"Slytherin" Hermione? (was Re: The Beetle At Bay)

[huntergreen_3]

No: HPFGUIDX 112220

Susana wrote:

>>I disagree that Hermione has *any* Slytherin traits:

Slytherin have a `thirst to prove themselves' and they
believe in the supremacy of pure blood. IMO, those are the two
required characteristics.<<

HunterGreen:
You might be missing a few things there. From what we've been told 
about Slytherins, they are ambitious, use any means to achieve their 
ends, given the choice will always save their own neck and come from 
a 'pure ancestory' (I take that to mean pureblood, or half-blood at 
the least). Slytherin does not *require* believing in pureblood 
supremacy, its just that many of the students in that house happen 
to. Of those requirements, I think Hermione fits two of them (she is 
ambitious and she uses any means to achieve her ends). Actually, I 
think Hermione fits in Slytherin almost as well as she does in 
Gryffindor...however she would never be placed there as she is a 
muggleborn. 

Speaking of using 'any means' to acheive her ends, am I the only one 
who's getting a little frightened of Hermione? Back when I was first 
reading the books she was my favorite character, but around the time 
she kidnapped Rita Skeeter in GoF she's worried me a little bit. 
Hermione is ruthless, strong-willed, and often dangerous. 

There's one other thing that we've been told about Slytherins, that 
being that they have a disregard for the rules, and on the surface 
that wouldn't fit Hermione at all. On the surface that is. Hermione 
obeys the rules when they work for her. However as early as PS/SS, 
she is already lying (the troll incident, which she *easily* comes up 
with a lie after a rather upsetting event and tells it believably to 
three adults), attacking a teacher, and sneaking out of the dorms at 
night. 
In CoS she convinces Harry and Ron to help her brew the polyjuice 
potion, which involved tricking a teacher (Lockhart) into signing a 
note to get a book from the forbidden section, stealing potion 
ingredients, brewing an owl-level potion when she was only 12 years 
old/convincing two other students to drink it with her when all three 
of them could have been poisoned, drugging two other students (Crabbe 
and Goyle) and sneaking into the Slytherin common room. Remember 
pretty much all of this plan came directly from her. 
In PoA, there's the whole time-turner incident, of course. And she 
went along with Harry to go through the whomping willow passageway 
instead of getting a teacher, but that was more Harry's decision than 
hers. 
In GoF of course there's the Rita Skeeter incident. Its not really 
the blackmail that bothers me, but the fact that she grabbed Rita and 
was keeping her in a jar for awhile. What if she had made a mistake 
taking care of her (she is in a jar after all), and Rita had died? 

In OotP, she spends a lot of the book trying to trick the house-elves 
into being freed against their will. There's the subject at hand, the 
continuation of the Rita blackmail, and of course the hex on the DA 
parchment (which she didn't warn anyone about). But the thing that 
concerns me most in OotP, is her leading Umbridge, herself and Harry 
into the woods. Of course *something* needed to be done at that 
point, but had her plan suceeded (without grawp's interference), what 
do you think the outcome would have been? Its rather amazing that 
Umbridge managed to live, isn't it? From Hermione's knowledge, when 
the three of them stepped into the forest, if the centuars found 
them, they would most likely kill Umbridge. Extreme situation, I 
know, but it begs the question: is doing good things evily good or 
evil? (the old question of 'do the ends justify the means?).

In any case, if Hermione's ideals weren't so firmly planted in the 
side of good and light, I would worry that she would be an easy 
person to be enticed into the DE's. She certainly has no problem with 
using extreme measures.

Susana:
>>On the other hand, are Crab and Goyle good at scheming? As Angelina
said they don't look smart enough to find the Quiddish pitch
without post signs. Nevertheless, they are ambitious. And they are
smart enough to hang out with someone who has the smarts to achieve
power (who already got them on the Quiddish team?).<<

HunterGreen:
I wouldn't say they are ambitious. I think with them, their house was 
more a process of elimination. They aren't 'courageous' (as they 
always tag-team an opponete who is usually smaller than them), they 
aren't 'hard working' or believe in fair-play, and they certainly 
aren't clever. But they are purebloods (I assume), and given the 
choice I'm sure the two of them would save themselves if it came down 
to it. As for having Draco as a friend, Lucius is most likely friends 
with Crabbe Sr. and Goyle Sr., so they might have known Draco before 
coming to Hogwarts. 
Based on Draco's size, I'd say *he* picked them, not the other way 
around. He needs them more than they need him. They are more suited 
for the quidditch team (based on their size) than Draco is (since 
Draco is a lousey seeker).

Diana wrote:
>>People are very complex. If you think about it, Hermione has traits
of every single house. She is very loyal to HP and RW, which is a
Hufflepuff trait. She is courageous (Gryffindor), cunning (Slytherin)
and very smart (Ravenclaw). She could have been chosen for any house.
She showed more Gryffindor traits than any other so she was put in
that house.<<

HunterGreen:
I agree that Hermione is a complex person, but I don't think she has 
enough Hufflepuff traits to have been picked for that house. The only 
one that she shows consitently is hard work. Hufflepuffs are 'just 
and loyal', hard working, and believe in fair play. 
Hermione is loyal most of the time, but when she has it in her to be 
disloyal. In PoA when Harry gets the firebolt she runs off and tells 
McGonnagal about it, without even warning Harry first. Don't get me 
wrong, I think that was the best decision (after all the firebolt was 
indeed from Sirius, even though it wasn't jinxed), but that would 
still be considered 'disloyalty', in the strict meaning of the word. 
Also, in OotP, she threatens to tell Molly on George and Fred, which 
is anything but loyal, but I suppose she isn't really expected to be 
loyal to the older brothers of one of her friends.
Considering the way she runs S.P.E.W., she certainly doesn't believe 
in fair play either. 

Personally I think Hermione might have fit in Slytherin if she 
weren't a muggleborn (as would Percy if he didn't come from a "muggle-
loving" family). But it was definitely for the best that she didn't 
end up there.