[HPforGrownups] Sorting Hat (was: muggle baiting...)

[Magpie]

No: HPFGUIDX 155425


Dungrollin:
It gives us a nice explanation for why Pettigrew, despite being a
coward, ended up in Gryffindor - because he admires bravery in
others (fawning over James and Sirius), and wishes he had the
courage to do what's right instead of what's easy himself ("I was
never brave, like you and Remus and James.") This also explains why
the twins are in Gryffindor - they're ambitious and cunning, but
when the chips are down, they think the most important thing is
being brave and fighting for what's right. And Hermione, of course,
highly prizes books and cleverness, but freely admits in book 1 that
there are more important things like friendship and bravery (don't
have the quote on me), which is presumably why she ended up in
Gryffindor.


Magpie:
I've always thought that was how the house system works--though with the 
Twins one is, imo, forced to take it on faith because they're really not 
shown prizing doing the right thing over being ambitious.  Percy, to me, is 
a better example of this sort of thing.  He's been reading books on ambition 
etc., but we see that underneath he's more motivated by a desire to do the 
right thing, even when he's unable to correctly identify the right thing.  I 
have never gotten the impression that Percy is pretending to suck up to the 
Ministry while really believing in Harry and Dumbledore.

With the Twins, though, well...we've got examples of them being angry when 
one of their own gets hit, and they do seem to want to be where the action 
is, like Sydney said.  They attack authority they don't respect(but then, so 
do Slytherins).  But beyond that they seem most motivated by making money 
and ambition.  For all their irreverent attitude about other people they 
actually seem very serious about seeking money and the power that that 
brings.  They provided the Love Potion that dosed Ron, the idea by which 
Ron's poison was brought in, the Peruvian Darkness Powder.  Obviously they 
didn't intentionally want to produce any of these results.  They don't seem 
to be fulfilling any contracts for Death Eaters like they are for the 
Ministry.

But neither are they presented as being particularly concerned about that. 
They're pleased at having contracts from the Ministry, and also happy to 
help kids circumvent the security at Hogwarts.  They don't seem to think 
it's their job to worry about how their stuff is being used (beyond their 
personal quirks and preferences, like not wanting Ginny to have Love 
Potions).  And many agree, which is fine, but it seems to suggest to me that 
the Twins' priorities are more connected to their ambition, and that seems 
consistent with the way they've always been portrayed.  Just as with 
Hermione we see her interested in schoolwork etc. but she's always been more 
driven by her admiration of courage and her friends.

-m