Parselmouths among great and good?

[Ceridwen]

No: HPFGUIDX 144777

Alla:
> "And he was a Parselmouth," interjected Harry.
> "Yes, indeed; a rare ability and one supposedly connected with the 
> Dark Arts, although as we know, there are Parselmouths among the 
great 
> and good too" - HBP, p.276.
> 
> Parselmouths as in "plural"?  Whom is Dumbledore talking about 
besides 
> Harry of course? Is he talking about Salasar as great and good or 
> somebody else?
> 
> Help, please?

Ceridwen:
I'm not here to help, unfortunately!  But I've wondered about the 
disconnect here, too.  So many people in fandom think that 
Parselmouth = Bad/Evil, and they use the Gaunts now for more proof.  
It seems to be an attitude in the WW as well.  When Harry is exposed 
as a Parselmouth, everyone applies it to their existing fears about 
him as being the possible Heir of Slytherin.  Never mind that Harry 
wasn't around when the Chamber was opened half a century earlier.

Yet, it's as much canon that Dumbledore says there are Parselmouths 
among the great and good.  We see no examples of these great and good 
people.  Dumbledore doesn't give us any.  Neither does anybody else.  
I would expect DADA to address this, since Dumbledore also says it's 
associated as a trait of the Dark Arts.  But, there are no 
revelations from DADA class.  Other than the fact that it's not 
discussed, which could only mean that it isn't on that year's 
curriculum.

And, reading this over, is Slytherin one of the great and good?  
Everyone was so afraid of the 'Heir of Slytherin', as if the WW sees 
Salizar Slytherin as 'Evil' absolutely.  Yet the other Founders, and 
their successors for a thousand years, see fit to leave Slytherin 
House as a part of the school.  Another disconnect.

No one discusses Dumbledore's words here.  Everyone does seem to 
think that Parselmouth = Evil despite, or maybe they're ignoring, 
what Dumbledore says.  Will we meet or hear about a great and good 
Parselmouth in book 7?  Should this be another thing on the list of 
things to look for?  Or is this another way of saying that you can't 
judge a group by the actions of individuals within that group?  If 
so, it seems to me that we should still either meet or hear about 
these great and good people Dumbledore mentions.

Ceridwen.