🌼🌻

Resourcefulness:

As far as I’m concerned, this is the most unsung value of Slytherin house, and easily the hardest to demonize. After all, what is more admirable than someone who has very little to work with and yet clenches their jaw, makes due with what they have, and finds a way to get through their problems? It is the value behind most underdog stories! Although there is an association made sometimes between Slytherin and wealth (mostly thanks to the Malfoys), we see plenty of evidence of poor Slytherins too (see Severus Snape and Tom Riddle), and in many cases we see Slytherins use their talents, strengths, and advantages to find a way to get ahead. Riddle uses his magical talent, gift for Parseltongue, and natural charm. Snape uses his talents in dueling, Potions, and Occlumency. Slughorn uses his amiability and talent in Potions. Lucius uses his money and influence. Draco uses his father’s influence and his own charisma. Narcissa uses her wits and convincing air. Regulus uses his brain and sneakiness. Sometimes these examples are not always positive, but it certainly makes it clear that from a tiny acorn of resourcefulness can sprout a perfect oak tree of a witch or wizard.

Determination:

For a snake, determination is what makes everything work. It’s taking care of your two-year-old child when you’ve just had a baby as a single mother and have no money for a nanny or sitter. It’s working for your mean boss who threatens to fire you every hour to prove them wrong – to show them that you can’t be scared so easily. Determination is very important to achieve our ambitions; it’s where we get our confidence, what gets us up in the morning each day. Without drive, there can be no passion, and without passion, there is almost no possible chance of success.

Self-Preservation:

How many times have we heard people argue that all Slytherins are cowards? Too many times, honestly…and it’s not deserved. Slytherins can be very brave – look at Severus Snape, or Regulus or Andromeda Black. Heck, even villains like Voldemort, Bellatrix, and Umbridge wouldn’t likely be characterized as explicitly “cowardly” either. Slytherins are also not the only characters who are ever considered cowardly – we’ve seen Ravenclaws like Lockhart and Quirrel and Gryffindors like Pettigrew be cowards too, not to mention characters like Fudge who we don’t know the house of but I’m going to go out on a limb and guess wasn’t a Slytherin. So yes, first, to get this out of the way, self-preservation =/= cowardice. Self-preservation means…just that! Looking out for oneself. And that is a very undervalued thing. Selflessness is generally considered eternally virtuous, but if one looks at it carefully, it can also cause a lot of harm. Never taking care of yourself can destroy your health as well as your emotional state, and if someone truly loves you, they should want you to be happy and healthy…thus it would be in your best interest to look after yourself. And if that person doesn’t want that, then that could mean you’re pouring your heart and energy into someone who doesn’t deserve it.

Self-preservation is not selfishness. Self-preservation is not cowardice. It is recognizing your own value and knowing you only have one life to live, and therefore choosing not to throw away your shot.

A Disregard for the Rules:

Most Slytherins tend to have a blatant disregard for rules, mostly because rules only hold them back. Say no one is allowed to use potion ingredients but certain professors, but they gotta figure out who stole their homework last night. You think something like that’s gonna hold them back? Nope. Another example would be Voldemort himself. Wanna live forever? No way in hell is anyone gonna stop him, whether it’s some Gryffindor he tried to kill as a baby, Dumbledore, or the entire Ministry of Magic. 

I think that’s a big reason why Slytherin is known as the ‘evil’ house. We have our own rules, our own boundaries for ourselves. Other rules we deem unimportant, though we’re still aware of them. It doesn’t matter if we break some rules that another person made up, but if we break our own? No, that’s not okay. Someone could be perfectly okay with stealing something, but if you have to hurt a person to do so and they’re not okay with that? It’s not happening. The code of honor is different for each Slytherin – sometimes it can even be just as principled as the rules already in place. The important thing is that the code of honor comes from us, not an outside source. If we believe in it with all our hearts, we will fight to protect it.

Cleverness:

This value is what makes some mistakenly label people as Ravenclaw instead of Slytherin. The main difference is where the intelligence comes from. Ravenclaws tend to rely on academic, logical knowledge – the sorts you find in books that can be measured and catalogued. Slytherins rely on emotional knowledge, or common sense – the kind you can only get by working a job first-hand, or the kind you acquire from knowing somebody intimately. Slytherins are usually very insightful people and they can often read others without much difficulty. They are the sorts to make connections from their own experiences to make conclusions about something outside themselves. For example, Voldemort is able to predict Harry’s behavior a few times in the books simply due to how intimate his knowledge is of the boy thanks to their Horcrux connection, and Severus Snape is able to predict (correctly) that Quirrel isn’t to be trusted because he himself is a master of deception and espionage. Even Regulus is sharp enough to know it would be more prudent (and it would also twist the knife into Voldemort more) to quietly leave a note with the fake Horcrux in the Horcrux’s hiding place for the Dark Lord to find instead of openly confronting him. Cleverness is not as easily measured in tests as book smarts, but its value is truly incalculable.

Ambition:

url edit for @padmaspatil