[HPforGrownups] Re: Slytherin's evil

[Amanda Lewanski]

No: HPFGUIDX 2180

milz wrote:

> About the Basilisk...it was meant to be a *servant* of the Heir of
> Slytherin. In other words, the Heir could use it for what ever he/she
> wanted. Tom Riddle chose to use it for *evil*.

A trap many have fallen into, characters in many works of fiction and sometimes in real life---a strong enough character will be able to use something innately evil toward an ultimately good end.
I, for one, don't think it's possible.

And yes, in most European cultures snakes are Bad Things, and the Cockatrice and Basilisk both are big-news bad by nature. Their breath kills, their glance kills. Death hangs about them.
Slytherin might have gotten a bum deal, with an innate ability to speak to snakes, leading to the logical use of the king of serpents as a servant, and then being warped gradually by association.
Hmmm.

--Amanda