House Qualities (Was: Re: Slytherin Purebloods?)

[meriaugust]

No: HPFGUIDX 88195

Sigune wrote:
In fact, the whole Hogwarts system turns on competition. The 
Houses. The House Cup. The Quidditch Cup. It might be useful if 
Dumbledore just started a School Reform instead of forcing rivalry 
on his students and then asking them to be nice and friendly with 
each other. 
 
 
Geoff replied: 
It is very common, in both public and state schools, for there to be 
a house system of some sort which is used as a basis for 
competitions (usually sporting) within the organisation. 
(Minor snipping) 
If you don't have some sort of competition to which students can 
strive then things like excellence can flag.

Meri now: 
Yes, but (and I say this if only to be argumentative) Hogwarts is 
not, and was not, ever what I would call a normal school, and I'm 
not talking about the whole wizarding curiculum. This is a school 
that, in the coming war between LV and DD, could not only be a 
potential target for attack, and a potential stronghold against LV, 
but also a potential recruiting ground for boh sides. While, in 
normal Haogwarts years, a little friendly competition is healthy, 
fun and beneficial (hey, I cried along with Oliver Wood when 
Gryffindor took the Quidditch Cup), at this point in time, when 
divisiveness and animostity among wizards could very well be the 
downfall of all magical peoples, I think that Hogwarts and DD owe it 
to the population to try to make the school a breeding grounds not 
for more animostiy and hate but for kindness, friendship, or at 
least cooperativeness. Now, I also understand that this message will 
be lost on most of the students, from the DA kids to the DE's kids 
(and I personally can never see Harry and Draco having anything but 
an antagonistic relationship) but Hogwarts owes it to the future to 
try, and if the staff are all as loyal to DD as he believes them to 
be, then I think there will be a good chance that we will see at 
least the temporary suspension of the inter-house competitions. 
Though, I hope that they will allow Quidditch to go on, perhaps 
without any points being added up at the end of the games. 
Meri (with apologies for rambling and also because she really really 
really wants to see Harry play Quidditch again)