However, it's also possible to have just one of the traits, so a Gryffindor can have limited ambition (Neville, most of the Weasley clan), and a Slytherin can lack courage (Lucius and Draco Malfoy).
Also, not all Slytherins want to be feared in order to gain power/fame, so that's another unfair characterization. Slughorn, for example, found a way to acquire notoriety through the courting of promising youths, and gaining their friendship.
True dat.
Slughorn in some ways embodying the Slytherin house that should have been, before it was twisted beyond recognition by Voldemort.
I'd say that both Ron and Neville have secret ambitions to distinguish themselves as shown, for instance, when Ron sees himself in the mirror of Erised being head boy and being awarded the house cup, they just feel inept or unworthy a lot of the time, overshadowed by overbearing family.
Dumbledore, of course, was still extremely ambitious at 11 when he was being sorted. He refused the post of minister much later, after being chastened by his experience with Grindelwald.
And I bet Hufflepuffs can be quite scary, depending on whether they are united behind you or against you. I bet no one is ever bullied or excluded in that house though, not like in Gryffindor or Ravenclaw where their fellow housemates can make life very unpleasant for Harry and Luna. We are rarely privy to goings on in Slytherin, but one would imagine bully is their middle name...
I do love those books for giving so many interesting talking points!
