Congratulations!
"I’m Prefect Hani al-Aref, and I'm happy to meet you, and moreover to welcome you to
SLYTHERIN HOUSE. Our emblem is the serpent. I'm not sure what kind. People call the serpent deceptive, but really? They're wise. Our house colours are emerald green and silver, and our common room lies behind a concealed entrance down in the dungeons. As you’ll soon see, its windows look out into the depths of the Hogwarts lake. We often see the giant squid swooshing by – and sometimes more interesting creatures. Some of us pretend that our common room is a mysterious, underwater shipwreck. The squid isn't so scary, once you get used to him. Or her? I haven't thought to ask. A bit of humor: lighten up.
"Forget your preconceptions about Slytherins. We're as good as any other house – if a bit smaller.
"You look like you want to ask something, but first let me dispel a few
myths, yeah? I'm sure you've heard people talk about Slytherin house – say that we’re all into the Dark Arts, and will only talk to you if your great-grandfather was a famous wizard, and rubbish like that. Don't listen to that rot. You can't hardly believe everything you hear from the competing houses.
"I’m not about to deny that we’ve produced our share of Dark wizards. We have. And so have the other three houses – they just don’t like
admitting it. Swept under the rug, like dust. Like something to be ashamed of. But it's not a house that makes the wizard, you know?
"And it's true: we have traditionally tended to take students who come from long lines of witches and wizards, but nowadays? You’ll find plenty of people in Slytherin house who have at least one Muggle parent. For instance? My father is a Muggle, and all the same? I'm a Prefect.
"And hey, here’s a little-known fact that that's only so little-known because the other three houses don’t bring up it much: Merlin was a Slytherin. Merlin himself, the most famous wizard in history! He's even transcended the wizarding world, yeah? All the way into Muggle myth. He learned all he knew in this very house! Do you want to follow in the footsteps of Merlin? Or would you rather sit at the old desk of that illustrious ex-Hufflepuff, Eglantine Puffett, inventor of the Self-Soaping Dishcloth?
"I didn’t think so.
"But that’s enough about what we’re not. You'll see for yourself, given time. Let’s talk about what we are. Which –and this is what Timothy wrote into my notes– is the "coolest and edgiest house in this school". Timothy, if you meet him? He's a big kid. Sixth year, our house. He goes by Timmy. Plays tough and mean, but is actually a teddy bear. Do with that information what you will; you didn't hear it from me.
"I don't even know what you're talking about.
"But? I suppose we
are cool. Not all of us, of course. But the feeling in the Common Room? It's relaxed. We're... confident, mostly. We play to win, but not because we get some kind of sadistic thrill out of stomping the competition. We play to win because we care about the honour and tradition of it all. If you're good at something, there shouldn't be shame in
being good at it. Slytherin is the last place you'll be looked down on for pursuing your "highest hights".
"Ravenclaws like to talk about soaring above the rest, but raw talent can only take you so far without the
ambition to do something with it. And we have that in spades. You understand? It's okay if you don't. It'll probably come to you in time.
"There's a certain respect we get, as Slytherins, from other students. It's tinged with fear, because of our Dark reputation, but you know what? It can be fun, having a reputation for walking on the wild side. We can't exactly
fight the whole world's opinion, can we? No point in it. So use it. Chuck out a few hints that you’ve got access to a whole library of curses, and see whether anyone feels like nicking your pencil case. They won't. I promise.
"We’re like our emblem, the snake: sleek, powerful, and frequently misunderstood.
"We Slytherins? We look after our own.
Rather a lot more than you can say for Ravenclaws. Apart from being the biggest bunch of swots you ever met, Ravenclaws all but clamber over each other to get good marks. And, come exam season? Trust not a
word out of their mouths. Whereas we Slytherins are... family? That's a close word. Kin, maybe.
"The corridors of Hogwarts can throw up surprises for the unwary, and you’ll be glad you’ve got the Serpents on your side as you move around the school. As far as we’re concerned, once you’ve become a snake, you’re one of ours – one of
the brood, Timmy likes to say. Someone with the potential to be great.
"You know what Salazar Slytherin looked for in his chosen students? The seeds of greatness. You’ve been chosen by this house because you’ve got not only potential, in the true sense of the word, but the desire,
somewhere, to do something with it.
"All right, you might see a couple of people hanging around the common room whom you might not think are destined for anything special. Just... keep that to yourself, yeah? You can't know what's going on inside them, for sure. If the Sorting Hat put them in here, there’s something great about them, and don’t you forget it.
"There is a kind of... would you call it a rivalry? I suppose you could. I wouldn't, but you could. Between Slytherin and Gryffindor. We're more similar than we aren't. Neither of us likes losing. My advice to you? Steer clear of house politics, if you can. Nothing good ever comes of them.
"Anyway. Our house ghost is the Bloody Baron. If you get on the right side of him? He might agree to frighten people for you. Don’t ask him how he got bloodstained, though; he doesn’t like it.
"The password to the common room changes every fortnight. Keep an eye on the noticeboard, whoever knows the new one will leave it there. It should go without saying, but never bring anyone from another house into our common room or tell them our password. That's the whole point of a password. No outsider has entered it for more than seven centuries, and certainly? Nobody's planning on inviting any of
us into
their tower. Why would we do differently?
"I’m sure you’ll like our dormitories. We sleep in ancient four-posters with green silk hangings, and bedspreads embroidered with silver thread. Medieval tapestries depicting the adventures of famous Slytherins cover the walls. We've silver lanterns hanging from the ceilings. It's...
majestic, I suppose. A bit much for my tastes, to be totally honest. But at the very least, you’ll sleep well; it’s very soothing, listening to the lake water lapping against our windows at night.
"Come on then. Follow me; watch your step on our way down into the dungeon. It's not as scary as you might think. Oh, and welcome, again, to Slytherin. Always nice to see new faces."