Throughout Harry Potter JK Rowling relied on the Slytherin house to represent negativity and, in many cases, pure evil. There are some exceptions to the rule, of course: some of the Slytherin students were amicable, and Peter Pettigrew was a Gryffindor, but on the whole, the likes of Dolores Umbridge and Lord Voldemort were clear in their Slytherin affiliations.
We’ve figured out five reasons why Slytherin is actually the best house in the series and five reasons why it may still remain the clear worst. We’ve taken everything into account here, from morality to character coolness.
SLYTHERIN IS THE BEST: Many Of Their Students Are Incredibly Skilled
Say what you will about Slytherin house and their motivations, it is filled with incredibly gifted witches and wizards. Bellatrix Lestrange, for example, may be evil, but you can’t deny her power.
Severus Snape might have held the world’s longest grudge, but he was the most skilled potion maker we ever met in Harry Potter.
SLYTHERIN IS THE WORST: Many Evil People Come From The House
But yes, the elephant in the room is impossible to ignore. Aside from the very occasional outsider, almost every bad guy in JK Rowling’s universe comes from Slytherin. The most obvious is, of course, Lord Voldemort, but there are some other important figures: Snape may have been loyal and secretly fighting for good, but he was still a very unpleasant person; Horace Slughorn was a good man deep down, but still showed some questionable views about blood status at times.
SLYTHERIN IS THE BEST: They Often Reach Redemption
Despite their notorious affiliation with dark magic, many Slytherin characters have been shown to develop from their once cruel selves. Slughorn himself regretted the information he gave Tom Riddle, for example.
Beyond him, the reveal of Snape’s true affiliation and Malfoy’s redemption from his Death Eater ways are suggestions that one doesn’t have to stick to what is perhaps expected of a Slytherin.
SLYTHERIN IS THE WORST: They Have The Worst Common Room
Here’s one we can all agree on. Imagine knowing about the inside of the common rooms of the other Hogwarts houses while you sit in a dark, dusty, and damp dungeon, free from natural light and warmth? In fact, the only light comes from the windows that look out into the Black Lake itself - this must be the gloomiest room in the castle! Terrible.
SLYTHERIN IS THE BEST: They Have Some Of The Most Interesting Characters
As mentioned above, Slytherin house is typically depicted as either evil or at least slightly unpleasant. However, this level of emotional turmoil always leads to the most interesting characters.
For example, we might have loved Hagrid, but we didn’t care why he was so nice- he was just nice. We hated Snape, but we really wanted to dig deeper into why he was so cruel.
SLYTHERIN IS THE WORST: They Have The Worst Head Of House
By this, we don’t mean that he was the worst person, as we have to take into consideration that he was putting his life on the line for the good fight and the memory of Lily. Snape was, quite simply, the most boring head of house. Flitwick, McGonagall, and Sprout were often cracking jokes and were widely loved by their students. Snape was just moody.
SLYTHERIN IS THE BEST: They Are Chosen Based On Ambition And Cunning
The meanness JK Rowling depicts running through most Slytherin characters is never something the sorting hat mentions. Instead, it looks for students based on attributes such as cunning and ambition.
When used in the right way, these are powerful things that can create a brilliant wizard who doesn’t have to be associated with the house’s history at all.
SLYTHERIN IS THE WORST: Their History Is Entrenched In Racism
Harry rarely found himself receiving the historical Slytherin house racism as he himself was the child of a witch and a wizard. His close friend Hermione, however, was received it in full force. Whether or not each individual student agreed, Salazar Slytherin himself wanted Hogwarts to only accept pure-blood students, meaning that the house itself retained an eternal association with this viewpoint.
SLYTHERIN IS THE BEST: Merlin Was A Slytherin
Merlin isn’t a character we ever meet in the Harry Potter series as he lived and died many, many years before it was set. However, JK Rowling confirmed that he is a canonical existence (the Order Of Merlin) and that he was a Slytherin.
No matter how much negativity is connected to the house, the very fact that one of the most powerful wizards to have ever existed was a Slytherin speaks volumes of their status.
SLYTHERIN IS THE WORST: Their Colours Imply Jealousy
The green of the Slytherin uniform might be a great color to wear for most, but its implications aren’t quite as positive. The color green is typically associated with jealousy, which isn’t really something you want your outfit to be screaming. And this is Harry Potter, remember- your outfit probably can scream.