Dolores Umbridge

[OliveOil_Med]

Dolores Umbridge: the woman I believe we would all personally like to strangle, and yet there is no thread about her.

Early today, I began thinking about Umbridge as a young student (as impossible as the idea my seem), and I began wondering what house she had been in. I'm caught between two possibilities.


Hufflepuff: She certainly is loyal. She remained behind Fudge's policies through OotP, in spite of BLARING CONTRIDICTS to what he believed. And the more power she was given, the harder she worked to enforce the Minister of Magic's policies. Even when all those around her began jumping ship, she still remained loyal to Fudge and did everything she could to maintain control for him.

Slytherin: What it comes to being cunning and ambitious, Umbridge certainly fits the bill (although I'm not sure her obsession with lace, kittens, and the color pink are characteristic of a Slytherin). And her prejudgises against halfbreeds and later Muggleborns certainly seem fitting of the values that certain (notice I said certain, Chante'!) Slytherins are brought up with.

These are either of the two houses I think Umbridge was in. She just does not strike me as being especially intellegent or courageous.


Thoughts? Arguements? Let's hear 'em!

[Elf]

She would have had to get good marks to get into the ministry of magic so I wouldn't rule out Ravenclaw.

Gryffindor may be a possibility either. She wasn't terrified when the centuars carried her off, and she would have had to deal with opposition to her policies. I can't see her being so cozy with the Slytherins if she was a Gryffindor though.

In terms of your argument to put her into Hufflepuff. I don't think that she was loyal to Fudge. I think that she was very like Slughorn, in that she liked to have power behind the scenes, else she would have left when Fudge resigned. She may be loyal to whatever the current Minister of Magic's policies are though.

[LifeAtRandom]

She would have had to get good marks to get into the ministry of magic so I wouldn't rule out Ravenclaw.

Gryffindor may be a possibility either. She wasn't terrified when the centuars carried her off, and she would have had to deal with opposition to her policies. I can't see her being so cozy with the Slytherins if she was a Gryffindor though.

In terms of your argument to put her into Hufflepuff. I don't think that she was loyal to Fudge. I think that she was very like Slughorn, in that she liked to have power behind the scenes, else she would have left when Fudge resigned. She may be loyal to whatever the current Minister of Magic's policies are though.

I agree with the OP, Ravenclaw and Gryffindor just don't make sense for Umbridge. First, you don't have to have good marks to be in Ravenclaw, you just have to value intelligence. And since Umbridge would rather enforce rules instead of trying to teach the class (denying them the right to perform defensive spells and only teaching them theory) I think we can definitely rule out Ravenclaw.

She wasn't terrified when the centaurs carried her off? Well, screaming her lungs off isn't what I call bravery, it was just her reaction to the situation. So far she has yet to display some bravery.

Hufflepuff and Slytherin are pretty close when it comes to Umbridge. But if I had to chose, it would be Slytherin just because she was so evil and cunning against Harry's agenda. But it can really go either way.

[Elf]

If my memory is correct she was screaming at them to put her down though, not screaming in general.

My only response to your Ravenclaw argument is that she could value book learning, but it is a weak argument.

I do agree that Hufflepuff or Slytherin are more likely but I wouldn't rule out the other houses

In terms of sorting her into Hufflepuff do you think that she would have thought of her actions as just?.

[LifeAtRandom]

No, that was why I was leaning toward Slytherin. If you don't want to rule out Ravenclaw or Gryffindor, that's your decision. But this thread was trying to figure out which House Umbridge was most likely to be sorted in, not how she would be able to be sorted into unlikely Houses.

[fg_weasley]

I'm going to go through an arguement for each house, starting with Hufflepuff. I really can't see her being a Hufflepuff at all. She may have seemed loyal to fudge, but like Elf said, she really wasn't. More likely is that she just liked to flaunt how close she was to someone of such power--like how she kept saying "Cornelius--excuse me, I mean, the Minister," for instance. She did that sort of thing a lot. However, loyalty is not the only Hufflepuff quality. Kindness is a strong one as well, and I really can't see how anyone could call Umbridge kind. There are others, of course, but all in all I really can't see Umbridge as a Hufflepuff in the slightest. I don't see how it can even b an option, to be honest.

If my memory is correct she was screaming at them to put her down though, not screaming in general.

It was a little of both, actually. Not only that, but one could argue that screaming at them to put her down could still be considered fear. With Umbridge, that was her being scared. Granted, she seemed to stand up to them, un-afraid (or perhaps unaware) of what calling them names and whatnot would do to them. Still, I know for a fact that once they charged her she became frightened--and really, who could blame her? Wouldn't you be scared if a bunch of angry centaurs charged you?

He saw a flash of red light and knew that she had attempted to stun one of them - and then she screamed loudly. Lifting his head a few inches, Harry saw that Umbridge had been seized from behind by Bane and lifted high into the air, wiggling and yelling with fright.

And another quote, a bit earlier, to prove that she wasn't as brave in the face of the centaurs as you say she was. This was just before they charged her.

Harry felt the forest floor trembling; Umbridge gave a little scream and pushed harry in front of her like a shield--

He wrentched himself free of her and turned. Around fifty centaurs were emerging on every side, their bows raised and loaded, pointing at Harry, Hermione, and Umbridge, who backed slowly into the center of the clearing, Umbridge uttering odd little whimperings of terror.

I don't know about you, but I don't think using a fifteen-year-old boy as a shield is very 'brave'. I think these two quotes alone show that she wasn't brave at all, really. It was all a facade; she wanted to appear in control and powerful.

As for Ravenclaw, I have to agree with LifeAtRandom here:

I agree with the OP, Ravenclaw and Gryffindor just don't make sense for Umbridge. First, you don't have to have good marks to be in Ravenclaw, you just have to value intelligence. And since Umbridge would rather enforce rules instead of trying to teach the class (denying them the right to perform defensive spells and only teaching them theory) I think we can definitely rule out Ravenclaw.

Perfectly said. I would have said it just the same. I suppose you can argue that she valued book work, but really, in general, if she really valued education the way a Ravenclaw would, her actions would have been much different. We know for a fact that she and the Miniter didn't want to teach the students at Hogwarts what they needed to know because they both feared what said students would do with that knowledge. It was simply out of fear and selfishness. A true Ravenclaw most likely wouldn't have cared.

Given all evidence and everything that we know, I think Slytherin is really the most obvious choice. She was cunning and selfish; she and the Minster led their own adgenda, and clearly, she valued power very much. I can't picture her in any house other than Slytherin.

Phew, that turned out longer than I expected it to. So there is my arguement on Umbridge.

xox
nikki

[magyk001]

I agree with fg_weasley. I think she was only loyal to the minister because he wanted to be close to someone with power. If Dolores was really loyal to the ministry she wouldn't have continued working there when the death eaters took over( unless they threatened her, but i don't think that was the case).

As for the house she would be in, it would have to be Slytherin. She is very ambitious and cunning and she is more concerned with herself than anybody else. To be in Hufflepuff, she would have to be caring which she OBVIOUSLY isn't.

[Rhi for HP]

I think she would have had to have been in Slytherin also because of her blood purity tirade. Personally, I instantly rule out all other Houses just because she's so sly and perfectly fits the quote "use any means to achieve [her] ends"; but ignoring that, she would have to be in Slytherin anyway for her campaign. She could never have been in Gryffindor or Hufflepuff and have flourished so well under Voldemort's Ministry. And she certainly doesn't value knowledge, rather rules--which fits into achieving her own ends. Plus, in the books (a flaw, in my opinion) Jo makes every evil character Slytherin. Zacharias Smith, a Hufflepuff, was annoying, but he wasn't evil. Also, blindly cruel characters, like Crabbe and Goyle, find themselves in Slytherin. Umbridge is blindly cruel and certainly sadistic. Finally, Umbridge claims the "S" on Salazar's locket stands for Selwyn, an old pureblood family (who has at least a few members in the Death Eaters, we find out in DH). The Death Eater Selwyn is evil, and so must have been in Slytherin, and so must be from one of those pureblood families like the Blacks who prize blood above all else and whom all end up in Slytherin. Long story short, if Umbridge hadn't been in Slytherin eyebrows would have been raised as to her being related to the Selwyns. Because that would mean she was pureblood, but from the other sort of pureblood families, the non-Slytherin and therefore non-evil families, like the Potters, Prewetts, and Weasleys. *hopes someone was able to follow along*

[Ravenclaws_Heir]

An interesting question...I personally believe Umbridge would fit perfectly in Slytherin. As loyal to the Minister as she seemed, her methods of punishment are far too dark for her to be considered a Hufflepuff. To me, her loyalty belongs to the most powerful and influential wizard of the day. Her writing "to be punished" on Harry's public enemy number one poster makes it appear as though the second she has enough power, she will use or abuse it in any way she sees fit. Power hungry Slytherin... Also, wouldn't it make more sense to sort the witch who is destined to persecute Muggle-Borns in the house where blood purity is most important?

[ginny112]

I agree with most people here that Umbridge is most likely a Slytherin. There is something very sly and cunning about her. Honestly, I don't exactly recall any character from a different house being as cruel and evil as her. I also think she has the trademark Slytherin qualities. For instance, how she proudly claims to be related to the Selwyns in DH. She definitely has her pureblood pride, and I can see her doing anything just to achieve her goals.

I don't think she could have ever been a Gryffindor, because there is nothing brave or chivalrous about her. I also don't really see her as a Hufflepuff, because all Hufflepuffs are supposed to be hard-working and patient, and I don't believe Umbridge is very patient (from her behaviour towards the students in OotP). She also never displayed any loyalty towards either Dumbledore or Voldemort, and all she cared about was her position at the Ministry - that isn't like a Hufflepuff.

I don't think she is smart enough to be a Ravenclaw. How easily was she convinced by Hermione in OotP that Dumbledore's secret weapon was at the Forbidden Forest? She was also in complete denial over Voldemort's existence throughout OotP, which makes her seem as dim as Fudge, and I don't think a Ravenclaw would giggle as stupidly as she does. That is why I can only see her being a Slytherin.