Changes: Slytherin

Latest revision as of 04:07, 12 April 2024

Warning!

At least some content in this article is derived from information featured in: Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery & Harry Potter: Puzzles & Spells & Harry Potter: Magic Awakened & Hogwarts Legacy.
As such, spoilers will be present within the article.

"Point me!"
This article is about the house in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. You may be looking for the founder of this house, Salazar Slytherin.

"Or perhaps in Slytherin,
You'll make your real friends,
Those cunning folk use any means,
To achieve their ends."

— Sorting Hat^[src]

Slytherin was one of the four Houses at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, founded by Salazar Slytherin.^[1] In establishing the house, Salazar instructed the Sorting Hat to pick students who had a few particular characteristics he most valued. Those characteristics included cunning, resourcefulness, leadership, and ambition.

Many Slytherin students tended to clique together (often acquiring leaders) which further exemplified Slytherin's ambitious qualities. Examples of these included Draco Malfoy's gang, Merula Snyde's gang, Pansy Parkinson's gang and Tom Riddle's gang (which later became the Death Eaters).

The founder highly valued and favoured pure-blood students and the Sorting Hat admitted that it could be a factor when being sorted.^[1]^[20] Students of any blood status could be placed in the house. However, a Muggle-born student from that house was considered to be quite rare.^[21]

The emblematic animal of the house was a snake and the house's colours were green and silver. There were two notable heads of the house; Horace Slughorn took the role twice (first leaving in 1981 and then taking the role again from 1997 until leaving before 2016),^[14] and Severus Snape.^[15] The patron ghost of the house was the Bloody Baron.^[8]

Slytherin corresponded roughly with the element of water due to serpents being commonly associated with the sea and lochs in western European mythology, as well as serpents being physically fluid and flexible animals.^[5] Similarly, in Celtic mythology, water is seen as a portal to another world, leading some to believe that the element was chosen to symbolise a Slytherin's dream for a world in which their goals and ambitions had finally been achieved. Others speculate that it was chosen to symbolise many Slytherins' hope for a pureblood-only wizarding society.

The colours also corresponded with waters around lakes and lochs often being green, and silver being often associated with grey rainwater.

History

Salazar Slytherin was a proponent of pure-blood supremacy who considered Muggleborns too untrustworthy to be taught magic.^[1] Slytherin's views at the time could be attributed to the persecution of witches and wizards at the hand of Muggles during his era.

Slytherin's opposition to allowing witches and wizards of Muggle heritage to enrol created great controversy at Hogwarts, and it became the root of a feud that would destroy his friendship with Godric Gryffindor. According to the Sorting Hat, their dispute would erupt into a duel between the two former comrades or a civil war between their students.^[22] Slytherin ultimately decided to leave the school when he was unable to persuade the other founders to join his side in their argument. The legacy of his feud with Gryffindor has continued in modern times with their two houses sharing the most intense rivalry at Hogwarts.^[1]

When Slytherin departed Hogwarts, he left behind the Chamber of Secrets with the purpose of an heir opening the chamber one day and unleashing a means to 'protect' the school from those who, in his view, were unworthy to study to magic: Muggle-borns.^[1] The chamber was opened twice and the Serpent of Slytherin was killed the second time by Harry Potter in 1993.^[23]

Traits

Slytherins tended to be ambitious, shrewd, cunning, strong leaders, and achievement-oriented. They also had highly developed senses of self-preservation.^[11] This means that Slytherins tended to hesitate before acting, so as to weigh all possible outcomes before deciding exactly what should be done.

According to Albus Dumbledore, the qualities which Salazar valued in the students he had chosen included cleverness, resourcefulness, determination, and "a certain disregard for the rules". Dumbledore noted that all of these were qualities possessed by Harry Potter, who was a Gryffindor but was almost placed in Slytherin.^[9]

Slytherins tended to take charge and possessed strong leadership skills. They were often self-assured and confident of their own competence and can be very loyal.

Another characteristic some Slytherins share was a tendency towards deep, unrequited love. Severus Snape and the Bloody Baron held abiding but unreturned feelings for Lily Evans and Helena Ravenclaw, respectively.^[24]^[25] Although some Slytherins, such as Tom Riddle, were incapable of feeling love at all, those that did were known to cherish their passion abidingly and unconditionally, although often tragically due to an inability to act appropriately on their feelings. Interestingly, Bellatrix Lestrange held feelings for Tom Riddle himself, which was a factor in her fanatical devotion to the Death Eaters; although Lord Voldemort was incapable of loving her in return, the existence of Delphini suggests that there was at least some kind of intimacy between them.

Although Merope Riddle likely never attended Hogwarts and therefore wouldn't have been sorted into Slytherin at all, she was a descendant of Slytherin himself and fit the pattern of those sorted into his house, as she held deep and unreturned feelings for Tom Riddle Snr, who often travelled by her house on his carriage.

Blood purity

"I always knew Salazar Slytherin was a twisted old loony, but I never knew he started all this pure-blood stuff. I wouldn't be in his house if you paid me. Honestly, if the Sorting Hat had tried to put me in Slytherin, I'd've got the train straight back home..."

— Ron Weasley expressing his opinions about Slytherin's views^[src]

Salazar Slytherin WWHP — Slytherin's founder, Salazar Slytherin

The Sorting Hat claimed that blood purity was a factor in selecting Slytherins. It was not the main factor, but it suggests that the Sorting Hat took into account the lineage of the student as well as traits. Muggle-born Slytherins existed, but were very rare, as noted insultingly by Scabior the Snatcher.^[21]

There had also been definite examples of half-bloods sorted into the house, including Tom Riddle, Dolores Umbridge, and Severus Snape. Harry Potter, a half-blood, was nearly sorted into Slytherin, but because he asked not to be, he was placed in Gryffindor instead.^[8] Also, pure-bloods were not automatically placed in Slytherin. There had been various examples of pure-bloods sorted into other houses; the Weasley family, Sirius Black, Neville Longbottom, and James Potter were all sorted into Gryffindor house, and Ernie Macmillan was sorted into Hufflepuff.

The concept of blood purity playing a part in picking students for Slytherin house stemmed from the founder Salazar Slytherin, who wanted a stricter policy of admission to the school — one limited strictly to pure-blood students. This was contrary to the wishes of the other founders at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, who wanted to accept students of any blood status.^[1]

It is important to note that not every student in Slytherin agreed with the idea of blood purity; the great wizard Merlin was in Slytherin and he was a champion of Muggle rights, however every member of Slytherin house would still be affiliated with their founder's reputed views a thousand years later. Since the Sorting Hat would nearly always select students who shared his view for the house, many members would still give that impression of the house during their time at Hogwarts. For example, in December 1992, the password for the common room was "pure-blood".^[16]

Rivalries

Slytherin and Gryffindor were generally rivals in Quidditch and for the House Cup, of which the former had won six years in a row prior to Harry Potter's arrival at Hogwarts in 1991. It was also rare for Slytherin and Gryffindor students to be friendly with one another, and was also quite common for them to share animosity. There were exceptions, such as Slytherin Merlin who had a friendship with Gryffindor Sir Cadogan and Slytherin Severus Snape and Gryffindor Lily Evans, who were best friends until Snape's use of the slur "Mudblood", as well as his aspirations to be a Death Eater, caused Lily to sever their ties.^[26]

Their rivalry was particularly the case during the First and Second Wizarding Wars. During the second war, no Slytherin student joined the association known as Dumbledore's Army; however, this is likely the fault of Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, and Harry Potter, who only invited people they trusted, and they were known for not trusting any Slytherin due to the often rivalries they had with people from that house.

There was a terrible tension, rivalry, and dislike among Gryffindors Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ronald Weasley, and Slytherin Draco Malfoy to the point that Hermione even once punched Draco.^[27] Also, from the moment Harry and Draco met, they became immediate enemies, which was even before they were sorted into their respective houses.^[28]

Slytherin's relationship with the other two houses, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, was variable. By the time of Harry Potter's years at Hogwarts, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw were frustrated at Slytherin's six-year winning streak and readily supported Gryffindor in their efforts to break it, to the extent that they even turned against Harry and his friends when their rule-breaking cost Gryffindor 150 points (and thus the lead) with Slytherin rubbing it in at every opportunity.^[29] This persisted generally with Quidditch matches, where Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff supported Gryffindor by default if they were facing Slytherin.^[30]

When Harry was named as a Hogwarts Triwizard champion alongside Cedric Diggory of Hufflepuff, the three other houses assumed he was trying to steal Hufflepuff's glory and supported Cedric as the "real" Hogwarts champion, though the Slytherin house may have likely only done this out of spite for Harry rather than any actual support for Cedric.^[31] After Cedric's death by Lord Voldemort's hands, the Slytherins joined the rest in toasting his memory but some, like Draco Malfoy, were not actually saddened by his death.^[32]

Reputation

"There's not a single witch or wizard who went bad who wasn't in Slytherin."

— Wizarding prejudice against Slytherin House^[src]

Serpent — The symbol of Slytherin house, the serpent

Slytherin had a well-known reputation for creating Dark witches and wizards that many would even say that every Dark witch or wizard was actually in Slytherin (it also didn't help that Voldemort himself was in Slytherin too when he was a student at Hogwarts).^[33] While it was true that many were in the house, it was untrue to say every single one of them was, as Peter Pettigrew, betrayer of James and Lily, was in Gryffindor, Quirinus Quirrell was in Ravenclaw, and Cedric Diggory, who turned to the dark side in an alternate reality, was in Hufflepuff.

It appeared that reputation had led to an ironic prejudice against the entire house. It is unknown how many Dark witches and wizards were from this house before Tom Riddle began recruiting Death Eaters, but many of them came from a family that valued blood purity and would prefer, like Riddle, to be in the house and recruit from there.

Andromeda and Bellatrix — Andromeda is burned in the Black family tree because she did not follow the accepted path in her family

In fairer terms, there were many good witches and wizards in the house who opposed the use of the Dark Arts, as well as discrimination based on blood purity, such as Horace Slughorn, Andromeda Tonks, and Leta Lestrange. Andromeda was related to many dark witches and wizards, such as her own sister Bellatrix Lestrange, and brother-in-law Lucius Malfoy, but she chose to forsake the loyalty to her family in favour of marrying the Muggle-born Ted Tonks.

Leta Lestrange running away from Professor McGonagall COG — Leta Lestrange running away from Professor McGonagall as a student

Leta was quite different from the majority of her family with her kind — albeit self-deprecating and bitter — personality, her love for both Newt Scamander and Theseus Scamander, her career ambition without ruthlessness, and her self-sacrificing bravery in the face of Gellert Grindelwald, in stark contrast to the usually compassionate Queenie of house Pukwudgie, who joined Grindelwald rather quickly. Also, the allegiance of Severus Snape was found to ultimately be towards Albus Dumbledore to the point of serving as a triple agent for the Order of the Phoenix, in stark contrast to Peter Pettigrew, the former Gryffindor who became a double agent for the Death Eaters instead. Merlin (of King Arthur fame) was also a Slytherin.

The Trio (Crabbe, Malfoy and Goyle) 1991b — Crabbe, Malfoy and Goyle

It might also be possible (though quite unlikely) that the Sorting Hat simply sorted anyone with ill intentions into Slytherin, regardless of whether they possessed cunning and ambition, which helped to unfairly give this house a bad name. Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle were both incredibly stupid and did not have clever or cunning minds, but were still sorted into Slytherin. They could have possessed one of the minor traits as even Peter Pettigrew was not placed into Gryffindor for bravery, but for chivalry instead.

It is also likely that Crabbe and Goyle were simply placed there by process of elimination since they exhibited virtually none of the qualities valued by any of the other houses (lacking the work ethic or honesty of Hufflepuff, the academic prowess of Ravenclaw, or the bravery of Gryffindor). The Sorting Hat simply could have taken into account what house they wished to be placed in which, with their family history, was most likely Slytherin.

The behaviour of Slytherin house at the Battle of Hogwarts is also debated. The majority of their members departed Hogwarts before the battle started and a few joined their families in becoming Death Eaters.^[25] However, many of them returned to Hogwarts to fight against the Death Eaters and were led back by their Head of House, Horace Slughorn.^[34]

The traits of the house were considered obvious examples of people turning toward an ill purpose such as cunning and ambition, but they were not inherently negative. Furthermore, traits from the rest of the houses such as daring, intelligence, and loyalty could also become easily negative.

Another trait that could be seen as a negative one was self-preservation. The idea that many of them seemed to value their own lives more than the lives of others could make them less thought of and trusted, but that was not always the case. Phineas Nigellus Black gave that impression when he saw Harry Potter trying to run away because he was afraid that his presence was putting his friends in danger. He stated that "We Slytherins are brave, yes, but not stupid. For instance, when given the choice, we will always choose to save our own necks".^[10]

There were exceptions to this rule, however, such as Snape, who Harry said was a "Slytherin and... probably the bravest man I ever knew",^[35] and Regulus Black, who gave his life in an attempt to destroy one of the Horcruxes of Lord Voldemort and told his house-elf Kreacher to save himself and leave.^[36]

The truth is that while most Dark wizards were Slytherins, many members of Slytherin House did not have dark leanings and were even kind and accepting, while smaller groups of Voldemort's supporters were aligned with the other three Houses. During the Battle of Hogwarts, while all of the Slytherin students left the school before the fighting started,^[25] several of them did return with Professor Slughorn as reinforcements to join the fight against Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters, and some decided to fight as a part of Dumbledore's Army.^[34]

Common room

Main articles: Slytherin Dungeon and Slytherin common room

The Slytherin common room was in the dungeons of Hogwarts Castle and underneath the Black Lake. Because of this, the light in the common room was green. Harry Potter along with Ron Weasley entered the common room in his second year to find out if Draco Malfoy was the one opening the Chamber of Secrets. To enter the Slytherin common room one must merely speak aloud the current password in front of a stretch of a damp stone wall; once the word was uttered a concealed stone door would slide aside leaving a rectangular hole in the wall leading to the Slytherin common room. The only known Slytherin password was "pureblood", used in 1992.^[16]

Head of House

Slytherin's Head of House for Harry's first six years of school was Severus Snape; however, as he fled with the Death Eaters in 1997 at the end of Harry's sixth year, Potions Master Horace Slughorn became the head of Slytherin House. Upon Snape's return as Headmaster later that year, he apparently approved of Slughorn's appointment, as he did not assign any Death Eaters as the new Head of House.^[14]

Known Slytherins

Name	Period Attending Hogwarts	Notes
Bloody Baron ^[38]	Middle Ages	Hot-tempered lord and squire who remorsefully committed suicide for inadvertently killing the woman he loved in a fit of rage when she refused to come home from Albania with him, leaving his clothes stained with her blood.^[25] Later became the house ghost.^[8]
Merlin	Middle Ages	Member of King Arthur's court, advocate of Muggle rights, and arguably the most famous wizard in history.^[19]
Elizabeth Burke	Unknown	Headmistress of Hogwarts at some point. Now had a portrait at the base of the Grand Staircase between the Entrance Hall archway and First-floor corridor doorway, which was later hung near the Potions Classroom entrance and guarded the dungeons, telling Slytherins to be "Nasty to Mudbloods".^[39]
Charles Rookwood	15th century
San Bakar	15th century
Gormlaith Gaunt	1587–1594 (possibly)	Member of the House of Gaunt. Eventually became the Dark witch of Hag's Glen and parental guardian of Isolt Sayre. Killed by William the Pukwudgie in the Duel at Ilvermorny.^[40]
Corvinus Gaunt	c. 1700s	Member of the House of Gaunt. Later became a juvenile plumber who hid the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets.^[41]
Katie Rayknolls	1720s	Captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team from 1724–1728.
Vicky Bishopper	1720s–1730s	Captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team from 1728–1732.
Robin Higgy	1730s	Captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team from 1732–1736.
Mark Sommertime	1730s and 1740s	Captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team from 1736–1740.
Dan Darker	1740s	Captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team from 1744–1748.
Russell Lucky	1740s	Captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team from 1740–1744.
Jess Lafington	1740s and 1750s	Captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team from 1748–1752.
Kris Kolumbiko	1750s	Captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team from 1752–1756.
David Makehay	1750s and 1760s	Captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team from 1756–1760.
Mark Overcliff	1760s	Captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team from 1760–1764.
Phineas N. Black	c. 1858–1865	Eventually became Headmaster of Hogwarts from some point during the late 19th century to 1925. Later has a portrait in the Headmaster's office.
Anne Sallow	1880s–1890s	Education cut short after being cursed by Victor Rookwood.^[42]
Grace Pinch-Smedley
Imelda Reyes		Captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team.
Nerida Roberts
Ominis Gaunt
Priscilla Wakefield
Sebastian Sallow		Delved into the Dark Arts to reverse the curse of his twin sister Anne.^[42]
Violet McDowell
Unidentified Slytherin bully
Abraham Ronen^[43]		Was the Hogwarts Charms Master in the late 19th century.^[43]
Leta Lestrange	1908–1915	Performed a dangerous experiment with a Jarvey in 1913, but her friend Newton Scamander took the blame for it, and got expelled. Later became an assistant of the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.
Horace Slughorn	late 19th century and/or early 20th century	Well-connected player of favourites in his year. Eventually became Head of Slytherin House and Potions Professor of Hogwarts from 1931 to 1981 (a position he took up again from 1996 to 2015) and founder of the Slug Club.^[14]
Callidora Black	c. 1926–1933	Members of the House of Black.
Cassiopeia Black	c. 1926–1933
Cedrella Black	c. 1930s
Charis Black	c. 1930–1937
Dorea Black	c. 1931–1938
Lucretia Black	c. 1936–1943
Walburga Black	c. 1936–1943
Tom Riddle	1938–1945	Prefect and Head Boy, leader of a gang of students, Disgraced Winner of the Special Award for Services to the School,^[44] member of the Slug Club, and winner of the Medal for Magical Merit. Eventually became assistant shopkeeper at Borgin and Burkes from 1947 to around 1958,^[45] but disappeared into the deepest layers of the Dark Arts (creating several Horcruxes and an army of followers whom he named Death Eaters) and resurfaced around 1968 as the most dangerous Dark wizard of all time, orchestrating the last two most destructive Wizarding Wars in history under the alias "Lord Voldemort". Finally defeated and killed by a rebounding Killing Curse meant for Harry Potter in the Battle of Hogwarts.
Lestrange		Members of the Tom Riddle's gang and Slug Club. Eventually became two of the first Death Eaters.
Avery
Winky Crockett	1940s	Captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team from 1940–1944.
Neil Lament	1940s	Captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team from 1944–1948.
Abraxas Malfoy	Unknown	Lucius's father.
Alphard Black	c. 1940s	Member of the House of Black.
Orion Black	c. 1940–1947
Cygnus Black	c. 1949–1956
Andrew Snowy Owl	1940s and 1950s	Captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team from 1948–1952.
Jo King	1950s	Captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team from 1952–1956.
Alecto Carrow ^[18]	unknown	Servants of Lord Voldemort in both the First and Second Wizarding wars; both became professors when the Death Eaters assumed control of Hogwarts in 1997.
Amycus Carrow ^[18]	unknown
Rufus Winickus	1950s and 1960s	Captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team from 1956–1960.
Steve Laughalot	1960s–1970s	Captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team from 1968–1972.
Rodolphus Lestrange	c. 1960s–1970s	Member of a gang inspired by the Dark Arts. Eventually married Bellatrix Black and became a devoted Death Eater.
Bellatrix Black	c. 1962–1969	Eventually married Rodolphus Lestrange and became a devoted Death Eater. Killed by Molly Weasley in the Battle of Hogwarts.
Andromeda Black	c. 1963–1970	Disowned member of the House of Black. Later married Edward Tonks and became an ally of the Order of the Phoenix.
Lucius Malfoy	c. 1965–1972	Prefect and member of the Slug Club. Eventually married Narcissa Black and became second-in-command of the Death Eaters during the First Wizarding War, Chairman of the Hogwarts Board of Governors from 1981 to 1993, Advisor to the Minister for Magic from 1990 to 1996, and disgraced Death Eater throughout the Second Wizarding War. Defected during the Battle of Hogwarts.
Narcissa Black	c. 1966–1973	Eventually married Lucius Malfoy and became an ally of the Death Eaters until her defection in Battle of Hogwarts.
Stuart Craggy	1960s	Captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team from 1964–1968.
Jody Jacknife	1960s	Captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team from 1960–1964.
Evan Rosier	1960s or 1970s	Members of a gang inspired by the Dark Arts. Eventually became a duo of Death Eaters at the height of the First Wizarding War. Killed by Alastor Moody in 1980.
Wilkes
Avery		Later became a Death Eater.
Mulciber		Later became a Death Eater, specialising in the Imperius Curse, during the First Wizarding War.
Emma Vanity	1970s	Captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team from 1972–1976.
Severus Snape	1971–1978	Brains of a gang inspired by the Dark Arts and member of the Slug Club. Eventually became a devoted Death Eater at the height of the First Wizarding War (until his last-minute defection), Head of Slytherin House and Potions Master of Hogwarts from 1981 to 1996, Professor of Defence Against the Dark Arts of Hogwarts during the 1996–1997 school year, Headmaster of Hogwarts for a majority of the 1997–1998 school year, and double agent within the Order of the Phoenix and Death Eaters throughout the Second Wizarding War. Murdered by Lord Voldemort's snake Nagini in the Battle of Hogwarts.
Regulus Black	c. 1972–1979	Seeker on the Slytherin Quidditch team and member of the Slug Club. Eventually became a Death Eater, but defected and gave his life in an attempt to destroy one of the Horcruxes.
Dolores Umbridge	Unknown	Unlikeable model in her year. Eventually became Head of the Improper Use of Magic Office at some point, Senior Undersecretary to the Minister for Magic from 1990 to 1998, Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor and "High Inquisitor" of Hogwarts during the 1995–1996 school year, Headmistress of Hogwarts from April to June 1996, and Head of the Muggle-Born Registration Commission from 1997 to 1998. Imprisoned for her crimes against Muggle-borns.
Scabior		Snatcher during the height of the Second Wizarding War.^[21]
Merula Snyde's father		Death Eater. Merula's father. Imprisoned for allegiance to Lord Voldemort.
Merula Snyde's mother		Member of the Frog Choir. Death Eater. Merula's mother. Imprisoned for allegiance to Lord Voldemort.
Duncan Ashe	1970s–1980s	Died during his school years and stayed at the school as a ghost.^[46]^[47]
Lucinda Talkalot	1970s–1980s	Captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team from 1976–1980.
Third Floor Corridor Slytherin prefect	c. 1980s	Prefect.
Felix Rosier	1980–1987	Prefect. Became a Dragonologist.
Barnaby Lee^[48]	1984–1991	Had a passion for Care of Magical Creatures. Member of the Hippogriff Club. His parents were Death Eaters.
Ismelda Murk^[48]		Had a passion for curses. Member of the Sphinx Club.
Merula Snyde^[49]		Student whose parents were Death Eaters. Member of the Sphinx Club. Joined R.^[50]
Liz Tuttle		Had a passion for Care of Magical Creatures. Member of the Hippogriff Club.
Gemma Farley	1980s and 1990s	Prefect.
Marcus Flint	1986–1994	Captain and Chaser of the Slytherin Quidditch team.^[30]
Dungeon Corridor Slytherin prefect (I)	c. 1986–1993	Prefect who often patrolled the Dungeon Corridor.
Dungeon Corridor Slytherin prefect (II)	c. 1986–1993	Prefect who often patrolled the Dungeon Corridor.
Lucian Bole	1988–1995	Beaters for the Slytherin Quidditch team during the 1990s.
Peregrine Derrick	1988–1995	Beaters for the Slytherin Quidditch team during the 1990s.
Adrian Pucey	1989–1996	Chaser of the Slytherin Quidditch team until 1993.
Cassius Warrington	1989–1996	Chaser of the Slytherin Quidditch team from 1993 to 1996 and member of the Inquisitorial Squad.
Flora Carrow	1990s	Member of the Slug Club
Hestia Carrow		Member of the Slug Club
Miles Bletchley		Keeper of the Slytherin Quidditch team from 1991 to 1995.
Terence Higgs		Seeker of the Slytherin Quidditch team in the 1980s and 1990s.
Urquhart		Captain and Chaser of the Slytherin Quidditch team during the 1996–1997 school year.
Vaisey		Chaser of the Slytherin Quidditch team in 1996.
Sixth-Year Inquisitorial Squad Member	c.1990–1997	Member of the Inquisitorial Squad.
Draco Malfoy^[8]	1991–1998	Prefect, Seeker for the Slytherin Quidditch team, member of the Inquisitorial Squad and later blackmailed by Lord Voldemort to become a Death Eater (defected). Eventually married Astoria Greengrass.
Vincent Crabbe		Beater of the Slytherin Quidditch team from 1995 to 1997; member of the Inquisitorial Squad; became a Dark wizard in his seventh year. Killed by his own Fiendfyre during the Battle of Hogwarts.
Gregory Goyle		Beater of the Slytherin Quidditch team from 1995 to 1997; member of the Inquisitorial Squad; became a Dark wizard in his seventh year.
Millicent Bulstrode^[8]		Member of the Inquisitorial Squad
Pansy Parkinson^[51]		Prefect and member of the Inquisitorial Squad.
Blaise Zabini		Member of the Slug Club.^[52]
Daphne Greengrass		Sister of Astoria Greengrass.
Theodore Nott		Friend of Draco Malfoy who illegally created a Time-Turner in his adult life.
Tracey Davis
Bespectacled Slytherin girl
Unidentified blonde Slytherin girl		Attended her Charms O.W.L. exam. Evacuated before the start of the Second Wizarding War. Please note that she may be either Tracey Davis or Daphne Greengrass.
Unidentified Slytherin boy in the Battle of Hogwarts		Locked in the Dungeons but when the cell exploded, fought in the Battle of Hogwarts.
Unidentified Slytherin girl (II)		Sat next to Harry in Charms class.
Unidentified Slytherin girl (III)		Sat next to Ron in Defence Against the Dark Arts class.
Bridget	1992–1999	Duelling Club member.
Harper	1992–1999	Reserve Seeker of the Slytherin Quidditch team in 1996.
Malcolm Baddock	1994–2001
Graham Pritchard
Mafalda		An estranged member of the Weasley family.
Zoe Accrington	1990s	Seen walking around in the 1993–1994 school year.
Uchi Akimbo		Challenged Harry to a duel.
Tabitha Bainbridge		Seen walking around in the 1993–1994 school year.
Sadie Baldock
Tristram Bassenthwaite
Darius Berrow
Yatin Bhagat
Kinjal Bhatia
Cameron Boyle
Diane Carter		Challenged Harry to a duel.
Fergus Cowley		Member of the Duelling Club in the 1996–1997 school year.
Irving Cram		Guarded off-limit places.
Sebastian Daley		Seen walking around in the 1993–1994 school year.
Simon Dedworth		Guarded off-limit places.
Bowen Duffield		Seen walking around in the 1993–1994 school year.
Curtis Evercreech
Amy Frome
Damon Gosforth
Mathilda Greenford
Amrish Gupta
Yurika Haneda
Niles Hanley		Usually spent time by the Viaduct.
Maynard Hatton		Ran a Duelling Club in the 1996–1997 school year.
Manami Ichijoh		Seen walking around in the 1993–1994 school year.
Malcolm Ilminster
Trupti Kadam
Sourav Kartik
Zubeida Khan
Hirohisa Kubo
Maxwell Lazenby
Holden Ledbury		Guarded off-limit places.
Gabriel Lithgow		Seen walking around in the 1993–1994 school year.
Xander Lofthouse		Tried to steal Harry's borrowed broomstick.
Scarlett Lympsham		Played informal Quidditch matches.
Charles Machin		Seen walking around in the 1993–1994 school year.
Thomas McGruder		Challenged Harry to a duel.
Gertrude Meads		Seen walking around in the 1993–1994 school year.
Sylvia Melville
Glynis Mexborough
Byron Miller
Titus Mitcham
Agnes Monkleigh		Challenged Harry to duel.
Graham Montague		Played as a Chaser on the Slytherin Quidditch team from 1993–1996. Member of the Inquisitorial Squad.
Selina Moore		Seen walking around in the 1993–1994 school year.
Timothy Morcott		Challenged Harry to a duel.
Daryl Morden		Played informal Quidditch matches.
Shawn Morris		Challenged Harry to a duel.
Adelaide Murton		Seen walking around in the 1993–1994 school year.
Irfan Mustaq		Member of the Duelling Club.
Tracey Nettlebed		Told secrets about many students for her own satisfaction.
Garrick Newbourne		Seen walking around in the 1993–1994 school year.
Nerys Orpington		Seen walking around in the 1993–1994 school year.
Penelope Padgett		Prefect. Eventually married Grim Fawley and joined the Ministry of Magic as an Auror. Went missing in 2015.
Ona Parangyo		Seen walking around in the 1993–1994 school year.
Mildred Peebles
Ursula Penkridge
Horatio Pershore
Ronald Phipps
Abigail Pugh
Gordon Pummell		Guarded off-limit places.
Bastien Queensbury		Competed in the Gobstones tournament in the 1996–1997 school year.
Hayley Quentin		Seen walking around in the 1993–1994 school year.
Viola Richmond
Michael Robinson
Muriel Rothley
Hortense Rowland
Megan Rowstock
Gideon Scalby
Poonima Shah
Olivia Shardlow
Bhupen Shastri
Archana Shetty
Reiko Shibazaki
Grant Sparkford
Cole Spencer
Norman Stacey
Imogen Stretton	Guarded off-limit places.
Junpei Suruga	Competed in the Wizard Skittles tournament in the 1996–1997 school year.
Alex Sykes	Guarded off-limit places.
Atsushi Takagi	Seen walking around in the 1993–1994 school year.
Vikram Thakur	Competed in the Wizard Skittles tournament in the 1996–1997 school year.
Heather Thatcham	Seen walking around in the 1993–1994 school year.
Spencer Whiddon
Phylis Whitehead
Ella Wilkins	Seen walking around in the 1993–1994 school year. Competed in the Exploding Snap tournament in the 1996–1997 school year.
Peter	Duelling Club member.
Pike	Member of Draco's gang.
Rachel	Duelling Club member.
Roy	Duelling Club member.
Nigel's nephew	Had an uncle who married a Muggle woman, which angered his father.
Sixth-year Inquisitorial Squad member	Member of the Inquisitorial Squad.
Slytherin Duelling Club Captain	Duelling Club Captain for Slytherin in 1996.
Slytherin student that blames Harry Potter (I)	Blamed Harry for being a champion in the Triwizard Tournament.
Slytherin student that blames Harry Potter (II)
Slytherin Wizard Duelling Champion	Duelling champion for Slytherin.
Slytherin Wizard's Chess champion	Wizard's Chess Captain for Slytherin.
Third-floor Slytherin Prefect	Prefect.
Unidentified Slytherin Beater	Beater on the Slytherin Quidditch team.
Unidentified Slytherin Beater (II)	Beater on the Slytherin Quidditch team.
Unidentified Slytherin girl at the Battle of Hogwarts	Fought in the Battle of Hogwarts.
Unidentified Slytherin girl at the Battle of Hogwarts (III)	Locked in the Dungeons but when the cell exploded, fought in the Battle of Hogwarts.
Unidentified Slytherin girl in the Battle of Hogwarts (IV)	Locked in the Dungeons but when the cell exploded, fought in the Battle of Hogwarts.
Unidentified Slytherin girl (I)	Member of the Inquisitorial Squad.
Unidentified Slytherin Keeper	Keeper on the Slytherin Quidditch team.
Colby Frey	2008–?
Fischer Frey
Cassandra Vole
Albus Potter	2017–2024	The second son and child of the famous Harry Potter. The only member of his family to be sorted into Slytherin House.
Scorpius Malfoy	2017–2024	The only child and son of Draco and Astoria Malfoy.

Behind the scenes

Slytherin Banner (WBshop) — Slytherin banner

Screenshot 884 — The Serpent statue atop of the Slytherin hourglass, as seen in the PS2/Xbox/Gamecube version of the video game adaptation of *Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone*

Slytherin coat of arms PSG GBA — The Slytherin symbol as seen in the video game adaptation of *Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone* (GBA version)

The fact that J. K. Rowling intended to place a character named Mafalda, who was the daughter of a Squib and a Muggle, in Slytherin, suggests that Rowling at least does not view the Slytherin House desire for blood-purity as particularly influential upon the Sorting Hat. Also, as Voldemort and Snape are both half-bloods, there seems no reason to suspect a "blood-pure" Slytherin.^[53]
Slytherin students seem to possess a certain skill in Potions. Harry's two Potions masters, Severus Snape and Horace Slughorn, both belonged to the Slytherin house. However, it is possible that this talent in Slytherin students could merely be a coincidence, as students from other houses at Hogwarts also shared this talent, such as Harry Potter's mother, Lily Potter (nee Evans) (whose skills were shown through Slughorn's many references to her skill in the subject throughout most of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince), and Hermione Granger who were both Gryffindors, and Penny Haywood who was in Hufflepuff.
Slytherin students also seem to be gifted in Occlumency. Most of the known Occlumens in the books come from Slytherin (namely Voldemort, Severus Snape, Bellatrix Lestrange, Draco Malfoy, and Horace Slughorn).
J. K. Rowling stated in a PotterCast interview that some Slytherins were among the reinforcements brought by Slughorn during the Battle of Hogwarts.
J. K. Rowling stated that by 2017, Slytherin is no longer the pure-blood bastion that it once was. However, its dark reputation still lingers, hence the reason for Albus Potter's fears.^[54]
It is interesting to note that Slytherin is both the first Hogwarts house mentioned in the series (by Draco Malfoy), as well as the last mentioned in the series (by Albus Potter).
In early drafts of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, members of the Slytherin house were known as "Slytherites".^[55]
Slytherin House was the winner of the first, third and seventh house cup on Pottermore.^[56]
The Sorting Hat considered placing Gilderoy Lockhart in Slytherin, as he showed cunning, resourcefulness and ambition, which are some of the qualities that fit Slytherin House. However, it finally chose Ravenclaw.^[57]
In the Game Boy Advance Game Mother 3, there is an enemy called Slitherhen. The name is a reference to Slytherin.^[58]
Peter Pettigrew was a Hatstall and considered for Sorting into Slytherin, but, in the end, was Sorted into Gryffindor.^[59]
Scarlett Byrne, the actress who portrayed Pansy Parkinson in the films, was sorted into Slytherin on Pottermore.

Pottermore House Cup

Slytherin won the first house cup with 72,734,274 house points.
Slytherin came second for the second house cup with 48,495,275 points.
Slytherin won the third house cup with 26,990,924 points.
Slytherin came second for the fourth house cup with 24,865,387.
Slytherin came second for the fifth house cup with 27,795,479 points.
Slytherin came fourth for the sixth house cup with 31,926,625 points.
Slytherin won the seventh house cup with 52,652,850 points.
Slytherin came second for the eighth house cup with 26,564,159 points.

Translations

In translated editions, "Slytherin" remains the same and is used for the Arabic, Croatian, Danish, German, Hebrew, Icelandic, Indonesian, Irish, Polish, Portuguese (Portugal), Spanish, Swedish, Turkish, and Vietnamese editions. The following translations have changed the name:

Language	Translation	Note
Afrikaans	Sibberin
Albanian	Gjarpërblertit	"Green snake"
Bulgarian	Слидерин (Sliderin)
Chinese (Simplified)	斯莱特林 (Sī-lái-tè-lín)
Chinese (Traditional)	史萊哲林 (Shǐ-lái-zhé-lín)
Czech	Zmijozel	from Zmije "viper snake" or Zmij "adder"
Dutch	Zwadderich	from the old Dutch noun zwadder "snake poison"; zwadderig "dirty"
Finnish	Luihuinen	from the adjective luihu "deceptive" or "sneaky"
French	Serpentard	from serpent "snake" and the suffix -ard which gives it a pejorative consonance
Georgian	სლიზერინი (slizerin)
Greek	Σλίθεριν (Slitherin)
Hebrew	סלית'רין
Hindi	नगशक्ति (Nāgaśakti)	Nāga "Snake"; śakti "power"
Hungarian	Mardekár	mar "bite" (like snake), de kár "but it's a pity"
Italian	Serpeverde	"Green Serpent"
Japanese	スリザリン (Surizarin)
Korean	슬리데린 (sŭliderin)
Latvian	Slīdenis
Lithuanian	Klastūnynas	from the noun klasta "guile" or "ruse". Also could be translated as "viper" or "scoundrel"
Macedonian	Змијолик (Zmijolik)	"Snakeface"
Norwegian	Smygard
Persian	اسلایترین
Portuguese (Brazil)	Sonserina	from Sonso a term for "someone who pretends to be innocent or harmless"
Romanian	Viperini	"Vipers"
Russian	Слизерин (Slizerin) /Слайзерин (Sluytherin) /Пресмыкайс (Presmykais)	Слизь (Sleezerin) "slime" /Пресмыкаться (Pryesmikat'sya) "to slither"
Serbian	Слитерин (Sliterin)
Slovak	Slizolin	from sliz, meaning "slime"
Slovenian	Spolzgad
Thai	สลิธีริน (Sa-li-thee-rin)
Ukrainian	Слизерин (Slyzeryn)
Welsh	Slafenog

Appearances

Notes and references

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 ^1.3 ^1.4 ^1.5 ^1.6 ^1.7 ^1.8 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Chapter 9 (The Writing on the Wall)
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 Writing by J. K. Rowling: "Colours" at Wizarding World
↑ Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Chapter 3 (The Letters from No One)
↑ Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Chapter 11 (The Duelling Club)
↑ ^5.0 ^5.1 The Leaky Cauldron and Mugglenet interview Joanne Kathleen Rowling
↑ ^6.0 ^6.1 Celebrating Slytherin House Pride from Pottermore (via the Internet Archive)
↑ ^7.0 ^7.1 ^7.2 All About Slytherin from Pottermore (via the Internet Archive)
↑ ^8.0 ^8.1 ^8.2 ^8.3 ^8.4 ^8.5 ^8.6 Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Chapter 7 (The Sorting Hat)
↑ ^9.0 ^9.1 ^9.2 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Chapter 18 (Dobby's Reward)
↑ ^10.0 ^10.1 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 23 (Christmas on the Closed Ward)
↑ ^11.0 ^11.1 Interview with J.K. Rowling on PotterCast
↑ Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter 12 (The Triwizard Tournament)
↑ ^13.0 ^13.1 Hogwarts Legacy, Description of the "Charms Professor Gloves" item (see this image)
↑ ^14.0 ^14.1 ^14.2 ^14.3 ^14.4 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 4 (Horace Slughorn)
↑ ^15.0 ^15.1 ^15.2 Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Chapter 8 (The Potions Master)
↑ ^16.0 ^16.1 ^16.2 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Chapter 12 (The Polyjuice Potion)
↑ Leaky Surprise
↑ ^18.0 ^18.1 ^18.2 ^18.3 LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7 (see this video)
↑ ^19.0 ^19.1 Pottermore introductions to Hogwarts Houses#Slytherin (Archived) from Pottermore
↑ Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 11 (The Sorting Hat's New Song)
↑ ^21.0 ^21.1 ^21.2 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 23 (Malfoy Manor)
↑ Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 11 (The Sorting Hat's New Song)
↑ Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Chapter 17 (The Heir of Slytherin)
↑ Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 33 (The Prince's Tale)
↑ ^25.0 ^25.1 ^25.2 ^25.3 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 31 (The Battle of Hogwarts)
↑ Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 28 (Snape's Worst Memory)
↑ Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Chapter 15 (The Quidditch Final)
↑ Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Chapter 6 (The Journey from Platform Nine and Three-Quarters)
↑ Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Chapter 15 (The Forbidden Forest)
↑ ^30.0 ^30.1 Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Chapter 11 (Quidditch)
↑ Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter 18 (The Weighing of the Wands)
↑ Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter 37 (The Beginning)
↑ Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Chapter 5 (Diagon Alley)
↑ ^34.0 ^34.1 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 36 (The Flaw in the Plan)
↑ Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Epilogue (Nineteen Years Later)
↑ Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 10 (Kreacher's Tale)
↑ Short Stories from Hogwarts of Heroism, Hardship and Dangerous Hobbies, Chapter 3 (Horace Slughorn)
↑ F.A.Q. question (Internet archive) from J. K. Rowling's official site
↑ Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (video game)
↑ Writing by J. K. Rowling: "Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry" at Wizarding World
↑ Writing by J. K. Rowling: "Chamber of Secrets" at Wizarding World
↑ ^42.0 ^42.1 Hogwarts Legacy
↑ ^43.0 ^43.1 Chandler Wood on Twitter: "Yes, our Charms professor is Abraham Ronen. And as many of you guessed, he is indeed a Slytherin."
↑ Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Chapter 13 (The Very Secret Diary)
↑ Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 20 (Lord Voldemort's Request)
↑ Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Year 5, Chapter 6 (The Ghosts of Hogwarts)
↑ Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Year 5, Chapter 7 (The Life and Death of Duncan Ashe)
↑ ^48.0 ^48.1 Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Year 3, Chapter 2 (Boggarts and Butterbeer)
↑ Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Year 1, Chapter 2 (Welcome to Hogwarts)
↑ Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Year 6, Chapter 45 (The Messenger)
↑ Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Chapter 9 (The Midnight Duel)
↑ Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 7 (The Slug Club)
↑ Extra Stuff: Mafalda at J. K. Rowling's official site
↑ http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/2007/7/30/j-k-rowling-web-chat-transcript
↑ Very early draft of Philosopher's Stone (Page 1)
↑ Congratulations Slytherin on Winning...
↑ Pottermore biography of Gilderoy Lockhart. audio clip by J. K. Rowling
↑ Let's Test MOTHER 3 #15 - The Magyspy Scene That Isn't What You Think But Whatever
↑ Writing by J. K. Rowling: "Hatstall" at Wizarding World

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Hogwarts Houses

Namesake Founders Godric Gryffindor · Helga Hufflepuff · Rowena Ravenclaw · Salazar Slytherin
Heads of House Minerva McGonagall · Pomona Sprout · Filius Flitwick · Horace Slughorn
House Ghosts Nearly Headless Nick · Fat Friar · Grey Lady · Bloody Baron