"That's correct," Mrs. Parvati said, smiling softly at me in gratitude. "My uncle is a Parseltongue, and he is a respected member of the community back home. Though we call them something different in India."
"There are wizards and witches in the Americas who are Parseltongues as well who are seen as important figures," I added, happy to correct some misconceptions. "Sure, Slytherin, one of the more famous Parseltongues in Europe, was a Muggle hating jerk later on in his life, but that wasn't because of him being Parseltongue."
"So, Slytherin was just bad, then?" Neville asked hesitantly.
"Perhaps. A lot of history tends to get distorted as time passes. I don't even know for sure if he can be blamed for not liking Muggles, given some of the things they did a thousand years ago. Heck, they've done things in the past few decades that are… bad. But every culture has its shadows," I admitted with a faint sigh. "Regardless, Slytherin certainly wasn't justified to hate Muggles as much as he did. Parseltongue or not."
"I see," Neville muttered softly to himself, sounding thoughtful.
"And honestly, thinking about the topic, if the Hat were to Sort me, I'd probably end up in Slytherin's House myself," I mused thoughtfully.
"Really?" Ron uttered. The rest of the kids were just as surprised, and so were the adults, though they hid it better.
"Really. I might be smart, but I pursue knowledge for the sake of my own purposes," I stated. "Ravenclaw is all about knowledge for the sake of knowledge, and to a lesser extent, using it for a greater good, like helping society. I'll gladly help people, but I do have my own goals I'd want to secure along the way."
"But, but Slytherin is-! They're-!" Ron sputtered, unable to form a coherent sentence. "They're the bad guys!"
I glared at him, disappointment in my eyes. "No, they're not. Just because an unfortunate number of evil people have come from that house in the past doesn't mean it's a dumping ground for undesirables."
"Well, the only Slytherins we know are kinda mean," Seamus said weakly. "Can ya blame us for thinking that way?"
"I have a pretty good idea of what Slytherin is like these days. My brother is in that House," I reminded them. "And despite it all, I'd still call myself a Slytherin knowing that."
Seeing they didn't understand me at all, I sighed, then asked, "What is Slytherin the house of?"
"Cunning and Ambition," Hermione piped up, faster than the rest.
"Cunning. Another word for 'clever.' And who else is supposed to be clever? Ravenclaw," I pointed out. "Ambition. The desire to strive for greatness. Reminds me a lot of Gryffindor's 'daring,' or Hufflepuff's 'hard work.'"
The gaggle of students around me all gawked like I'd just blown their mind. "See? One house can embody the traits of the other three, if you know how to look. Plus, check out all the good people who've come from Slytherin. Rince Mettle, inventor of the standardized cauldrons we all use today. Trinity the Sparrow, the first modern Animagus. Modello Quintly, inventor of Magical Portraits. Valarian Urd, First Minister of Magic in Britain. Merlin, for Merlin's sake!"
That earned me a few giggles, and I smiled at them.
"But Ed, why are there so many…" Ginny started to ask, before trailing off, unsure of how to ask her question.
"Why are there so many 'bad people' in Slytherin?" I asked, guessing her question. The youngest Weasley nodded her head meekly.
A frown crossed my face as I thought over my answer. "There are probably a bunch of reasons. The biggest likely being the unfortunate association of the Death Eaters with that House. It is true a lot of Death Eaters did come from there, and it's the most recent conflict in living memory, so the stigma has sadly stuck."
"However, I honestly think the Statute of Secrecy did more to harm the House of Slytherin than any other event in history," I admitted, getting some surprised looks.
"What do you mean by that?" To my surprise, it was Arthur Weasley who asked this.
"Which House is known for creativity?" I asked instead of answering, and everyone listening to me blinked at the seeming non sequitur.
"Um, Ravenclaw?" Padma Patil guessed.
"Nowadays, yes. Or at least, they're known for making a lot of discoveries academically speaking. Which is not the same as creativity in my opinion, but I digress. Before the Statute of Secrecy, Slytherin House was famous for its inventors, artists, playwrights and more. Slytherin was the house of politicians but also of dreamers. Cunning and ambition are not inherently evil traits, and people who have high artistic talent also often have these traits in some form or fashion."
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