…Or perhaps in Slytherin
You’ll make your real friends,
Those cunning folks use any means
To achieve their ends. – Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

Thanks to Harry’s perspective, many readers associate Slytherin with the villains of the story. In reality, the house is far more complex than its reputation suggests. While its founder, Salazar Slytherin, held the controversial belief that magical education should be reserved for students from magical families, his personal views do not define the values of the house he created.

At its core, Slytherin was founded qualities that can be used for both great good and great harm depending on the choices of the individual. These include:

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