Slytherin Purebloods?

[Steve]

No: HPFGUIDX 88180

Re: Slytherin Purebloods?

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "severelysigune" 

<severelysigune at y...> wrote:
> Many people who theorise ... assume that students ... sorted into 
> Slytherin must necessarily be purebloods; .... ... 
>
> It seems Slytherin House would have to be the smallest of all houses
> - as far as we know from the books, there are less than ten 
> pureblood families left in all. 

bboy_mn:

I assume you are basing this on the fact that there appear to be 10
Slytherin's in Draco' class year and none of them appear to have the
same name. 

I don't take you to me that there are less than 10 absolutely, but
that there are less than 10 using Draco's class as a model. Correct?


> severelysigune:
> 
> I would guess that most wizarding families have Muggles somewhere in 
> their ancestry, and that being against 'Mudbloods' does not
> necessarily preclude one's being a pureblood oneself. 

bboy_mn:

Sorry, I'm not quite clear about what you mean. Of course, I've had a
long day and my brain isn't exactly operating at full speed. I'm
guessing you are saying, that being against mudbloods does not
necessarily 'include' you as being a pureblood. In other words, you
don't have to be a pureblood to be against muggles. 

I can see people with a trace of muggle here and there somewhere in
their family tree still being against intermarriage and supporting the
principles of pureblood.

So did I get it right or am I completely lost? Let's not forget that
the greatest promoter of the pureblood principles himself is indeed
not a pureblood. Voldemort is a half-blood, but that is through no
fault of his own, and half-blood or not, he can still profess the
principles of maintaining and promoting the superiority of pure blood.


> severelysigune:
> 
> In the days of Salazar Slytherin it might still have been possible
> to select Slytherins on blood basis only, but surely it cannot be 
> the case anymore now?

bboy_mn:

In a past discussion of the nature of Salazar Slytherin, some wise
person pointed out that we have no real proof or for that matter, good
evidence that Slytherin was some horrible person who wanted to kill
every mudblood and mixed-blood he met. 

About all we have in the way of direct statements about the situation
in which Slytherin left Hogwarts was that Slytherin wanted to be more
selective in who was admitted, and that he didn't trust muggles. 

But we must keep in mind that this was in the middle ages, perhaps
even pre-middle ages, when witches and wizards were greatly feared and
heavily persecuted. That is certainly justifiable reason not to trust
muggles.

All the horrible projections of Slytherin philosophy are put forth by
modern people who are using Slytherin as a way of promoting their own
agenda in the same way that Christian have promoted their murderous
agendas in the past, and the same way that extremest Muslims promote
their own self-serving murderous agendas today. It is standard
operating procedure for dictators and oppressors to prey on the
extremes of people's belief systems in order to manipulate them into
falling in line with the dictator agenda. 

To address your actual point, I too believe that today, mixed bloods
are sorted into Slytherin. Although any mixed blood sorted into that
house would do best to keep their head down and stay off people's
radar screens. True Slytherin believed in keeping magic in pure magic
families, and he had a logical and justifiable reason for that at that
point in history, but it is the characteristics of cunning, and
ruthless ambition that get you sorted into Slytherin house. I think if
you have that, you have enough.

Just a thought.

bboy_mn