Harry Potter Fans Want More Complex And Realistic Slytherin Relations

In the "Harry Potter" franchise, Hogwarts students are sorted into four different Houses: Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. During the Sorting Ceremony, the Sorting Hat sits atop a student's head to read their mind and evaluate the student for specific traits that they embody and value most before being placed into the corresponding House. Each House generally represents a set of admirable characteristics, with students personifying those characteristics.

However, despite each House's association with these desirable qualities, one House is still designated the "bad House." Since the House system's introduction in "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," Slytherin earned a bad reputation because of its close association with dark wizards, something Hagrid mentions saying, "There's not a single witch or wizard who went bad who wasn't in Slytherin."

And from then on, fans bought into the negative Slytherin stereotype. And since the story is told from Harry's perspective — influenced by Hagrid, Ron, and above all, Draco Malfoy — the false perception is perpetuated throughout the series. And while there's some truth to Hagrid's statement, with every known dark wizard coming from Slytherin, not all Slytherins are evil. In fact, there are several Slytherin witches and wizards who don't turn to the dark side (insert "Star Wars" joke here). So great is the need to break the stereotype that the official Wizarding World website compiled a list of good Slytherins, including Professor Horace Slughorn, Andromeda Tonks, mother of Nymphadora, and Merlin himself.

And for the most part, "Potter" fans know that not all Slytherins become dark wizards. When a Redditor presented a hypothetical opportunity to alter or personalize the canon, several fans wanted to break the stigma by adding more Slytherin representation.

In a recent post by Redditor u/chairduck, they asked fans in the r/HarryPotter subreddit about the first thing they'd add if they took the reins of the canon. With nearly 950 comments, "Potter" fans had a lot of thoughts.

Likely the most-liked comment, with 5000 likes, u/adityabalaraman said they'd ensure that the Slytherins were not all perceived as dark wizards replying, "Not make everyone from Slytherin 'evil lite' by default and have more non gryffindor people play a bigger role." Many agreed with their thoughts, each providing their own examples of how they'd add Slytherin characters.

"Potter" fan u/funnyboy36 created a scenario in which some Slytherins overhear the first meeting of Dumbledore's Army, a secret organization that taught Defense Against the Dark Arts, and decide to join. In their canon, Slytherins mostly get along with the Gryffindor students, changing Harry's perception of the House. Using what they've learned, the Slytherins form a small platoon to fight in the Battle of Hogwarts.

In the end, Redditor u/ejpasero commented that they'd like to see one positive Slytherin student interact with Harry, Ron, and Hermione, adding that it'd only benefit the text by creating more layers saying, "I'd like to see at least one Slytherin character interact with the main cast in a way that is wholly positive. Running around and sprinkling more nuance into the books in general would be a noble pursuit."

Though "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" tried to add more Slytherin representation with Albus Potter and Scorpius Malfoy, many fans don't consider the stage play canon (per Insider). Hopefully, with new Wizarding World projects, there will be more attempts at breaking the Slytherin stereotype that fans are willing to accept.