a lot of other examples -- the polyjuice potion and all the stolen ingredients, Ron and Harry using the car to get to Hogwarts, helping Norbert escape, cheating by cooperating to find out how to do the tasks in GoF -- the list goes on and on.  If those aren't examples of the ends justifying the means I don't know what are.  

Maybe it's an indication of why Harry would belong in Slytherin, or maybe it depends on which ends are sought and what means are used, but nothing the Sorting Hat says about the Slytherins, except possibly the phrase "power-hungry Slytherin" (GoF, 157), is actually an indicator of evil -- the traits are simply those that can be corrupted more easily depending on what a person allows to influence them.  

---
--Hana
"The greater danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high 
and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it."  Michelangelo 

Words to live by "Semper ubi sub ubi" 
(::grins:: always wear under wear)





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