Slytherin could make you great you know!
You’ve read the books, seen the films and now, you’re ready to get onto the Pottermore website to officially get sorted into your Hogwarts house.
As you click through all of the multiple-choice questions, your heart starts to race. You’re answering honestly, but what if you’re not in the house you expect to be? Well, it’s too late to worry about that now, as the Sorting Hat is making its decision and…YOU’RE IN SLYTHERIN!
Before you beg to be sorted in Gryffindor instead, take a breath and remember that, in the words of the Sorting Hat itself, ‘Slytherin could make you great, you know. Don’t believe us? Just take a look at the following fantastic Slytherin characters and rest assured that you are in fantastic magical company.
Professor Snape. While it’s easy to hate Severus Snape from the outset, he transpires to be so much more than a nasty professor who doesn’t care for Harry Potter. A reformed Death Eater and eternally in love with the memory of Harry’s mother, he swears a solemn oath to protect ‘the boy who lived’ and eventually, sacrifices his own life to do exactly that.
A quiet hero and deeply tragic character, Snape is easy to misunderstand. Teased as a youngster, he found solace in his studies, resulting in his flair for potions and curses – particularly of the more malicious kind – and it doesn’t help that he looked as evil as they come, too! Slicked-down black hair, heavy brows and rarely wearing a smile, he really does seem like evil personified, but as he lay dying, he revealed just how human he really was, all along.
Even the hardest of Slytherins and fiercest Gryffindors wept tears for Severus and he is a fantastic example of just how clever, witty and deeply sensitive wizards and witches in this house can be.
Regulus Black. Although Regulus is not an observable character in the Harry Potter franchise, having died years before the books were set, Regulus is another fantastic Slytherin to admire.
Inducted into the Death Eaters as a vulnerable teenager, he became disillusioned with Voldemort and realised the error of his ways. This honest revelation lead to Regulus bravely attempting to destroy one of the Dark Lord’s horcruxes, in a bid to make him mortal – and therefore easy to defeat. He died for his trouble but is a shining example of how Slytherins cannot ignore their inner feelings. He was also Sirius Black’s brother and given how much everybody loved Sirius, there is little option but to have some warm and fuzzy feelings for Regulus, too.
Albus Potter. Any fans of the Harry Potter series should read the follow-on books that JK Rowling has released, as they tell the story of Albus Potter, Harry’s second child.
Sorted into Slytherin, Albus feels as though he has let his family down. Constantly feeling the pressure of being Harry Potter’s son, Albus is a little quiet and withdrawn, giving the illusion of a moody, ‘typical’ Slytherin, but he is simply labouring under the weight of an unbearable family legacy. Befriending a Malfoy doesn’t help to dispel the myth that he is going to turn out more evil than his father, but Albus comes good in the end, demonstrating a desire for justice over all else. How could he not? He’s a Potter!
If these Slytherin celebrities aren’t enough to set your mind at rest, remember that there are countless admirable traits running through the core of every student sorted into Slytherin. Ok, so Gryffindors might be loyal, Ravenclaws are creative and Hufflepuffs demonstrate patience, but Slytherins have a roster of fantastic qualities to covet including:
- resourcefulness
- cunning
- ambition
- determination
- self-preservation
- fraternity
- intelligence
Essentially, if you’re in Slytherin, you are clever, loyal to your friends and pretty much guaranteed to go far. Plus, let’s not forget that everybody looks good in those gorgeous green-and-silver house colours!
Now that you can see what an esteemed house Slytherin really is, you need to get yourself to the Warner Bros Studio Tour. Here, you can head to the shop and get kitted out in all things green and emblazoned with snakes, from Quidditch jumpers through to Hogwarts robes and even stationery sets. You’re sure to be blown away by the sheer range of house-specific goodies, and even if you’re on a budget, there will be a handful of affordable keepsakes that you won’t be able resist. If nothing else, you’ll definitely need a prefect badge!
Just remember that being sorted into Slytherin doesn’t mean that you’re destined to be evil! Unless of course, you can talk to snakes that is, in which case you really might be the next Dark Lord…
** This is a collaborative post **
