Ginny Weasley would have done well in Slytherin. She’s talented, she’s popular, and she ends pursuing professional Quidditch? Slytherin could make her more than just an award-winning player. In Slytherin, she would find those with enough means and cleverness to invest in her, help her craft her brand, and make her into a star.
I feel like I saw that one a lot in fanfiction - back to the days of Slytherin Rising (which gave 23-year-old pre-HiH me, at a conference in Helsinki, an indication of who I really was)! She would have done well in Slytherin for sure... and would definitely have different influences over there. The one thing I wonder: is popularity necessarily a house trait at all - and would Ginny Weasley be popular outside her own House if she were a Slytherin?
I have to think she would have been popular outside of her house because at the end of the day, she still would have been the "little sister" of Fred, George and Ron who were all at school with her. She would have met Harry before she was sorted, and gotten to know Hermione. And I would like to think she had just enough of that Weasley stubbornness to ignore the "house prejudices" to keep them as her friends.
Great point about the “Weasley stubbornness.” I can definitely see Ginny becoming a school-wide celebrated Slytherin because of that. There might be a good deal of Gryffindors who like her, at any rate, due to her siblings, and like you said, her stubbornness might override all the house rivalry stuff.
I think it can be? It can mean one is charismatically attractive to others, which is something that Slytherins might value in a member. I think of the Slug Club as a group of people Slughorn decided are honorary Slytherins, basically.
But maybe popularity is the wrong thing to focus on, and it’s her talent that would be most valuable in Slytherin. She does end up rising high with it, becoming a professional Quidditch player.
Either way, Slughorn thinks she’s worth keeping tabs on, and Slughorn has such wonderfully Slytherin sensibilities.
(P.S. I don’t think I ever read Slytherin Rising…but now you’ve got me curious, if it made such a personal impact!)
Interesting thoughts on Slug Club... I'm not sure I agree. Draco Malfoy isn't an honorary Slytherin but Comrac McLaggen is? I think that Horace Slughorn's standards don't necessarily have to do with Slytherin house traits so much as "people Horace Slughorn wants to associate with" (and, in particular, where, to him, the pluses outweigh minuses such as Death Eater association
( ... )
You make a great point with Cormac McLaggen there - what a doozy.
What I think Slughorn's doing is looking for people with "seeds of greatness," as the Sorting Hat says. People with talent, people likely to make something of themselves. I think Slytherin values that in the way Ravenclaw values intelligence: a super smart person will almost certainly be an attractive candidate to Ravenclaw, but that doesn't mean person would be best placed in that house.
So, in short, I think ol' Sluggy saw something of value to Slytherin in Ginny. Now whether that's enough to justify sorting her there...meh. I've grown ambivalent about my own assertion, as usual.
Jon / Claw
And dang, that fanfic sounds like a total blast from the past. I'm going to have to look into this for old times' sake, haha.
Quidditch? Slytherin could make her more than just an award-winning player. In Slytherin, she would find those with enough means and cleverness to invest in her, help her craft her brand, and make her into a star.
Jon / Claw
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I feel like I saw that one a lot in fanfiction - back to the days of Slytherin Rising (which gave 23-year-old pre-HiH me, at a conference in Helsinki, an indication of who I really was)! She would have done well in Slytherin for sure... and would definitely have different influences over there. The one thing I wonder: is popularity necessarily a house trait at all - and would Ginny Weasley be popular outside her own House if she were a Slytherin?
William//Slytherin
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I have to think she would have been popular outside of her house because at the end of the day, she still would have been the "little sister" of Fred, George and Ron who were all at school with her. She would have met Harry before she was sorted, and gotten to know Hermione. And I would like to think she had just enough of that Weasley stubbornness to ignore the "house prejudices" to keep them as her friends.
Krystal/Slytherin
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Jon / Claw
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I think it can be? It can mean one is charismatically attractive to others, which is something that Slytherins might value in a member. I think of the Slug Club as a group of people Slughorn decided are honorary Slytherins, basically.
But maybe popularity is the wrong thing to focus on, and it’s her talent that would be most valuable in Slytherin. She does end up rising high with it, becoming a professional Quidditch player.
Either way, Slughorn thinks she’s worth keeping tabs on, and Slughorn has such wonderfully Slytherin sensibilities.
(P.S. I don’t think I ever read Slytherin Rising…but now you’ve got me curious, if it made such a personal impact!)
Jon / Claw
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You make a great point with Cormac McLaggen there - what a doozy.
What I think Slughorn's doing is looking for people with "seeds of greatness," as the Sorting Hat says. People with talent, people likely to make something of themselves. I think Slytherin values that in the way Ravenclaw values intelligence: a super smart person will almost certainly be an attractive candidate to Ravenclaw, but that doesn't mean person would be best placed in that house.
So, in short, I think ol' Sluggy saw something of value to Slytherin in Ginny. Now whether that's enough to justify sorting her there...meh. I've grown ambivalent about my own assertion, as usual.
Jon / Claw
And dang, that fanfic sounds like a total blast from the past. I'm going to have to look into this for old times' sake, haha.
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