Perhaps we sort too soon........

[Piper]

I hope I will be able to reply to this one, twice I have started threads and not been able to reply except in edit.

Anyway I totally did not get the exchange when Dumbledore told Snape, "Perhaps we sort too soon". What did that mean? Did it mean that Snape maybe should have been in Griffindor because he was so brave? Because that was what they were discussing.

 

[Dr Winterbourne]

That was the way I interpreted it.

Possibly, a sub-theme could be that Snape's infatuation with the Dark Arts may have passed if he had not been in the environment that was so Death-Eater friendly.

 

[Seeker615]

I found that line really intriguing.

Maybe Dumbledore thought that it would be wise to give the kids a year or two to see what qualities they possess that have not shown up yet.

Too me it seems Snape wasn't a very nice kid but he had seemed to have possesed loyalty, courage and smarts. He could have easily fit into one of the other houses and maybe things would have been different if those abilities were focused on more. It was too easy for him to fall in with the "bad" Slytherins since he was already not a very nice kid and was abused at home and by kids at Hogwarts.

 

[Vold. E. Mort]

Well, I think we can safely say that the sorting hat was wrong, 3 times.. 1st time it was wrong was putting Snape into Slytherin. Clearly, he should have been in Griffindor because of his bravery. Sure, he was a dark and loved the wrong things, but he was also brave and a mud-blood.. Slytherin wouldn't have wanted him in his house. 2nd time, was Voldemort. Again, a mud-blood. Shouldn't have been in Slytherin at all, regardless of who's blood he had. 3rd time was when the hat told Harry that it'd never been wrong before.

 

[Sirius Potter Fan]

I agree, I think that being in with stuents other than just Slytherins, Snape may have had more chances to show his good side. I have seen kids in school, that desperate to "fit in" with someone setle for the "bad" kids because they are always willing to use them for their own desires, when had that child been with other peers, things would have been very different. Perhaps Slytherin house should be done away with at Hogwarts just as that founder chose to leave the school. group the students that would otherwise have been in Slytherin into which ever other house they would best fit, and allow the positive forces to influence them . . .

I still really wonder why Wormtail made it into Gryffindor . . . I don't think he knew the other marauders previously to have asked the hat to put him in Gryffindor with them. He shows neither Courage or Loyalty.

Clearly the hat has it's flaws! . . . unless . . . Did Snape ask to be in Slytherin?

 

[Vold. E. Mort]

On wormtail, I don't know.. Did he pull the silver hand back out of loyalty to the life debt? Or just because he's a coward? Either way, I think the hat did indeed miss that one too.. So make it 4 wrongs.. At least Percy managed to not make it 5.. I was worried about that one.

 

[keeron_man_boy]

well we know that snape wanted lily to be in slytherin.. perhaps his family's line is slytherins..

and we know harry chose to be in griffindor.. he also made quite clearly that you can sometimes choose the house u want to be in...


it could be as simple that snape chose to be in slytherin

 

[cagedcactus]

Well, I think we can safely say that the sorting hat was wrong, 3 times.. 1st time it was wrong was putting Snape into Slytherin. Clearly, he should have been in Griffindor because of his bravery. Sure, he was a dark and loved the wrong things, but he was also brave and a mud-blood.. Slytherin wouldn't have wanted him in his house. 2nd time, was Voldemort. Again, a mud-blood. Shouldn't have been in Slytherin at all, regardless of who's blood he had. 3rd time was when the hat told Harry that it'd never been wrong before.

You meant to say Half bloods, right? Mudbloods are all muggle borns.

First Voldemort, because he wasnt pure blood. But his one side wizard blood was very strong to Slytherin.
What is the ultimate sign of being a Slytherin? Clever and cunning. Can you find a more clever and cunning Slytherin than Voldemort?
So, can we really say sorting hat was wrong? umm... no, not in my opinion.

Snape was great to die, and aid Harry in the end.
But originally he wasnt. In early life, he was as dark as they come. He fancied dark arts and ended up being a death eater.
He probably would have stayed as a death eater, if it wasnt for his fiasco and Lily's death, who was the only person he loved in his life.
So sorting hat is right in that decision too.

Harry showed up with a part of Voldemort's soul in him, that is why Sorting Hat took long time and kept wanting to put Harry in Slytherin. It was Harry who wanted to belong to brave.
So in my opinion, Sorting hat wasnt wrong there either. It was hoodwinked by accidental horcrux in Harry.

I think DD's statement about sorting too soon, was more like a sarcasm towards Snape, than a fact statement.

 

[cagedcactus]

I still really wonder why Wormtail made it into Gryffindor . . . I don't think he knew the other marauders previously to have asked the hat to put him in Gryffindor with them. He shows neither Courage or Loyalty.

Clearly the hat has it's flaws! . . . unless . . . Did Snape ask to be in Slytherin?

That is only true flaw I have been able to see so far on Sorting Hat's side.
But I could be wrong. Wormtail, was the most laid back of the 4 marauders. I think James and Sirius took the lead, and Lupin came from a poor back ground.
I think the first war broke Peter's faith in good side. He turned against his friends, and betrayed them out of fear, that Voldemort was going to win it all in the end anyways.....
But yes, we havent heard any brave thing from his side, let alone loyalty. So yeah, he was definitely not a Gryffindor by any means we have seen.

 

[Piper]

When the hat sorted Harry, it said it could see the potential to do great things and that Slytherin could help him in that regard. By great, I think it meant large, not good.

I don't think the sorting hat was wrong about Snape or Voldemort. They both ended up having a great impact on the world. It's like when Time magazine made Hitler Man of the Year, they didn't do it because they greatly admired him. But because of the impact that he had on the world. Voldemort went down in imfamy, but he did huge things.
Voldemort was an exceptional wizard, and so was Snape. And Snape was brave, but it was not the main thing with him, the main thing was about his abilities, he made the most of every talent given to him. Without his abilities, the bravery would not have been enough.

 

[Arwan]

With Harry, he was probably selected for Slytherin because of his connection to voldemort.

 

[Sirius Potter Fan]

But what about Pettigrew? We actualy had a thread on here a while back where we discussed how he could have made it into Gryffindor. From the behavior we have seen in him, he seems more like a Slytherin than most of those who are in the house. I was holding out that he would show the courage and loyalty in the end, but he didn't . . . The hand was acting of it's own reasons, Wormtail wasn't in controll, it was his brief hesitation that changed it's victim, and Wormtail couldn't stop it.

 

[Piper]

Yes she really didn't sort Wormtail out very well in the end and give us a reason why he was sorted into Gryffindor did she?

 

[Seeker615]

Maybe wormtail had potential to be brave but instead he chose the easy route. He let the bigger more popular boys do all the work and he hung back and went along for the ride. He seemed a bit lazy to me too.

Like Dumbledore said it's all about choosing what is right over what is easy. Wormtail chose the easy path and look where he landed.

 

[cj633]

Perhaps we sort too soon could definately apply to Wormtail, he seems to fit Slytherin. Maybe at the time of his sorting he had the potential to be brave and loyal but something happened to him.

 

[Dr Winterbourne]

I've always had a problem with the simplification - Gryffindor good, Slytherin bad. I prefer it to be Slytherin ambitious, above all, Gryffindor brave, when the back is to the wall.

Wormtail did choose not to kill Harry, for a moment. It wasn't the hand that didn't kill him. I'm not saying he's a great Gryffindorian, but he did tempt the dark lord's wrath so as to not kill Harry.

Was he in the carriage with Sirius and James? If so, he may have befriended them straight off, and asked the hat to follow them. Has he been ambitious, or just wanting strong friends? Acceptance? Maybe the hat thought Gryff would help him.

If we take Slytherin as ambition, not evil, then Percy would fit in well in Slytherin - but he too probably asked for Gryffindor. It wasn't his fault that his first instinct was to be patriotic to his government, rather than siding with his terrorist family.

 

[Fortescue]

If Snape would not have been put into Slytherin in his first year, maybe he would not have made friends with the other Slytherin's that Lily told him were bad. If he had had the opportunity to test the waters first before he was labelled as a Slytherin, maybe he could have been a Gryffindor. Snape was very smart. Maybe he would have been in Ravenclaw.

Look at Regulus. He was the youngest son of pure-blood fanatics. Sirius was a rebel to his parent's beliefs from the beginning. Had Regulus had the chance to get more involved in life at Hogwarts before he was thrown into the Slytherin mindset, perhaps he would have found he leaned more toward Griffindor. After all, he had to be very brave to do what he did in the end by taking the locket from the cave. And he surely did not like the life of a Death Eater. Maybe he and Sirius had more in common than just the same parents. If Sirius had known what it was his brother had actually done before he died, Sirius surely would have been proud of him.

 

[Jimenem]

The way I see it it, everything happened the way it did for a reason. Snape HAD to be in Slytherin. If he hadn't been, chances are he would have married Lily, and been killed in place of James and then the Order of the Phoenix would be out a really goo spy. Snape was definitely cunning and ambitious. Though loyal and brave as well. Snape could fit equally into both, his passion for the dark arts it probbaly what tipped the scale in Slytherin's favor.
Pettigrew on the other hand would not fit into Slytherin either. He's a coward, not very smart. Cunning maybe . . . he did well fooling everyone as scabbers. But really on second thought when first starting out at Hogwatrs he demonstrated bravery beyond anything he ever showed in his adult life. How many people do you know would accompany a werewolf disguised as a rat? He was loyal to his friends, and he must've done things to prove that or else James would not have made him Secret Keeper in the first place. His fear only proved to be a tad stronger than his loyalty once he realized what Voldemort was capable of. His drive to survive was his primary concern. Gryffindor over Slytherin for Peter in my opinion, though I think Hufflepuff may have been the most suitable.

 

[Mr_Bandman]

I don't think the comment had anything to do with Wormtail. I think it was an offhand comment made by Dumbledore that he meant as something of a compliment, but came off as an intensely bitter irony that hit Snape like a fist to the stomach. What if Snape had been sorted in to Gryffindor? Would any of this have come to pass? Would Lily have ended up with James, or would her friendship with Snape have evolved into a love affair? If so, Snape would never have heard the prophesy, and thus neither would Voldemort. Harry would never be born, and Neville Longbottom would have been born without notice.

JKR is good at conjuring bits of irony out of thin air---I think that’s all she did here---just interjected an “oh my god you have to be kidding me” moment into the dynamic between Snape and Dumbledore. Dumbledore was certainly not taunting Snape, but the way Snape heard it was, “You know, Severus---I think we made a mistake---you were supposed to be in Gryffindor all along. Oops.” Dumbledore then walked away, leaving Snape standing there “looking stricken”.

 

[claymore04]

Well, I think we can safely say that the sorting hat was wrong, 3 times.. 1st time it was wrong was putting Snape into Slytherin. Clearly, he should have been in Griffindor because of his bravery. Sure, he was a dark and loved the wrong things, but he was also brave and a mud-blood.. Slytherin wouldn't have wanted him in his house. 2nd time, was Voldemort. Again, a mud-blood. Shouldn't have been in Slytherin at all, regardless of who's blood he had. 3rd time was when the hat told Harry that it'd never been wrong before.

If you remember Scaboir the snatcher taking Harry to Malfoy he said there are not many mudblood Slytherins you must be lucky.-- Or something to that effect. Anyway, The hat was never wrong. VM did ANYTHING to get what he wanted. That was the qualities of Slytherin. I agree about Snape though and that was what DD was talking about during the Yule Ball about sorting to soon