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• SLYTHERIN
  • patronus: white swan

— slytherin produces more than its share of dark wizards, but also turns out leaders who are proud, ambitious and cunning. merlin is one particularly famous slytherin.

• not every slytherin is a total git

it's a common misconception that slytherin house is host to every dark wizard imaginable. alright, so its founder, salazar slytherin, had a tendency to target muggle-born students with a terrifying giant snake in a specially-made chamber every now and then... and fair enough, lord voldemort is more or less the most evil force in wizarding history. but it's not all doom and gloom!

take one of hogwarts' most esteemed professors, severus snape, who gave his life for the greater good, all in the name of love.

how about regulus black, sirius black's brother, who famously defected from being a death eater in order to try and vanquish one of lord voldemort's horcruxes? nymphadora tonks's mother andromeda defied the pure-blood traditions of her family (which included her sister bellatrix lestrange) to marry a muggle-born: a very un-slytherin sort of thing to do. and as for wily old horace slughorn, he may have had some skeletons in his cupboard, but in the end shone true in the great battle of hogwarts.

• the common room is quite picturesque, you know

unlike the other houses, slytherin's common room is situated deep in the dungeons of hogwarts, surrounded by the school's great lake. its décor includes a crackling fireplace, carved chairs and greenish lamps – which actually sounds quite homey. and dungeons, smungeons. what's not to love about a nice, gothic feng shui?

one of the greatest wizards ever known was a slytherin slytherin's repute is always going to be ever so slightly tarnished by the fact that pesky lord voldemort was a staunch house member who embodied every slytherin stereotype going. but not much is said of the fact that one of the most famous wizards of all time, merlin, was also from the house. so beloved and great was merlin, that to this day, wizards are awarded the order of merlin to celebrate an outstanding achievement. proof that even gregory goyle may one day turn into a great inspiration. okay, maybe not.

• snakes are cool

and while we're defending things, let's also hear it for snakes – the slytherin emblem. we can understand that sometimes serpents have some poisonous tendencies that also relate to a few of slytherin's alumni, and yes, sometimes snakes can be murderous basilisks or even secret horcruxes, but don't hold that against them. snakes are some of nature's most resourceful creatures, and if life weighs down on them, they shed their skin and start anew. some slytherins, including a certain draco malfoy, have been known to do this too.

• slytherins are born winners

when harry first joined hogwarts, slytherins reigned supreme. they had ‘flattened’ gryffindor on the quidditch pitch and were on course to win the house cup for the seventh time in a row before harry, ron and hermione put an end to that. now, if slytherins were so terrible, where did all those house points come from? and since when was being good at sport a crime? perhaps everyone who has a go at slytherin is just a bad loser.

• and finally: who doesn't look good in green?

let's be honest. if we had to pick between a glorious emerald dress robe and a ghastly yellow one, we'd pick the former every time.