Salazar & Slytherin - Quality of Qualities.

[dumbledore11214]

No: HPFGUIDX 121902


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:
 
No, of course not. I want Harry to have good Slytherin qualities, 
but I am not so sure that resourcefullness and disregard for rules 
is associated exclusively with Slytherin . As I said earlier I 
believe it could be that those qualitites are associated just as 
much with Gryffindor.
 
Call me  sceptical and I would welcome if JKR plants the big red 
herring with this, but I for now inclined to take her words that 
Gryffindor is her favourite House at face value. I am just not so 
sure that she associates that many good qualities with Slytherin 
House  in the first place.
I hope I am wrong.
 
Del replies:
 snip
  
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:
Well, yes, but I am convinced that it is a Gryffs trait also.
   
Alla wrote previously:
"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:

Sorry, it is just "selfishness" carries very negative, BAD 
 connotation to me. I guess I would agree " for his own purpose". I 
 don't see anything BAD  in his desire to talk to Sirius.

  
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:
 
Blinks and registers her very sincere surprise. But there are NO 
other Slytherins to use so far, am I right? Are we suppose to pick 
the character who is just a name for now?

Harry is indeed above the croud. Draco is for the most part THE 
ONLY  CROUD we can hear for the most part. We can assume that he is 
above the croud or we can assume that he is the typical 
representative of such.
 
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 :-)
 
 
Alla: 

Actually, I don't completely agree. I think that we may not know 
COMPLETE story about Slytherins and why they do things, but we were 
given some motifs for their action (pureblood ideology for example) 
and to me they are clear as night and day.


Just my opinion,

Alla