I think the fact that within Hogwarts there’s a lot of distaste for Slytherin and Hufflepuff shows some interesting insight into the wizarding community. Like, Hufflepuff represents hard work and fairness, right? But there’s the idea that Hufflepuffs are losers, sort of the proverbial nice guys who finish last. On the other hand, Slytherins, who represent cunning and ambition and personal drive, are seen as cutthroat and generally nasty and mean. 

Ultimately, Hufflepuff and Slytherin are both rooted in philosophies on self betterment and achieving success in life, both in terms of being a better person and being a more powerful/wealthy person. The obvious question raised by Hogwarts student’s disapproval of both Slytherin and Hufflepuff is this: if it makes you a loser to succeed through hard work and fairness, but a cheat to succeed through cleverness and an attitude of doing whatever it takes to achieve your goals, how is someone in the wizarding world expected to gain power/wealth/status if they aren’t already born with it? 

Selfish is an accusation commonly hurled at Slytherin Primaries, and it is often true. There is a degree of self-value in Slytherin Primaries that, done poorly, can be selfish, cruel, callous, arrogant and dismissive—but in a healthy Slytherin Primary, a better description might be confident, self-possessed, directed, and dedicated to self care. They believe in their own inherent worth. Everyone else is a person, but so am I, and my job, before everything else, is taking care of me and mine.  

A Slytherin does not feel guilty for valuing themselves, for taking time for their own mental or physical health, or for loving the things and people they love. They might feel vulnerable, or judged, or like they should feel guilty, especially if they live in the kind of family or culture where humility and self sacrifice are seen as the greatest goods. But without watching eyes and the words of peers and authority figures bouncing around their skulls, a Slytherin would feel comfortable and even validated in the idea that they have both a right and duty to take care of their own selves before anything or anyone else.

Slytherin and Hufflepuff are the two Loyalist Primaries. They make their judgement calls for the sake of people, not ideals. But where Hufflepuff tends to bond to groups, Slytherin bonds hard with individuals.

Slytherin Primaries are horrified to see someone let down a friend. To turn on a loved one for words as insubstantial as truth or justice or the greater good feels like a very particular kind of madness. Your person is right here. They are real, and they are breathing, and they need you, and they are yours. It’s an extreme Slytherin who would let the whole world burn for the sake of a friend, but every Slytherin Primary would be at the very least tempted.

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