Harry Potter: Why Slytherin is a great house!

 

Disclaimer: This post has some many spoilers. In case you have finished the series, or don’t mind the spoilers, continue reading. 

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So I have had a wizarding world account for quite a few years now. As users of Pottermore will know, the first thing you do after creating an account is take the Sorting quiz, and it’s easy to see why.

"While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn you house points, while any rule-breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great honour."

- Minerva McGonagall on Hogwarts houses, Chapter 7: The Sorting Hat, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone

Your house is basically like your family for the entirety of your time at Hogwarts. You share dorms with them, hang out with them, you have a cool common room based wholly on your house founder’s preferences et cetera, et cetera. 

 The first time I tried the quiz, it sorted me in Slytherin.

“Or perhaps in Slytherin, you’ll make your real friends. Those cunning folk use any means to achieve their ends”

- The Sorting Hat on Slytherin, Chapter 7: the Sorting Hat, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.

 And I was like- “OMG! I got sorted into Slytherin. I thought I was a Ravenclaw! What happened?!”  Slytherin has this reputation for breeding Dark wizards. Almost all of Voldemort’s followers, not to mention Tom Riddle himself, were in Slytherin. Take Bellatrix, for example. Or Lucius Malfoy or Avery or Macnair or Barty Crouch Jr or Rodolphus Lestrange or Evan Rosier or Dolores Umbridge (She isn't a Death Eater, but she's twice as worse!)… I could go on forever. 

 Obviously, I told my family. My sister, a Gryffindor, teased me. My dad pointed out that it was an accurate outcome, considering how I ridicule my sister (Not true!) On the internet too, I come across people instantly labelling someone a Slytherin if they say/do something, not in favour of the Harry Potter fandom.  So I dedicate this post to all who think being a Slytherin is bad.

  Despite its poor reputation, Slytherin is not a terrible house to be in. Here are just some reasons:

1. Slytherins are not doofuses.

I just despise this stereotype of- “They must be a Slytherin because they’re so cruel”

Remember Severus Snape? The double agent for Dumbledore who risked his life to save Lily Potter’s kid? Admittedly, he was a jerk for the majority of the series, but he was the guy who saved Harry from falling off his broom. He immediately contacted the Order of the Phoenix after Harry told him about his vision of Sirius in the Department of Ministries. He did bully other students, particularly Neville (My theory is that if Neville was the chosen one, Lily and James would still be alive, which is why Snape dislikes Neville; Lily needn't have died if Neville was the chosen one). He has a reason to dislike Harry; James was not exactly nice to Snape. But Harry also described him as ‘the bravest man he ever knew’ in the epilogue of the Deathly Hallows.

Remember Regulus Black? He figured out about Voldemort’s Horcruxes before Dumbledore did. He died a hero’s death fighting the Inferi. He couldn’t be very mean. See how Kreacher remembers him with such fondness? 

  Conclusion: All Slytherins are not doofuses. But hey, it isn’t our fault that people like Voldemort were sorted in Slytherin!

2. Slytherins are street-smart, as compared to Ravenclaws, who are book-smart.

Slytherins are shrewd, practical and adaptive. For all who don’t know, street smarts are people whose knowledge mostly comes from their experience. They are aware of their surroundings and observe a lot. Street smartness is more important than being book smart, because if you can’t apply the knowledge gained from your books in real life, what’s the point of learning it?

3. Slytherins are ambitious.

Ambition is a classic Slytherin trait; few people think that is a good quality. When a Slytherin sets their eyes on something, nothing can stop them. They will try to achieve their goal by hook or by crook. Ambition is a good thing to have in limits. If you don’t have the ambition to do stuff, how will you get motivated? Ambitionless people don’t have aims or the desire to change something. But too much ambition makes people unreasonable and gives them a superiority complex over people. 

4. Slytherins are good friends to have.

If you get a Slytherin to like you, be honoured; Slytherins are quite finicky. If they sincerely like you, they’ll be the nicest person you’ll meet. They are about just as loyal as Hufflepuffs with their comrades. They’ll go out of their way to support you. But break their trust once, and it's likely that they’ll never talk to you again. Be careful with your Slytherin friends!

5. Slytherins are good academically too.

Not all of them, but the majority are. It is said in the very first Harry Potter book that Slytherin had won the house cup for seven years straight. They would have won for the eighth time in a row had Harry, Ron and Hermione not dashed their hopes. Other than Snape’s biases, where would Slytherin have got all its house points from? It’s not as if Snape would give off 50 points to all Slytherin students for just breathing. Even Merlin, the world-renowned wizard, was in Slytherin, after all!

6. Slytherins have got style.

We Slytherins have the greatest taste in fashion compared to all other houses. Need I remind you of how cool the combination of emerald green, silver and black looks?  And our cool gothic common room with green lamps, vintage furniture, and a pretty view of the underwater Black Lake? Or of Salazar Slytherin’s intricately carved locket? Sorry to all other houses, but Slytherin is a mile ahead of you when it comes to style.

So, all people disappointed at being sorted in Slytherin, don’t be! It’s a really cool house with some interesting backstory. You’ll learn to love it! 

Until next time,

Nakshu :) 

#SlytherinPride