CHAPTER DISCUSSION PS/SS 10, THE HALLOWEEN

[excessivelyperky]

No: HPFGUIDX 188424

Joey:

"By the by, Hermione (and probably many other people) also seems to sport a similar view about Hufflepuffs and Slytherins as she tells Harry and Ron that Gryffindor is the best according to what she heard while she thinks being in Ravenclaw should be okay. She never mentions Hufflepuff. Slytherin seems to have earned a dark reputation by then and so, I presume the prejudice against Slytherin was quite widespread and even contagious, seeing how Harry, Ron, James enter the castle with this prejudice.
(snip)"



--Of course, both McGonagall and Hagrid seem to be the staff members sent to visit the Muggleborn. We all know what Hagrid's prejudices are; remember, he tells Harry that all dark wizards came from Slytherin, even though we all know that is not the case. We don't know what McGongall tells Hermione or her parents, but I would be very surprised to discover she spoke about any house but Gryffindor in favorable terms. Slytherin may have earned a dark reputation; but given that new students appear to be indocrinated in it even before they come to Hogwarts, it's no surprise to see it from the very beginning. We also see Gryffindors in the past receiving favorable treatment even when engaged in activities that would suggest otherwise; note the career of the Marauders, for instance. It's clear that Rowling finds Gryffindor to be her favorite house as well, since Dumbledore often serves as her spokesperson. 'It is our choices' etc., and in Snape's case, 'sometimes we Sort too soon'--these appear to me to imply that if someone shows virtue, they naturally belong in Gryffindor and nowhere else. Just my opinion, of course.

Jean Lamb
tlambs1138 at charter.net
excessiveperky at LJ
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