Debate: Would things be different if Harry was a Slytherin?

[Aquaria Sandalwood]

We all know that Harry Potter was sorted into Gryffindor, but according to the Sorting Hat, he would have done equally well in Slytherin, and was only put into Gryffindor because of his own wishes.

So the question is, would the series have been any different if Harry had been sorted into Slytherin instead? Would he have had different influences, friends, enemies, and adventures? Or would his underlying character have kept things the same? Would he still have gone to battle with Voldemort and won? Or would there have been an entirely different outcome? I'm interested to know what you think and why!

[Adeline Morior]

There is a saying that the greatest potential for good also have the greatest potential for evil. I think there likely could have been a possibility for harry to have used his tragic upbringing as an excuse for doing bad things had he been influenced so with the wrong people. He would not have had the friends he had to help steer him into his bravery and goodness and could easily have related too easily to the connection he had, but did not understand yet, between him and the dark lord.

That being said. He did however grow up in a home that forced humility and patience on him. Giving him a greater tolerance toward horrible behavior. People such as Dumbledore, McGonigal, Snape and Hagrid, did keep a close eye on him and would surely have did hat they always did in his life, give advise and lead by example. Ultimately Harry just wanted to know more about his parents. Having known their bravery and goodness would have likely had him end up where he ended up all along. What helped him most in his life wasn't the house he was but the people he encountered along the way.

[Rose Dove]

I do think the series would have turned out differently as a whole. I agree with Adeline that Harry Potter the character would have ended up in the same spot because the same people (adults at least) would have been looking out for him. I think the other characters might have gone to different houses as well if Harry was a Slytherin. There are examples, few though they are, of Slytherins who did not turn out to be evil villains. As much as being in a specific house might have influenced him, he had so many other sources in his life that were pure good to balance out any potential negativities.

[Hiya Debnath]

In my opinion, if Harry was a Slytherin, things could be different, because Harry would have a different set of friends, no Hermione and Ron, be surrounded by pure-bloods like his own father, and he would never see the other side of the coin (such as getting to know Hermione Granger, a Muggle-born witch so closely). I would safely argue that Ron's kindness and Hermione's bravery and intelligence had a big influence on Harry, and played a role in shaping him the way he was. After all, company matters.

[Atticus Felos]

Hmm, I think this is a good question. I believe Harry as a person, would have still grown to be the great person he became regardless of which house he was in. I believe Professor Dumbledore purposely and for more than one reason, left Harry to be raised by the Dursley's (other than the protection spell that was used). He was raised (Not purposely) almost like a servant to his family, had very little to his name, was not greedy or spoiled. He was just a typical innocent child with a big heart. I believed he wouldn't have befriended Draco and his pals, he probably would have found a good lot within Slytherin, or even with other houses? But Like i said, i feel his path would have still been about the same, just with a different group.

[Evelin Stockom]

I have honestly thought a lot about the specific event where Draco Malfoy invites Harry to be his friend and when the Sorting Hat affirms whether Harry truly doesn't wish to be sorted into Slytherin. People are influenced by the personalities around them, and Harry, even though he had great conviction, would also be affected by his fellow peers in my opinion.
Some people argue that the Slytherin traits were present because of him being a Horcrux for Voldemort, and their won't be any existence in his actual personality. However, if one is so greatly influenced, it can be assumed that his days at Hogwarts would reflect that because of the encouragement and behavior of those around him.
The cleverness might be something that doesn't correlate with him, but there is one more thing that connects him - ambition and determination. These traits are shared by both Gryffindor and Slytherin, making them so similar and different at the same time.
But the most interesting factor would be when he would have to face Lord Voldemort at the great battle. Draco's help came after a long turmoil between him and Harry turning from enemies to acquaintances. The same can not be said in this scenario. Slytherin's are prone to protect themselves first and the House support can not be guaranteed. His relations with the golden trio will also be affected if they don't share the same ambitions in their growing years.
In my opinion, it would take a much longer time for the trio to come together and support Harry, as his earlier alliance might be different along with his behaviour.

[Galena May]

If Harry was a Slytherin, let me see he would still be "The Chosen One ". He would still be protected by Dumbledore, and maybe Dumbledore would likely be heard saying "150 points for Hany Potter " (not "for Slytherin"), as frequently as he said "150 points for Gryffindor." Hermione would still be a tremendously swell witch despite being a Muggle-born, and she would probably bond with Ron better for she would be forced to in the absence of Harry and maybe Neville would get a bit more attention from Hermione and Ron in the Gryffindor Common Room. Harry would meet Hermione and Ron regularly in the Great Hall or elsewhere and they would still be friends and the trio would still remain the same, because the trio met on the train to Hogwarts, not in the Gryffindor- restricted areas. Harry would have the spotlight on himself and steal some of Draco's " star of Slytherin" like fame, causing Draco to be resentful of Harry even more and this would delay Draco's change of heart a bit further. Harry would likely be swooned over by Slytherin girls and play Quidditch for Slytherin, once again stealing Draco's share of the spotlight. The relationship with Cho and/or Ginny would still have happened because Cho simply swooned over him and Ginny was too brave to care about others' opinions on her crush being a Slytherin. It might take longer for the Golden trio to bond on a deeper level with proper knowledge of each other's personal pasts and individual conflicts because of the physical distance with Harry and there may be a couple more broken rules for the trio's important meetings to happen. Most importantly, would Harry still play out his destiny the same way? Maybe ( or maybe Neville would instead, but the probability of Neville accepting his fate as the Chosen One at the cost of being Voldemort's target would be pretty slim, given Neville's lack of confidence, so Harry would still likely be the Chosen One, and Harry was already chosen by Albus Dumbledore and made to grow up in an environment of Dumbledore's choice upto the age of eleven anyway, after all that effort, would Dumbledore just accept Neville being the chosen one instead just because Harry was sorted into Slytherin? Moreover, Voldemort had already attempted to kill Harry and not Neville and even gone so for as to lose his bodily form and create a history- making rumor in the wizarding world, so it was pretty obvious that Dumbledore would still choose Harry to be the Chosen One, because no way would he be able to convince the wizarding world that clumsy and underconfident Neville who didn't perform any miracles over the greatest dark wizard of all times in his childhood was the Chosen One. It might just be a matter of luck /coincidence more than abilities or skills for Harry that he was the one targeted by Voldemort, not Neville, and his mother happened to be in the position to save him, but since it happened it was the truth nonetheless). It would be easier for Voldemort to target Harry during Harry's Hogwarts life, if he lived in the midst of Slytherins, because Voldemort could easily find people through whom to harm Harry (including Draco himself) and these people and even Draco would be so much closer to Harry, being in the same dormitory or Common Room. Maybe Voldy would tip off an ambitious Slytherin who hates Harry to lead Harry to Voldemort in the Forbidden Forest after Quidditch practice? Or maybe suddenly one day we would see Hermione performing some advanced spell and bursting into the Slytherin Common Room uninvited, to save Harry after deciphering a clue. Maybe the trio would face tough choices between ambition and friendship and there would be bittersweet moments like Ron choosing to save Harry's life during a Gryffindor vs. Slytherin Quidditch match that Harry and he were playing, over winning the match against Harry? Maybe Harry would betray his house and face opposition from his Head of House/prefects/fellow house members during the Wizarding war and fight against Voldy and would face a totally new challenge about defeating his own house first? Overall, the whole plot would become more interesting with way different plot elements, not that it isn't already. I think I really still like the story as it is because by being closer to Gryffindor, we get to see the lives of so many Gryffindor side - characters up close, and by being in a different house than Draco and Voldemort, Harry is more easily pitched against the antagonists through the House Cups and Quidditch matches and house rivalries, creating a better flowing plot as opposed to being in the same house as the antagonist. The character contrast between the protagonist and antagonist is better built by putting them in different houses and the tone of the story is set by pitching them against each other in Quidditch matches and other Hogwarts competitions. Moreover, Harry WANTED to be in Gryffindor, over Slytherin, like his father, although I doubt that James Potter was not Slytherin given how snobbish and bullying he was described as in his teenage years. But, even if Harry was a Slytherin, the ending of the story would still be the same, because fantasy dramas and thrillers, especially a children's story written on such a grand scale, usually always has a positive ending with proper conflict resolution. Even as we read the story, we may find ourselves thinking along the line of "Don't worry, all will be well in the end, no matter what happens" (at least I found myself thinking that when I was reading it). Anyway, how many of us would really be able to accept if Harry Potter had a negative ending with Voldy winning and taking over the wizarding world and torturing Muggles. We would keep hoping for a sequel, refusing to believe that this is the end, until the conflict of the protagonist is resolved? That is how children's fiction works anyway.