To feel sorry for the Slytherins?

[Saveusename]

Just watching the end of Philospher’s Stone. The Slytherins are all celebrating then bang Dumbledore has thrown extra house points to Harry and mates and Slytherin is cruelly stripped of victory in front of the whole school.

AIBU to think this really isn’t helpful for inter school relations?

That is true! It would have to be after that. Maybe as the snake goes for Neville and he pulls the sword out, the snakes teeth could bite the hat trying to get Neville, which destroys it.

Think that’s quite good. Will tweet JK and see if there’s scope for editing future editions.

That is true! It would have to be after that. Maybe as the snake goes for Neville and he pulls the sword out, the snakes teeth could bite the hat trying to get Neville, which destroys it.

Think that’s quite good. Will tweet JK and see if there’s scope for editing future editions.

The most unbelievable part in all 7 books wasn't the magic, the broomsticks, the werewolf etc. It was that there were some people that liked harry and he got cheers for saving everyone. In my UK comprehensive in the 90s (and don't forget he was born 1981 I think so would have been at school at the same time as me), he'd been hated by everyone, not just one 'house' but everyone. When he stood up to make his speeches etc he would've been met by a wall of paper spit balls and calls of "fuck off!"

We don’t need your pity party OP, we’ll get our own back 🐍

Harry didn't go to a comprehensive. Hogwarts is much more similar to one of the famous public schools - Eton or whatever. It's fee-paying, isn't it? In any event, only a select few can go there, and they feel very privileged to be able to. Many of them come from a small number of elite families, and their children have been brought up to consider themselves special, apart from most of society. Classes are very small. They learn lots of things that children at comprehensive school don't learn, and many of those things are things that they really need to learn to survive in their little community. There are lots of important traditions found only at that school. The children can plan for exotic careers that are not open to ordinary children. Their lives are much more dangerous than the lives of typical comprehensive school children - with the background of Voldemort, and the everyday risks they run with magic, and with the absence of many of the health and safety and child protection measures found in ordinary schools. It would be very strange if they behaved in the same way as muggles at comprehensive school.

They also have a headmaster who is one of the most famous and most powerful people they know of. I don't think you'd see much bad behaviour in front of a head like that.

Yes but he did completely lose control of the school, was always at loggerheads with the governors, made some bloody awful staff choices, and had absolutely no concerns for basic health and safety issues.
He was a bit of a shit head teacher really. 🤣

Yes his choices for DADA teacher weren’t the best were they…

I always thought it was unfair how points were given anyway, teachers would obviously favour their own houses wouldn’t they. And they’re inconsistent - sometimes 50 will be lost as a punishment but then only 5 will be given for something really good/brave/clever.

That's what school used to be like though (sort of). I'm a similar age to JKR, and when I was at school various things happened on a standard basis that would land a teacher in serious trouble today. When I was about 7, the Headteacher hit me 3 times on the hand with a ruler, for giggling in assembly. But I must have been my teacher's favourite, because I remember sitting on her lap. At secondary school, the music teacher had fun throwing the board rubber at a child who got an answer wrong. The Religious Education teacher used to read us scary stories from Roald Dahl's short stories for adults, instead of teaching RE. The 2 history teachers rarely showed up for lessons and never wasted time preparing for lessons or marking essays. They were busy having sex. The French teacher, a single dad, invited one 1st year sixth form girl to spend a few weeks camping in France with him and his young daughter every summer. No-one thought anything of it. I'm sure JKR enjoyed being able to write about school the way she remembered it, but with some exaggeration. It's the great advantage of creating a fantasy world - you don't have to make it like the real modern world.

I do feel they are misunderstood.. I love Slytherins! I am one 🤣 Every time I do the quiz on Pottermore it’s what I get.

I am a bit cunning and secretive and I love black and green. Slytherins rule! I am obsessed with Professor Snape he was always my favourite character.

Cursed Child isn't canon though. It's little more than fan fiction.

I don't think the Slytherins were the only mean ones though.

Luna had her stuff stolen by the other Ravenclaws and was called Loony by kids from all houses.
The Hufflepuffs in particular were horrible to Harry first when they thought he had opened the chamber of secrets in Book 2, and then when he was chosen as the other hogwarts champion for the triwizard tournament.
As for the Gryffindors, Hermione literally disfigured Mariette Edgecombe when she ratted them out to Umbridge, Fred and George who were about 16ish at the time) hissed at first years getting sorted into Slytherin, plus James, Sirius etc bullying Snape when they were younger.

Basically they all have the potential to be dickheads in some ways, because they're teenagers!

OP: re Hermione being a genius, I don't know, she just reminds me of the kids in school who did well because they studied a lot - they obviously were clever and also put a lot of effort in, so were good all rounders but there was nothing that made them exceptional.

The people I know who are what I think of as genius level talented
a) tended to excel and I mean really stand out, in one or two particular disciplines and
b) didn't need to put loads of effort in, they could sleep through lessons and then knock out an essay in ten minutes that got amazing marks. If the boundary for an A* was, say 85% they tended to not see the point in putting an hour's work in and getting 100% when they could put ten minutes work in and get 87%.

All the really clever kids in school never bothered volunteering to answer questions etc because they were so far ahead and found it so easy they weren't paying attention. A lot of the time the cleverest kids were the ones misbehaving because they were so bored. Or they'd come alive in the lessons they liked and not care about the others. They were often quite quirky as well - like Luna.

For example when Harry gets better marks than her in potions because he follows the Half Blood Prince's changes rather than the way the book says to do it - it's the difference between getting decent marks because you follow the rules exactly and experimenting/being passionate about/exceptional in a particular field (like Snape in potions).

Obviously she is clever, it just comes across as just normal highest set in school clever to me, whereas I imagine Ravenclaw to be where the musical prodigies/people who can do mathematical theorems in their head/speak ten languages/create new spells, etc. type of people go.

Relevant cartoons/memes/just funny

David Mitchell’s take on Hufflepuff

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=e9n9wswKMec&pp=0gcJCRsBo7VqN5tD

IMO Luna is brighter than Hermione, Hermione is hard working with a good memory.

Also for a society that believes in divination, they really should think a bit more about the self-fulfilling prophecies they are creating with the Slytherins.

I reckon the hogwarts houses are divide and conquer so that the adults can keep control over a bunch of hormone addled teenagers who could really cause some problems if they worked together and unleashed their power …. As umbridge found to some extent

You're right that Hogwarts offers different classes to a comprehensive. My school definitely didn't offer Transfiguration or Charms.

Honestly that’s how I felt watching the films! They are all so fucking smug 🤣🤣🤣

At boarding schools the house system is way more important than at any day school.

As we all know, there are four types of children: brave, clever, evil and miscellaneous…

I like the 'divide and conquer' idea, it's not like they can be strict about uniform and hairstyles to distract the kids (like they did at my secondary school)

Children are shits. Comprehensive children are shits, Eton children are shits, although the latter have more money to make their shittery even more impactful. It might not have been paper spit balls but it would have been soiling the tuck shop or whatever boarding school pupils do.

Don't forget that Snape is PLAYING THE ROLE OF THE BAD GUY TO MAKE SURE THAT THE DEATH EATERS DON'T SUSPECT HE IS REALLY A GOOD GUY!
Oh my, I've just lost my ALLCAPS virginity!