Gryffindors are not without their imperfections, and trying to argue with a Gryffindor or change their mind on a subject is a near-impossible task, making stubbornness one of their worst Hogwarts house traits.
The traits that get you placed into Slytherin are ambition, resourcefulness, determination, and cleverness. An association with villainous characters and elitism has given Slytherin the reputation of being an evil house. Hogwarts houses, however, no longer signify just a fictional construct in a beloved series.
Slytherins are also extremely achievement-orientated, making them brilliant students. They set clear goals, and work hard to attain them. They're good at networking (see Slughorn's little dinner parties, if you don't believe me). They're charismatic.
Things You Should Know. Although some Slytherins are seen as rule-breaking, selfish, sneaky, arrogant, or prejudiced, there are many positive ways to be a Slytherin. Slytherins are cunning, ambitious, resourceful, determined, prideful, and shrewd.
Are All Slytherins Evil? | Discover Harry Potter Ep.8
Can nice people be in Slytherin?
Slytherin House is often associated with evil, but there are good Slytherin wizards who embody traits like ambition and resourcefulness. Some good Slytherin wizards, like Albus Potter and Scorpius Malfoy, have proven themselves as heroes and made positive contributions to the Wizarding World.
Just like their loyalty, their empathy can be pretty selective. Although many times they can and do the right thing, it is often because of selfish reasons and their own benefit. A Slytherin trait that can be a double-edged sword is resourcefulness, which can oftentimes tip into laziness.
Ravenclaws are defined by their cleverness, but the ambitious nature of Slytherins means that they can also be very intelligent and driven to excel in academics. For example, you can look at a lot of the things that Draco Malfoy does as rather clever (and he actually did do quite well academically).
Slytherins and Gryffindors are the two houses that are most prone to rule-breaking. While Gryffindors might be more brazen in how they go about it, Slytherins tend to be more sneaky in their flouting of rules. They tend to fly under the radar and break rules quietly and discreetly without getting caught.
Slytherins' loyalty comes from their need for self-preservation. Because they are known for looking out for their own, they tend to have small circles of close friends rather than large groups of acquaintances.
Slytherins' shrewd nature and ambition also means they can be somewhat manipulative. Lucius Malfoy displays this trait quite often, networking with his contacts at the Ministry of Magic to gain control and advance his own social standing.
Sometimes Slytherins can become too power hungry. A lot of dark wizard were in Slytherin (but not all of them). Voldemort and most of his followers were in Slytherin. These Slytherins were a bit too ambitious and cunning.
Summary. Hufflepuff is often considered the worst house at Hogwarts because it hasn't contributed as much to magic as other houses, except for a few exceptions like Newt Scamander. Hufflepuffs are known for their hard work but it rarely leads to major magical discoveries.
Hermione was a prominent example of this as, on the surface, she appeared like someone who would fit right into Ravenclaw. But beyond her interests, her values define her as someone with a take-charge personality and bravery to spare. Unlike Ravenclaws, she didn't apply knowledge in unique ways.
You can be lazy in the way you think about some things. You can be “dumb” about certain subjects yet be very clever about others. It's human. Ravenclaw House isn't really the “house of the smart”, even if they're treated this way by most.
Most of the Slytherins we see are very emotional, and make a lot of important decisions based on strong emotion, and even foil themselves because they get too emotional.
Traits. Slytherins tended to be ambitious, shrewd, cunning, strong leaders, and achievement-oriented. They also had highly developed senses of self-preservation. This means that Slytherins tended to hesitate before acting, so as to weigh all possible outcomes before deciding exactly what should be done.
They can cause conflict and offend others easily, though this is often not intended, they are just blunt and rather apathetic to the views of others, and do not think of what they say in this manner. Oddly, the positive traits of a Slytherin are also their downfall.
In these words alone, it is clear that Slytherin is the House where everyone is evil. However, this isn't the case, as there are characters such as Horace Slughorn and Leta Lestrange. They aren't evil; in fact, they both fight against the most powerful dark wizards of their time.
By Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, it's a stretch to call Draco a villain anymore. We just watched — or read — him struggle to reconcile his choices and morals in The Half-Blood Prince. He can no longer justify his actions, and is far more aware of the evil he was born and raised into.
In fact, he was often rather jovial and very full of compliments for those he thought deserved them. And he wasn't the only pleasant Slytherin to spring to mind. There was also Andromeda Tonks, Scorpius Malfoy and Albus Potter (when he was in a good mood) to name a few.
They are known to achieve great things (even if not always good things). They are the kind of people who make you want to be better just by being around them. They are determined and resourceful. There's not a challenge that a Slytherin can't handle, and for that reason, you want them on your team.
Ravenclaws are defined by their cleverness, but the ambitious nature of Slytherins means that they can also be very intelligent and driven to excel in academics. For example, you can look at a lot of the things that Draco Malfoy does as rather clever (and he actually did do quite well academically).
