Cheering on Harry (was : Re: Who is the adult (Was: Who's to blame ...))

[darrin_burnett]

No: HPFGUIDX 100811


> Darrin wrote :
> > The Slytherins ARE the bad guys.
> > 
> > They aren't the underdogs. They aren't misunderstood. They aren't 
> > just waiting for a big old hug from some goth teen to redeem them.
> > 
> > They are thinly veiled cariactures of Nazis and KKK and Hitler 
Youth 
> > rolled into one.
> 
> Del replies :
> Erm... I think you've got things slightly wrong here, Darrin. It's 
the *Death-Eaters* who are all of that. Not the Slytherins. And I 
hope you don't assume that all Slytherins are bound to turn into DE, 
because that would be basically saying that 11-year-old kids can 
choose to be evil for the rest of their lives, which they can't.
> 

Who are the Slytherins we know?

Draco: Future DE if there ever was one
Crabbe, Goyle: Sons of DEs
Pansy Parkinson: Hateful little brat

Maybe there is some hidden, "good Slytherin" kid out there, but JKR 
hasn't chosen to show us yet. We must go with what we have.

And right now, the House of Slytherin is V-Mort's prime training 
ground for DEs. Will he get all of them? No, but he'll get enough to 
keep the movement going, and even those who don't join openly 
sympathize with V-Mort in spirit.

> May I remind you that if Harry hadn't met anyone before he put on 
the Sorting Hat, he would most probably have ended up in Slytherin ?

And if my uncle had breasts, he'd be my aunt. Harry DID meet other 
people and I also believe that Harry would have taken one look at the 
Slytherin table and one look at the Gryffindor table and make the 
exact same choice. (Or maybe he'd have seen Cho Chang and wanted to 
go to Ravenclaw.)

> No matter how bad some past Slytherins have turned out to be, I 
can't help but wonder about the justice of a system where innocent 
kids can be sorted into a House that is detested by the entire rest 
of the school. How much of a chance do they really have to make 
>friends outside of Slytherin ?

How much do they really want other friends? Doesn't seem to me like 
they want to associate with mudbloods and mudblood lovers.


> Del replies :
> You're mixing up several things that don't necessarily go together.
> 
> First, we don't know that Harry has suffered more than any other
> character. He himself admits that Neville's fate is worse than his 
own> in many respects. Of course Neville didn't have to face LV, but 
so> what ? Facing LV isn't necessarily the worst thing that can 
happen to someone.
> 

I'm sure facing V-Mort is a bed of roses in some eyes, but four times 
in five years? With a horde of dementors thrown in for good measure?

It's Harry's opinion that Neville's situation is worse than his. He 
puts others before him. Just one more thing to love about the kid, 
but I suppose since I've said that, you will instantly find something 
else to hate about him to balance the scales.
 
> Third, Harry might have done a lot, but he didn't do it alone. All
> alone, he wouldn't have managed much, if anything. Fighting LV is a
> team effort, and Harry needs all the others just as much as they 
need him. All alone, Harry is doomed and LV wins.

But we now know that if Harry just up and quit and flew his broom to 
South America to play Quidditch for Uruguay under an assumed name 
(Neville Longbottom! -- Shout out to Jenny from Ravenclaw) then the 
fight against V-Mort is lost. Only Harry can defeat him, according to 
the prophecy.

So, Harry is the key. Maybe he deserves a bit more respect.

Darrin