Do Ravenclaw/Hufflepuff have House Beasts?

[Tom Wall]

No: HPFGUIDX 80497

Remnant wrote:
We have been led to believe that Fawkes was Godric Gryffindor's 
pet/companion at the founding of Hogwarts. It embodies his 
never-faltering, courageous spirit. And maybe he had a Griffin, too.

Tom:
Actually, for what it's worth, I have never received the impression 
that Fawkes had anything to do with Godric Gryffindor in the 
slightest. I don't think it was ever remotely implied by canon, and 
the first time I heard of it was when I joined this list. It does go 
without saying that we have such active, possibly overactive  
imaginations here. ;-) 

But I would love it if someone could just show me where Godric 
Gryffindor and Fawkes are mentioned in conjunction at all, aside from 
the fact that the phoenix's plumage is red and gold. I was always 
under the impression that Fawkes was Dumbledore's pet, not that he 
inherited Fawkes from anyone. Is there anything that would further 
the storyline that requires us to trace Fawkes' ownership back 
further, particularly *that* far back? Not that I can come up with. 
The storyline has enough backstory in demand already, what with 
Snape, Lily & James, and the prophecy.

I've noticed that most of the time, the `Fawkes-belonged-to-
Gryffindor' bit is an idea that shows up when people start talking 
about stuff like how "Harry must be the Heir of Gryffindor because it 
is only fitting that the Heir of Gryffindor meet the Heir of 
Slytherin in a final climactic battle" and so forth. But I don't buy 
it, on the basis that that development would be far Too Eww to be 
Treww. I may be stringent in applying rules to the series (as though 
I had a say,) but there is a difference between innovation and 
tackiness. 

On that note, I think that the whole "Harry-is-the-Heir-of-
Gryffindor, Fawkes-is-his-pet, only-a-*true*-Gryffindor-could-pull-
that-sword-out-of-the-hat-which-is-also—by-the-way-Gryffindor's-hat" 
line of reasoning is cute and appealing in a Star-Warsy sort of way, 
but ultimately seems to be yearning for far more than what we 
actually need to complete the series' plot trajectory.

As for the other houses, I'm quite happy with the additional 
attention they received in OoP, it seems like they're well on their 
way to being more developed in the future, with the obvious exception 
of the poor Slytherins, who are still getting the oh-so-superficial-
bad-guy-treatment from the author. Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff were 
certainly expounded upon in OoP, and particularly in light of the 
Sorting Hat's new song, I think we're going to see them get even more 
press in the next two novels. 

When we hope for this stuff, I think it's easy to forget that this is 
Harry's story. And the rest of it is just background and setting 
material, at least, that's the way it seems to me. So, we really are 
being quite demanding to expect it all, don't you think? Of course, 
one can always hope... ;-)

-Tom