Slytherin Serpents, Talking to Animals (was Re:The Falling-Out )

[imamommy at sbcglobal.net]

No: HPFGUIDX 126080


--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "finwitch" <finwitch at y...> 
wrote:
> 
> --- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, imamommy at s... wrote:
snip
 
> > I have another question for you, or anyone who's got an idea:  
why 
> do 
> > you suppose Slytherin chose the snake, a long-standing 
> representation 
> > of evil, as his mascot, apart from an uncanny similarity to his 
> > name?  We know he was a Parselmouth, and while I'm disinclined to 
> > think every Parselmouth is inherently evil, it is interesting to 
me 
> > that this should be a symbol he became so connected with.  It 
makes 
> > sense for a Parselmouth to choose a basilisk as a defensive 
tactic, 
> > as it's something he or she can control, but why the close ties 
> with 
> > serpents in general?
> > 
> > This raises another question about magical (and non-magical) 
> > animals.  Why is it that certain animals (eg. owls, phoenixes, 
and 
> > certain cats) are able to understand human language, and able to 
> > express certain communication to their owners, while others are 
> not?  
> > IMO, the biggest drawback to having a rat or a toad as a pet 
> > (familiar) seems to be a failure to communicate.  (To be fair, 
the 
> > only rat I know of turned out to be a murdering animagus, and 
> > Neville's got the only toad I know of and I'm not sure he could 
> keep 
> > a slug form running away, no disrespect intended.)  Are there any 
> > witches or wizards who have the gift of speaking to different 
kinds 
> > of animals besides snakes?  And where, and why, does Parseltongue 
> > originate from.  There must be some practical, natural reason why 
> > some wizards, albeit a few, need to communicate with this species.
> imamommy
==========
(inserting Sherrie's quote)
Sherrie here:

Actually, the snake as a personification of evil is relatively 
recent -
generally dating from the Judeo-Christian cosmology (although the 
Midgard
Serpent
isn't exactly GOOD...). Prior to that, the snake was considered a
representation of wisdom. Witness the Minoan snake Goddess, the 
snakes that
wrap
around the wand of Aesculapius, Quetzelcoatl...

Sherrie

> Finwitch:
> 
> Now, for one thing snake is not even nearly always associated with 
> evil. For one, it's the symbol of medication -- of *healing*, and 
> nothing bad about that, is there? And it's supposed to represent 
> intellect, fake death etc. as well.

imamommy:

All right, I can accept other uses of the snake in symbolism, but I'm 
not sure how the Judeo-Christian application is "recent".  It dates 
back to the creation of the world.  This "mythology" if you want to 
call it that, has been carried through a lot of centuries, yes?

What I am really interested in, then, is why Slytherin chose the 
Snake as his mascot.  Theories, anyone?

> As for these *few* wizards able to communicate with snakes - well, 
> it's just a mutation. And Harry saving Justin from that snake shows 
a 
> benefit from that. Also, snake venom, eggs, scales, fangs etc. are 
> (or could be) important potion ingredients, which means that a 
> parselmouth, being able to gain them, has a benefit!

imamommy:
I never said there weren't benefits to being able to speak 
Parseltongue.  I thought of it more as a gift, or talent, than a 
mutation, but whatever.
> 
> As for other species... maybe Dumbledore can speak with Fawkes? Few 
> wizards can tame a phoenix, after all. And how many (besides 
> Dumbledore) can speak Mermish? How many wizards can speak 
> Gibbledegook?
>
imamommy:
Yes, but I think Mermish and Gobbledegook can be learned, like French 
or Spanish.  Few wizards seem to apply themselves to the acquisition 
of this knowledge, and it doesn't appear to be on the Hogwarts 
syllabus (or I'm sure Hermione would be taking more lessons), but 
IMHO, I never thought that Mermish or Gobbledegook were inborn 
talents, or mutations.  Parseltongue seems different.  From the 
evidence we have, either one has the gift or one does not.  

So my question remains, then, which animals can wizardkind 
communicate with?  And what leads them to choose particular pets, 
apart from owls and phoenixes and snakes?  

Also, does Hermione break any rules by having Crookshanks as a pet?

> Who knows, though - we may yet see... A toad. Maybe Toadsweat is a 
> potion ingredient...? At any case, most pets wizards have, are 
> *magical* somehow...
> 
> Finwitch

imamommy giggles at the thought of Neville collecting Toadsweat in a 
vial.