Salazar & Slytherin - Quality of Qualities.

[delwynmarch]

No: HPFGUIDX 121899


Alla wrote:
"Here is my speculation, which I am not sure I will keep for the
future. If as JKR said the Hat is certainly sincere, then it indeed 
possible that it was hard to place Harry, BUT as someone else said -
Harry's Slytherin qualities could be mainly Voldemort's induced and 
Hat may have not realised it. THAT was the difficulty, I SPECULATE."

Del replies:
It could be like that, sure.

But think of it : are you sure you really want Harry to have no
Slytherin qualities of his own?
His resourcefulness saved his life countless number of times.
His disregard for the rules allowed him to dare and confront teachers,
to look for useful information, to be in the right places at the right
times, and so on.
His ambition... It was because he wanted to do well at Quidditch that
he worked so hard on the Patronus Charm. It was because he wanted to
pay Umbridge back that he agreed to lead the DA.
And so on. I personally don't think that Harry would be of any
interest as the hero if he didn't have his Slytherin qualities. It's
those Slytherin qualities that give Harry the freedom and the purpose
to act that he needs to be the hero.

Alla wrote:
"Unsurprisingly, I am with Steve with one. I think that instances 
when Harry selfishly breaks the rules are MUCH more limited than 
those when he breaks them of good purpose."

Del replies:
The fact that Harry breaks the rules *generally* for a good cause
doesn't change the fact that he has *repeatedly* broken them for
strictly personal motives. Compare Harry to Hermione, for example :
she has learned to break the rules for good reasons, but she wouldn't
break them for personal purposes. That, IMO, is the difference between
a Gryffindor and a Slytherin.

And anyway, you do agree that Harry breaks the rules very regularly,
right? So I'm right to say that he disregards the rules *in general*,
right :-)? Which is a trait that DD says Salazar identified with his
own House... ;-)

Alla wrote:
"Breaking into Umbridge office, I would not agree as pure selfishness
 either."

Del replies:
I'm surprised, because this one seems very obvious to me. Would you
mind explaining your point of view a bit more, please?

Alla wrote:
"I think to compare "rule breaking" we should pick the Slytherin who 
actually  has "lines" to speak and so far it has been Draco mainly, 
unfortunately."

Del replies:
I completely disagree. Using Draco as the Slytherin-meter would be
like using Harry as the Gryffindor-meter. Both of them are above the
crowds of their respective Houses, and using either of them as the
typical example of their House wouldn't be fair.

Alla wrote:
"dresses as Dementor with his buddies to make sure Harry falls off 
the broom in PoA."

Del replies:
Technically, this one was not selfish at all :-) : they were doing it
for their whole House.

Alla wrote:
"I think Slytherins know how to break rules quite well mainly for 
selfish purposes."

Del replies:
We've got a handful of Slytherins who break the rules for supposedly
selfish purposes, and we've got a handful of Gryffindors who do it
too. I wouldn't dare making a judgement based on so little evidence.
Especially since the *biggest* rule-breakers we know of were *all*
Gryffindors : the Twins, but also the Marauders!

Alla wrote:
"I guess I still place Gryffs and especially Trio on significantly 
more unselfish rule breaking scale."

Del replies:
Well, we always end up in the same ditch : we don't know *why* the
Slytherins do anything. Motives, motives, motives :-)

Del