Slytherin's Reputation was Re: CHAPDISC: DH, EPILOGUE

[sistermagpie]

No: HPFGUIDX 185632

> Alla:
> 
> Oh, no, I would think that there is plenty of ugliness in Slytherin 
> house, but my question is what are they count for to you?
> 
> And do they count as representatives of Slytherin house? Because I 
> cannot speak for Pippin of course, but that is how I read this part 
of 
> her post. Because I totally agree that for some reason to many 
readers 
> (as I read the posts of course) it seems to me that these guys get 
> discounted as part of the group.

Magpie:
I don't discount them as part of the group--they are absolutely part 
of Slytherin (though I think Dumbledore's "maybe we sort to early" 
line comes closer to edging Snape towards 'not counting as Slytherin' 
than anything said here). They are representative. Slytherin has 
never been characterized as made up only of evil people, or killers, 
or DEs. Being inspired by someone you love to do something brave or 
good is perfectly in keeping with the characterization of Slytherin. 
Just as harassing a kid like Snape was in keeping with the 
characterization of Gryffindor. There's nobody identified as 
Slytherin in canon that I would say "doesn't count" as part of the 
House or whose actions don't reflect on their House. 

I think we do of course judge the Houses as a whole as well as as 
individuals. This doesn't mean that all members of the House are the 
same, but I think the Houses themselves take on an overall character. 
We see a lot of Slytherins, though some of them we only see briefly.

Alla:
> I mean, I would never say that they do not subscribe to the ugly 
> ideology and even those brave ones at least at some point in their 
> lifes did, but they did not anymore, right?

Magpie:
Depends on the person. I would say Snape didn't subscribe to it any 
more.

Alla: 
> So why their redemption does not count as a redemption of the group 
> they belong to?

Magpie:
I think it does count as a redemption to the extent it is a 
redemption. Snape was generally unpleasant throughout his life, was 
for a time a believer in Pureblood superiority, quite possibly 
stopped believing in that, and was instrumental in bringing down 
Voldemort. That was Slytherin playing its part in bringing down 
Voldemort in action. I think Snape retained many of the kinds of 
negative qualities that were often associated with Slytherin, but he 
was an important ally against Voldemort and gave his life for it.

-m