Okay, let's try this again, four years later...

[Bob Schroeck]

I was going through some of the older posts in this area over the weekend, and I came across a combined teaser/audience participation bit that I posted for the Harry Potter Step just before that hacker whacked so much of ezBoard.  It got a lot of responses, but they were all blanked, and judging from my notes, before I'd been able to get from them what I'd hoped for.  So, let's try it again...

---

"Go ahead," Dumbledore said, holding out a pointed leather hat so
old and worn that it looked about ready to fall apart.  "Put it
on."

I gave him a dubious look, not taken in by the whole "twinkling
eyes I'm-just-an-eccentric-old-man" act.  "You're kidding."  I
gave the hat a dubious look as well, and had the oddest sensation
that it was returning the favor.

Dumbledore shook his head. "Not at all, Douglas. Every staff
member at Hogwarts must have at least a nominal House
affiliation."  He shrugged.  "At the very least to give us an
idea who can act as a representative of each House in ... unusual
circumstances."

I caught myself about to scowl in a very Skuld-like manner and
aborted the expression.  I sighed, though, and held out my hand.
"If I must."

Dumbledore just smiled and silently extended the Sorting Hat.

"Well, what have we here?"  A voice echoed in my mind as soon as
I'd plopped the thing onto my head.

"Funny," I thought back at it.  "I was about to say the same
thing.  I'm used to talking to my headgear, but having it talk
back is a new experience for me."

I sensed, rather than heard, its amusement.  "A new teacher, are
you?  Well, well, where shall I put you?"  It fell silent for a
moment and I could feel the depth of its concentration.  "Hmmm.
Ambitious you aren't, not for power, but you enjoy glory for its
own sake, and there is blood enough on your hands.  Slytherin
could make use of you."

It seemed to shift and settle itself differently on my head. "And
yet you are a hero, too."

"I wouldn't say so.  I'm a soldier, I just do my job."

Its chuckle, like the sound of old, creaking leather, echoed
between my ears.  "Eyes always ahead, you never know what it is
you have done, do you?  Trust me, young man, I see the trail of a
hero behind you.  Gryffindor is as good a choice."

"Whatever you say, Hat."

"But you also have a mind of extraordinary power, if not always
of sufficient focus.  Ravenclaw could sharpen your wits."

I sighed.  "Is there a point to this?  Or an end?"

"And loyalty in spades," it went on, ignoring me this time.  "To
friends, to wife, to commander, to those whom you take under your
wing, and those who take you in.  You would gladly die in their
defense.  You could show Hufflepuff a thing or two, I'd wager."

"So I belong everywhere.  Maybe you should make up a new house
just for me."

Another creaky chuckle.  "Maybe I should.  That'd stand
Dumbledore's beard on end!  Well, Mr. Sangnoir, it's a hard
decision, a hard one indeed.  But I've taken your measure, and
read your life, and it is my belief that you belong in..."

---

... and here's the audience participation part.  Pick yer house and make yer argument.  I have no pre-ordained plans or needs for Doug to be in any particular house, so I'll entertain all possibilities. 
Except House Sparklypoo.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[Wiregeek]

hrmmm.....

HRRMMM.

Gryffindor.

'Soldier' in his world means 'Hero' in Harry's.
"No can brain today. Want cheezeburger."
From NGE: Nobody Dies, by Gregg Landsman
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5579457/1/NGE_Nobody_Dies

[Shepherd]

Gryffindor.

Ravenclaws value knowledge over everything else, and Doug merely views knowledge as a useful tool.

Hufflepuffs value loyalty above everything (the 'my country, right or wrong' approach). Since Doug is used to viewing things from a multinational
perspective, he realized that blind loyalty to a single person or viewpoint is too limiting.

Slytherin is perhaps the weakest option. His ambition is simply to get home without having to compromise his principles and cunning can be as much a Gryffindor
trait as a Slytherin trait.

Since he is a brave and resourceful leader, I'd have to suggest Gryffindor.
----------------------------------------------------

"Anyone can be a winner if their definition of victory is flexible enough." - The DM of the Rings XXXV

[Foxboy]

House Sangnoir, home of the balanced pragmatists... and the total whackjobs.
''We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat
them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary.''

-- James Nicoll

[Star Ranger4]

I second the Gryphon-dor for the same reasons Shepherd does
Hear that thunder rolling till it seems to split the sky?
That's every ship in Grayson's Navy taking up the cry-
NO QUARTER!!!
-- "No Quarter", by Echo's Children

[robkelk]

As I recall from the previous discussion...

Doug does enjoy the glory that comes with being a Warrior, but he can put it aside reasonably easily. And most of the blood on his hands is there for more noble reasons than the usual for someone in House Slythern. So that house was dismissed rather quickly.

While Doug's been a hero, he's also been an "average joe". Note how long it took him to start making a difference in DWII, and more importantly that he called those acts his duty - a hero of the sort that Gryffindor exemplifies would never have considered the responsibility a "duty". So that was the second house to be dismissed (although it took a while to reach that point).

After that, discussion got a bit ... intense. So I won't rehash that.

I agree with Shepherd that Ravenclaws value knowledge over everything else, and Doug merely views knowledge as a useful tool.

I also agree with Shepherd that Hufflepuffs value loyalty above everything, but I don't agree with the "my country, right or wrong" interpertation he's given them. As Bob already mentioned, Doug is loyal "To friends, to wife, to commander, to those whom you take under your wing, and those who take you in" - but he isn't blind to their faults.

More important is the Sorting Hat's next sentence: "You would gladly die in their defense." And that, as far as I can tell, is one of Doug's defining personality traits.

So I'd say Doug should be sorted into House Hufflepuff.
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

[Black Aeronaut]

Leave it to me, the iconoclast, to play devil's advocate.

Slytherine isn't entirely out simply because they value people with a strong sense of ambition. In fact, a lot about what makes Slytherine what it really
is, from what I've been able to gather, is to get your way through whatever means possible. Note that the key words are 'get your way'. If that
means that you're gonna do it without compromising your scruples, then its a valid Slytherine line of thinking.

Note also that, in canon, all Slytherines had turned to Deatheaters. I could be mistaken, but I think there were even a few half-way decent Slytherines in
there... Or was that the fanon? Either way, it simply doesn't ring true that the entire House of Slytherine would be a lost cause. Stick Doug in there
and I bet he'll have the place cleaned up in about two or three terms, even if he's gotta get one or two of them expelled (though I hope it
wouldn't come to that).

[Foxboy]

Tonks was Slytherin IIRC, so there is precedent for "decent Slytherins."
''We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat
them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary.''

-- James Nicoll

[Shepherd]

Foxboy wrote:

---

Tonks was Slytherin IIRC, so there is precedent for "decent Slytherins."

Nope. Tonks was a Hufflepuff according to JKR.
----------------------------------------------------

"Anyone can be a winner if their definition of victory is flexible enough." - The DM of the Rings XXXV

[Black Aeronaut]

It was Slughorn who was a Slytherine. He even felt guilty about revealing what he knew of horcruxes to Tom Riddle.

[WengFook]

After reading the above my kneejerk answer was Gryffindor but, I'm going to agree with Rob on this one. I think Doug should be in Hufflepuff
_________________________________
Take Your Candle, Go Light Your World.

[David Lewis]

Ooo! I'm kind of torn between Hufflepuff and Slytherin, because one of the
defining traits of Gryffindor is there tendancy to do whatever it takes, heedless of rules, logic or common sense to do what they think is right. There's a very black and white good/evil stance there, making it the house of righteous heroes,
and whilst initially that sounds like Doug to a tee, I realized that there are some things he does that, whilst not exactly evil, are at least a very
dark shade of grey. Doug is indeed a hero but also as a soldier, more concerned with the greater good (at least that's my impression), and I think
there are lines he could cross that the idealistic Gryffindors would abhor (Read: The excerpt where he's telling Hermione that he's going to use
MAGICAL NUKES on their enemies, and her horrified reaction). And I would tend to rule Ravenclaw right out of the running, as whilst knowledge and tactics, as
well as scientific exploits are a key feature of his personality, I agree with what the others have said about it being a tool. It's important, but not the
cause he fights for, but for Ravenclaw it is.

Hufflepuff, being one of the more underdeveloped houses, is harder to get a
read on, but the main impression that I get from them are two things.

1) Intense loyalty. Be it to your
friends, school, cause, whatever, they are loyal to a fault

2) Perseverance - Especially in the early
books, emphasis was put on the fact that, whilst they were comparatively unremarkable in most ways, they never gave up on anything. These people just keep going not matter the damage, strain how long it takes or cost to themselves, they are damn well going to get the
job done. This (kind of) selfless disregard for there own goals until the job is done, as well as freaking ludicrous determination to get shit done reminds me
of Doug's loyalty to his own superheroic code and Vows. He often makes mention of the Oath's he's taken, and his drive to not only acknowledge
them, but fulfill them to the letterat all times. Doug is incredibly
loyal and preservers to his own code, and I think that in some weird way makes him both too flexible and too Inflexible for Gryffindor and Ravenclaw at the
same time, but fits within the boundary of Hufflepuff quite comfortably. Gryffindor are willing to do anything for a very narrow set of reasons, and Ravenclaw
aren't concerned with the reason so much as the why, but Hufflepuff will go through anything for a why, whatever it may be. (does that make sense? It did
in my head...) .Plus on a less moral note, I think it would be great to see Hufflepuff have a COOL teacher for a change. Hufflepuffs as we've seen with
Cedric Diggory, are very enamored (and loyal!)of their heroes, and I think Doug would soon have a massive
following amongst the neglected Hufflepuffs.

Now, on the other end of the scale, Slytherins are all about doing
absolutely anything to achieve what they think is right, with very different set of ethics guiding them
compared to Gryffindor. But whilst they lack the Hufflepuff's bloody-mined determination, they have a quite unique degree of tencacity
with which to achieve their goals. Hufflepuffs wear a problem down over time, but Slytherines use finesse and cunning to get what they want. In negative terms, this makes them sneaky, underhand and selfish. In the positive, this makes them
tenacious, flexible and intelligent. They strike me as being a mixture of Ravenclaw's intelligence and Gryffindor's drive. I could see Doug, who so
often has to agonize over his ethics, having his conscious strained here, but his sometimes (situationally justified) dark actions, as well as the guile and
underhanded methods he can use to achieve them, does make a disturbingly apt description of the Slytherin way. The main obstacle of course, is the motivation
behind their actions. Slytherins are almost always in it for themselves. Doug's almost always in it to save the world.Doug justifies the nasty things he has to do sometimes as being for the greater good. So with the far more selfish motivations of
the standard Slytherin, they would cross lines that Doug would loath, and he would rapidly come to (at least) dislike them. However, all this speculation is
based on the idea that Slytherins do everything for personal gain, and whilst I don't think there have ever been any explicit exceptions shown, I doubt
that every single one of them are self-obsessed manipulators. If there are people in there with more noble (or at least less selfish) motivations, then I think Doug would see them more as soldiers to guide rather
then snakes to be defanged. (crap example I know, but it was all I could think of).

So to round up this rambling post,

Gryffindor - No, too restrictive

Ravenclaw - No, different goals

Hufflepuff - Yes, ethically similar

Slytherin - Maybe, depends if they're all
selfish

[Black Aeronaut]

We must not forget: a lot of people who become party to the Deatheaters usually do so upon pain of death. And from which house did most Deatheaters get drafted
from?

[VladimirTherin]

Id' say Hufflepuff, for much the same reasons Camwyn threw John Constantine in there :-)