Salazar & Slytherin - Quality of Qualities.

[delwynmarch]

No: HPFGUIDX 121965



Carol wrote:
"Just a reminder, as Steve (I think) has pointed out in earlier
threads, the Hat doesn't even bring up Slytherin until Harry thinks
"*Not Slytherin! Not Slytherin!*""

Del replies:
This point is often used to say that the Hat wasn't thinking of
Slytherin. But *IIRC* the fact is : the Hat didn't mention *any* House
before Harry started pleading with it not to put him in Slytherin. It
might be that the Hat would never have mentioned Slytherin, but it
could also be that it was about to Sort Harry into Slytherin.

Carol wrote:
"Only then does it state that he would do well there and ask him if
he's sure, in essence offering him the choice to accept or reject the
greatness Slytherin could offer him (SS Am. ed. 121). I don't see this
as a test but a way of making sure that this is what Harry wants.
Then, with Slytherin out of the running, the Hat opts for Gryffindor
over Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff as the House most suitable for a person
with Harry's "qualities." "

Del replies:
Hem :-) With that kind of reasoning, I could argue that Harry was, for
example, 50% Slytherin, 40% Gryffindor, and 10% Hufflepuff/Ravenclaw,
and that the Hat put him in Gryffindor just because Harry refused to
go to Slytherin.

After all, if Harry *really* had nothing to do in Slytherin, why did
the Hat lose all that time advertising Slytherin? Wouldn't it instead
have said something like "Not Slytherin?? Well, of course not
Slytherin! You definitely don't belong there!"

Carol wrote:
"If Slytherin House is notable for rule-breaking, it's ironic that
Snape is the rule-enforcer in the first four books."

Del replies:
Is Snape the rule-enforcer for everyone, or just for Harry :-)?

Carol wrote:
"I'd say it's fair to state that "a certain disregard for the
rules"--not necessarily in a noble cause--is at least as much a
Gryffindor trait as a Slytherin one."

Del replies:
I would put it differently : I'd say that quite a few Gryffindors
possess this Slytherin trait :-) Just like I expect quite a few
Slytherins to possess the main Gryffindor trait : courage. And just
like one of the main Hufflepuff traits, loyalty, was emphasized as
necessary for *everyone* in OoP.

Del