Gryffindor boys- why Percy and Black?

[English]

Both Sirius and Percy were Gryffindor boys, but some people have questioned this- why was Black, from a proud SLYTHERIN family, placed there? And given that Percy turned traitor on his own family, why is he in Gryffindor??

Well, the answer is simple- it takes BRAVERY to go against the family. Percy was brave enough to follow his own goals, as was Sirius. So, perhaps Gryffindor has a darker side? A hero on a battlefield can be as dangerous as a coward.

[Violet]

i think that it has a lot to do with u're nature, as in sirius is actually a good person irrespective of his family.
percy although making some bad decisions i think is good at heart. and now that ti has come out that DD and harry etc were telling the truth about voldermort percy make think twice about his position at the ministry.

[English]

Actually, though- bear this in mind- just because you are in Gryffindor DOESN'T mean you are good- it just means that you are brave! We have come to think of the Gryffindors as "goodies" but.......

[gecko]

It doesn't matter what you are or where you're from, it's what you do that counts. And Sirius was brave standing up against his familiy, so that's probably why the hat put him in Gryffindor.

A darker side to Gryffindor, there could be one I guess... In fact there probably is one. Look at Peter Pettigrew, he was a Gryffindor, otherwise why would he hang around James, Sirius and Remus, yet he turned to the Dark Arts and followed Voldermort. Does the hat make mistakes? And should he/it have placed Pettigrew in Slytherin?

[Violet]

Well i think that it must have made a mistake putting pettigrew in gryffindor, i dont see him doing anything remotely brave, everything that he has done has been cowardly! i mean turning in the potters to voldermort was, blowing up half a street and making everyone think that it was sirius was, and being a rat for 13 years to hide from voldermort and maintain his innocence was also cowardly!

[Scellanis]

i think its probably alot like harry's sorting

i mean harry could have been slytherin or gryffindor, he chose gryffindor

sirius would be the same and he seems to hate his family, he was probably determined not to be a slytherin so ended up in gryffindor instead

and im thinking percy is all ambition, like ron he probably only cared about being like his parents and brother and the sorting hat when it sorted ron just said it knew what to do with him cos he was a waesley.....so maybe percy ended up in gryffindor because weasleys always end up in gryffindor and like ron he was competing with his brothers to see who would turn out best....he has then let his ambition take over

anyway, percy couldnt be in slytherin....hes one of those people who beleives in rules and slytherin dont

[highsorcerer]

Percy has shown qualities of both Gryffindor and Slytherin. He was brave enough to reject his entire family for what he thought was right. However, he is also a pure-blood (Slytherin quality), and has unfettered ambition, which also seems to be a Slytherin quality. He may have been sorted into Gryffindor because while he has ambition, he has no ambition to get there using dark arts. Interestingly, despite being pure-blood, ALL the Weasley's have been sorted into Gryffindor. Muggle-lovers probably don't qualify as pure-blooded enough.

Sirius obviously hated his family. He definately lived in a Slytherin house (snake doorknobs and all), and is another pure-blood. The portraits all hated him, considering him to be a disgrace, probably because he rejected Slythering and everything it stood for. So in his own way he was brave enough to stand against his family. Like Harry, he was probably offered a choice and firmly rejected the Slytherin path.

Peter is a different case. We don't know if he's pure-blood or not, and he's never shown any kind of bravery. He always wanted bigger and badder friends around (first the Mauraders, then Voldemort). We don't even know really if he was sorted into Gryffindor. In fact, JKR hasn't ever come out and said what house the Mauraders were in (though in the first film, James is listed as a Gryffindor seeker on the plaque, and JKR had enough control to move to strike anything that would be contradictory).

Voldemort is an odd case. While in the film CoS, Tom Riddle is clearly displaying a Slytherin patch on his robes, he would seem an unusual choice for Slytherin sorting, as he's not pure-blood (technically, Harry is, since both his parents were wizards, though he's only one generation removed from muggles). His temperament was clearly Slytherin, and the fact he's a direct heir of Salazar Slytherin probably tipped the balance).

[Rebecca Spinnet]

It doesn't really make sense that Voldemort is Salazar's heir he is half blood and yet it seems that all his supporters are pure bloods and that they all hate mud bloods does this seem strange to anyone? Why is he in Slytherin at all? (ohter than the whole evil thing )

[Violet]

i dont think that the sorting hat places people into houses because of the reputation they have. i mean in slytherin most are said to hate anyone who isn't a pure blood, but at the same time if u're character is fairly cunning, evil etc then u would be wel suited to the house even if u weren't a pure blood.
i dont know if that makes sense.
and another thing i dont know what other house that voldermort could have been in!

[Rebecca Spinnet]

thats true could you see him in hufflepuff?

[APWBD]

Well, If Voldemort were Slytheryn's Heir, as we all know he is due to the 2nd book, then how could he be put into any house EXCEPT Slytherin? And even though he is a mudblood, several people on this forum have pointed out the similarities btw him and Hitler. Hitler hated those who didn't have blond hair and blue eyes, yet he had brown hair and brown eyes.

[Mistress Siana]

I think it quite important to see the reason for which someone developes hatred. For instance, you cannot compare the reason Riddel hates mudbloods to the reason Malfoy does. Malfoy's just been raised that way, but Riddel connects the thought of Muggels with the memory of his father, who is the person he hates most. I think every time he kills or tortures a muggle/mudblood, he kinda avenges himself on his father. This kind of hate is a result of having been hurt, deeply hurt, and it runs deeper than education. I wonder what kind of man he could have become if there hadn't been this experience? I think he could have fit into Gryffindor quite well...

What made me think was the Sorting Hat's new song...it said there were no such friends as Slytherin and Gryffindor...I think that proves their characters were quite similar, and that being a Slytherin doesn't necessarily make you bad and that being a Gryffindor isn't aequivalent to being good.

[Professor]

Several things. The Hat does not sort according to blood, pure or otherwise. Not all in Slytherin are purebloods, and of course, children from pure blood families are often sorted into other houses. Also, not all in Slytherin will turn bad and not all in the other houses will turn good.

Sorting is carried out according to your strongest character traits. It is not destiny. We are all still responsible for making our own choices. Being stout of heart and good people, Sirius and Percy, were sorted into Gryffindor. That does not guarentee that they will always make the right choices. They are only human and they do feel fear, despite being brave, just as Slytherins are capable of compassion, although they are often sefl-servingly ambitious. And Pettigrew is proof that people do change. Who knows what young Peter was like? Was his desire to be an Animagus due to his loyalty and desire to remain with his friends during Lupin's transformations, or merely a desire to be closer to those in power? I don't believe anyone knows Peter well enough to say for sure. All we know is that he made bad choices.

Also, Tom Riddle, despite having one Muggle parent (I really detest the use of the term "mudblood"), needed only direct lineage through one parent to be the heir (although inbreeding would have allowed a greater heritability, and as we have seen from Sirius' family tree, there are other Slytherin heirs. Tom is the "true" heir because of the choices he made).

[Eol]

Whether you like Percy or not you cannot deny he's brave. In GoF during the world cup, he charged straight toward the crowd of DeathEaters along with his brothers, wand out and ready to help.