Author: Lyta Padfoot
Category: General
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Harry Potter is the property of J.K. Rowling. Characters and situations are used without permission, no infringement is intended.
Summary: Cho Chang's observations on Ravenclaw House.
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Though it might not appear that way to outsiders, I have always felt Ravenclaw to be an exceptionally a diverse house. I don't refer to Ravenclaws coming from a variety of backgrounds and cultures, but that there seem to be more 'types' that we may be placed into than any of the other houses. Cleverness is a virtue with many forms of expression. In the broadcast categories, some Ravenclaws devote themselves to their school work, others to individual studies and pursuits. Still others prefer the intellectual challenge that can only be derived from competetion between two bright minds.
Kevin Entwhistle and Padma Patil each are of the third variety of Ravenclaws. Being the least among our house in numbers, a few second-guess the wisdom of the Sorting Hat in placing them in Rowena's nest. Their cleverness is of a more subtle sort that is easily overlooked, their ambition is to sharpen their mind not merely to claim a title. Not to say that there is no prize, pride does have considerable value.
Kevin approaches me as I thumb through the pages of a catalogue that came with my post. Though he may wear the blue of the Eagles, there is an almost Slytherin shrewdness about him that makes me wary. I have faced too many such players in Quidditch not to recognize the signs.
"Chess, Cho?" Kevin asks. His blue eyes are guileless but I know better. He is seeking a fresh victim after beating Sara Fawcett in seventeen moves. I shake my head in the negative; chess is not my forte.
"Not tonight," I inform him with a soft smile. Despite being the Seeker for Ravenclaw, I am appallingly bad at chess. Something about the stillness of the game never fails to lull me into making foolish mistakes. I wonder if Kevin is aware of that. "You might try asking Padma."
"Ask Padma what?" The subject of our discussion asks as she hears her own name spoken. She looks at us pointedly over the top of the book she has been reading.
"Want to see if you can defeat me in a game of chess?" Kevin asks her with just enough of a challenge in his voice to insure that she will accept. Padma loves to best others in games of strategy, especially if pride is on the line. The maintenance of intellectual pride consumes a considerable amount of any Ravenclaw's time, but for Padma it is almost an obsession. Consensus within the house is that Padma needs her feeling of intellectual superiority to differentiate her from her twin in the eyes of herself and others. Muggle psychology was something of a hobby in the house last year; the prefects - inspired by a Muggle-born first year whose psychiatrist parents wrote a most odd letter - used it to in an attempt to determine potential problems. Unfortunitly they became rather...carried away. I must admit its fun to try discover what it is that makes another person tick, even if the end result is the understanding that human beings are strange creatures incapable of being completely understood by any system, discipline, or being.
"The question ought to be can you beat me," Padma replies, a competitive lilt in her voice and a certain fire I know all to well in her brown eyes. She sets aside her book and moves to join him at the gaming table.
Kevin smiles that odd little smile that again makes some wonder why he was not a Slytherin. "We'll see."
Slytherins compete and play for material gain, power, or position. Ravenclaws play for the challenge and thrill of flexing their minds. In that Kevin and Padma are alike - though so superficially dissimilar.