Harry Potter: 5 Slytherins Who Were Heroes Not Villains
These Slytherins were some of the bravest people in the wizarding world...
Slytherin House has a negative reputation. Before Harry even arrives at Hogwarts, he’s told by Hagrid that all the bad witches and wizards are in Slytherin.
This turns out to be largely (though not entirely) true. Draco Malfoy becomes the face of this house throughout the series. He’s selfish, mean, proud of his ancestry, and has an unhealthy obsession with the dark arts.
Yet there are plenty of worse individuals in Slytherin. Voldemort’s villainy was so grotesque he was willing to kill others and tear apart his own soul. What’s more, some of his followers were equally terrifying. Indeed, Bellatrix Lestrange and Fenrir Greyback were especially frightening.
Thankfully, there were some Slytherins who broke the mould. Given J.K. Rowling’s superb ability to write nuanced characters, certain members of this house were not as evil as they initially appeared to be. And there were also some Slytherins who were clearly good-natured people from the outset.
Though there are a number of honourable Slytherins in the original series, the more recent stories set in the wizarding world have also presented us with heroic individuals from this fascinating house...
5. Horace Slughorn
The Half-Blood Prince was the only Harry Potter entry to give Professor Slughorn the limelight he deserved. From the moment this flamboyant man appeared, he was instantly charming.
During his time as a teacher, he created his own society known as the Slug Club, which was made up of students he believed would go on to be outstanding witches and wizards. Though he was very selective about who was allowed to join, he treated the members with the utmost respect and admiration.
What's more, Slughorn demonstrated his heroism in the latter stages of The Half-Blood Prince. Despite his deep sense of shame, he gave Harry a vital memory that confirmed Dumbledore’s theory about Voldemort’s wish to split his soul into seven pieces.
Though he was a little too fond of his creature comforts, Slughorn’s heart was undoubtedly in the right place.