Lions and Lamp-Like Eyes (WAS: House Symbols)

[erisedstraeh2002 <erisedstraeh2002@yahoo.com>]

No: HPFGUIDX 48832

Theresnothingtoit asked:

> Why is the symbol of Gryffindor a lion and not a griffin?  The lion 
> is used to symbolise bravery I think but there is quite a bit of 
> speculation that Dumbledore's office is the same office that Godric 
> Gryffindor used, still containing his pet phoenix.  On that point
> why isn't the symbol a phoenix either? 

Now me:

The lion is used to symbolize courage and bravery, which are the 
qualities Gryffindor most highly prized in his students.

In the Chronicles of Narnia, Aslan the lion is a Christ symbol.  It 
could be that JKR had this in mind by choosing the lion as 
Gryffindor's symbol.  In Narnia, a donkey also poses as a lion, which 
could be suggestive of a traitor in Gryffindor's midst (although the 
Sorting Hat says it's never been wrong...).

I think having the phoenix as Gryffindor's symbol would have given 
too much away too early on in the series.  It's not until Book 2 that 
we meet Fawkes, and it's not until Book 4 that we learn that both 
Harry and Voldemort have one of Fawkes' tail feathers as their wand 
core.  The title of Book 5 - the Order of the Phoenix - clearly 
implies that the phoenix (probably Fawkes) will continue to be 
important in the series.

On a different but related note, I've been wondering about the 
repeated references to Mrs. Norris' "lamp-like eyes."  Virtually 
every time Mrs. Norris is mentioned, her "lamp-like eyes" are also 
mentioned.  I've just finished reading Goudge's The Little White 
Horse, which JKR said was one of her favorite books as a child.  In 
this book, a "dog" turns out to be a lion. Before we learn that the 
dog is a lion, the dog is described as having "lamp-like eyes."  

We know that wizards can turn into animals, but could it be possible 
that animals can turn into other forms of animals in the wizarding 
world?  Could Mrs. Norris really be a lion in disguise?  If so, could 
she have some sort of relationship to Gryffindor, since the symbol of 
Gryffindor House is the lion?  If so, this could explain why she was 
the first target of the Basilisk's attack (perhaps it's misdirection 
that we're led to believe it's because she's the cat of a squib).

~Phyllis