Kindly indulge me to respond from a Slytherin point of view.
Cunning? Another word for socially clever, witty, and charming. Having enough of an understanding of human motivations and interactions to predict and occasionally manage the people around you is not by default a bad thing. Especially when the people around you can be such ignorant, violent apes when they get all riled up and stoopid.
Ruthless? Meaning that we have the stones to be stubborn and determined when properly motivated, and we don't let ourselves or our goals be deterred by other people's farting around? Why yes, thank you. One could as easily call it 'determined', only then everyone would think one was referring to Gryffindors.
Fixated on power? My dear. Everyone is. All the houses define 'power' differently, and all of them obsess on it. The Gryffindors crave the power of reputation, and the adrenaline rush. You Ravenclaws live and breathe the creed that 'knowledge is power'. Hufflepuffs, Merlin love them, are a walking homage to the power of numbers, and hard work. And what's more, they're as proud of that as any of you. The thing that makes us Slytherins such a frightening thing is that we don't HAVE a common definition of 'Power'. We are a house of individuals, and each of us makes up his or her own mind about what our ambition is, and how much devotion it is worth.
You don't care to find yourself measured by Luna's standard, so why on earth do you imagine I want to be measured by Draco's? I rather loathe him, myself, the wobbly little ferret.
The thing is, Slytherins are some of the most ethical, moral people you'll ever meet -- yes, I said that. Because each Slytherin's code of honour is self-defined, and unique to each. Other houses are simply too lazy to learn us as the individuals we are, before condemning us for not measuring up exactly to THEIR morals and ethics.
Take Professor Snape, for instance; He held tighter and closer to his fierce ethics throughout the war than Dumbledore, Minerva, or any other member of the Order did. And yet was he ever praised for being true to himself? Not by Potter, he wasn't.
My entire point to this is that you probably ARE currently friends with some people who would be sorted into the House of the Serpent, only because you don't see us in our house uniforms, you don't realize it.
Just a bit of additional 'power' to add into your Ravenclaw arsenal -- a gift from me to you.
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chiming
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Date: November 21st, 2007 02:20 pm (UTC)From:Cunning? Another word for socially clever, witty, and charming. Having enough of an understanding of human motivations and interactions to predict and occasionally manage the people around you is not by default a bad thing. Especially when the people around you can be such ignorant, violent apes when they get all riled up and stoopid.
Ruthless? Meaning that we have the stones to be stubborn and determined when properly motivated, and we don't let ourselves or our goals be deterred by other people's farting around? Why yes, thank you. One could as easily call it 'determined', only then everyone would think one was referring to Gryffindors.
Fixated on power? My dear. Everyone is. All the houses define 'power' differently, and all of them obsess on it. The Gryffindors crave the power of reputation, and the adrenaline rush. You Ravenclaws live and breathe the creed that 'knowledge is power'. Hufflepuffs, Merlin love them, are a walking homage to the power of numbers, and hard work. And what's more, they're as proud of that as any of you. The thing that makes us Slytherins such a frightening thing is that we don't HAVE a common definition of 'Power'. We are a house of individuals, and each of us makes up his or her own mind about what our ambition is, and how much devotion it is worth.
You don't care to find yourself measured by Luna's standard, so why on earth do you imagine I want to be measured by Draco's? I rather loathe him, myself, the wobbly little ferret.
The thing is, Slytherins are some of the most ethical, moral people you'll ever meet -- yes, I said that. Because each Slytherin's code of honour is self-defined, and unique to each. Other houses are simply too lazy to learn us as the individuals we are, before condemning us for not measuring up exactly to THEIR morals and ethics.
Take Professor Snape, for instance; He held tighter and closer to his fierce ethics throughout the war than Dumbledore, Minerva, or any other member of the Order did. And yet was he ever praised for being true to himself? Not by Potter, he wasn't.
My entire point to this is that you probably ARE currently friends with some people who would be sorted into the House of the Serpent, only because you don't see us in our house uniforms, you don't realize it.
Just a bit of additional 'power' to add into your Ravenclaw arsenal -- a gift from me to you.