[HPforGrownups] Re: Heir of other houses

[Eric Oppen]

No: HPFGUIDX 84876


> Troels wrote:
> > The conflict between Gryffindor and Slytherin seems to me to
> > represent, to some extend, the conflict between good and evil
> > in the magical world.
> > The conflict between good and evil might be said to, in the
> > magical world, be fought by proxy through the inter-house
> > conflict.
(snip snip snip)

>
> Surely this view is an oversimplification. For one thing, it leaves
> out Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, which would also be "good" in this view.
> Look at Cedric Diggory, eulogized by Dumbledore and mourned by the
> whole school--even the Slytherins. Look at Dolores Umbridge, who is
> indisputably evil, but neither a Slytherin nor a Death Eater.

As far as I can remember, we never find out _which_ House Dolores Umbridge
was in during her time at Hogwarts.  For that matter, if she hadn't
mentioned being happy to be _back_ at Hogwarts, I'd have to say that we
wouldn't know for sure if she even _was_ a Hogwarts Old Girl.  She _could_
have been educated at Beauxbatons, Durmstrang, the Salem Witches' Institute,
or one of the smaller schools in Europe.


 Look at
> Dumbledore's words to Harry (I think they're DD's--correct me if I'm
> wrong): "The world is not divided into good people and Death Eaters."
> That being the case, the WW is not divided into good people and
> Slytherins, either. Snape, the Slytherin, is not wholly evil; Sirius
> and James, the (highly probable) Gryffindors, are not wholly good.

This is an excellent point.  Harry, being young and highly partisan, does
tend to think of the Slytherins as all-evil, but I doubt that they all
are...or, for that matter, that the DEs are all Slytherin Old Boys and Old
Girls.


 The idea of an heir of any house now that the memory of Tom
> Riddle has been exorcised from the Chamber of Secrets and his diary
> destroyed is inimical to this vision of unity.

This is also a very good point.