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Would a Slytherin describe Draco’s manipulation of Harry (luring him into a trap) by drawing on his brash tendencies as a clever strategic move worthy of celebrating?
Oh my that’s a good question. We’re back to that idea that people in houses can be reduced to some set of characteristics. I think, as it does with everything else, it depends on the person and who they are at their core. Some might disapprove of Draco’s manipulation, though they may stay silent for fear that Draco turns his attentions on them. Anyone who wants Draco’s favor (we hear about all the sweets and presents he gets from home) would applaud him though.
It’s also possible that some of the students may have heard rumours abut Draco’s dad that they don’t want to risk messing with Draco for fear of reprisals. Ron knows who Draco and his family are before Hogwarts so it’s possible that other students do too.
[adrotate group="5"]All magic comes with a price!
Keeper of FelixIt’s also possible that some of the students may have heard rumours abut Draco’s dad that they don’t want to risk messing with Draco for fear of reprisals. Ron knows who Draco and his family are before Hogwarts so it’s possible that other students do too.
I would be very surprised if there Wizarding families who didn’t know who the Malfoy’s were. The Malfoys are like the Kardashians. They make sure everyone knows who they are.
"He was a lot of things to me" "The only conclusion was love"What do you think Neville’s forgotten that prompts his grandmother to send him Remembrall? And why is Draco so intent on having it?
Neville forgets everything, including the password. It’s not suprising it lit up immediately. I really need a Remembrall for myself. I was struck by the description as it being the size of a large marble. In the movie, it’s more the size of baseball. It makes even more sense that it was shown to foreshadow his future success at Quidditch since a Snitch is the size of a walnut. As for why Draco is so intent on having it? He sees weakness in Neville and knows he can bully him and the Remembrall is a prop for showing other kids how he’s the dominant on in his herd…I mean house. 😛
Why do you think Hermione goes along with the boys, instead of alerting a teacher?
This is an interesting question. She states that she wants to make sure the boys don’t get into trouble and lose house points, but I think RG is on the right track. She doesn’t seem to be bonding with her dorm mates and only person she really talks positively about is Percy, a brother Ron wants to avoid and authority figure everyone else wants to avoid. She’s interacting with peers even if it’s not in a positive way.
Would a Slytherin describe Draco’s manipulation of Harry (luring him into a trap) by drawing on his brash tendencies as a clever strategic move worthy of celebrating?
I have no idea. Draco rules his class. They all know the Malfoy’s history and all the purebloods, as we see in later books, stick together, much like the gentry/aristocracy/royals did throughout history. I’m sure there are Slytherins who keep to themselves and don’t want to antagonize some of the bigger pureblood families but then there will be plenty of others that fully approve of Draco’s actions.
Keeper of Rumplestiltskin's and Neal's spears and war paint and crystal ball.
Slightly jumping ahead briefly, but doesn’t anyone else find it jarring how some of the ages of characters don’t match up with how you envision them. For example, Hagrid. I always envisioned Hagrid in the books to be in his forties/ early fifties at a push. In the films as well, he doesn’t seem much older than that. However when you actually do the math In CoS, we find out Hagrid was expelled in his second/third year at Hogwarts when Myrtle died which was fifty years ago Hagrid is actually 62/63. Dumbledore was around Hogwarts then which means Dumbledore is at least in his 80s/90s if not older. How old do Wizards live for because Dumbledore isn’t exactly shuffling around with old age?
All magic comes with a price!
Keeper of FelixSlightly jumping ahead briefly, but doesn’t anyone else find it jarring how some of the ages of characters don’t match up with how you envision them.
To an extent, yes, but JKR explained once that Wizards and Witches live longer than Muggle-Humans.
Question: How old is old in the wizarding world, and how old are Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall?
J.K. Rowling: Dumbledore is a hundred and fifty, and Professor McGonagall is a sprightly seventy. Wizards have a much longer life expectancy than Muggles. (Harry hasn’t found out about that yet.)
It must be something in the magical DNA/blood. It’s not uncommon, I suppose. Merlin is supposed to be ancient (and aging backwards) but I think for JKR, specifically for Dumbledore, it was a matter of plot: she needed Dumbledore and Gellert Grindlewald to be fight in the 1940s because of World War II and the fact that the magical and the Muggle world feed off each other
"He was a lot of things to me" "The only conclusion was love"Why do you think Hermione goes along with the boys, instead of alerting a teacher?
This is an interesting question. She states that she wants to make sure the boys don’t get into trouble and lose house points, but I think RG is on the right track. She doesn’t seem to be bonding with her dorm mates and only person she really talks positively about is Percy, a brother Ron wants to avoid and authority figure everyone else wants to avoid. She’s interacting with peers even if it’s not in a positive way.
One thing that always left me curious is why Hermione Granger never seems to make friends with the other female students, with the possible exceptions of Ginny Weasley and Luna Lovegood. Perhaps Hermione just prefers the company of men or perhaps Hermione shines too brightly, causing other witches to shun her. It’s been noted by psycholinguists that little boys tend to compete actively and to assert their dominance in their play, whereas little girls tend to assert “fair” rules and not to boast in front of their other female friends. Perhaps Hermione, being first in her year, just doesn’t really fit in with most of the female students in Gryffindor, because she excels academically. (That isn’t to say the other witches don’t do well academically, but Hermione makes no secret of her academic success, which might be off-putting to the other witches in her house).
Though Harry and Ron at first also find Hermione’s know-it-all personality to be off putting, they don’t feel threatened by her academic prowess. Not to get too far ahead, but they end up relying on her skills and knowledge time and time again (like her knowing how to unlock that door) to get them out of trouble. In fact, they find themselves increasingly grateful for a book-smart friend like Hermione who lends them her notes and pushes them to pass their exams with good marks. I think Hermione, being herself a competitive person, finds she gets on better with other boys like Ron and Harry, who’re themselves used to being bossed about a bit (i.e. Harry by the Dursleys and Ron by his older brothers).
Had Hermione been sorted into Ravenclaw, as the hat was tempted to do, I think it would’ve been much easier for Hermione to have met some more like-minded students, both male and female, whom Hermione would’ve found to be her peers academically speaking. Hermione has always reminded me a bit of a younger Minerva McGonagall — who is herself extremely smart and talented to have succeeded at the very top of her branch of witchcraft: transfiguration. It’s interesting that Minerva was able to succeed at the highest levels, eventually becoming headmistress of Hogwarts — a traditionally “masculine” role.
Both Minerva and Hermoine are hatstalls; the sorting hat delayed sorting either Hermione and Minerva, because it was deciding where to place each of them: either Gryffindor or Ravenclaw. The Sorting Hat spent five-and-a-half minutes wavering between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw before deciding to place Minerva in the former; it spent nearly four minutes trying to decide between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw for Hermione, and “seriously considered” putting Hermione in Ravenclaw, but ultimately went with Gryffindor instead. Both witches were put into Gryffindor, probably because of those remarkable ladies’ sheer guts, even though their brains are top-notch.
"That’s how you know you’ve really got a home. When you leave it, there’s this feeling that you can’t shake. You just miss it." Neal Cassidy
One thing that always left me curious is why Hermione Granger never seems to make friends with the other female students, with the possible exceptions of Ginny Weasley and Luna Lovegood.
I think a lot of it is jealousy. Hermione’s show off nature causes people to reject her before they get to know her. Most girls probably believed that Hermione thought herself better than them and thus didn’t want to befriend her. They don’t realize that she’s most likely very insecure and hiding behind her ample smarts. (more in depth analysis of that coming next chapter)
Had Hermione been sorted into Ravenclaw, as the hat was tempted to do, I think it would’ve been much easier for Hermione to have met some more like-minded students, both male and female, whom Hermione would’ve found to be her peers academically speaking.
I do agree there. She wouldn’t have been so ostracized since the Ravenclaw’s would have seen her as someone who “got it” in terms of what’s important.
The Sorting Hat spent five-and-a-half minutes wavering between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw before deciding to place Minerva in the former; it spent nearly four minutes trying to decide between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw, and “seriously considered” putting Hermione in Ravenclaw, but ultimately went with Gryffindor instead. Both witches were put into Gryffindor, probably because of those remarkable ladies’ sheer guts, even though their brains are top-notch.
Which brings us back to that question of the Hat and how does it know? (yes, yes, yes, it’s magic and it’s charming so I shouldn’t question it too much) but did the Hat sense something about Hermione and Minerva? Does it have some sort of prescience? What about Hermione as she stands right now in chapter 9 shows her Gryffindor nature–the bravery portion of what Gryffindor supposedly stands for? She goes on accidental adventures like the Trapdoor escapade in this chapter, but does not seek them out. In fact, she tries to get Harry and Ron to NOT go on the Midnight Duel adventure and she’s clearly a stickler for the rules. While I think she’s trying to forge a connection with the boys, I don’t think it’s that she longs for adventure in the same way that Harry and Ron are going to feel post Trapdoor midnight run. So what did the Hat see??
(RG is still bothered by this Hat, y’all)
"He was a lot of things to me" "The only conclusion was love"Which brings us back to that question of the Hat and how does it know? (yes, yes, yes, it’s magic and it’s charming so I shouldn’t question it too much) but did the Hat sense something about Hermione and Minerva? Does it have some sort of prescience? What about Hermione as she stands right now in chapter 9 shows her Gryffindor nature–the bravery portion of what Gryffindor supposedly stands for? She goes on accidental adventures like the Trapdoor escapade in this chapter, but does not seek them out. In fact, she tries to get Harry and Ron to NOT go on the Midnight Duel adventure and she’s clearly a stickler for the rules. While I think she’s trying to forge a connection with the boys, I don’t think it’s that she longs for adventure in the same way that Harry and Ron are going to feel post Trapdoor midnight run. So what did the Hat see??
As for why Hermione is sorted into Gryffindor over Ravenclaw, I think she answers this herself in Sorcerer’s Stone. On the Hogwarts Express, she shows a clear preference for Gryffindor over Ravenclaw:
I’ve been asking around and I hope I’m in Gryffindor, it sounds by far the best, I hear Dumbledore himself was one, but I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn’t be too bad…”
We know the Sorting Hat takes a witch’s choice into account, so if it were struggling to place her, then it might use her preference as the deciding factor. Also, without getting too far ahead, I think Hermione must be very brave at heart to be in Gryffindor. It’s not that she’s not smart enough for Ravenclaw (she’s top of the class), but her boldness is evident to the Sorting Hat, which can read her mind. Also, I think a lot of strong leaders tend to come from Gryffindor, as exemplified by Albus Dumbledore and Minerva McGonagall, Hogwarts’ headmaster and deputy headmistress, respectively. Hermione, being aware of these facts from her extensive reading, already has made up her mind before she even gets to Hogwarts that Gryffindor is for her. That is also probably why Hermione is put into Gryffindor, because the hat senses she’ll do well there, because she has potential leadership qualities; she’s bold and isn’t afraid to take a stand.
Surprisingly, what Hermione cherishes the most isn’t knowledge but friendship, as opposed to Ravenclaw’s diadem, which reads “wit beyond measure is man’s greatest treasure.” While Hermione is clearly one of the smartest witches of her generation, she doesn’t prize cleverness for the sake of cleverness.
Later, in the dungeons as they’re trying to get to the Philosopher’s Stone, we have this particularly telling line:
“I’m not as good as you,” said Harry, very embarrassed, as she let go of him.
“Me!” said Hermione. “Books! And cleverness! There are more important things – friendship and bravery and – oh Harry – be careful!”
Hermione holds the values of Gryffindor – courage and bravery – higher than those of Ravenclaw – raw intelligence and knowledge. Hermione’s bookish nature and desperation to appear clever are because she wants to be liked and admired: by her teachers and by her peers. Yet, she is really overcompensating, because what she really wants are real friends. Her real insecurity isn’t a lack of cleverness, but of not having any friends. What Hermione craves most of all is authentic friendship, which is the real reason she tags along with Harry and Ron, using ‘protecting’ them as her cover.
I’m not sure the hat can tell the future, but it might sense that Hermione’s courage is one of her dominant traits. She’s not afraid to stand out, to speak up for those who’re unable to do so, to speak up in class, or to assert her knowledge for good. She uses her voice and her knowledge to help others. She doesn’t just value these traits; she exhibits them throughout the books. The Sorting Hat placed her in Gryffindor, because she has the traits of a Gryffindor within her, and placing her in that house can bring them out. She’s already very studious and intelligent, more so than a lot of Ravenclaws, so I think she has more to gain from Gryffindor than Ravenclaw.
"That’s how you know you’ve really got a home. When you leave it, there’s this feeling that you can’t shake. You just miss it." Neal Cassidy
A very concise and well thought out answer, Slurpeez. I agree with pretty much everything you wrote on that. I think Hermione does value bravery and friendship above all else, even cleverness. This in turn makes Hermione a bit of a tragic figure in these first opening chapters. She has a very hard time making those friends she wants because young kids are inclined to find smarts and a desire to answer questions off putting (except in Ravenclaw, I’d wager). They cast Hermione as a know it all whom they find annoying before they really get to know her. It’s an interesting dynamic with kids because those who are shunning Hermione are likely doing so because they don’t want to feel inferior but it’s not Hermione herself who projects that they are inferior. Rather, they simply feel that she is making them feel that way with her actions.
Like I said, a bit of a tragic figure. But so are Ron and Harry, hence when the planets do finally align and they become friends, they fit easily together.
"He was a lot of things to me" "The only conclusion was love"In other semi-related news, THIS happened today. It’s relevant (a bit) but it’s also a wee bit fluffier than our current conversation. But, on the more serious and important side, there’s a conversation to be had at some point down the road about Harry Potter’s impact on culture–not just Nerd Culture–and the usurpation of the saga for profit.
"He was a lot of things to me" "The only conclusion was love"
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