Author's Note: I had this brainstorm today. Okay, to be fair, it was more of a brain-drizzle. It wasn't quite an idea; it barely qualified as a thought. I was reading TeenTypist's one-shot "General Lee" and there was something in there along the lines of (and I'm paraphrasing here), "Who's ever heard of a Gryffindor and a Slytherin being friends?" And that's when I got my brain-drizzle. It got me to thinking about how no one's ever heard of a Hufflepuff going to the Dark side, or of a genuinely kind Slytherin. Because we, as humans, stereotype a lot. And that's really what the Sorting Hat does, is put people into little "boxes" in terms of personality and makes them fit, even if they really don't. It applies to real life, too, and I think people need to hear it. Harry Potter is a pretty perfect premise for this "story". In all actuality I don't know if it can be called a story because there is really no plot; it's just a conversation between three almost-totally anonymous Hogwarts students. Don't think they are J.K. Rowling's characters, because they're not. They are totally my creation- even though they don't have names or even genders. This is also kind of a writing exercise for me- although what I'm exercising I really have no idea. Don't worry if you can't tell who's talking- it doesn't really matter. I don't care if you review or not; if you want to, go ahead; if not, I don't care. If I keep talking, this author's note will be longer than the actual thing. That's all!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or anything related to it; I am merely borrowing the setting for my own purposes.

A Chat

Please read the author's note above before beginning the story! If you don't and you get confused, it's not my fault. Don't come crying to me.

"Look, stereotypes are just that- stereotypes. No one fits them perfectly, but people put others into categories based on their first impressions and judge them from there."

"But not all stereotypes are false. Some people actually do fit into them!"

"What are you guys talking about?"

"The fact that the Hogwarts method of sorting is full of crap."

"Is not!"

"Yeah, it is. Look at me. People think I'm evil because I'm in Slytherin. Tell me, when has the Sorting Hat ever mentioned that all Slytherins are evil?"

"But you gotta admit, the percentage of Slytherins that turned out to be Dark is kinda disproportionate, don't ya think?"

"Yeah, how many non-Slytherin graduates can you name that are on the Dark side?"

"Well, Peter Pettigrew, for one. He was in Gryffindor. And, yes, I know what you mean when you say that it is mostly Slytherins on Voldemort's side. But there are plenty of Slytherins that have nothing to do with Voldemort but get treated like crap by the rest of the Wizarding world because they happened to be Slytherins. Like how in World War II, Japanese-Americans took a lot of grief in America simply because they looked Asian."

"You know I never paid attention in Muggle Studies. Plus, it's the Americans."

"Look, you just stereotyped. All Americans are not the same."

"Yeah, yeah, and not all Slytherins are evil. We get your point."

"Do you, though? Because it goes the other way, too. Tell me, what does the Sorting Hat have to say about Hufflepuff?"

"You're going after the Hufflepuffs?!"

"Just answer my question."

"I dunno, something along the lines of them being 'just and loyal, and not afraid of toil.'"

"Exactly."

"…Exactly what?"

"Being just means you're doing what you think is right, right? What if they honestly think that wiping out all of the Muggle-born wizards is the right thing to do?"

"Oh, c'mon, a HUFFLEPUFF?"

"You're still stereotyping! This is exactly my point! Y'know what Hogwarts is asking for? A Hufflepuff uprising. Don't laugh; I'm serious! No one would ever see it coming, would they?"

"Yeah, but that's assuming they're smart enough to pull it off."

"You don't think Cedric Diggory could've pulled it off?"

"I think he's the exception to the rule."

"Speaking of rules, that's another thing. Didn't the Hat almost put Harry Potter, THE Harry Potter, in Slytherin? Can you imagine the reaction of the Wizarding world if their precious Boy-Who-Lived turned out to be a Slytherin? There would be riots."

"You sound all too amused by that thought."

"It's because I am. I almost wish it had happened. People would have to really change their points of view about Slytherins. We humans are so unbelievably closed-minded. And actually, now that I think about it, you'd think that for someone who was almost a Slytherin, he would be more accepting of them."

"Yeah right. A Slytherin killed his parents!"

"And a Slytherin has saved his life multiple times."

"Are you talking about Snape? Puh-leeze."

"I don't think you realize how much Gryffindors and Slytherins have in common."

"Like…they're all humans?"

"And…they all have magic?"

"Try the fact that neither of them have a problem with breaking the rules."

"Are you saying that Gryffindors are bad people?"

"Oh, my God. Have you not absorbed ANYTHING I've said so far? My two points are this: One: Dumbledore said that if we want to defeat Voldemort, we have to band together, unite, whatever word you want to use. Why aren't people listening to his advice? He's Dumbledore, after all. Mr. Infallible. Mr. Always-right. Apparently people only take advice they want to hear. And two: Why are people so insistent upon being prejudiced towards each other? What's wrong with a Slytherin and a Gryffindor being friends?"

"I can't answer for human nature."

"I know. That's why someone needs to do something about people being morons about petty things when there are much bigger things to worry about right now."

"Like who's gonna win the next Quiddich world cup!"

"Dude. Definitely not the point."

"Yeah, I know. I was trying to put a light spin on the conversation! Why is it whenever I talk to you Slytherins our chats always make me feel like crap about myself?"

"Because it's fun to make you feel like crap. And it makes you grow as a person."

"Yeah, well, you guys are a bucket of joy, as always. I'm going inside."

"Bye bye."

"See ya later."

Author's Note: One very interesting (and kind of weird) thing I noticed while writing this: There is no true "common room" where people of any House can just hang out together. It's like they want segregation between the Houses. Odd, no? If the whole above made any sense to you, I'm impressed, because not all of it makes sense to me. But oh well. Thanks for reading…I hope it made some kind of impression on you other than one of boredom. See y'all later.