Hey everyone,
Welcome to another instalment of Harry Potter Theory.
Today, we’ll be discussing five famous Slytherin witches and wizards who went on to make history.
Within the wizarding world, anyone referred to as simply a “Slytherin” is a current
or former student of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry who was sorted into Slytherin
House upon their arrival at the school.
The House of Slytherin is representative of one of the four founding members of Hogwarts,
Salazar Slytherin, a powerful wizard who believed in magical blood purity and argued that only
pureblood families should be offered enrollment at the school.
As such, many people associate Slytherins with cruel, dark or simply prejudiced witches
or wizards.
Unfortunately, this view of Slytherins is further supported by the sheer number of graduates
who went on to become entangled with Dark Magic.
BUT, it’s important to note that that’s NOT ALWAYS the case.
There are lots of *quote* good witches and wizards who have been former Slytherin students,
some of which we’ll touch on in today’s video.
So, with that in mind, let’s take a look at five famous Slytherins who made history.
#5.
The Bloody Baron Today, The Bloody Baron is likely more well
known as the apparition version of himself, the Slytherin ghost that currently haunts
the halls of Hogwarts.
However, The Bloody Baron—whose real name is unknown—was once a student of the school,
attending Hogwarts in the 11th century.
Promptly sorted into Slytherin upon his arrival, not much else is known about The Baron’s
time as a pupil.
However, we do know that sometime after he graduated, he ended up falling madly in love
with Helena Ravenclaw, the daughter of another one of Hogwarts’ four founding members,
Rowena Ravenclaw.
Sadly, The Baron’s love was an unrequited one, and Helena—jealous of her mother’s
accomplishments—decided to steal Rowena’s diadem and run off to the Albanian forests.
Rowena, knowing of The Baron’s love for her daughter, charged him with locating Helena
and bringing her back home.
But upon finding Helena, she steadfastly refused to accompany him back.
Becoming infuriated by her rejection, he murd*ered her in a blind rage, stabbing her to death.
When he realized what he had done, he turned his blade on himself and committed sui*cide.
The blood that covers his ghostly self is that of his own and Helena’s, and is, of
course, what gives him his name: The Bloody Baron.
He is said to often roam the Hogwarts’ Astronomy Towers, clanking his chains as penance for
his sins.
#4.
Merlin Another student of Hogwarts in its more formative
years, the Harry-Potter version of Merlin was sorted into Slytherin House upon his arrival
at the school and taught by Salazar Slytherin himself.
It’s rumoured that Merlin had a passion for ancient magic and studied the secret rooms
at Hogwarts that became known as the Cursed Vaults.
As arguably one of the most famous wizards of all time, Merlin was an advocate of Muggle
rights and did not believe in the value of blood purity.
In recognition of his contributions to the wizarding world, the Wizengamot—an ancient
governing body that predates the Ministry of Magic—has given out annual awards known
as the Order of Merlin of the First, Second and Third Class since the 15th century.
The First Class Order of Merlin is a gold medal which hangs on a green ribbon, said
to be a reflection of his house at Hogwarts.
It is given out to witches and wizards “for acts of outstanding bravery or distinction”
in magic.
There is also a stained glass window in Hogwarts’ History of Magic classroom which features
Merlin’s name.
And so well known is Merlin and his accomplishments that his name has even become part of the
wizarding world’s vernacular, with exclamations such as “Merlin’s Beard!”
heard in everyday conversation.
#3.
Phineas Nigellus Black Another famous Slytherin, although arguably
much less so than our first two wizards, is Phineas Nigellus Black.
Born into the pureblood supremacist House of Black dynasty, Phineas was a loyal believer
in the idea that “mudbloods” and Muggles were of a lower class than pureblood families.
After graduating from Hogwarts, Phineas later returned to the school to accept a position
as a professor.
Despite not being particularly fond of the role—not to mention the students he was
supposed to be educating—he eventually also accepted a promotion to Headmaster, a position
which he was appointed to by the Ministry of Magic.
It’s here that he made history as the school’s LEAST favourite Headmaster of all time, a
title that even his great-great-grandson, Sirius Black, would later use to describe
him to a young Harry Potter.
Due to his lack of interest in actually being the Headmaster of Hogwarts, he was quite oblivious
to many of the dangers that threatened the school during his tenure, particularly in
the late 1800s.
One such example of this is that he knew very little about the goblin Ranrok’s planned
invasion of the school—a plot that was part of the 19th century goblin rebellion against
the wizarding world.
#2.
Leta Lestrange A French-British witch who attended Hogwarts
in the early 1900s, Leta Lestrange was a Slytherin pupil whose closest friend was actually none
other than Hufflepuff student, Newt Scamander, the storied Magizoologist and author of Fantastic
Beasts and Where to Find Them.
Although Leta’s behaviour in school resulted in a substantial amount of trouble, including
the expulsion of Newt Scamander, she went on to become a respected employee of the British
Ministry of Magic’s Department of Magical Law Enforcement.
By 1927, Leta had become engaged to Newt’s older brother Theseus and, later that same
year, in an effort to stop Gellert Grindelwald from killing the Scamander brothers, she sacrificed
herself and died, incinerated by the flames from Grindelwald’s Protego Diabolica spell.
It is said that Leta’s sacrifice is what inspired Newt to openly challenge and go to
war against Gellert Grindelwald, alongside Albus Dumbledore.
#1.
Tom Riddle Where Merlin is likely the most famous wizard
to have ever been sorted into Slytherin, Tom Riddle is—without a doubt—the most INFAMOUS
Slytherin in history.
Born to an impoverished Merope Gaunt, one of the last surviving members of the once
proud House of Gaunt wizarding dynasty, Tom Riddle was quickly abandoned by his mother.
As a result, Tom grew up in an orphanage before entering Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and
Wizardry at the age of 11.
He, of course, was sorted into Slytherin and spent much of his time studying “extra-curricular”
material regarding Dark Magic.
Tom was the student responsible for reopening Salazar Slytherin’s sealed Chamber of Secrets,
a crime for which he later framed Rubeus Hagrid.
Upon leaving Hogwarts, Tom went on to become—simply put—a mass mur*derer, splitting his soul
into multiple fragments in order to create his Horcruxes, which was his ill-fated attempt
to live forever.
It was during this time that he amassed his loyal following—known as Death Eaters—and
took on the moniker of Voldemort.
Honourable Mentions While the previous witch and wizards are my
top picks for famous Slytherins who made wizarding history, I’d like to give out a few honourable
mentions to other house graduates who have also been mentioned in the history books.
Most notably, there are a large number of witches and wizards from the House of Black
family who helped shape the outcome of the wizarding world, primarily during the 20th
century.
For example, the three Black sisters, Narcissa, Bellatrix and Andromeda, all played a part
in Voldemort’s second rise and fall to power.
Of course, the most famous of the three would have to be Bellatrix Lestrange, rumoured mistress
of the Dark Lord himself, and likely the most evil witch of her time—her contributions
as a loyal Death Eater in the First and Second Wizarding Wars more than well documented.
Narcissa, on the other hand, mother to Draco Malfoy, is the witch responsible for tricking
Voldemort into thinking that Harry Potter had died out in the Forbidden Forest during
the Battle of Hogwarts.
She does this out of love for her son—not Harry—but had she chosen to tell Voldemort
that Harry was alive, things may have turned out a little differently.
Finally, there’s Andromeda Tonks.
Andromeda is known as one of the few members of the Black family to break ties with her
relatives due to her rejection of their beliefs regarding blood purity.
She married a Muggle-born, Ted Tonks, and they had their only ch*ild, Nymphadora Tonks,
famed Auror and member of the Order of the Phoenix.
Another member of the Black family who was a Slytherin and deserves an honourable mention
is Regulus Black, Sirius Black’s younger brother.
Regulus is the wizard responsible for stealing and hiding one of Voldemort’s Horcruxes
in an effort to prevent him from returning to power.
Finally, I’d like to give recognition to a few professors who also once belonged to
the House of Slytherin.
Of course, there’s Professor Severus Snape, who risked his life for years pretending to
be a loyal follower of Voldemort’s in order to avenge the death of the woman he once loved—Lily
Potter, Harry’s mother.
I’d like to also mention the zany Professor Horace Slughorn, founder of the Slug Club,
who innocently shared information about the dark art of creating Horcruxes with a young
Tom Riddle.
Information which arguably set Riddle on the path to becoming Lord Voldemort.
And then, one last shoutout for Dolores Umbridge—the sadistic, cat-loving former Slytherin who
tortured students and giggled while she did it.
And, with that, we’ve come to the end of another video!
What did you think?
Are there any other famous Slytherins you think deserve to be on this list?
Please share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Until next time…remember
"It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live."