Don't apologize for ranting! What my fandomy posts are here for. :)
Didn't mean to make you cry!
I definitely think there was some culture clash with Fleur. She's very direct and honest, rather than mincing words.
I think part of the Ginny dislike is that people don't like Harry ending up with her.
Peter's another character I can see either being intended for Slytherin OR just a hyper dark Gryffindor. Re-reading PoA, his reasoning for turning seems to have been "well, Voldemort was winning, why not just join him?" It was like he felt that if everyone just stopped fighting, everything would be fine. Was this a Gryffindor penchant for following a leader no matter what, though, or a Slytherin penchant for putting self interests first? Or just a non-House specific trait people sometimes have? Because I think you're right too that Houses can put characters into boxes when truth be told, no one fits into them, and I think even in canon they're really there so the characters have the best place to support their development into witches and wizards, and for the House Cup. I think Houses are still relevant, there's a lot of discussion of them and Terry Boot wonders why Hermione wasn't in Ravenclaw, but I also don't think they're as Do Or Die as either the canon characters OR fandom thinks. Dumbledore himself admits that maybe they sort too soon.
(And I agree Hermione could've technically been a Ravenclaw. I think for her it was primarily motivation - she's smart, but she's smart to show her capabilities and ultimately believes in fighting for what she perceives to be right. Whereas Luna, for example. is more interesting in exploring the various pockets of the world. She also wants to fight for what's right, but that seems very separate from her personal knowledge.)
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Didn't mean to make you cry!
I definitely think there was some culture clash with Fleur. She's very direct and honest, rather than mincing words.
I think part of the Ginny dislike is that people don't like Harry ending up with her.
Peter's another character I can see either being intended for Slytherin OR just a hyper dark Gryffindor. Re-reading PoA, his reasoning for turning seems to have been "well, Voldemort was winning, why not just join him?" It was like he felt that if everyone just stopped fighting, everything would be fine. Was this a Gryffindor penchant for following a leader no matter what, though, or a Slytherin penchant for putting self interests first? Or just a non-House specific trait people sometimes have? Because I think you're right too that Houses can put characters into boxes when truth be told, no one fits into them, and I think even in canon they're really there so the characters have the best place to support their development into witches and wizards, and for the House Cup. I think Houses are still relevant, there's a lot of discussion of them and Terry Boot wonders why Hermione wasn't in Ravenclaw, but I also don't think they're as Do Or Die as either the canon characters OR fandom thinks. Dumbledore himself admits that maybe they sort too soon.
(And I agree Hermione could've technically been a Ravenclaw. I think for her it was primarily motivation - she's smart, but she's smart to show her capabilities and ultimately believes in fighting for what she perceives to be right. Whereas Luna, for example. is more interesting in exploring the various pockets of the world. She also wants to fight for what's right, but that seems very separate from her personal knowledge.)