[HPforGrownups] Sorting- Snape and the Longbottoms- Speechless Harry

[Alexander]

No: HPFGUIDX 33891

  Greetings!

> Susanna/pigwidgeon wrote to us:

p> But even if this is a very valid explanation, something
p> still boggles my mind: After all, what we are talking
p> about here are 11 YOs! What choices can a child of this
p> age make or have made that would truly justify him or her
p> being put into a house with as doubtful a reputation as
p> Slytherin?Come to think of it, what WAS Harrys
p> choice? What had he heard about Slytherin so far?

  Does it matter what he heard?

  Harry's "choices" are (in no particular order):

1) Despite bad treatment by Dursleys he has managed not to
turn into an everyone-hating brat. It looks he had to make a
lot of choices along the way...

2) Madam Malkin's shop - 1st meeting with Draco Malfoy.
Harry instinctively rejects the prejudicious approach DM
advocates.

3) Hogwarts Express - Ron&Harry vs Draco&C&G scene. Without
even thinking Harry stands up to fight for his friend, even
though chances are not in their favour.

  And mind it, these are only the choices that we see. How
many other similar ones he made that we are unaware of?

p> Hagrids There isnt any wizard who turned bad who
p> didnt come from Slytherin (Pettigrew- ha,ha!), and
p> Malfoys appraisal of Slytherin being the best house
p> which rather backfired because of Malfoy being such a
p> snobbish slimeball. But I would hardly call Harrys Not
p> Slytherin! a choice, because you can only choose if you
p> have previously seen your alternatives.

  For my part, I don't really know what House would I be
sorted into (as I don't fully qualify for any of them), but
Malfoy seems to hit the house he is really good at.
  Harry's "Not Slytherin" is a choice as well. He is
refusing help to satisfy his own ambitions, which are very
strong (as we happen to know from later books).

p> Apart from the fact that the Longbottoms had their brains
p> fried by fanatical Death Eaters which is deplorable, they
p> might have been everything from Judge Dredd on acid to
p> near-saints. Same goes for Lily and James (seems to
p> become my favourite topic, though I thought that was
p> Snape)...

  The only thing we can do is try to estimate their
qualities via the prism of their friends and enemies that
are alive now. Anyway, I have a strong suspicion that a
person whom Lucius hates and does not respect is a Good Guy
(GG) with a very high probability...

p> (... some text skipped ...)

p> ...And its equally possible that Frank Longbottom was
p> one of the most fervent supporters of Dont ask them, AK
p> them and therefore the DEs no. 1 target.

  AK sounds really weird for me - the acronym associates
with "Avtomat Kalashnikova", rather than "Avada Kedavra".
The resulting meaning is the same, though... :)

p> So, everybody, what do you think of Harrys inability to
p> talk about his own emotions? Interesting for the SHIPpers
p> among us, isnt it?

  He can easily be unused to talk about his emotions freely.
Psychological complications of this nature are a common
thing - in fact not many people on Earth know when it's
really good to talk away their emotions and have the courage
to do so.
  For my part, I have no troubles understanding Harry here -
I myself had similar troubles.

Sincerely yours,
Alexander Lomski,
(Gryffindor/Slytherin crossbreed),
polishing his favourite AK-74N...