Ramblings on the Four Basic Elements

Granger quotes Rowling in answer to a question about Death Eater children in the four Hogwarts Houses. JKR: Probably. I hear you. It is the tradition to have four houses, but in this case, I wanted them to correspond roughly to the four elements. So Gryffindor is fire, Ravenclaw is air, Hufflepuff is earth, and Slytherin is water, hence the fact that their common room is under the lake. So, again it was this idea of harmony and balance, that you had four necessary components and by integrating them you would make a very strong place. But they remain fragmented, as we know. And then Granger points out that Harry has to be the "quintessence" - literally the "Fifth Element" - which is the spiritual harmony which needs to be restored to the 4 houses. Earlier in the piece he talks about the movie "the Incredibles", which is one of my favorite animated features of recent times, and how it also uses a theme of 4 elements. (Granger believes that the Incredibles is a derivation of the older "Fantasic 4" comic in which you can see the four elements defined a little more starkly - remember "the Thing" (earth) and the "Human Torch?") The discord which exists when the parents and kids are at odds or when the dad is sneaking off to fight evil by himself has to be eliminated and harmony restored before the villain can be defeated. The "spirit" or "quintessence" in this movie's case is that of family unity. I believe that is why the movie is so good. It does not rely on a vague notion of the "family values" variety superimposed upon it which is one of "we put up with each other's annoying diversity of gifts". Rather it puts forth a theme of "family spirit", the spiritual reality of a "fifth element", which inevitably conquers the villain. To go one step further, I believe that the baby, "Jack-Jack", is the embodiment or incarnation of the quintessence. Several times throughout the movie it is spoken or alluded that "we don't know what his powers are yet". AHA! Sound familiar? From the prophecy: "He will have powers the Dark Lord knows not." Of course, at the end of the film the villain, "Syndrome", meets his demise when attempting to steal the child. The baby surprises him by turning into a stone (Philosopher's Stone?) and a ball of fire (Heir of Gryffindor?) - I can't remember if there's anything else. The surprise that Syndrome receives is comical and it parallels Voldemort's continual underestimation of Harry's quintessential powers which derive from his spirit. Voldemort barely counts spirit as worthy of note - he turns even his own soul into something material via his horrible horcruxes and describes himself in Goblet of fire as having been "less than spirit" after his curse intending to kill Harry (also a baby at the time) backfires.... Phew, that's enough for know....