In The Changeling, What Was It That Made The Hat Decide Slytherin Over Gryffindor? Do You Think It Was

In the changeling, what was it that made the hat decide Slytherin over Gryffindor? Do you think it was purely ginny and what being in Slytherin house would bring out in her and how necessary it would be, or did it sense the part of Voldemort’s soul she possessed like it did in Harry and what that might turn her into?

I made a very conscious decision to not have Ginny write or interact with the diary until after her sorting. I wanted to sorting to be about her, no about what would happen to her. Even more, I did want it woven in that the hat sorted her not just for who she could become, not just for her cunning and her ambition and ability to be ruthless, but what Hogwarts needed. The hat showed a lot of prescience throughout the books, and I think it’s totally reasonable to assert that the hat suspected troubled times were coming--Voldemort just having made an attempt to get back in his body a few months before, Harry Potter being at the school. The hat, having seen generation after generation go by, would know how essential unity would be to the survival of Hogwarts and the students within. I like to think Ginny’s sorting wasn’t out of character, but it was also a careful gambit on the part of the hat. It couldn’t know who she would become, but her potential, oh yes, that is where the hat’s strength lies. And what a choice it would become. 

Ykw Luke being Annabeth’s evil ex in mortal aus is so overdone.

He's her loser older brother. He only hangs out with the same 4-5 people despite half his college fancying him. He's the designated driver for Percy and Annabeth’s dates. He takes fencing classes. Thalia beat him to the shovel talk and he still holds a grudge to this day.

Were Hermione and Ron, in your series shagging in Australia or do you think they were too busy? I can't tell if in my headcannon they had sex before Harry and Ginny did.

Oh, they were definitely having sex in Australia. They weren't subtle about it at all either. RIP, Harry.

I just wanted to submit a little Tobias appreciation message. He's honestly one of my favourite characters I've read in a series. His development throughout (with Smita, his double agent role, and how Mags was part of his motivations) was wonderful, and I totally didn't see it coming. His interaction with Harry in the pub after Ginnys trial was just the icing on top of the cake

So thank you for that!

Thank you so much! He started just as me going, "huh, what does a not completely awful Slytherin guy look like?" Not to mention, I have a 'let men and women have platonic loving relationships' agenda. Plus, I love me a sarcastic little shit with a very hidden heart of gold. And like, someone who does have a sense of self-preservation, and that being okay! So many of the protagonists in these hero books are celebrated for their willingness to just sacrifice themselves over and over again, often recklessly with a giant lack of self-worth or understanding of consequence. But, like, it's okay to protect yourself, you can still be able to make moral and just choices! And the strength of Slytherin really can be the ability to weigh impact and consequences. I guess I wanted another chance to show how a Slytherin might bring strengths to a fight that benefits from a variety of skills/approaches.

And you loved his interaction with Harry? Hmmmmmm...

How about a tiny snippet of Armistice #4?

**

They end up at the Leaky Cauldron and it’s packed with people, every single one seeming to be staring at them, whispering behind their hands. This is exactly why Harry doesn’t come to places like this.

“You can, of course, scowl at me the entire time,” Tobias says. “Or even punch me. But that’s going to give everyone the wrong impression after this weekend’s little photo op.”

Harry focuses on Tobias, the staring crowd suddenly secondary. “So this lunch is me showing the world that I’m fine with you and in no way suspect you’re sleeping with my girlfriend.”

Tobias looks at him. “Do you think I’m sleeping with your girlfriend?”

Harry lets go of his fork and it falls to his plate with a clang. “I’m actually going to have to punch you, aren’t I?”

Tobias regards him with one eyebrow raised. “It’s a rather straightforward question, Potter.”

“No,” Harry bites out. “I happen to trust Ginny.”

Tobias leans back in his seat. “Interesting answer. It leaves me to ask whether or not you trust me. No chance you think I harbor feelings for her?”

But Harry refuses to be stuck on defense any longer. “What does it matter if you do or not?”

Tobias blinks, a begrudging smile appearing on his face. “Watch it, Potter, or you’re going to make me like you.”

“Are you always this much of a buffoon?” Harry asks.

Tobias looks at him, something frighteningly flinty in his eyes. “Only when it’s useful.”

Harry imagines that’s more often than not.

“Okay,” Tobias says, turning his attention back to his plate. “Explain to me again why Quidditch isn’t a huge bore.”

Harry jabs a chip in Tobias’s direction. “That right there is why Ginny would never sleep with you.”

Tobias nearly chokes on his food, he’s laughing so hard.

**

(I hadn't even opened this file since last May. Eesh.)

"'Professor,' Ginny says politely because for all she has learned to resent Snape, he’s her head of house, her teacher.

'Miss Weasley,' he says, head inclining the perfect amount like he’s practiced it.

She nods in response, and idly wonders what the Malfoys would think if they knew he was here.

'Did you say something?' Snape asks, eyebrow lifting.

There’s a slight buzz in her ear, but she brushes it off with a firm shake of her head. 'No, sir.'"

Is this the first time Snape uses Legilimency on Ginny? And if so, why would he look into her mind in this moment? Was it because she thought of the Malfoys, or was he listening before that?

Yes.

If you think about it, these scenes from the beginning of OOTP are the first time we see Snape The Double Agent. At this point, he’s already gone back to Voldemort and paid his respects, maybe taken his licks for not coming immediately when he was called to the rebirth ceremony. He’s engaged in the double agent work that he never actually did much during the first war. (How much time passed between him telling Dumbledore about the prophecy and Voldemort disappearing? Not much, I don’t imagine.)

So this is Snape, in the Order of the Phoenix, not just Dumbledore’s secret contact, but out in the open for all Order members to see, most of whom Snape probably doesn’t trust. And does Voldemort know he’s in the Order? Does he know he’s there and sent him there to spy? Or does he just think Snape is spying on Dumbledore, et al at Hogwarts? Hard to say. But he’s playing a really, really dangerous game. One he knows he has little chance of surviving. But he is working every contingency, and when everything has to be planned that carefully, any rogue outlier is a problem.

Ginny Weasley, Slytherin student, is an outlier. She doesn’t carefully fit and he isn’t sure if or how much of a threat that outlier might be. Even if just as a girl who might have loose lips and talk about the Order in her common room. It’s one of the reasons he starts giving her so much attention. It’s threat assessment. (Not so much threat as a dangerous witch as much as a leak or a rogue vector.)

So, yeah, he’s using legilimency on her here. He needs to understand her better, understand what she thinks about him being here. To see how much she actually understands. Keep in mind though, that legilimency isn’t mind-reading. You don’t just get to hear someone’s thoughts. It’s messier than that. He’s trying to get a general read on her.

So in the Changeling you describe how Ginny keeps the DA safe in her sixth year as part of her role as the Slytherin leader. In canon, however, Ginny is a Gryffindor like Neville and there are in fact no Slytherin leaders to advise caution. I was wondering if you had any thoughts on how that changed the situation.

I don’t really, honestly. I made a decision with the Changeling to keep everything basically the same in terms of general events and deaths and outcomes. I wanted to show that it actually makes sense that Slytherin must have been part of the DA, that they would have been vital. And to show that canon wouldn’t have to fundamentally change to encorporate school unity. I wanted to give alternate explanations for how things could have ended up that way. Like the fact that it’s Ginny’s legiliemncy that keeps Neville from being killed. That it’s Hannah’s loyalty that keeps the room of requirement safe. That it’s Luna and Terry’s creativity that drives the DA’s successful rebellion. We knew the role Gryffindor leadership and drive and bravery of would play from the text. But the others are missing. I suppose I’m questioning the viability of the outcomes with a DA that wasn’t unified when it comes down to it.