Is Voldemort a pure Slytherin?
by Kate WallisWhile I am not denying the fact that Voldemort is a Slytherin it is interesting to discuss the fact that is anybody really just from one house? Many fans claim to be a ‘Gryffinclaw’ or a ‘Ravenpuff’ so are the characters from the books really that different from us? Who can argue that Hermione isn’t just a bit of a Ravenclaw? Or that Snape didn’t show traits of a Gryffindor towards the end of his life? So can’t Voldemort be the same?
In the first book (Philosophers stone) the sorting hat states that ‘in Slytherin, You’ll make your real friends, those cunning folk use any means to achieve their ends’ Now of course, we all know that this is Voldemort through and through, he is a cunning wizard who didn’t stop at anything to achieve what he considered immortality, and he was willing to risk a lot to ensure Harry’s death. However the Sorting hat also states that ‘in wise old Ravenclaw, if you’ve a ready mind, where those of wit and learning will always find their kind.’ And that ‘in Hufflepuff, where they are just and loyal, those patient Hufflepuffs are true and unafraid of toil.’ Now do none of these traits belong to Voldemort, because many can argue that he was wise and was always ready to learn more. Even Ollivander, the maker of wands, said that ‘we must expect great things from you Mr Potter… After all, He-Who-Must-Not-be-Named did great things-terrible yes, but great’
If you’re going to argue that Voldemort wasn’t exceptionally smart, as a child, teenager and as an adult. You may have a point, many say what he did was stupid, and that if he had any brains he would have realised that he was fighting a losing battle. But really? Look at all of the progress he made, he was using magic no other wizard could perform, except maybe Dumbledore ‘but he’s just too noble to use it.’ He managed to split his soul into, technically, 8 pieces which is unbelievable magic and has never been heard of before, or since in the wizarding world. During ‘The Seven Potters’ the piece of horcrux in Harry takes over and uses some of Voldemorts own magic to harm him. This is magic Harry himself has never used and no-one knows what it was. This in itself shows great intelligence on Voldemorts behalf, he has the knowledge of spells that no one else knows, Snape himself say’s ‘You have performed extraordinary magic with that wand’ and he truly had.
On top of all this Voldemort is widely regarded as the greatest ‘Legilimens’ in the world. Snape himself states this in Order of the Phoenix. To be a Legilimens you need to have a strong mind and the true power for the spell to work. Would this have worked for Voldemort if he wasn’t intelligent and ready to learn, like a Ravenclaw?
Is there also not the well-known quote that ‘Knowledge is the root of all evil’? Taken from the bible story of Adam and Eve. After eating an apple from the tree of knowledge, evil is released into the world and Adam and Eve are banished from the Garden of Eden. No-one can deny that what Voldermort and his Army of Death Eaters did was not exceedingly evil. To be able to perform his evil deeds Voldemort must have had a knowledge that is greater than that of a normal wizard, also the belief that what he was doing was right.
So I propose the fact that, yes Voldemort was evil, and yes, he did deserve to be in Slytherin, nothing can change that. However from looking at the evidence he could be easily considered a ‘Slytherclaw’ because of his extensive knowledge and attention to the world around him.
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