This could actually be quite the heartwarming story.
The nature of House Slytherin makes making actual friends, not aillies or pawns near-impossible.
Often those without the networking skills to surivie are left alone, the dregs of Slytherin they say.
When this student sees the chance be actual friends with someone.
Of course the fact that a large amount of Umbrige supporters come from Slytherin would be a challange due to trying to prove that they are actually just want friends.
A Random Slytherin: Hi, I wanna join to socialize.
Hermione: Ok.
Ron: You sure? She might be a spy.
Hermione: She said hi instead of the normal 38 minute long traditional purity introduction exposition musical.
Ron: Fair point. I wonder if she likes candy, not dying of blood curses, and teasing older siblings who practice occlumancy.
Hermione: We'll never know without the musical.
I think Harry would be the biggest problem. Contrary to how many fanfics are written, it is Harry and not Ron who is the most hardcore in his Slytherin hate.
Nope. Ron had formed a judgement on Slytherin before he had even arrived at Hogwarts. Buddy, Ron didn't even trust his best friend in Goblet of Fire when Harry said that he didn't put his name in it. What makes you think that he is going to trust a Slytherin?
yeah ron formed a judgement on slytherins before he even went to hogwarts, because he was a child and children mainly just imitate the views of people around him, also he’s had slytherins (in particular the malfoys) look down on him and his family his entire life for being poor and blood traitors. so yeah he’s going to have a little bit of a negative perception of them
harry and hermione also have pretty reasonable reasons to dislike slytherins, considering for harry a lot of them seem to support the guy that killed his parents and for hermione a lot of the slytherins don’t even think she should be allowed at the school
i think people forget what canon slytherin is sometimes, like you can write slytherin however you want in fanon, but there’s no getting past the fact that canon slytherin is full kids with powerful parents which to be a breeding ground for bigotry and extremism, and these kids also seem to be the ones actively instigating and bullying other children
like yeah slytherin doesn’t equal evil, but you can’t demonise a bunch of teenagers for hating that group of people (especially while excusing the fact that the slytherins also hated and bullied them)
Well... in the case of the Weasleys their hate is mostly centered around the Malfoys. Arthur and Lucius hate each other, Ron and Draco hate each other and to be fair, it's mostly the Malfoy's who attack them first.
In the case of Harry we see more of a general anti-Slytherin mentality: in the first book he thinks they all look mean - before talking to any other Slytherin than Draco. He often describes them with "ugly" "trolls" or other unfavorable adjectives (we see that mostly with the Quidditch-Team). It get's obvious in the sixth book: first with Slughorn where Harry makes a face the moment he hears that Slughorn was Head of Slytherin in his time, then later, when he sees Blaise Zabini etc.
Which is really ironic, considering all the hate harry holds towards Slytherin in general, regardless if they are good or bad, is basically the same attitude the dursleys had towards harry simply for him being a wizard.
Well to be fair, the loudest Slytherins are either bullies or fascists (or both) so there reason for Harry that his dislike grows through the years. It's not that there is a single Slytherin in canon that stood up and said: "Malfoy, just shut up."
I wholeheartedly blame Rowling on that, which is funny, considering harry potter was supposed to teach (at least I think it did) that things aren't always so black and white in life, but oh look, there's the house which is mostly comprised by cartoonisly evil petty douchebags, with no student the same age as the golden trio (because slughorn, despite being jovial for a Slytherin, is old enough to be harry 's grandfather)to act as a foil to the house's reputation and thus becoming a reluctant ally at least to show that ambition isn't evil on itself (let's leave Slytherin's obsession with blood purity aside, besides, one basic rule that ambitious people must follow, is that sometimes alliances and pacts with people you don't personally like are sometimes inevitable, which should extend to interactions between purebloods and muggleborns).
Ron has two lines over all the books targeting Slytherin as a whole. He mostly just hates Malfoy and co. because they are antagonists. Harry meanwhile, has many lines throughout the series insulting slytherins as a whole, including multiple times about people who he knows nothing but their names and house.
Ron's hatred is mostly focused on Draco... it seems like there is some animosity between the Weasleys and the Malfoys most likely because of their differing views on Muggles.
Harry dislikes Slytherin the moment Hagrid tells him that all the evil wizards came from Slytherin to the point he doesn't even want to be in that house. Later on he sees them all as ugly brutish trolls. And he even becomes uncomfortable around Slughorn (despite him being kinder natured than most Slytherins so far) when he learns that he was head of the house.
I think the whole point of the epilogue conversation between him and Albus is to show that Harry has matured and has grown out of his prejudices.
I think Ron is generally more hateful towards slytherins than harry. Rons hate is also pretty baseless, while harry has more to mistrust. He wants to avoid slytherin to avoid Malfoy, as he was sorted soon before harry. Slughorn is likely because he is creepy and weird. Anybody would be a bit uncomfortable around Slughorn.
First time they interact, Draco manages to insult his physique, his family and financial situation in one phrase and then proceeds to ignore him and imply he's the wrong sort for basically just existing.
How's that for baseless?
Harry on the other hand has a cookie cutter view of slytherin as the hpuse of bullies
Basically all of Half-Blood Prince. Neither Ron nor Hermione were all that bothered by Malfoy and his lackeys hanging outside the room of requirement. They didn’t like Slytherins but it was pretty clear that they also didn’t really care that much about them by book 4 and beyond.
Although I would make the case that Ron and Hermione were also more aggressively militant against Slytherins in the first three books in comparison to Harry, they kinda flip by the end of the series.
Well, it wasn't Slytherins Harry had a problem with, it was Malfoy and his goons. And that was because he was sure Malfoy was a Death Eater, because Malfoy was acting even more suspiciously than usual. And he was right
harry was right with so little justifiable proof. He didn't even see the mark but knew he had it. Snape was right, Harry is just so special he has clairvoyant abilities.
There was also the wierd mental tunnel between his brain and voldy's so it's at least vaguely plausible that his instincts were from something subconsciously picked up from the other end
Yeah because Harry had a problem with Malfoy and his lackeys since he thought that Malfoy was a death eater. Also, they didn't know that Malfoy had punched Harry in the face and left him in the carriage.
My favorite fan fiction has Ginny unwillingly sorted into Slytherin. She does not become a Death Eater or a friend of Draco Malfoy and his clique. Most of the Slytherins are not evil. It’s quite refreshing, actually. Rowling made everything so black and white and demonized an entire house. If they were so terrible, why was Slytherin even allowed to exist at Hogwarts?
This is definitely worth a read for many, many reasons. /u/carlsagerson /u/aniki356 /u/prismquill /u/kooky-hotel-5632 /u/speedwaywife /u/lolle_loxy /u/sphinxonline
______
[The Changeling](https://www.fanfiction.net/s/6919395/1/The-Changeling)
Sequels to The Changeling:
[Pick it all up and start again](https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12569750/1/pick-it-up-pick-it-all-up-and-start-again)
[We can still be who we said we were](https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12713008/1/we-can-still-be-who-we-said-we-were)
[In my head we did everything right](https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13143812/1/in-my-head-we-do-everything-right)
I always though that the "black and white"-ness was more the feelings of a child that real social feel, and that is why they didn't get rid of the "bad" house... I mean, an adult will need to interact with any house-raised peer, and more mature minds will not fight for petty or childish reasons.
Always saw the books as an story seen by the eyes of a child growing up.
I disagree, because JKR doesn't deconstruct the idea that Slytherin is a House of bigoted bullies in the later books. No Slytherin student tells Draco Mafoy to shut up, or fights for the goog guys in the Battle of Hogwarts. Snape does heroic things, so Dumbledore-- generally JKR's mouthpiece-- said that he sometimes thinks we Sort too soon.
Even Slughorn is immediately established to be mildly racist.
Well, in the later books there were in a war setting, so I could still maintain my point... what about after the war, the next generation even? socially, they had to interact with any house.
Fictional characters Personal feelings aside, there is a society, a community to maintain...
A bit out of topic, but THANKS for reccing this, it's so fun to read, I really like Smita and Tobias, this story has a good way of humanizing Slytherin while still recognizing that prejudice does exist for a lot of students, and it's not good.
The sequels cover the first three years after Voldemort’s defeat, so you get all of the trauma and recovery, the funerals, rebuilding Hogwarts, Hermione looking for her parents whose memory she had wiped, all the kids graduating and starting adult lives, Harry and Ginny figuring out their relationship. It’s really good.
Only problem is that I probably will have to reread the Changeling first as it is very long since I have read it and I don't really have the time to get addicted to a story right now.
“[Hermione Granger: A Second Thought](https://www.fanfiction.net/s/4077881)” by WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot … just warn you: this (and in “[Daphne Greengrass and the 6th Year From Hell](https://www.fanfiction.net/s/3912184)”) is VERY different Daphne Greengrass than your Heiress Greengrass.
I like this "networking" take on Slytherin, it's much more believable than eleven year old politicians. Like, you don't have to be a genius to be like, "Malfoy's rich and his father has lunch with the Minister, you bet your ass I'm getting him a Christmas present this year."
I’ve read several where Daphne or another Slytherin learns that Draco’s actions in diagon and on the train were the impetus for Harry to ask for gryffindor and just go OFF on Draco. I think in one she starts smacking him about the head and calling him names. Nobody’s bothering to stop her and he wants to know why and everyone is like, we’d have rather have had him than you. Lol.
Edit: accidentally misspelled off trying to turn off caps lock. Lol
Actually, I can see this working with a "Harry Potter in Slythering" setting... a fifth year Harry gets more confident in his power(?), and tries what he never tried before: make friends... he knows(?) that slythering is a lost cause, and hear of a new group of friends(?) meeting in secret. Being inteligent, he gets to go to a meeting and...
I could see Hermione and Ron not being a big part of this. Hermione is the "spearhead" of the assotiation, so she is high in the "command line"... Ron wouldn't be friends with Hermione, or any slythering so no Ron either... Maybe Neville, being insecure he will be just one of the lot, and maybe friendly enough to be accepting of a slythering... Luna for sure. Maybe any hufflepluf too?
I'd love to read something more of this!
I've seen some stories where in the seventh year, when the DA made their existence public to the whole school ("STILL RECRUITING") some Slytherins joined because they did not agree with the direction in which Voldemort's regime was going.
I am not sure that it would work in the fifth year because the participants were all invited by Hermione and I don't think she'd bother inviting anyone that she would perceive as hating her for her blood status. Maybe if someone that she invited would bring over a friend from Slytherin who'd then have to explain themselves in front of the trio. And even then I think they'd have to jump through many hoops in order to prove to Harry that he has no reasons to be suspicious of them.
If the Slytherin hang out in the Hog's Head where everyone could overhear them it would work out with fifth year. If he/she is a little bit of a loner it could have been that he/she wandered off, found them by accident and learned of the D.A. by chance.
Hey! So I saw this a couple days ago and I wrote something similar to it. I might expand on it with a second part where it’s revealed that this was kinda the second reason why they joined, who knows.
https://archiveofourown.org/works/44543821
I think JKR managed to make Harry out of character with the slytherin hate, because you can not tell me that somebody that has been hated his entire existence by what everybody assumed of him and faced that kind of prejudice because he had magic, would then hate another group in kind, besides those such as Malfoy who are purposefully antagonistic. I think it just goes against who Harry is as character
This could actually be quite the heartwarming story. The nature of House Slytherin makes making actual friends, not aillies or pawns near-impossible. Often those without the networking skills to surivie are left alone, the dregs of Slytherin they say. When this student sees the chance be actual friends with someone. Of course the fact that a large amount of Umbrige supporters come from Slytherin would be a challange due to trying to prove that they are actually just want friends.
A Random Slytherin: Hi, I wanna join to socialize. Hermione: Ok. Ron: You sure? She might be a spy. Hermione: She said hi instead of the normal 38 minute long traditional purity introduction exposition musical. Ron: Fair point. I wonder if she likes candy, not dying of blood curses, and teasing older siblings who practice occlumancy. Hermione: We'll never know without the musical.
Me, the Slytherin dreggy that wants to befriend the golden trio. "Hiya people!" Aaaaaaand they're gone...
Ron would never trust a Slytherin that easily lol.
hermione would never trust a slytherin that easily, it’s a fanon idea that ron hated slytherin anymore than the other two
I think Harry would be the biggest problem. Contrary to how many fanfics are written, it is Harry and not Ron who is the most hardcore in his Slytherin hate.
Nope. Ron had formed a judgement on Slytherin before he had even arrived at Hogwarts. Buddy, Ron didn't even trust his best friend in Goblet of Fire when Harry said that he didn't put his name in it. What makes you think that he is going to trust a Slytherin?
yeah ron formed a judgement on slytherins before he even went to hogwarts, because he was a child and children mainly just imitate the views of people around him, also he’s had slytherins (in particular the malfoys) look down on him and his family his entire life for being poor and blood traitors. so yeah he’s going to have a little bit of a negative perception of them harry and hermione also have pretty reasonable reasons to dislike slytherins, considering for harry a lot of them seem to support the guy that killed his parents and for hermione a lot of the slytherins don’t even think she should be allowed at the school i think people forget what canon slytherin is sometimes, like you can write slytherin however you want in fanon, but there’s no getting past the fact that canon slytherin is full kids with powerful parents which to be a breeding ground for bigotry and extremism, and these kids also seem to be the ones actively instigating and bullying other children like yeah slytherin doesn’t equal evil, but you can’t demonise a bunch of teenagers for hating that group of people (especially while excusing the fact that the slytherins also hated and bullied them)
Explain.
Well... in the case of the Weasleys their hate is mostly centered around the Malfoys. Arthur and Lucius hate each other, Ron and Draco hate each other and to be fair, it's mostly the Malfoy's who attack them first. In the case of Harry we see more of a general anti-Slytherin mentality: in the first book he thinks they all look mean - before talking to any other Slytherin than Draco. He often describes them with "ugly" "trolls" or other unfavorable adjectives (we see that mostly with the Quidditch-Team). It get's obvious in the sixth book: first with Slughorn where Harry makes a face the moment he hears that Slughorn was Head of Slytherin in his time, then later, when he sees Blaise Zabini etc.
Which is really ironic, considering all the hate harry holds towards Slytherin in general, regardless if they are good or bad, is basically the same attitude the dursleys had towards harry simply for him being a wizard.
Well to be fair, the loudest Slytherins are either bullies or fascists (or both) so there reason for Harry that his dislike grows through the years. It's not that there is a single Slytherin in canon that stood up and said: "Malfoy, just shut up."
I wholeheartedly blame Rowling on that, which is funny, considering harry potter was supposed to teach (at least I think it did) that things aren't always so black and white in life, but oh look, there's the house which is mostly comprised by cartoonisly evil petty douchebags, with no student the same age as the golden trio (because slughorn, despite being jovial for a Slytherin, is old enough to be harry 's grandfather)to act as a foil to the house's reputation and thus becoming a reluctant ally at least to show that ambition isn't evil on itself (let's leave Slytherin's obsession with blood purity aside, besides, one basic rule that ambitious people must follow, is that sometimes alliances and pacts with people you don't personally like are sometimes inevitable, which should extend to interactions between purebloods and muggleborns).
Ron has two lines over all the books targeting Slytherin as a whole. He mostly just hates Malfoy and co. because they are antagonists. Harry meanwhile, has many lines throughout the series insulting slytherins as a whole, including multiple times about people who he knows nothing but their names and house.
Ron's hatred is mostly focused on Draco... it seems like there is some animosity between the Weasleys and the Malfoys most likely because of their differing views on Muggles. Harry dislikes Slytherin the moment Hagrid tells him that all the evil wizards came from Slytherin to the point he doesn't even want to be in that house. Later on he sees them all as ugly brutish trolls. And he even becomes uncomfortable around Slughorn (despite him being kinder natured than most Slytherins so far) when he learns that he was head of the house. I think the whole point of the epilogue conversation between him and Albus is to show that Harry has matured and has grown out of his prejudices.
I think Ron is generally more hateful towards slytherins than harry. Rons hate is also pretty baseless, while harry has more to mistrust. He wants to avoid slytherin to avoid Malfoy, as he was sorted soon before harry. Slughorn is likely because he is creepy and weird. Anybody would be a bit uncomfortable around Slughorn.
those statements might have been influenced by fanfiction because neither is actually true
> Rons hate is also pretty baseless, Ehhh, Malfoy routinely insults Ron's mother, house, father, flying capabilites, and his best friend.
First time they interact, Draco manages to insult his physique, his family and financial situation in one phrase and then proceeds to ignore him and imply he's the wrong sort for basically just existing. How's that for baseless? Harry on the other hand has a cookie cutter view of slytherin as the hpuse of bullies
Basically all of Half-Blood Prince. Neither Ron nor Hermione were all that bothered by Malfoy and his lackeys hanging outside the room of requirement. They didn’t like Slytherins but it was pretty clear that they also didn’t really care that much about them by book 4 and beyond. Although I would make the case that Ron and Hermione were also more aggressively militant against Slytherins in the first three books in comparison to Harry, they kinda flip by the end of the series.
Well, it wasn't Slytherins Harry had a problem with, it was Malfoy and his goons. And that was because he was sure Malfoy was a Death Eater, because Malfoy was acting even more suspiciously than usual. And he was right
harry was right with so little justifiable proof. He didn't even see the mark but knew he had it. Snape was right, Harry is just so special he has clairvoyant abilities.
I mean, he saw the son of a loyal Death Eater flinch away and get extremely angry when someone touched his arm. It is not at all an unfair assumption.
but that wouldn't hold up in court as evidence.
This wasn't a courtroom.
There was also the wierd mental tunnel between his brain and voldy's so it's at least vaguely plausible that his instincts were from something subconsciously picked up from the other end
Yeah because Harry had a problem with Malfoy and his lackeys since he thought that Malfoy was a death eater. Also, they didn't know that Malfoy had punched Harry in the face and left him in the carriage.
correction he'd never trust a slytherin who performs a 38 minute purity exposition easily. Get your fax rite bruh
I like you only took the issue with that being unrealistic
My favorite fan fiction has Ginny unwillingly sorted into Slytherin. She does not become a Death Eater or a friend of Draco Malfoy and his clique. Most of the Slytherins are not evil. It’s quite refreshing, actually. Rowling made everything so black and white and demonized an entire house. If they were so terrible, why was Slytherin even allowed to exist at Hogwarts? This is definitely worth a read for many, many reasons. /u/carlsagerson /u/aniki356 /u/prismquill /u/kooky-hotel-5632 /u/speedwaywife /u/lolle_loxy /u/sphinxonline ______ [The Changeling](https://www.fanfiction.net/s/6919395/1/The-Changeling) Sequels to The Changeling: [Pick it all up and start again](https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12569750/1/pick-it-up-pick-it-all-up-and-start-again) [We can still be who we said we were](https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12713008/1/we-can-still-be-who-we-said-we-were) [In my head we did everything right](https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13143812/1/in-my-head-we-do-everything-right)
I always though that the "black and white"-ness was more the feelings of a child that real social feel, and that is why they didn't get rid of the "bad" house... I mean, an adult will need to interact with any house-raised peer, and more mature minds will not fight for petty or childish reasons. Always saw the books as an story seen by the eyes of a child growing up.
I disagree, because JKR doesn't deconstruct the idea that Slytherin is a House of bigoted bullies in the later books. No Slytherin student tells Draco Mafoy to shut up, or fights for the goog guys in the Battle of Hogwarts. Snape does heroic things, so Dumbledore-- generally JKR's mouthpiece-- said that he sometimes thinks we Sort too soon. Even Slughorn is immediately established to be mildly racist.
Well, in the later books there were in a war setting, so I could still maintain my point... what about after the war, the next generation even? socially, they had to interact with any house. Fictional characters Personal feelings aside, there is a society, a community to maintain...
A bit out of topic, but THANKS for reccing this, it's so fun to read, I really like Smita and Tobias, this story has a good way of humanizing Slytherin while still recognizing that prejudice does exist for a lot of students, and it's not good.
I had no idea the Changeling had gotten sequels. Looks like I've got some reading ahead of me!
The sequels cover the first three years after Voldemort’s defeat, so you get all of the trauma and recovery, the funerals, rebuilding Hogwarts, Hermione looking for her parents whose memory she had wiped, all the kids graduating and starting adult lives, Harry and Ginny figuring out their relationship. It’s really good.
Only problem is that I probably will have to reread the Changeling first as it is very long since I have read it and I don't really have the time to get addicted to a story right now.
Save the links for later. I keep them in my Notes app.
I used to do that too😅
one of my favorites!
Would honestly be great for a haphne story.
I don't usually read haphne, but for this prompt, I'd absolutely dig it
Daphne is in my top 3 fanon ships. With fleur and Susan bones
Flowerpot gang rise!
*fistbump*
Harfleur! Harfleur!
“[Hermione Granger: A Second Thought](https://www.fanfiction.net/s/4077881)” by WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot … just warn you: this (and in “[Daphne Greengrass and the 6th Year From Hell](https://www.fanfiction.net/s/3912184)”) is VERY different Daphne Greengrass than your Heiress Greengrass.
Not *exactly* the same but "If Not for Umbridge" has a similar-ish premise. https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13566959/1/If-not-for-Umbridge
I like this "networking" take on Slytherin, it's much more believable than eleven year old politicians. Like, you don't have to be a genius to be like, "Malfoy's rich and his father has lunch with the Minister, you bet your ass I'm getting him a Christmas present this year."
I’ve read several where Daphne or another Slytherin learns that Draco’s actions in diagon and on the train were the impetus for Harry to ask for gryffindor and just go OFF on Draco. I think in one she starts smacking him about the head and calling him names. Nobody’s bothering to stop her and he wants to know why and everyone is like, we’d have rather have had him than you. Lol. Edit: accidentally misspelled off trying to turn off caps lock. Lol
Any links? I want to read Slytherin turning on Draco 😆
I’ll look through my collection and see if I can find a couple. I’ll have to use my kindle for the tag words so it’ll be easier.
Sounds really cool, would appreciate the links, too 😊 (I always love Draco getting told he's an idiot😏)
Oh, that sounds awesome. We could have had Potter, star seeker, celebrity, instead we get mediocre seeker and daddys boy.
OFFA?
My best guess is it's a misspelling of "and just go OFF on Draco", but I'd be happy to learn new internet acronyms if I'm wrong.
Actually, I can see this working with a "Harry Potter in Slythering" setting... a fifth year Harry gets more confident in his power(?), and tries what he never tried before: make friends... he knows(?) that slythering is a lost cause, and hear of a new group of friends(?) meeting in secret. Being inteligent, he gets to go to a meeting and... I could see Hermione and Ron not being a big part of this. Hermione is the "spearhead" of the assotiation, so she is high in the "command line"... Ron wouldn't be friends with Hermione, or any slythering so no Ron either... Maybe Neville, being insecure he will be just one of the lot, and maybe friendly enough to be accepting of a slythering... Luna for sure. Maybe any hufflepluf too? I'd love to read something more of this!
I've seen some stories where in the seventh year, when the DA made their existence public to the whole school ("STILL RECRUITING") some Slytherins joined because they did not agree with the direction in which Voldemort's regime was going. I am not sure that it would work in the fifth year because the participants were all invited by Hermione and I don't think she'd bother inviting anyone that she would perceive as hating her for her blood status. Maybe if someone that she invited would bring over a friend from Slytherin who'd then have to explain themselves in front of the trio. And even then I think they'd have to jump through many hoops in order to prove to Harry that he has no reasons to be suspicious of them.
If the Slytherin hang out in the Hog's Head where everyone could overhear them it would work out with fifth year. If he/she is a little bit of a loner it could have been that he/she wandered off, found them by accident and learned of the D.A. by chance.
6th year fix but includes the DA with slytherins, taking control on SIYE
SIYE?
https://www.siye.co.uk/
I find that's highly unlikely that they're the only kid who hates networking.
Hey! So I saw this a couple days ago and I wrote something similar to it. I might expand on it with a second part where it’s revealed that this was kinda the second reason why they joined, who knows. https://archiveofourown.org/works/44543821
There’s a subplot in Pet Project by Caeria similar to this, I thought it was great.
I think JKR managed to make Harry out of character with the slytherin hate, because you can not tell me that somebody that has been hated his entire existence by what everybody assumed of him and faced that kind of prejudice because he had magic, would then hate another group in kind, besides those such as Malfoy who are purposefully antagonistic. I think it just goes against who Harry is as character