Why It’s Tough Being a Slytherin

[dropcap1]L[/dropcap1]ike many other people who grew up reading the Harry Potter series, I first imagined myself as a noble Gryffindor. After all, Gryffindors seemed to win everything, they always seemed to champion the side of good and the three main characters were Gryffindors. However, I grew to realize that J.K. Rowling presented the series with a clear house bias, and once I got older, I realized how those scarlet and gold colors didn’t quite fit me. When I was officially sorted into Slytherin a year ago through the magic of Pottermore, it confirmed my suspicion: Things were looking all silver and green for me. And when my friends—the fellow Potterfans they are, themselves sorted into Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw—identified me as “the most Slytherin person they know,” I realized the Slytherin label comes with plenty of baggage. So here’s my act of unpacking: Here are my six reasons why it’s a tough world out there for us Slytherins. We just want to be the best (but people keep getting in our way).Let’s imagine how the houses would work in the world of muggle sports: Gryffindor would be into football, basketball, baseball, lacrosse, and any other kind of popular, high-impact sport; Hufflepuff would be into pilates and tai-chi; Ravenclaw is too busy for sports, instead taking down foes in the chess and debate clubs; and Slytherin attempts to do all of the above, only better than the other houses. That’s the Slytherin game. You just wanted a friendly game of tag on the playgrou…