More Divination and the House of Slytherin

[saintbacchus]

No: HPFGUIDX 36428

Tex writes:
<<
This might explain why wizards are a little chary of
divination -- Be careful what you predict!
>>

I think it's like: be careful what you predict,
because you might make it happen. Harry's fear of the
"Grim" almost killed him several times, but it wasn't
the dog that was dangerous, only Harry's own fear of
it. If Divination is widely believed to be real, that
could cause all kinds of problems with self-fulfilling
prophecies - especially if everyone subscribes to
Trelawney's brand of prediction.


Kyrstyne writes:
<<
Mind you, she's not a bad person, but she can be
really determined & ambitious when she's working on
something. Isn't that how Slytherins are supposed to
be? Ambitious, hard-working? But back to my point, can
kind people be placed in Slytherin?
>>

Ambition isn't an inherently bad trait, it just lends
itself to bad things. If ambition is your dominant
trait, you might do anything to get what you want. If
it's tempered by a sense of justice or empathy, you'll
think twice. We've only seen Slytherin through the
highly biased eyes of Harry and his Gryffindor pals
(the same people who don't trust Snape even though
he's saved Harry's life repeatedly). There's no reason
to believe there aren't "borderline" Slytherins around
who aren't ruled by their ambition.

I will say that I think hard work is not a Slytherin
trait. I just don't see it at all. Which is not to say
that Slytherins are lazy, only that they're more
inclined to find a quicker route to the goal; contrast
with Hufflepuffs, who take the straightforward path in
a straightforward manner, even if it's slower. They have
no ambition driving them. I guess I really have no proof
of this, it just seems to go with the way the houses are
described. Thoughts?

--Anna