Could Salazar Slytherin be nice?

[bookraptor11 at yahoo.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 26853

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., y_no_m at y... wrote:
> Professor McGonagall said in the first book that each House has a 
> long and honorable history including Slytherin.

> I am writing a fanfic with this theory in mind, and readers are 
> either liking the idea of a nice Slytherin or saying Slytherin 
can't 
> have been nice.

I wouldn't call him nice.  One of the other replies noted his 
creation of the basilisk, keeping it hidden and ready to be unleashed 
all these years. 
While this is not the actions of a "nice" man, it doesn't make 
Salazar Slytherin a villain like Voldemort. He created the chamber of 
secrets during a time of persecution of wizards and witches, and it 
fits in with his philosophy of "the ends justifying the means."  It 
was a booby trap in Hogwarts if muggles invaded, but he didn't 
advocate muggle genocide like Voldemort does.

The trouble with this philosophy of course is that it can lead to 
very evil actions and a person becoming increasingly evil if he lives 
his life solely with this in mind.  However, Slytherin may have had 
good qualities like bravery and loyalty.  We just don't have enough 
info on him.

I'd be interested in fanfic exploring this. Hopefully JKR will be 
more forthcoming in later books or after the series ends.

Donna