The good Slytherin / Salazar

[horridporrid03]

No: HPFGUIDX 131104

>>Geoff:
>Just in passing, I must admit that I have a sneaking wish that 
Draco might just turn back from the dark side of things.....<

Betsy Hp:
Yay!  Here's to a good Draco emerging!

>>Geoff:
>However, my main comment is that, if we look on "good" as meaning 
turning away from the Dark Arts and working with the side of light, 
we do have a good Slytherin already.
>Much as I dislike the man, Snape fits this category already.<
<snip>

Betsy Hp:
I agree.  However, I think there's a generational thing going on 
too.  Because if we look at the three generations we've been 
introduced to (Dumbledore's, the Marauders', and Harry's) each one 
has it's own Slytherin issues.

Dumbledore, being much further along the path of wisdom <g>, seems 
to have already found his Slytherin counterpart.  We had hints of 
this in CoS when Dumbledore so easily and quickly came up with some 
positive qualities of Slytherin house.  And in OotP 
Dumbledore's "good Slytherin" was embodied in Phineas Nigellus.  I 
think Dumbledore has already benefited from his more rational view 
of Slytherin with his recruitment of Snape.

Snape, though, is not Dumbledore's Slytherin.  He's the Marauders.  
Snape has already provided James a means to prove his maturity (the 
prank) and possibly win the fair maiden and the rank of Head Boy.  
But I think that for total healing to occur (and for at least *one* 
of the Marauders to survive the war with Voldemort) Lupin and Snape 
need to come to some sort of understanding.  I've shared my views in 
previous posts on how strong I think each wizard is in their own 
right.  But if they could somehow unite their efforts, I think Lupin 
and Snape could add some serious might to the Order's (and Harry's) 
quest to defeat Voldemort.

So that means Harry needs to get his own Slytherin.  He's certainly 
the least far along compared to Lupin and Dumbledore.  I don't think 
Harry sees *any* redeeming factor in Slytherin, and I think that's a 
weakness on his part.  It means he's not making use of the full 
power of Hogwarts, IMO.  I personally think Harry's Slytherin will 
be Draco because Draco *is* Slytherin for Harry.  I also think that 
the break-through may require more than just a reluctant agreement 
to work together.  As per the Sorting Hat the friendship of 
Slytherin and Gryffindor was worthy of legend.  I suspect that for 
Harry to truly prevail, to not only defeat Voldemort but actually 
help bring about a seismic change in the way the WW works (as was 
foreshadowed by the destruction of the fountain in the MoM), Harry 
will need to actually befriend his "good Slytherin".

>>Hickengruendler:
<snip>
>[Slytherin] has it's dark reputation, and if we believe Dumbledore 
when he implied in CoS, that the students are sorted not only by 
their ability, (although I do think this plays a part. The Sorting 
Hat never offered Harry to go to Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw, for 
example), but also by their choice, than we must see the Slytherin 
students as those who do not care about it's bad reputation, or at 
least not enough to reject the house, like Harry did.<
<snip>

Betsy Hp:
Yes, but the so-called "bad reputation" has been fed to Harry from 
some rather suspect sources.  Hagrid tells Harry in PS/SS that all 
the wizards who've gone bad come from Slytherin. But we learn by the 
end of PS/SS that this is not true.  And then we learn in CoS that 
Hagrid has his own personal reasons for having such a bias towards 
Slytherin.  I don't blame Hagrid (Tom played him but good) but he's 
not a reliable source.

I think Ron also piles on Slytherin, but his family is as Gryffindor 
as Sirius' family was Slytherin.  He's been brought up to hate the 
house, so again I doubt the source.  (It's like asking a Cubs fan 
about the Yankees. Or a Cannon's fan about the Tornados if we want 
to be truly Harry Potter-centric. <g>)

Looking at those who *don't* hold a grudge, Slytherin is not really 
treated as the house of all that's evil.  McGonagall trusts Crabbe 
and Goyle to carry her bags up to her office when she comes back 
from sick-leave in OotP.  Dumbledore sees positive aspects to the 
house.  Being the house of Voldemort *does* cast a shadow on 
Slytherin, but to judge them solely on Voledmort would be as fair as 
judging Gryffindor on Peter Pettigrew, IMO.

>>Karen Barker:
>Isn't it interesting the way people can read the same thing 
differently? I love it!<
<snip> 
>...what about incorporating a secret chamber,
presumably at the time of the castle's initial construction (it would
have been very hard to do it secretly later, surely?) for the express
purpose of concealing a wacking great bassilic for the purpose of
killing muggle-borns. This certainly shows and extremely dark and
evil aspect of SS's character to me.<

>>Hickengruendler:
>Slytherin also plotted to kill Muggleborn-Students and put a 
Basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets. He basically helped killing 
Moaning Myrtle.<
<snip>

Betsy Hp:
As to the source of Slytherin house, Salazar himself, for me the 
jury is still out.  I don't feel like I have enough on hand to judge 
him with.  Yes, a raging psychopath claims him as his big ideas man, 
but I tend to take whatever Tom Riddle says with a grain of salt.  
The basilisk is not a sweet fuzzy creature, that's true.  But it was 
pretty securely locked away, and even when Tom did set it loose upon 
the school it wasn't really all that lean and mean of a killing 
machine.  It managed to kill one muggle-born.  And that was by 
accident.  This was supposed to be the mighty blood-cleanser of 
Hogwarts?  Didn't the Sorting Hat say something about Salazar and 
friends being the most powerful wizards of their era?  I raise an 
eye-brow to the basilisk plan, if that is what it indeed was. <g>

>>Betsy Hp:
>So there was fighting between *all four* founders.
<snip>
>But if all four founders were fighting that couldn't have been the 
only bone of contention.<
<snip>

Karen Barker:
>Again I read this differently. I read it that SS objected to any but
pure bloods being admitted and the other 3 'ganged up on him', if you
like, to insist that muggle-borns were also worthy of a place. As
long as they were brave and true they were OK by GG. As long as they
were very clever they were OK by RR. HH was the most enlightened as
she belived anyone who showed magical ability was welcome. There may
have been some discord as to what type of muggle-born was acceptable
but I believe the catalyst was SS's pure-blood mania.<

Betsy Hp:
In the end though, three out of the four founders were exclusionary 
in what students they wanted to teach.  Slytherin would have refused 
Hermione.  Ravenclaw would have refused Neville.  Gryffindor would 
have refused Luna.  And when Slytherin did finally leave, the other 
founders were upset that he was gone.  They chose to keep his house 
at Hogwarts and they chose to keep his method of selection within 
the Sorting Hat.  I cannot imagine that if Salazar really was a bad 
egg that any aspect of his would have been allowed to remain at the 
school.

I expect we will learn more in book six.  (Okay, suddenly I'm 
*really* curious about the Sorting Hat's next song. <g>)

Betsy Hp