Slytherin House Ultimate Guide: Traits, Characteristics & Values

Hello hello, Potterhead! I have created a few quite successful aesthetic guides for the Hogwarts houses, and now it is time to dive deep into the Slytherin Traits. There are already some really good posts online about this topic, so I decided to do this one a little bit differently and organize it by the main Slytherin character traits.

Before we start, take a look at the Slytherin & Harry Potter guides here:

Slytherin Aesthetics & Outfits to help you Embrace your Ambitious, Cunning, and Determined Self

50+ Amazing Slytherin Wallpapers for iPhone

Ravenclaw Aesthetics & Outfits to help you embrace your Wit, Creative and Smart Self

Although I consider myself today mostly a Ravenclaw, I must admit that the more I read about Slytherin, and read all the books again, I recognize that I could gain a lot from some of their traits.

I need to be a little bit more strategic, and even cunning, to reach my goals, and for Slytherins, these qualities are just natural. They are also very resilient, and many of them are actually very good-hearted folks. I am even embracing the Slytherin aesthetics on my outfits and accessories, to feel a bit more badass haha.

Are all slytherins bad?

This answer is obvious for those who like Harry Potter: No, not all Slytherin members are bad, and Snape is the biggest proof of it. Slytherins are, though, the most complex and with childhood issues Hogwarts members.

Abusive parents are quite common among this house members, and in a time where we talk so much about mental health, reading the books again in my 30s, I began to see everyone with new eyes and a deeper comprehension after analyzing the background, especially Draco Malfoy & Snape.

Every one of the main Slytherin Characters is deeply and beautifully written, and well deserving of having their own traits and descriptions detailed.

All Slytherin Members will share these traits

Not all Slytheris are bad, some are quite mad btw – yes Bellatrix, I am talking about you -, but they are all sorted to the same house for sharing some personality traits and profound characteristics in common.

This website’s name is The Mood Guide, where I organize things by aesthetic and mood, but I do not like to do this in a shallow way, I think that connecting the symbology of things to people’s characteristics is such an effective way to guide someone towards embracing authenticity.

So, here are a few traits to know if you are a true Slytherin, and then dive into our Slytherin aesthetic and buying guide to fully express them when you feel in the mood for it.

All Slytherins share these characteristics:

Are mostly cold and calm
Very Ambitious
Very sarcastic
Have the ability to turn pain into power (Griffyndors turn the pain into bravery)
Many of them did bad things but aren’t necessarily bad people
Overall classy aesthetic in the way they look and in their home decor
The house with the most perfectionist people
Highly competitive
Selfish
Cunning
Mysterious aura
An intriguing mix of highly sophisticated and reckless rebel personality, but always evoking a ¨dressed to kill¨ look and feel.
Inspired by the fear of being average
Very low patience and tolerance with others
Good at fooling everyone to think they are ok
Good at controlling emotions
Just like a snake, they move slowly an elegantly, are intimidating, act quickly, are always aware, and attack when threatened.
Unavailable and distant. This is probably a personality trait that works as a shield to keep their intimidating image and, in many cases, protect their very wounded hearts.
Have some degree of darkness inside, probably a consequence of some sad background story.

Random Quotes that you would see someone with Slytherin essence saying

People with a strong Slytherin personality would easily be caught valuing, thinking, and saying the below:

¨In order for you to insult me, I would first have to value your opinion¨

¨May my enemies live long so they can see my progress¨

¨Your girlfriend thinks Im attractive¨

¨Oh, for fucks sake, here we go again¨

Slytherin Characters Personalities & Traits

Maybe you already know that you are a true Slytherin, but are you more of a shy, bullied young Snape or a powerful mad & bad Bellatrix? They are both Slytherins but quite different in many aspects.

So, let’s start with our loved potions teacher, Severus Snape:

Severus Snape

Snape is one of the most well-written characters ever. Is so interesting how we begin the books 100% positive that he is a major villain, and then, from book 3 on, we realize that his personality is a consequence of a very sad life when he was very bullied as a teenager and abused by his dad as a kid.

We understand his shades and empathize with the fact that he is the most golden-hearted in the books. That severe, mean teacher is just a result of a very damaged man. This book series definitely taught me that people have so many layers beyond what they show on the outside. Here are some of Snapes traits.

Extremely sarcastic to cover up feelings
Cold and serious
Broken
Passive-aggressive behavior
Daddy issues
Dark sense of humor
Bitter
Survivor

Random quotes that would represent Snape

¨Today Im wearing a very ark shade of exhaustion under my eyes¨

¨I was a child with innocent eyes¨

¨I will hold on to this hate, for as long as I need¨

¨If you don’t terrify people a little bit, then what is the point¨

¨I never had a chance to be soft. I want people to be afraid of hurting me¨

¨Everybody has a chapter they don’t read out loud¨

Lucius Malfoy

Lord Voldemort’s most trusted death eater is ruthless, narcissistic, powerful, and loves to use his power and status to control people, including his son, Draco Malfoy. Here are some of Lucius’ traits:

A perverse need for power over everything
Never plays fair
Lies with no remorse
Sociopath
Adores his wife
Refuses to be anything but successful
Manipulator

Random quotes that represent Lucius Malfoy

¨Nobody smart plays fair¨

¨People I disagree with should be punished¨

¨Dont bleed on my floor¨

¨Rich boys don’t have hearts¨

Narcissa Malfoy

Rich, powerful respected woman, Lucius Malfoy’s wife, and Draco’s mother. ¨Looks like having dung under her nose¨, according to Harry’s perception. Unlike her husband – that is indeed a very bad man – Narcissa Malfoy, which is also a former Slytherin, is an amazing anti-hero and a very protective Mother. Here are some of her main traits

Plays the cards in a way that will benefit her
Sees people as means to an end
Sophisticated, elegant
Has the coolest hair (blond in the books, black and white in the movies)
Always takes the family side (she lies to Voldemort to protect a loved one)
Ruthless in doing whatever it takes to keep her family together
Good at controlling her emotions
A ¨me first¨, authentic woman. Even though her husband, sister, and brother-in-law were death eaters, she never actually took the Dark mark
Impecable social status

Random Quotes that define Narcissa’s personality

¨Family over everything¨

¨quiet rebellion¨

¨she always knew, how to pull the strings ¨

Draco Malfoy

I left him for last in the Malfoy family because what Draco is, is actually a consequence of his mother and father’s influence on his education and psyche. To me, he has the deepest and more interesting character development in the books.

We go through half of the saga believing that he is just a privileged, spoiled, brat bully, until later we discover how heavily his father’s pressure, manipulation, and emotional abuse have an effect on him, and how intensely it influences how he acts.

On the other hand, we have his protective loving mother – in her own peculiar Slytherinish ways to love-, that somehow softens him and makes us sees that he actually can not be the cold ruthless person Lucius claims he must be to receive his father love and approval.

These are some Dracos Malfoy traits

Very spoiled by his parents, but must ¨pay the price¨of getting what he wants. Always feels in debt to his dad to be loved.
Feels that he is never enough to reach his father’s standards of an ideal son.
Lives in a constant internal crisis about who he is
Is cold, mean a bully
Strong daddy issues
Arrogant

Quotes that define Draco’s personality

¨he is not a villain, he is just a boy ¨

¨I hope you are proud of me, Dad ¨

¨who we are and who we need to be to survive are two very different things¨

Bellatrix Lestrange

Queen of darkness and madness, Narcissa Malfoy’s cousin and popular for the merciless quote ¨ I want to kill the boy¨.

Loves being the center of attention
100 percent on the dark side
Chaotic energy
Psyco
A powerful woman, but very submissive to and manipulated by the power of a superior man (Lord Voldemort)
Authentic
Bad bitch
No regrets, no remorse and no empathy
Cruel & Violent
Sadistic
Wild