Slyths as Volmort's recruitment pool

[Michael Vaccian]

No: HPFGUIDX 67000

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To veer off on a slight tangent, is it me or is Snape the only 
redeemable/redeemed(?) character to come out of Slytherin? Nothing 
seems to point to Draco being of the same ilk (he seems to have full 
knowledge of his father's involvement in the DE, and his threats to 
Harry strike me as all too real). The Slytherin house, in fact, 
appears to be quite the recruitment pool for DE, with some of the 
more prominent families (Malfoys leading the way) acting as loyal 
Voldermort henchmen/women. Normal since Tom Riddle came from there... 
but you'd think the books would mention at least a couple who'd make 
overt stands, if at least to show Slyths aren't a monolithic block. 

(incidentally -- Was Wormtail part of Gryffindor? Probably, if I read 
Snape's memories correctly; that could make him the flip side of 
Snape: originally from our side, before he crossed over to the other).

The good dramatic novel needs antagonists, and the Pet and Senior 
Slyths are perfect for the part (from DEs to epic Quidditch struggles 
to Umbridge's Inquisitors-in-training). But there's Sorting Hat's 
song (as good a foreshadowing/foreboding mechanism as any in the 
books) that points to the fact that all houses must stand together in 
order to weather the storm ahead. 

I don't consider myself a scholar of the books, having only read them 
once each, but the case for unity is far from being reflected in 
reality (if we take the hat at its word, Hogwarts is the proverbial 
house divided). I can see a number of Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and 
Gryffindor pooling their efforts to meet a threat, but Slytherin 
seems to fall sqaurely on the other side of the line. 

Just look at the DA: it might have been an opportunity to introduce a 
Slytherin character that is loyal to the house, and not Malfoy and 
his cronies (mind you, it would probably take another 100 pages to 
introduce/justify a Slyth character that could be trusted by Harry & 
co). But as it stands, only three of the four houses were represented 
(with the Gryffs in majority).

Mmmm... Salazar Slytherin *was* the first to leave the school after 
its foundation, so we may be seeing a repeat of history, with the 
majority of his House flocking to Voldermort in the upcoming battle, 
leaving the others to fend on their own...