Merlin's Hogwarts House Isn't What Harry Potter Fans Would Think

The world of Harry Potter is massive and inviting — one that has a richly detailed history that still leaves enough room open for mystery and discussion. As a result, Harry Potter fans have gotten used to speculating and theorizing about a whole variety of different things related to the Wizarding World. It's been over 20 years since the first Harry Potter book was published — but whether it be wondering aloud about the function of certain magical abilities or speculating which real-life historical figures may have been wizards, fans have yet to run out of things in the Harry Potter franchise to talk about.

With that in mind, there are few things that Harry Potter fans like doing more than figuring out which Hogwarts house certain powerful wizards or historical figures might have been sorted into. Fortunately, fans have the ability to not only find out what Hogwarts houses they'd belong to, but the fictional world also does a pretty good job of revealing the Hogwarts house of almost every major character in both the Potter and Fantastic Beasts franchises.

One of the great joys of the Wizarding World is how the stories of Harry Potter blend real-life history with age-old fantasy myths and folk tales. That means that one of the most famous fictional wizards of all time, Merlin, actually existed at one point in the Wizarding World. Thanks to some well-established lore, it's also been speculated what Hogwarts house Merlin was sorted into, and the answer will probably come as a surprise to some Harry Potter fans.

Given Merlin's role in most mystic tales as a force for good in the world, it'd be fair to assume that the wizard would have been a member of the more traditionally noble Hogwarts houses, like Gryffindor or Hufflepuff. However, according to Harry Potter Wiki, it's said that Merlin was actually a member of the Slytherin house — in fact, it's rumored that he may have been taught by none other than Salazar Slytherin himself. His placement in Slytherin implies that Merlin was, in some regards, cunning and ambitious — two traits that are not only present in most Harry Potter villains, but which are also fundamentally linked to that particular Hogwarts house.

However, while most of the villains in the Harry Potter series happen to be members of the Slytherin house, the books do also go out of their way to argue that by no means are all members of Slytherin evil. At least according to this theory, it appears the great sorcerer himself might fall into that category.