OoOo...a very interesing question.

Gryffindor: I think Ron is a quintessential Gryff, just going off of Sorting Hat traits. Much more so than Harry, IMO. In fact, most of the Weasleys fit very well in the Lion's den due to their feeling things very deeply, their defense of those they love, etc.

Percy and Hermione slide a bit towards 'claw, but to me they both have this self-righteousness about them that I don't necessarily associate with Ravenclaws.

Fred and George, along with Harry, are probably the most Snake-like Gryffs to me. They love undermining things they find repulsive, and have the determination and resourcefulness to do it well.

I agree with your thoughts on Slughorn being the quintessential Slytherin. His response to AD about the Order in ch...4, I think of HBP pretty much sealed the deal for me on what House he was in. Self-preservation, much?

Crabbe and Goyle are worthless...we could probably trick them into walking off a short pier...

Slytherin is such an interesting House to me, canon-wise. It's the only other House where we have a huge spectrum of personalities (the other being Gryff). To me, Snape and the Malfoys make thinking about Slytherin so hard, because they're almost polar opposites: The Malfoys with their money, their dashing good looks, their belonging to aristocracy, etc vs. Snape's half-bloodedness, his (seeming) poverty, his anti-socialness, etc.

~SamCate//Raven

Snape and Malfoys have both pride, though. I think that it is an important part of being a Slytherin.

Delfeus / Slytherin

Very good point. Boy do they ever.

~SamCate//Raven

Are Crabbe and Goyle that stupid, though, out of public? And well, ambition doesn't need to mean that they want to become the Minister of Magic - they could just aim to become good Death Eaters or something. *shrug*

I think that Sirius is very much a Gryffindor - acts first, thinks then. And Ron, too - he's loyal (when he's not pouting over something) and well, he did go see Aragog despite his fear of spiders.


Delfeus / Slytherin

I think Crabbe and Goyle are, indeed, both public and pirvate morons. Remember in Chamber of Secrets when Harry & Ron invade the Slytherin dorms? Harry and Ron play dumb, and Draco doesn't seem particularly surprised.

Far too late, Harry and Ron forced themselves to laugh, but Malfoy seemed satisfied; perhaps Crabbe and Goyle were always slow on the uptake.

"Azkaban — the wizard prison, Goyle," said Malfoy, looking at him in disbelief. "Honestly, if you were any slower, you'd be going backward."

Sirius really IS an extreme Gryffindor, but he has a capacity for long-planned revenge that speaks to me of his Slytherin roots.

Moon Faery//Slytherin

Again, you have very good points. So much so that I think I'm getting repetitive in my responses. ;)

Delfeus / Slytherin

Thank you. ^^; I'd like to think Crabbe & Goyle are at least passably intelligent in private (I've seen some very cute fics with that idea), but... evidence is against it.

Moon Faery//Slytherin

Yeah, I agree. She really doesn't seem Puff like at all. Perhaps she was just very different when she was younger?

See, I just hate them as characters. I have no problem having Draco minions but they just seem to be thrown in for the hell of it. I would prefer if they were just written out and replaced with someone who actually has a character that isn't just an archtype. But yes, I don't know where else they'd belong. I suppose believing that Draco would up their status is a Slytherin trait but I've never really thought about it that way. I just assumed that they knew each other from when they were kids and Draco just forced them to be his lackeys. But there's really no canon way to back that assumption so maybe I'm just not giving them enough credit.

I don't understand that either. Both are Gryffindor, albeit perhaps not your stereotypical Gryffindors. Though I could see Neville as a Puff just because he seems to have a strong sense of justice but he does have that Gryffindor bravery.

You know, one of the reasons I like Peter is because he's evil and not a Snake. I think a lot of people are bothered by him because his actions all have selfish motives but that doesn't change the fact that he's brave. Noble, no, but no one ever said that Gryffindors had to be selfless and what not.

Alison//Slytherin

I have a random aside that I just thought about.

Slytherin wanted those of purest blood, with a few other attributes thrown in there (like ambition, whatnot..alot of what we "know" about slytherins is pretty much fannon). Soooo, does that mean random purebloods (I assume Crabbe and Goyle are) can pretty much just be "free ticketed" into Slytherin because of their blood status, regardless of what other personality flaws they may have (or their just not being that Slytherin-y). I would assume that this wouldnt work in all situations, since the entire Weasley family is pureblood, and all in Gryffindor, so, that must speak for something. Maybe if you personally view your purebloodedness as a trait that makes you better than others, than you are pretty much a Slytherin?

Of course, all of this doesnt go for the Slytherins in the community, since we arent really pure/half/green bloods or anything, its just a cannon wondering....

Thoughts?

Boley//Gryffindork

Possibly...because we know that people in the wizarding world chat about blood lines who aren't in Slytherin (c.f. PS/SS after all the newbie Gryffs are sorted and they're chatting about being purebloods/half-bloods/mudblo --erm, Muggleborns). Also, Neville's a pureblood as well, but he certainly doesn't think he's better than anyone else - quite the opposite, in fact. Maybe it ties in with the pride that delfeus and I were chatting about above for Slytherins?

~SamCate//Ravenerd

Thats very true, pride is definitely a cannon Slytherin trait, as far as those we know in Slytherin pretty much all having that. (Taking pride in their bloodline, their place in society, or whatever).

What do you think the sorting hat would do with someone who had all the cannon/fannon traits of a Slytherin, yet was a muggleborn? Would they get into Slytherin, or because of the fact that they are not of any sort of bloodline at all, do they get tossed in another house (I would have to think theyd go to Hufflepuff, who would take 'all the rest')?

I think about this stuff too much..hehe

Boley//Gryffindork

I just think its odd, especially in the fannon (and since I do have a certain percentage of snake in me myself...), that we sometimes forget that really, all slytherin asked for were those pure in blood. And since Hagrid pretty much pointed out that pure purebloods were damn near extinct, then I would assume thats why those who were at least partially from magic families were still accepted.

Slytherin is definitely the trickiest of all the houses to really put a finger on who exactly belongs there and who does not. Especially between the whole cannon/fannon line....

Am I babbling? I think I am..heh.

Boley//Gryffindor

Yeah...I really also get annoyed reading those type of fics or stereotypes. Just because Draco can kind of be a douche at time (and mean), that automatically means that all Slytherins are Teh ebil er..something. So, lets make them all gothy and angsty. I just imagine all the real snakes beatin the crap out of any mall hot topic kid that tried to fit in with them. I think thats also a Gryffindor trait (but I dont want them in my house either!!) ;-)

I see slytherins as very mutable, able to just kind of adapt to whatever situation is presented them, with at least the perception of being a different person (although to truly change their stripes is just not in their vocab). My best friend is a Slytherin through and through (even though he hates harry potter..hahaha), so I think when I start wondering about Slythiern traits, I compare them to him. Weve been close for about a year now, and he still holds alot back from even me, he keeps his cards very very close to his chest. He is also one of those sickenly sweet people to your face, can make friends with anyone, but he does it in a way that either suits his needs, or furthers him in some aspect.

Man, I need to do an essay one day on why my best friend Tanner is the ultimate Slytherin, and I am a flag waving Gryffindor, and why that makes us BFFs, and how Harry and Draco could get along...if they only tried... hehe..

Boley//Gryffindor

For me, Ron completely embodies Gryffindor. He's noble, but quick to react based on emotion rather than logic. But once he cools down, he's back to best friends. The boy rushes in to help his friends without a second thought, and strikes me as the type who tends to come through thinking "dude, that was cool!" Pettigrew is the WORST Gryffindor, and not just because he's a bad guy. Everything he does is motivated out of fear, not courage. He's afraid of dying when Voldemort wins, so he betrays his friends. He's afraid of being discovered alive after Sirius escapes, so he brings back Voldemort. He is, however, crafty, which is a Claw thing to me.

We really don't have very many good examples of Ravenclaws or Hufflepuffs... Cedric was an excellent Puff, but I don't think he gets it spot on. The same goes for Cho. She's Claw, but not "OMG TEH CLAW!!!1!".

I agree about Slughorn being the best Slytherin example we have. He's ambitious, but not in a world domination way. His ambitions seem mostly directed at his own comfort, so that's what he concerns himself with. I wish we had an example of a Slytherin that could truly be counted as a good person... Sigh. Even J.K.R. is against us, it sometimes seems. Crabbe and Goyle are also the worst Slytherins. They're so loyal to Draco... Hufflepuff all the way. Unfortunately, it seems like most Slytherins in canon are very stereotyped, so it's not only unfair to them, it's HARD to for the reader look at them objectively. They're going to be evil, and J.K.R. makes that clear right off. Serious unfair. >.<

Moon Faery//Slytherin

Moon Faery//Slytherin

Slytherin
~ I agree with reblsocr19. Slughorn is the pergect sytherin.
~ Dumbledore. Think about it. If he were a Slytherin he would be the perfect snake. After all, that mettaling old man is so sly and maipulative and dare-I-say arrogant. Besides, the books only say that they think he was in Gryffindor. The lexicon is wrong; we dont know what house he's in for sure. Not through the books any way (though in the movie he makes mention of the drapes so one is lead to believe that he's a Gryffin).

...and i dont want to sort any of the other houses right now so I'm leaving it at that.


Susan // Ravenclaw

I was thinking about Dumbledore, too. I don't know if he's the PERFECt Slytherin, though.

Delfeus / Slytherin

Oh I hate him, but he's so good. Very manipulative, knows how to get what he wants. The only time he's really failed was in his search of a DADA teacher for the 5th book. But he rectified that when he had gotten Ferenz before Tralawney was even fired (another example of him being manipulative. He destroyed Ferenz to prevent another ministry spy from setting up shop at Hogwarts.

Susan // Ravenclaw

Dumbledore went and asked Firenzes help. Firenze agreed. But now Firenze can never go back to his herd; he's turned his back on his fellow centors and their entire way of life in order to help Dumbledore.

And that is how Dumbledore destroyed his life. Come the 6th book Dumbledore had to keep him on staff because he couldnt send Firenze back into the forest (where he would surely be killed).

Susan // Ravenclaw