Slytherin House again. Was: Re: Problem with OotP? (was: Pampering)

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 119260


> Potioncat wrote :
> "We should be see talented students working hard and doing what they
> need to do to be successful. Some of course would be cheating to get
> good marks and some would be studying. Not everyone would be bright,
> but everyone should be driven to succeed within their abilities."
> 
> Del replied:
> We've seen those things in non-Slytherin students, but not in
> Slytherin ones yet. I can of course imagine that it's only because
> Harry never runs into those hard-working Slytherins. I really hope
> we'll get to meet at least one of them in HBP, maybe one that did
very well in his OWLs ?

Carol notes:
Well, there's Severus Snape, who presumably scored very high on that
DADA OWL since he clearly knew the subject in great detail. I imagine
he did equally well in Potions. And there's Barty Jr. Admittedly, we
don't know for sure that he was a Slytherin, though as a pureblood who
later showed extreme cunning, he may well have been. At any rate, we
know he received twelve OWLs, evidently the one and only
accomplishment his father ever expressed pride in. So either Barty is
a studious Slytherin or a fallen Ravenclaw--either way a slight
deviation from the Slytherin stereotype. Possibly Quirrell, whom
Hagrid credits with having a brilliant mind before he encounterd the
hag and the vampires, was a Slytherin as well though of course
Hagrid's view of the facts is thoroughly distorted.

And for the current generation, there's Theo Nott, who is ostensibly
if noncanonically more intelligent than Draco and not part of his gang
despite a brief appearance together in OoP. Assuming that Harry gets
into NEWT Potions, he should have his chance to become acquainted with
Theo in HBP. And as Del noted, Draco seems to be a pretty good
student, and not just because of Snape's favoritism. We never see him
messing up in Potions (other than pretending he can't cut up his own
roots)--no melted cauldrons or Potions that turn out orange when they
ought to be green--so more than likely, he earned some OWLs, too.

Regarding the Slytherins' views of other houses, it strikes me that
Draco's view of Hufflepuff is similar to Ron's (or was it Hagrid who
called them "duffers"?) and his view of Ravenclaw as the second-best
house is similar to Hermione's. 

Carol, very much hoping that Theo will be an important character in HBP