moniquill:

dethronedhierophant:

I was watching the Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone film and right at the end when Dumbledore awards the extra points to Gryffindor I found myself being really really angry with him

Because the Slytherins did actually work hard to get those points and they were so happy and then out of the blue BAM they didn’t win RIGHT WHEN THEIR BANNERS WERE ALREADY HANGING AND THEY WERE SO EXCITED

It’s like winning a gold medal and then the judge coming up and being like “oh sorry I liked this guy better let me just take this back”

Seriously the looks on their faces were HEARTBREAKING

Jesus christ Dumbledore you could have just awarded the points privately to the kids who earned them without making a big fucking deal about it at the banquet instead of humiliating and upsetting a quarter of the student population

you’re playing favourites, fucker

Dumbledore played favorites because Rowling played favorites. Let me just quote this brilliant essay on the subject:

Rowling pays lip service to the houses all being equal, but it’s nonsense. Gryffindor is the superior house, all the way. Rowling herself declares not only that she would want to be in Gryffindor if she attended Hogwarts but also that she “hopes she would be found worthy.”

So basically at the age of eleven, your fate is already sealed. Either you’re Gryffindor, or you’re evil, or you’re chattel. You can’t change, you can’t be redeemed (unless you’ve already had the good fortune to fall in love with a Gryffindor) you are either Good or you are Evil or you Just Don’t Matter and none of your decisions, none of your actions, mean a damned thing. No matter how much of a bullying little shit James Potter was, we are never really asked to see him as anything but a hero.

…

Then of course there is Snape. After nearly twenty years of loyal service to Dumbledore, risking death or worse to spy on the Dark Lord, and incidentally building up a loyal fanbase who for some reason think that being smart is cooler than owning a flying motorcycle, JK Rowling eventually grants him the ultimate accolade. “Sometimes, we sort too soon.” If a member of a different house displays courage, it shows that they must really be a Gryffindor deep down.