The good Slytherin

[horridporrid03]

No: HPFGUIDX 130897

>>Karen:
>I keep reading about 'the good slytherin' and just wondered where 
this came from.  Is it something Jo has said (I can't find anything) 
or is it just a myth?<
<snip>

Betsy Hp:
It's a theory. One I've seen all around the various Harry Potter 
boards and blogs.  I'm not sure how long it's been around but it 
gained a lot of weight after OotP and the Sorting Hat's song 
emphasizing unity.

"For our Hogwarts is in danger
>From external deadly foes
And we must unite inside her
Or we'll crumble from within" (OotP scholastic hardback pp.206-207)

And then Harry *really* drove the message home with his tempting of 
fate (always dangerous for fictional characters to do <g>).

"And it wants all the Houses to be friends?" said Harry, looking 
over at the Slytherin table, where Draco Malfoy was holding 
court. "Fat chance." (ibid p.209)

Especially after we got a fleshing out of Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws 
through the DA club the time seems ripe for a "good Slytherin" to 
show him (or her) self.

>>Karen: 
>If there is a good Sltherin, I think Viktor Krum is it.  He comes 
from Durmstrang, which appears to be a school full of Syltherins - 
they are taught to use the Dark Arts, not just to defend themselves 
against them, their Headmaster is a Deatheater and they all 
naturally gravitated to the Slytherin table in the great hall.  VK, 
however says many times that he likes Hogwarts and it's nicer than 
Durmstrang.<

Betsy Hp:
It's a theory.  One I'd find particularly disappointing myself. (Of 
course I have high hopes Draco will be the "good Slytherin" so take 
this for what it's worth. <g>)  For one thing Krum is not a Hogwarts 
graduate, for another he's not Harry's peer, and most importantly 
he's not a Slytherin.

Karkaroff, as a friend of Snape, had his students sit with 
Slytherin, but Krum didn't seem to interact with any of the 
students, IIRC (except Hermione).

I also take issue with the idea that all things dark and evil should 
be associated with Slytherin.  It sounds to stereotypical to my 
mind, and it lays too much on the Slytherin doorstep, IMO.  
Slytherin wanted students far removed from the Muggle world (which 
was a threat to wizards and witches at the time of the school 
founding) and who had ambition and cunning.  None of that reads as 
particularly evil or even overly dark to me.  

I can, however, see Krum maybe returning to Hogwarts (as a teacher? 
to woo Hermione?) and somehow being a good influence on some of the 
Slytherins.

>>Karen: 
>I then wondered further as to what happened to SS after he threw 
his teddy out of the pram and stormed out of Hogwarts because the 
other founders kept insisting on admitting 'the wrong' sort of 
students.<  

Betsy Hp:
Just as a point of order, it is by no means certain that Slytherin 
left because the other founders disagreed with his student choices, 
or that he disagreed with theirs. I know Binns says as much in CoS, 
but there's a bit of a contradiction in the Sorting Hat's song in 
OotP.  The Sorting Hat says that, 

"Hogwarts worked in harmony 
For several happy years,
But then discord crept among us
Feeding on our faults and fears," (ibid pp.205-206)

So there was fighting between *all four* founders.  The "feeding on 
our faults and fears" suggests that whatever each founder was 
worried about grew to a paranoia.  So perhaps Slytherin *did* start 
worrying about the presence of muggle-born students.  But if all 
four founders were fighting that couldn't have been the only bone of 
contention. (Ravenclaw may have complained there were too many 
stupid students.  Gryffindor may have protested there were too many 
cowards or timid students.  I've no idea what Hufflepuff would have 
complained about, but I guess she found something. <g>)  What we do 
know is that once Slytherin left it shocked the other founders into 
renewing their friendships.  And the Sorting Hat does imply that 
Slytherin was missed.

>>Karen:
>Did he flounce off to Bulgaria where he could set up his own school 
the way he wanted?  Are the Durmstrang students literally Slitherins?
<

Betsy Hp:
It is an interesting theory that Slytherin formed Durmstrang.  But 
since he did it after Hogwarts and not with the other founders, I 
can't see a Durmstrang student being a symbol of Hogwarts unity.

Betsy Hp