OOP: Housing MMWP, 'Dung' and Crookshanks and names of places

[Alon van Dam]

No: HPFGUIDX 65682

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "nevilles_mimbulus_mimbletonia" 
<nevilles_mimbulus_mimbletonia at y...> wrote:
> --- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Kirstini" <kirst_inn at y...> 
> wrote:
> > Erin:
> > My first reaction after reading about Sirius's home and family 
> life, 
> > etc. was, "Gosh, maybe he was a Slytherin afterall." >snip< I 
> > suppose that begs the question... were the other Marauders also 
> > Slytherin?
> > 
> > 
> > Me (Kirstini), adding my "hem hem"'s worth:
> > Hey Erin. I thought you made a really good case for the narrative 
> > implications of Harry's role models/mentors having been Slyth, 
but 
> I 
> > don't think it's going to happen. I think they were all in 
> > Gryffindor, and I think the evidence we had before has been 
pretty 
> > much proven by what we see of them in OoP. Here are some bullet 
> > points (although everytime I try a post like this Yahoomort nicks 
> it 
> > off me. Must not like the layout):
> > 1.) JKR confirmed that James was a Chaser on the Gryf Quidditch 
> team.
> 
> It is canon that James was in Gryffindor, but all else is 
speculation.
> 
> > 2.)Lupin was made "the prefect" in an effort to influence the 
> others 
> > for the better. Only one fifth year boy is made prefect from each 
> > house, and the way this passage was worded (my boyfriend has a 
very 
> > tight grip on my copy at the moment, so I can't quote) made me 
> > assume that only one of MWPP could have been made "the" prefect .
> 
> I agree that from the Marauders, Lupin was the only prefect, but it 
> doesn't necessarily mean that they were all in Gryffindor.
> 
> > 3.)In the Pensieve, they are shown banded together against a boy 
> who 
> > a) is a Slytherin, b)believes in purity of blood, which they 
don't. 
> > Not conclusive, I know, but could PP have achieved such 
popularity 
> > coming from a house which stood against their ideals? Would they 
be 
> > picking on someone from their own house to such an extent in a 
book 
> > where the concerns raised by Hermione and the Sorting Hat about 
> > inter-house rivalry dividing pupils were constructed as a central 
> > theme?
> 
> Hermione, the Sorting Hat and Dumbledore voice those concerns about 
> 16-17 years after the Marauders were actually in Hogwarts.
> 
> When you say PP you mean Peter Pettigrew, right? I recall him 
sitting 
> there and doing nothing while James and Sirius went to pick on 
> Severus.
> 
> > 4.) Bellatrix Black was a Slytherin, and in Sirius's year. We 
know 
> > this from his conversation about Snape with Harry in GoF: "He was 
> > part of a whole gang of Slytherins who nearly all turned out to 
be 
> > Death Eaters...the Lestranges - they're a married couple" (GoF, 
> > Bloomsbury p461). Sirius doesn't know her that well - would this 
> be  
> > likely if they had been in the same house all through school?
> 
> Look at all the girls in Harry's year that he doesn't know well. 
The 
> only girl that he does know well from his own year is Hermione.
> 
> > 5.)Something about the tone of this quote - if the speaker was 
> > himself a Slytherin, why would he bother with the house 
> distinction? 
> > The narrative voice, particularly when focalised through Harry, 
> will 
> > give a character's house along with name and often instead of 
> > personality* - "Bob Jones, a scrawny looking Ravenclaw", when 
those 
> > characters are non-Gryffindors.
> 
> JKR has never mentioned the Marauders' House(s), except for James', 
> and that was in an interview (IIRC).
> 
> > 6.)In PoA, Lupin says "Well, let's drink to a Gryffindor victory 
> > against Ravenclaw! Not that I'm supposed to take sides, as a 
> > teacher..." (PoA, Bloomsbury, p182). This suggests to me that 
were 
> > Lupin not a teacher, he'd still be supporting Gryffindor - just 
to 
> > support his friend James' son? Or because he was one himself? 
> Former 
> > Hogwartians are notoriously partisan.
> > 
> > There you go, my argument. Let the picking commence.
> > Kirstini
> 
> I think that he's supporting Harry. I think that after witches and 
> wizards grow up and graduate from Hogwarts, all those House-rivalry 
> issues matter less.
> 
> In any case, I don't think that they are all either Slytherins or 
all 
> Gryffindors. I think that each Marauder is from a different house.
> 
> (The quotes here are from OotP, Chapter 28 - Snape's Worst Memory, 
> unless I mention otherwise).
> 
> Now, in the post-OotP world, we know that James was as arrogant as 
> Snape said he was (my opinion on this is that what probably changed 
> him was The Prank, but that's a different story).
> "...James seemed to be enjoying the attention. Harry noticed that 
his 
> father had a habit of rumpling up his hair as though to keep it 
from 
> getting too tidy..."
> 
> We also know that Remus is a book-worm.
> "Lupin had pulled out a book and was reading."
> 
> Peter acts like a plebe-y fangirl.
> "Wormtail was watching him with his mouth open. Every time James 
made 
> a particularly difficult catch, Wormtail gasped and applauded."
> 
> Sirius, as a friend pointed out to me, acts very much like fanon!
> Draco.
> "Sirius stared around at the students milling over the grass, 
looking 
> rather haughty and bored, but very handsomely so."
> 
> *sniggers at Harryissogay!subtext*
> (that was slasher!me poking through *s* btw, I don't think that H/D 
> is dead. On the contrary. So much more angst and hostility for them 
> to work on ^-^)
> 
> My own, personal opinion is that Lupin is in Ravenclaw. In fact, 
just 
> now I had the thought that instead of just laying on the grass and 
> relaxing, he immediately pulls out his book and starts reading, and 
> that sort of reminded me of Luna.
> 
> I think that Wormtail is in Slytherin. Like the Sorting Hat says in 
> PS/SS:
> "Or perhaps in Slytherin
> You'll make your real friends,
> Those cunning folk use any means
> To achieve their ends." (PS/SS, The Sorting Hat)
> 
> And Peter *is* cunning, isn't he? One has to be very cunning to 
avoid 
> being outed as the spy-for-Voldemort for one whole year (according 
to 
> Sirius in the Shreiking Shack in PoA), while you were under 
> Dumbledore's nose who, in the end of OotP says that he is "a 
> sufficiently accomplished Legilimens [him]self to know when [he is] 
> being lied to" (OotP, Chapter 37 - The Lost Prophecy).
> 
> Also, I don't think that capturing Bertha Jorkins and bringing her 
to 
> Voldemort is a once-in-a-lifetime stroke-of-brilliance like 
Voldemort 
> says. We know that Animagi are either really rare or else not too 
> inclined to register themselves at the ministry. If we go by the 
> theory that they are really rare, then even if Peter *is* a bit 
slow 
> according to James-and-Sirius standards, he is not slow enough that 
> he can't learn to become an animagus.
> 
> Sirius, IMO is in Hufflepuff. The sorting hat says about 
Hufflepuff: 
> "You might belong in Hufflepuff,
> Where they are just and loyal,
> Those patient Hufflepuffs are true
> and unafraid of toil[.]" (PS/SS, The Sorting Hat)
> 
> We know that Sirius is *very* loyal:
> " 'THEN YOU SHOULD HAVE DIED! roared Black. 'DIED RATHER THAN 
BETRAY 
> YOUR FRIENDS. AS WE WOULD HAVE DONE FOR YOU!' " (PoA, The Servant 
of 
> Lord Voldemort).
> 
> If Sirius says that he would rather die than betray his friends, 
than 
> that makes him, in my book, a very, very loyal friend indeed. 
> Besides, what is his animagus form? A *dog* - which are often 
sappily 
> described as the most loyal friend a man can have (or a woman, for 
> that matter).
> 
> A friend of mine pointed out to me that she would hate to see 
Sirius 
> in Hufflepuff, since they are "a lot o' duffers" to quote Hagrid in 
> PS. But I think that the same way that one of the things that 
> separate the school houses are all those House-prejudices. If you 
are 
> in Slytherin, than that makes you very, very bad. If you are in 
> Hufflepuff, then you're a 'duffer', to be in Ravenclaw means being 
a 
> walking encyclopedia and to be in Gryffindor means that you have to 
> be very, very brave.
> So untill (or unless) JKR will decide that Sirius is in 
> Gryffindor/Slytherin/Ravenclaw, I'll continue waving a banner 
saying 
> that he was in Hufflepuff.
> 
> - + - + - + - + - + -
> 
> In a different subject, did you notice how Crookshanks and 
Mundungus 
> Fletcher are very similarly described?
> 
> A description of 'Dung':
> "He had short, bandy legs, long straggly ginger hair..." (OotP - A 
> Peck of Owls)
> 
> A description of Crookshanks:
> "but it was only Crookshanks, Hermione's bandy-legged ginger 
cat..." 
> (OotP - The Order of the Phoenix)
> 
> - + - + - + - + - + -
> 
> You know how "Diagon Alley" is a street that goes diagonally?
> and "Knockturn Alley" is a street that you wouldn't want to go 
> to 'nocturnally', the "Knight Bus" is a Night Bus, etc, etc, etc.
> 
> Well, "Grimmauld Place" sounds to me like 'grim, old place', 
> and "Kreacher" sounds a lot like 'creature'.
> 
> - + - + - + - + - + -
> 
> Mimbulus Mimbletonia (who is posting here for the first time and 
> hopes that the post is ok).
> 
> "Listening to the news! *again*?"
> "Well, it changes everyday, you see."
> ~OotP~

Wow, Thank you for an amazing first post! I might even reply to it if 
I have the time, but welcome to the community in any case! Your post 
was most intriguing! 

On a side note, I picked up on Diagonally, Nocturnally, Night Bus, 
Grim Old Place and Creature. But on the Dung and Crookshanks-
similarity, never... I'll take a closer look at it!

Thanks again, and see you around!
Alon