Tonks as Slytherin (Was: Phoenix Fire? / Tonks)

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 154246

houyhnhnm wrote:
> 
> I like the idea of Tonks being a Slytherin.

<snip excellent canon support>

> What does sensitivity mean exactly?  Does it mean being 
> prone to having one's feelings hurt?  Does it mean being 
> attuned to the nuances in a social situation?  Among 
> Wizarding folk might it mean a heightened awareness of 
> magical traces?  I'm going to have to give that some more 
> thought.  I do think that Slytherins are very quick to 
> perceive a slight, so they in that sense they could be 
> considered to show sensitivity.
>
Carol responds:
Wouldn't "sensitivity" in the sense of having your feelings easily
hurt (Moaning Myrtle?) be categorized as a "negative" trait (character
flaw) rather than a "positive" one (virtue)? Heightened awareness,
yes; maybe awareness of others' feelings or of beauty. See my comments
on Snape, who is "sensitive" to to the interaction of ingredients in a
potion, both what can go wrong and what can be made more effective, to
a degree that makes him a Potions genius rather than merely an
excellent potion make like Slughorn. 

As for Tonks being a Slytherin, I like your arguments and evidence
(and we also have Snape addressing her as Nymphadora, which would be
most unusual if she were a Gryffindor, and her shocked response to his
snide comment on her new Patronus, as if she's not used to his
rudeness). And it would be great if a character we know fairly well
and most of us like turned out to be a "good Slytherin." (Not the only
one, I hope.)

However, I'm not sure how she measures up according to the criteria
we've been given for Slytherin so far. Not a pureblood, but her
mother's a Black, so that's okay. If Snape and Tom Riddle can be
sorted into Slytherin, so can the daughter of a pureblood and a
Muggleborn. But cunning? Ambitious? Willing to use any means to
achieve her ends?

She can be very efficient (rescuing Harry on the train, dealing with
Stan Shunpike on the Knight Bus in OoP), if that counts for anything,
and Dumbledore himself listed "a certain disregard for rules" as a
Slytherin trait, which would fit her comments on why her HoH didn't
suggest her as a Prefect (Snape, the HoH in question if she's a
Slytherin, has a most un-Slytherinsih regard for rules, at least as
they apply to students--contrast Crouch!Moody).

I leave it to you to determine whether she fits the traits you listed
for Slytherin as the Water House.

Carol, wondering whether Barty Jr. was a Slytherin and hoping for the
sake of Slytherin's reputation that he was a Ravenclaw gone bad