House Pride

Song of the Day: Cotton by The Mountain Goats

I could very easily freak out about potential financial aid disaster, but I think I'll wait on that until it becomes a for-sure disaster. In the meantime, let's talk about Hogwarts!

People keep flipping shit on Tumblr and Twitter about which house the Pottermore Sorting Hat will put them into. I honestly think there is pride in every house. And honestly, if you know what house you WANT to be in, you probably identify most with that house anyway and will probably end up in it. If not, maybe you'll find that you're a bit braver or smarter or whatever than you thought. For no reason whatsoever besides my own amusement and thought-disentanglement, I thought I'd put together a run-down of my thoughts on the four Houses.

Ravenclaw: So obviously we have the book smarts in this house. But I think it has to do with the quest for knowledge as well, not just already being a know-it-all. Luna is a very interesting example of this. While she may believe in things without solid proof, in doing so she is displaying open-mindedness and a willingness to accept new ideas. She has a ton of knowledge; people don't know what she's talking about half the time. Then there's the fact that the heirloom of Ravenclaw, the diadem, was lost/hidden. It's a ready-made mystery to be solved. So why wasn't Hermione, with her insatiable thirst for knowledge, placed in Ravenclaw? Well the Sorting Hat did consider it, Hermione says so herself. But I think it also saw her potential for courage and knew she would have a home in Gryffindor. Plus, let's give the Sorting Hat some credit. It has seen quite a lot of history, and may have more than a couple tricks up its metaphorical sleeve. Did it ACTUALLY know Harry would need Hermione so much? Maybe not. But it did know she was more than a girl with her nose in a book.

Slytherin: Slytherin has always gotten a bad rap. I think it's a square/rectangle situation, where all bad wizards were once Slytherins, but not all Slytherins are bad. Because the traits found in Slytherins like cunning and ambition are pretty necessary to the life of a "successful" Death Eater, but aren't synonymous with "evil." When Phinneas Nigellus told Harry, "Given the choice, Slytherins always choose to save our own necks," that made me think that Slytherins are about survival, and sometimes that takes a coldness that is perceived as evil. And there were always people like Tom Riddle and Malfoy running the joint, so of course everyone was manipulated into following them. The examples of Slytherins we are given in the books are pretty horrid, but they're not the only ones. Then there's Snape, who changes personalities twenty times. Sullen? Sure. Bitter? Obviously. Dumb to think the Dark Arts would impress a Gryffindor? Clearly. But he wasn't a BAD person. He could have given in to his bitterness and let Harry die in his first year, but he saved him. He always had the capacity to love, and that's what Dumbledore said Voldemort could never do. That's another thing: Dumbledore trusted him. And while there was a chunk of time where we questioned the wisdom of that decision, it turned out to be the right one all along. So while Snape may have been a jerk, he was not evil. Lily and Dumbledore knew that. There is an exception to every rule.

Hufflepuff: I often battle with myself over whether I'm a Hufflepuff or a Gryffindor. In the next section I'll go over why I always settle on Gryffindor. Something I've noticed about Hufflepuffs is that, while they are the hipster's house of choice, they are not necessarily stuck-up the way the other houses can be (some of them get uppity about that and the irony runs rampant, but that's not always the case). When people are unsure of which house they belong to you can always hear a Hufflepuff piping up to say "There's room with us!" Hufflepuffs are NOT spares. They are fiercely loyal and hard-working. In "The Sorting Hat's New Song" (book 5) the Hat talks about how 3 of the founders preferred students with certain traits, but Hufflepuff said, "I'll teach the lot, and treat them just the same." Really the only example of Hufflepuff we have (that we actually get to know a little) is Cedric Diggory. During Harry's third year, when he falls off his broom because of the dementors, Hufflepuff wins. But Cedric tries to get a rematch because it was unfair to have the Snitch caught after Harry fell. Pretty admirable move, in my book. Plus during the TwiWizard Tournament, he gets help from Harry and then returns the favor. Granted, not quite as directly as many of us would have liked, but he did still feel the need to help Harry out after getting advice from him. I think there were enough positives to cancel out his terrible taste in women, which Harry shared. In case it wasn't clear, I thoroughly dislike Cho Chang.

Gryffindor: I'm obviously biased, but I'll try to be fair on this one (see? Shit like that is so Hufflepuff). So obviously, bravery is the neon sign over Gryffindor tower. But we see that bravery manifest itself very differently in all the characters. We see how Harry's friends follow him into incredibly dangerous situations because they know it's the right thing to do. Fred and George see a major problem in the school in the fifth book; they stand against it, do a little damage, and then decide to strike out on their own. I'm fairly certain the Hogwarts dropout rate is pretty damn low. They would have been severely punished if they'd been caught, but it was worth that risk for them. Then we have Neville. Neville motherfucking Longbottom. As Dumbledore says, "It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends." So much truth. And later, Neville joins the D.A. and starts to see that he's worth something. Once he has that, there ain't a damn snake that can stand in his way. Now with us Muggles choosing our houses, Gryffindors tend to be a bit uppity about it. Although I think after a while, people started choosing other houses just because they WEREN'T Gryffindor (damn hipsters), but that may have been partly due to the fact that people seemed to be favoring Gryffindor just because it was Harry's house (or Ron's or Hermione's). I don't think Gryffindors are the heroes all the time, there are certainly douchebags (Seamus Finnegan, at least temporarily, was definitely one). But I think the bravery stems from a very strong sense of what is right.

I think that's part of what sets Slytherin apart; Gryffindor has that sense of what is right, Hufflepuff is all up into justice, Ravenclaw--while practical--seem to have a good sense of right and wrong. Those three houses are always portrayed as friends and they get along. Then Slytherin comes along with the mindset, "What will help ME?" It becomes less about what is necessarily "right" and more about staying alive and in the game. Voldemort even calls out his supporters about it, scolding them for telling everyone he had bewitched them, then coming back and telling Voldemort they were just waiting for him to come back. I think Max Dettweiller from The Sound of Music would be a Slytherin. He's not necessarily a bad guy, but I remember when I was younger I asked my mom whose side he was on, and she said, "Whichever side wins."

Okay. So why I consider myself a Gryffindor. I am not all that brave, to be honest. But look at The Lion King. Simba says, "I just wanted to be brave like you," and Mufasa replies, "I'm only brave when I have to be." He explains that being brave doesn't mean going looking for trouble (baba ba ba ba ba bahhh). Courage isn't getting up in the morning and thinking, "I'm going to be brave today!" *pokes sleeping bear* It means not running away from problems when they arise and fighting only when necessary. We see that with Neville, too; he doesn't swagger around doing heroic shit, but when the time comes he stands up for himself and/or beheads a gorram snake. So I guess that's why I'm a Gryffindor. I'm not always brave, but I know that I can be. Besides, I'm not smart enough for Ravenclaw or cunning enough for Slytherin. So...roar.

I think this is long enough. I've said my piece. Have a pleasant evening regardless of your House.

And never did they dream that they / Might someday be divided / For were there such friends anywhere / As Slytherin and Gryffindor? / Unless it was the second pair / Of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw?