Slytherin as villains / Ender vs. Harry SPOILERS for Ender's Game

[pippin_999]

No: HPFGUIDX 178937

> Betsy Hp:
> And all of Slytherin left and joined with Voldemort.
> 
> "If your son is dead Lucius, it is not my fault.  He did not come and 
> join with me, LIKE THE REST OF THE SLYTHERINS." [DH scholastic p.641 -
>  emphasis mine]
> 
> Apparently Voldemort did a head count.  Apparently he had heads to 
> count.  Because Slytherin kids are bad kids and they are the villains 
> of the piece.  With Voldemort as their star.

Pippin:

And Voldemort never lies <g> 

Voldemort says whatever he thinks will hurt most, be it true or
false, in this case that the other Slytherins are safe because 
they have joined him. 

But Voldemort must be lying or mistaken, because Slughorn returns 
with an army of townspeople. He couldn't have done that if he and his 
students were in the custody of the DE's. We do not see any 
Slytherin students invading the school. Aberforth complains that
Harry has sent Slytherin students to safety, which I doubt he'd 
say if they'd gone to Voldemort. For all his grumbling, he didn't
take them hostage himself, either. 

In any case, the last word on the subject is Phineas Nigellus's "And let it 
be noted that Slytherin House played its part! Let our contribution not be 
forgotten!" -DH ch 36. 

And we find, in the epilogue, that it has not been forgotten.
The courage of Slytherin House played its part, because courage is
a *mainstream* value in the Potterverse.  That's the end of the
story. 

> 
> Betsy Hp:
> A little boy isn't terrified of ending up in the bad house, the 
> bigots' house, the traitors' house, without some sort of family 
> influence.  And James wouldn't run around saying Slytherin was that 
> bad if his parents disagreed at heart.

Pippin:
Erm...
Do you have any experience with kids? They'll say
anything to be provoking. "James, give it a rest!" is Ginny's
reaction. Harry tells Al not to believe everything James has
been telling him about Hogwarts. Then James is disappointed
not to get a reaction to his news about Teddy and Victoire.
Then he tries to scare Al about the thestrals. James takes
after his grandfather James more than his grandfather Arthur,
I'm afraid. He's a bit of a jerk. 

Betsy Hp: 
> I don't think Harry is lying.  I think Harry thinks Al's fear totally 
> unfounded.  Al has no chance of ending up in Slytherin because Al's 
> not a bad kid, and most importantly, he doesn't want to be in 
> Slytherin.  And Harry knows that this desire makes all the 
> difference.  Just *want* to be a good kid and that'll take you most 
> of the way. 

Pippin:
Where's the evidence that Regulus wanted to be a bad kid?
Slughorn doesn't want bad kids in his club, for one thing. 
So *he* can't be thinking that Slytherin is the bad house. He
pits himself against Voldemort, showing the courage to fight what
seems to be a losing battle.  

> Betsy Hp:
> 
> And yes, Draco dragged Goyle along when Crabbe set the room on fire. 
> But it was Harry who saved Goyle's life (or actually, Ron and 
> Hermione).  Without the Trio's brave actions, Goyle would have died 
> by Draco's side. 

Pippin:
Without Draco's brave action, the stunned Goyle would have died where 
he fell. Somehow, the wandless Draco dragged the unconscious Goyle
to the top of a tower of charred desks and refused to be rescued without 
him. If I was unconscious on the floor of a burning building, I wouldn't 
disparage the courage of the person who pulled me away from the fire 
and stayed with me at risk of his own life till help arrived. But that's just
me.  

> Betsy Hp:
> And does Harry ever understand *why* Snape did that?

Pippin:
He understands how it feels to be humiliated in a circle of onlookers.
He also understands how good  he felt when he gave information 
to a DE (Fake!Moody) who flattered his ambitions to be an auror. 
He understands how good it feels to take revenge on someone who 
humiliated you...yeah, he had quite an education in understanding Snape. 

> Betsy Hp:
> And again, when were we told *why* Regulus joined the Death Eaters in 
> the first place.  What was the attraction, what was the thinking?  
> Why did Voldemort become so powerful so easily?

Pippin:
"[T]hey thought Voldemort had the right idea, they were all for the
purification of the Wizarding race, getting rid of Muggleborns and
having purebloods in charge. They weren't alone either, there 
were quite a few people, before Voldemort showed his true
colors, who thought he had the right idea about things....They
got cold feet when they saw what he was prepared to do to get
power, though. But I bet my parents thought Regulus was a 
right little hero for joining up at first." -OOP ch 6

Young Regulus's reasons for joining Voldemort aren't any
different than  Harry's reasons for wanting to join the Order. He 
admires their leader, he wants to purify the WW of evil influences, 
and he knows it's what his parents would expect of him. 

Regulus saves clippings about Voldemort just as Harry saves
articles about Dumbledore -- and no doubt the Prophet was just
as capable of painting Voldemort in a heroic light as it was
of painting Harry as a villain. 


Pippin