Sorting Hat for a Day

[Jean Lamb]

No: HPFGUIDX 188458

>Potioncat-in-the-Hat
 
>The chapter discussion on "The Sorting Hat" has generated a long thread
about house traits and values. So, I was thinking it might be fun to see how
each of us would do if we were able to be 
>the Sorting Hat for a day. Here are some questions, just for fun. Please
provide canon support for your answers and feel free to add other questions.

>Which characters do you think exemplify the attributes of their houses?
There can be multiple if you think there are several, but choose one main
representative from each house.
 
--Ginny Weasley, Gryffindor. She's cheerful, outgoing, (ok, before the
little problem she had with the diary), and very straightforward. She's also
ready to use violence instead of words when she's angry with someone, which
she usually gets away with. Unfortunately, this happens a lot in canon with
Gryffindors (Marauders, twins, Harry when he slices Draco open, etc.). 
 
--Theodore Nott, Slytherin. You have no idea what he thinks or what he's
planning, and generally goes unnoticed. Frankly, he sounds very intelligent
in this regard. 
 
--Luna Lovegood, Ravenclaw. She seeks knowledge anywhere and everywhere, and
doesn't mind looking silly as long as she's learning something. 
 
--Cedric Diggory, Hufflepuff. He's a 19th century British recruiting poster
come to life. Honorable, steadfast, fair-minded, what happened to him was
very unfair. For once Hufflepuff had a chance to shine, till Barty Crouch
Jr. had other thoughts. 

Are there any characters who don't live up to their house standards?

--Draco Malfoy is as subtle as a rock. He refuses to stop, look, and listen
in a world that is much more dangerous than he thinks it is, and presumes
that he is superior without bothering to check (although Hermione bothers
the heck out of him, quite likely because Lucius is embarrassed to see a
Mudblood ahead of his son). He telegraphs his every move, and it isn't till
the 6th book till he is anywhere as sneaky as the Trio are. 
 
Dumbledore thinks they sort too soon. Are there any characters you would
sort differently than the Sorting Hat did?
 
--Percy would have made a splendid Hufflepuff, where his hard work and
diligence would have been appreciated, and not mocked. Ginny (after her
first year) would have made a really good Slytherin; as a little sister, her
learned ability to sneak around and do precisely what she wants while still
looking relatively innocent would have served her well in the house of the
Snake (though I'm sure Pansy would have strangled her somewhere along the
way). Snape would have been loyal to anyone who was loyal to him; but
Gryffindor would have been less safe than Slytherin, since the Marauders
would have had access to where he slept (and house loyalty would not have
gotten in the way of James' jealousy over Lily). The twins would have turned
Snape's hair gray if they'd sorted Slytherin, but frankly, that was where
they belonged. 

Are there any characters who are sorted appropriately, but you think would
have fit in another house just as well?

--Hermione would have been among her own kind (bookaholics) in Ravenclaw.
Neville might have made a good Hufflepuff, as would Ron, since both are so
loyal to their friends. Remus Lupin might have done better in Slytherin than
people think--some of them might have thought that a werewolf was way cool,
not terrible. He would also have done all right in Ravenclaw, since he
adored books as well. Snape would have been less persecuted in Hufflepuff;
his fellow House members would have thought four on one unfair, and he was
quite hard-working. Given that Spinner's End was basically insulated by
books, he would have done all right in Ravenclaw, too. Both Crabbe and Goyle
might have done just fine in Hufflepuff--they were quite loyal to Draco till
the end. Draco, if he survived the first few weeks of getting his head beat
in by people he'd insulted, might actually have thrived in Gryffindor once
he'd learned to crank it back a little. He was far too outspoken to make
that good a fit to Slytherin. 

Do you think being in a different house would have made a difference in a
character's life?
 
Yes. Neville would have felt less pressure to be brave, and more to be
loyal. He had to learn to be brave enough to go against his friends if he
thought they were wrong (though he soon learned to stop that sort of
nonsense when it came to the Trio). Hermione would have crawled into books
and never left, unless Luna dragged her out. Draco would have been a
semipermanent guest of Madam Pomfrey till he learned that he would just have
to suck it up and pull his own weight. Once he learned that other people
were not his house elves, he might have learned a great deal about how to
act around people. Snape would have had a more positive experience in any
house but Slytherin or Gryffindor. Ron might have found his own way in a
house that didn't have the twins in it. 

Jean Lamb
Do UPS workers learn Parceltongue?
tlambs1138 at charter.ne <mailto:tlambs1138 at charter.net> t
excessivelyperky at www.fanfiction.net
 

 

 


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