Is Slytherin the New Hufflepuff?
This is a thought experiment that I’ve been working on for a while. Slytherin is either the best house or the worst house.
This post should not be taken terribly seriously. I have no qualms with Slytherin or Hufflepuff as houses. There are many good things about both of them.
When you look at “Harry Potter” merchandise, you might notice that the majority of the products are only for Gryffindor and Slytherin. In recent years, it’s gotten better, but since Gryffindor and Slytherin get the most attention in the books, there’s a bit of an unconscious bias toward them. They often get lumped into “good guys” and “bad guys,” since Slytherin is always competing with Gryffindor, and the students tend to have a bias against each other — even though it has been proven time and time again that Slytherins aren’t necessarily evil.
So there are people that want to be the “good guys” in Gryffindor, while others want to be the “bad guys” in Slytherin. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Some people want to be Jedi, while others want to be Sith. It’s just the natural order of things, and it’s all in good fun.
Anyway, I discovered some things we need to consider about Slytherin. And it all starts with “Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery.”
“Hogwarts Mystery” isn’t a great game. But its mechanics have shed some light about the Hogwarts houses, as they had to distill them into even simpler concepts that fit the narrative structure and mechanics of the game.
Gryffindor: Brave and Daring
Ravenclaw: Intelligent and Witty
Hufflepuff: Dedicated and Loyal
Slytherin: Ambitious and Cunning
Let’s try to keep these ideas in our heads as we move forward.
The game functions on three specific statistics that affect your relationships and capabilities. Do you treat your friends kindly? Do you stand up to bullies? Do your allies trust you? Are you clever enough to answer questions and understand intent? What are you willing to do for your friends, or for yourself?
These three stats are Courage, Empathy, and Knowledge.
Courage? Sounds like Gryffindor to me!
Empathy? Definitely Hufflepuff!
Knowledge: Obviously for Ravenclaw!
Now wait a second… Four houses. Three stats. Why isn’t there a trait for Slytherin??? HMMMMMM…
Let’s look at Slytherin again: ambitious and cunning.
Ambition… Isn’t that intelligent dedication to a courageous plan that may or may not work?
Cunning… Isn’t that just another, more negative-sounding word for “wise” or “intelligent” or “clever”? Isn’t it dedication when you do whatever it takes to get to where you want to go? Isn’t it courageous to take risks that may damage a situation?
These interpretations sound a lot like the other houses.
Ravenclaws have traits that include intelligence, wit, wisdom, creativity, originality, individuality, sharpness, and acceptance.
Slytherins have traits that include resourcefulness, cunning, ambition, determination, leadership, self-preservation, fraternity, and cleverness.
“Resourcefulness” and “cleverness” aren’t that different from “creativity” and “originality.”
“Determination”? “Fraternity”? Wait a second, are we talking about Hufflepuff here?
“Leadership” can sound a lot like a Gryffindor. “Ambition” often entails a bravado to shoot for the top, so doesn’t that sound like the “brave and daring” Gryffindors?
For many years, Hufflepuff suffered as the “and the rest” house. Hufflepuff was the house where people go when they are not smart enough to be a Ravenclaw, not brave enough to be a Gryffindor, and not ambitious enough to be a Slytherin. Hufflepuff has endured these attitudes since the books first arrived on the scene, even though Cedric Diggory improved their reputation. In recent years, however, Hufflepuff has received a lot more love, and things have changed for the better in the fandom.
I’m not trying to sow seeds of discontent, but I think it’s important to understand our biases so we know if they are reasonable or not.
But hear me out, because we have two possibilities here, with our new understanding of the Slytherin house.
Is Slytherin the worst house? What if Slytherins are not brave enough to be Gryffindors, not smart enough to be Ravenclaws, and not dedicated enough to be Hufflepuffs?
Or perhaps Slytherin is the best house, with its members being braver than Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs, smarter than Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors, and more dedicated than Ravenclaws and Gryffindors.
Is Slytherin the worst house, with the outcasts who weren’t good enough for the other houses? Or is Slytherin the best house, full of individuals who are more well-rounded than their peers?
Let me know what you think. Please remember to be kind and understanding in your comments if a debate begins.
And if you hated this post, please keep in mind that this is just for fun. It was a little thought experiment with no harmful intentions behind it, and I have no issues with Slytherins or Hufflepuffs. I was just wondering if Slytherins should have had the reputation that Hufflepuffs did for all these years.
Thanks for reading.
