Godric Gryffindor as Half Blood Prince?

[happybean98]

No: HPFGUIDX 105564

Sophierom wrote:

But maybe the Half Blood Prince is a historical figure,
> namely Godric Gryffindor?
<snip>
ALso, when it was mentioned that HBP was almost the title of
> CoS, I began to wonder about Gryffindor's sword and how it helped
> Harry save the day. Indeed, CoS seems to be a face off between
> Slytherin (basilisk, Riddle) and Gryffindor (Fawkes, HP).  
> 
> Also, everything about Gryffindor (the colors, the sword, even 
Fawkes)
(possibly Godric Gryffindor's bird? 

happybean98:

I agree with your theory that Godric Gryffindor is the HBP. I voted 
in the poll and found that most people who responded agreed with your 
theory, (and mine) but had to really search to find a thread with all 
the supporting reasons.

JKR's clue about the link being in CoS caused me to re-read that book 
and I picked up on the same clues you did about the significance of 
Harry defeating Riddle/Voldemort with:

1. Godric Gryffindor's hat, (the sorting hat)"'Twas Gryffindor who 
found the way, He whipped me off his head. The founders put some 
brains in me So I could choose instead," GoF p. 177
2. Godric Gryffindor's sword
3. Help from Fawkes, who has feathers that match Gryffindor's house 
colors, (red and gold)"A crimson bird the size of a swan had 
appeared...It had a glittering golden tail as long as a peacock's and 
gleaming golden talons...", CoS p.315

Sophierom:

> There are plenty of holes in this theory. Number one would be, why
> "half blood"? I don't know if there's any canon evidence to support
> the idea that Gryffindor was pure blood or half blood.  We do know
> that Slytherin and Gryffindor came to disagree about something ...
> perhaps it was blood related?

Happybean98:

Yes! The argument was blood related. "Slytherin wished to be more 
selective about the students admitted to Hogwarts. He believed that 
magical learning should be kept withing all-magic families...After a 
while there was a serious argument on the subject between Slytherin 
and Gryffindor, and Slytherin left the school." CoS p. 150
This doesn't prove that Gryffindor was a half blood, but it certainly 
suggests the possibility.

If the sword, hat and pheonix are tied to Gryffindor, and they help 
Harry defeat Slytherin's basilisk, (and his heir), it makes me want 
to think that maybe Harry could be Gryffindor's heir. It would create 
a nice symmetry. Also the fact that Harry's parents lived in Godric's 
Hollow suggests there is a link between Godric Gryffindor and Harry's 
family. 

Sophierom:
> Another big problem: so what if Gryffindor is the HBP? What happens 
in
> Book 6 to make a dead founder become a major (or at least title)
> character? 

Happybean98:

I thought about this too. It is a problem that the founders lived 
over a thousand years ago, when Hogwarts was founded, (CoS p. 150). 
So the chances of Godric Gryffindor popping up again 1000 years later 
are slim unless...

Godric Gryffindor IS Fawkes the Pheonix. If Gryffindor was a pheonix 
animagus, and continually dies and is reborn, it's possible that he 
is still alive as Fawkes and possibly could reassume his wizard form. 
( I say possibly because I don't know if the immortality of his form 
as a pheonix would carry over if he took wizard form once again.)

Other issues related to the significance of Fawkes include:
The Order of the Phoenix being the title of the resistance movement 
against Voldemort, (Slytherin's heir)

The feathers that make up Harry and Voldemort's wand both come from 
Fawkes's tail, "Harry's wand and Voldemort's wand share cores. Each 
of them contains a feather from the tail of the same phoenix. This 
phoenix, in fact, he added, and he pointed at the scarlet-and-gold 
bird, perching peacefully on Harry's knee", GoF p.697

All of these issues suggest to me that Fawkes has a significance that 
has not yet been revealed. 

I thought the case for Fawkes being the Animagus form of Gryffindor, 
and his home in the headmaster's office might mean he stayed around 
as a sort of steward for the school and helped all the headmasters, 
but this isn't true because Fawkes isn't present in Armando Dippet's 
office when Harry sees it through Riddle's diary. "Harry looked 
around the office. No Fawkes the phoenix- no whirring silver 
contraptions", CoS p. 243

Any thoughts?

happybean98