Heir of Slytherin (was: Dumbledore in CoS)

[keli hughes]

No: HPFGUIDX 113539

> Yonna wrote:
> > Parseltongue is required to open the Cos sink entrance and 
> > the serpent door below. If not, anyone could simply open the
> > CoS and not "only" the true heir to Slytherin.

> SSSusan wrote:
> But Harry *isn't* the Heir of Slytherin.  So I guess what Harry 
> was doing was opening the Chamber, whereas Tom unsealed it.  

> Hannah now: I have a different way of interpreting the true heir 
> of Slytherin.  I think that Slytherin was taking a bit of a gamble
> when he created the chamber, assuming that, parseltongue being so 
> rare, only descendants of his were likely to be able to speak it, 
> so only an heir of his would be able to open the chamber.


I agree with Hannah.  I think that when Slytherin created the chamber, he thought that he was safe in locking it so that only a parseltongue could open it.  He thought that the only people with the gift parseltongue in the future would be his decendents.  He obviously overlooked the possibility of a curse backfiring and transferring this gift to another and so put no other precautions in place.  Quite lucky he did really, or we may have had to say goodbye to Ginny and hello to a second LV.

Keli