05/10/05 Hogwarts United, Be true to your School

No, not a football (soccer) team, but the ongoing series of warnings and predictions that if the four houses don't unite Hogwarts is doomed
The Sorting Hat has sung at least twice concerning this and there have been other signs.
I know we've discussed this in other threads, but as the release date for HBP looms large on the horizon, I think it may be a major part of the storyline.
Book 7 maybe too late.

the floor is open...

YES! This is my pet topic, as some of you may know. I was sorely disappointed when we lost the one from old tP. I've been thinking about this in the context of interpersonal relations and intergroup dynamics for a while, but especially since reading the Sorting Hat's latest song.

The Sorting Hat's song in OotP (with my emphasis):

When the school has been united, it has been safe. Slytherin promoted a dangerous policy of elitism that has divided the school for hundreds of years. While that policy has not been pressed, the school has managed to existed without unification. Now, Slytherin's Heir has resurrected that policy and is pressing its implemenation. This pressure has alredy begun to hurt the school. Unless the teachers and students can unite against a new common goal, the school will fall... without much help from Voldemort.

The essential question in this is "What goal, what cause could unite all four houses?" Is there anything that can cut across the group divisions and convince all of the houses to work together?

Well, I'm pretty sure that one thing that WON'T be a common goal for uniting the houses is LV. Even if Draco and the Jr. DE's are in the minority, they are a very vocal and influential minority. However the dynamics could change, IF the DE's caught in the DoM are sent to Azkaban and remain there.

I think the only way that Voldemort could be the uniting factor is if some of the DEs turn (the ones that are frightened of LV). Only Bellatrix seems to be in Voldemort's mold. She's the only one who seems to idolize him rather than follow because of fear. So what if Voldemort threatened them to the point that they fled to DD? Not very feasible I know... but we need to be thinking outside the box.

I would be very reticent about accepting any DE's allegedly fleeing from LV if I were DD, Most of them have there own reasons for joining in the first place.
Case in point; Wormtail, he actually had a chance to be free of LV at the end of PoA and still, look what he did.
Especially now that LV is recruiting, any sign of weakness and suddenly there is a new opening in the DE ranks.
If you want to look outside the box, what if the MoM decides to investigate the families of associates of the DE's, ones that don't necessarily prescribe to the cleansing of the wizarding bloodlines. That might start a feeling of ill-will towards the children of the DE's and lessen their hold the leadership of Slytherin.

Oh, I'm of the opinion that the DE kids will be ostracized from Slytherin and that's how the houses will unite. They won't be complete... but sacrifices must be made...

I seem to remember discussing earlier that perhaps the DA would be the uniting factor. Of course, that would mean there would have to be some Slytherin members, but I think after what happened at the ministry, perhaps some Slytherins would indeed want to separate themselves from the DE children, like Ophie said.

I think that's very possible. I was going thru the old threads in Two Feet of Parchment and ran across a couple of threads that tie into this discussion, the old House Unity and Dumbledore's Army.

I don't think the Azkaban escapees would be doing anything like that. It would really be unconvincing if Lucius Malfoy and those who walked free the first time, tried turning against LV, pleading imperius curse got their homework.

The best way to unite the school is for even Slytherins to recognise Lucius Malfoy and cohorts as the scumbag he is, and to reject his ideas. It might be a very painful year for Draco. But then, maybe not....

So far, we know 4 students in Slytherin whose fathers were DE's. How many students in Slytherin do we know of who haven't got parents in the DE's?

Although I am sure that there are some, we can't know for sure who doesn't have parents in the DE's because there are bound to be DE's that we don't know the names of....