Hermione, Gilderoy, and What Makes a Gryffindor

[Audra1976 at aol.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 55747

A day or two ago, somebody brought up the question of what House Gilderoy Lockheart would have been in, assuming he went to Hogwarts.  Some of you were also discussing why Hermione wasn't sorted into Ravenclaw.  

I was thinking that, if anything, Gilderoy Lockheart would have been in Gryffindor, and for the same reason that Hermione is in Gryffindor.  The Sorting Hat gets into an individual's mind and finds out what qualities that individual *prizes* in a good wizard, and matches them with the Founder that prized the same qualities.

Hermione is very bookish and clever, which are characteristics that Rowena Ravenclaw prized above all others, but Hermione herself does *not* prize these qualities (even though they are her strengths) above courage and perseverence, as she admits to Harry in PS/SS when she is encouraging him to go on after the chess challenge.  Hermione *prizes* the same characteristics as Godric Gryffindor prized, so she was sorted into Gryffindor.

Likewise, I think it's evident that Gilderoy Lockheart *prizes* bravery over cleverness, hard work, or power.  Even though he did not actually perform the brave acts he boasts of in his books, facing down all sorts of dangerous monsters, the image of the brave hero is wants he wants to proport for himself.  He wants to attain this brave, laughing-in-the-face-of-danger image over any other.  So clearly he indentifies most with the qualities prized by Godric Gryffindor.

You might even be able to stretch this theory to place Peter Pettigrew in Gryffindor.  His House affiliation has been questioned too. I'm getting too drowsy to come up with something concrete, but maybe someone else can chime in with any evidence that Peter prized the same ideals of Gryffindor even if he didn't exactly embody them.

-Audra-