[Characters] Tonks's House!

[shimotsuki]

There are some new FAQ items at JKR's website, including the answer to the crucial question of what House Tonks was sorted into.

She's a Hufflepuff.

Now this intrigues me, because Hufflepuff seems to have been the most frequent guess in the R/T fanfic I've read (although I've seen plenty of Gryffindor Tonkses as well). So I'm wondering how people converged on this so quickly -- were there clues and hints in canon that I missed? Because I never had any idea what House she was in.

I like this revelation, though. For one thing, Tonks does for Hufflepuff what Slughorn does for Slytherin -- she's funny, tricky, and above all colorful, shattering that stereotype that Hufflepuff is just "a bunch of duffers".

Now if we could just get JKR to clear up a certain other character's eye color...

Comments

[jdbracknell.livejournal.com]

I've never really got the Hufflepuff = bunch of duffers thing, since Cedric Diggory is supposed to be a real star pupil....

I had Tonks down as a Gryffindor, just because most members of the OoTP seem to be, but it makes a lot of sense with what we know about what it takes to be an Auror. Now, do I have to go back and change her in all my fics that mention which house she was in..?

[mrstater.livejournal.com]

I WAS RIGHT!

[jdbracknell.livejournal.com]

Not that you're gloating about it at all ;).

[mrstater.livejournal.com]

No, I really can't since I made her a Ravenclaw in Snidgets verse. But believe me I'm editing this as we speak!

[gilpin25.livejournal.com]

I'd be pleased if I hadn't had money on Ravenclaw and wouldn't have to listen to mrstater for the next week and a bit, lol.

Fortunately, I've never mentioned it in a fic, and it does give Hufflepuff a welcome and colourful shot in the arm. Not quite sure what Myrtle brings to Ravenclaw... ;)

[shimotsuki.livejournal.com]

Gloating, are we? Hmm. Okay. I've never ever written Remus's eye color, because I'm afraid that if I do we'll suddenly find out it's violet or something. But I'll bet you a ficlet that it's brown or hazel. (Not that a blue-eyed Remus wouldn't be delightful, of course.)

Are you in? Of course, if we never find out, or if it's actually grey (again) or green, it'd be a draw. ;)

[mrstater.livejournal.com]

LOL

Yes, I'm in. Remus is blue-eyed, all the way. Because it's not wolfy. He has very little body hair, either, but that's a different story. ;)

[shimotsuki.livejournal.com]

I've never really got the Hufflepuff = bunch of duffers thing, since Cedric Diggory is supposed to be a real star pupil....

You're absolutely right about Cedric. I didn't mean to say I thought JKR had always written actual Hufflepuff characters as "duffers". I was more thinking about how JKR sets up these House prejudices herself, like with conversations among the first-years on the Hogwarts Express, and then later on goes and reminds us that people aren't really going to fit into little compartments like that. Heck, we've already got people like Neville, and Peter, and maybe even Hermione (ahem (http://www.sugarquill.net/read.php?storyid=3121&chapno=1)) who aren't particularly obvious choices as Gryffindors, either.

Now, do I have to go back and change her in all my fics that mention which house she was in..?

Yow, I hope not! That's the fanfic writer's dilemma, isn't it... But readers know we're working with incomplete information that might get contradicted at any time. I'd say, too much effort!

You raise a good question there. Do we know of other Order members who aren't Gryffindors? There are a handful whose houses we don't know, of course. (I'd bet the Prewett brothers were Gryffindor, since Molly was.)

You know, I'd love to see Kingsley as a Ravenclaw. That'd be another stereotype-shatterer.

[shimotsuki.livejournal.com]

I wasn't even thinking about wolfiness, actually. It's just that there's so much brown associated with Remus in canon -- brown hair, brown robes. And I picture him as having a really warm light in his eyes when he smiles, and the image I get when I think of that is sunlight-flecked hazel.

(My own eyes are blue, by the way, so it's okay for me to say that I think brown eyes are warmer, hee.)

I'm with you on the wolfiness thing, though. No wolfy characteristics and no obvious scars. Because people didn't know until Snape outed him!

[shimotsuki.livejournal.com]

I'd be pleased if I hadn't had money on Ravenclaw -- LOL.

Not quite sure what Myrtle brings to Ravenclaw... ;) -- Urgh, indeed. Whininess? Ill-advised stubbornness? I'd avoid that bathroom too, if I were at Hogwarts.

[mrstater.livejournal.com]

It's just that there's so much brown associated with Remus in canon -- brown hair, brown robes. And I picture him as having a really warm light in his eyes when he smiles, and the image I get when I think of that is sunlight-flecked hazel.

Okay...You could almost make me swing that way. ;) And David Tennant has brown eyes...

[mrstater.livejournal.com]

It is a bit un-Ravenclawish to get in the bath with Harry, isn't it?

[gilpin25.livejournal.com]

It's a bit un-anything to get in the bath with Harry from where I'm standing. All she's got to do is go and see him on stage and not have to worry about those pesky bubbles. Apparently. ;)

[jdbracknell.livejournal.com]

I'd always assumed Kingsley was a Ravenclaw, too. Obviously Snape is a member and he's Slytherin, and I think aren't Madam Pomfrey and Professor Sprout hinted at as members, and they could both well be Hufflepuffs (Sprout is, obviously).

And to change or not to change? I've got Tonks playing spin the bottle with Charlie Weasley somewhere, which would be tricky to change from a common room setting. Unless I have them do it in the library....

[jdbracknell.livejournal.com]

You're both wrong. Remus has grey eyes, that fluctaute between a kind of sage-y green and a dark hazel... ;).

[shimotsuki.livejournal.com]

(Love the new icon.)

Snape. Duh! Of course.

I do wonder how many Hogwarts teachers are/were in the Order. I can't remember exactly what Harry tells Slughorn, but he does seem to think that not all of them are. (Not that Harry knows everything, heh.) I'd like it if Professor Sprout, and especially Madam Pomfrey, are.

What about spin-the-bottle atop the notorious Astronomy Tower? If it were an inter-House event that involved sneaking around after curfew, that might make it even more thrilling for the participants...

[jncar.livejournal.com]

It's nice to know that I got it right in at least one of my fic-verses. Changing the others is too much trouble, so I'll just label them slightly-AU and call it good. Plus, I'm working on one right now that is utterly dependent on her being Slytherin, so I don't want all my work to go to waste!

Really though, I've always figured it was either Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff because she is intelligent and clever, but also hard working and loyal.

And I'm with you on either brown or hazel eyes for Remus. There is a wonderful warmth with hazel eyes.

[jdbracknell.livejournal.com]

I do wonder how many Hogwarts teachers are/were in the Order.

I've wondered about Flitwick - was he involved in the Fidelius charm on Lily and James? And he was a duelling champion, so I'd be surprised if he hadn't volunteered.

It always amazes me, though, how few people are in the Order, full stop. Does Dumbledore only admit people he thinks are really worth having? Or is it on a volunteer basis, and most of the wizarding world just want to keep their heads down?

I've wondered if it's a bit like the French resistance - there's the front line fighters, aurors and gifted and brave volunteers, and then those who support the organisation in other ways - maybe even financially.

[shimotsuki.livejournal.com]

Actually, I think it's neat that you've tried out versions of Tonks that are different enough to be in different houses. AU -- whatever. ;)

I'm working on one right now that is utterly dependent on her being Slytherin -- Drifting, right? I did love devious-Slytherin!Tonks plotting in Ch 2. And it makes total sense that she's got Slytherin-compatible qualities, given her family background.

LOL on the eye color. (JKR has answered fan questions about eye color for Sirius and Ron, so maybe we'll find out some day.)

[shimotsuki.livejournal.com]

Maybe it's just that how many people get to be in the Order depends on how much it needs to be kept secret, either from Voldemort or from the Ministry. (I wonder if there was the same kind of trouble with the Ministry the first time around, or if that's a Fudge/Umbridge special.) If it's all out in the open after HBP, will they start recruiting like mad?

[jncar.livejournal.com]

I think that Tonks was written in a way that she could have conceivably been in any of the houses, and so I like to mix traits of the various houses when I write her. In "Drifting," she's actually Hufflepuff with a streak of Slytherin-ness.

And in "Transformations" she's a Ravenclaw with some strong Gryffindor tenancies.

I am actually writing a one-shot for a colorful_bat challenge. It's a Snape/Tonks community that one of my friends started. The story is mostly gen, with just a few flirty moments, and is based on the premise that Snape was Tonks's Head of House and helped her get started on her path to becoming an Auror.

And have you noticed how JKR seems to be a fan of gray eyes? I seem to remember she has several characters listed as being "gray-eyed".

[jncar.livejournal.com]

correction:

that's colourful_bat (darn British spelling!)

and "tendencies"