Slytherin!Harry

Trope · Genre
Synonyms:
Related:	Dark!Harry, Sorting AU
See Also:	Hogwarts Houses, Slytherin
Tropes · Slash Tropes · Tropes by Fandom
Click here for related articles on Fanlore.

In Harry Potter fanworks, Slytherin!Harry is a shorthand for a type of AU in which Harry has been sorted (or sometimes re-sorted) into Slytherin rather than Gryffindor. It is probably the most common example of the highly popular sorting AU. Slytherin!Harry is a label mostly applied to fanfiction, but it is also a recognized theme in fanart, graphics, and meta. Sometimes the term is also used merely for stories in which there is an emphasis on Harry's Slytherin qualities, rather than only for a literal sorting.

Fan Perspectives

Fans who dislike the Slytherin!Harry trope, or at least the execution of it, tend to follow similar lines as the broader fannish discussions about Slytherin house and the canon bigotry it is associated with. For one example, see an excerpt of a meta by hapennydreams in response to a tumblr ask:

" I think they [...] have the potential to be deeply interesting, but I see a lot of Slytherin!Harry fics which tend more towards “Hey! Pureblood culture is a thing!” (do you mean: aristocracy and classism) and “Hey! Purebloods are experiencing #cultural genocide!” (no they aren’t) and “Hey! Purebloods have a reason to hate muggle-borns that’s actually scientific and not based on racism!” (Sure Jan.) [...] There’s very rarely any depth given to this, it’s very rare for Harry to ever challenge the things his Pureblood housemates tell him, very rare for him to ever go “that sounds like bullshit” or “even if you think that muggle-borns dilute pureblood culture… why don’t you teach them your culture?”. [...] There’s a very limited number of good Slytherin!Harry fics."

There's also a comedic edge to the idea of a Slytherin!Harry, considering the strong reactions characters have to the house system. One tumblr post proposes the idea of Sirius Black breaking into the Gryffindor dorms, unaware of Harry's Slytherin status.

There's also the subject of the Harry & Snape dynamic:

tbh the best part of a slyrtherin [sic] harry au is that snape would be constantly in a war of "make this literal child's life miserable because i don't like his dad" vs "favor my own house and let them get away with literally anything and never dock points from them"

Fanworks

Examples Wanted: Editors are encouraged to add more examples or a wider variety of examples.

Notable Stories

• Not Myself by Terion (2002)
• The snake who lived by Aku-dono (2002)
• Harry Potter and the Deadly Deception by Delylah (2003)
• Slytherin Style! series by SlythsRule (2003)
• Blood Prince by ShadeDancer (2004)
• The Sacrifices Arc by Lightning Wave (2005)
• Harry Potter and the Hero's Path by TheJackOfDiamonds (2006)
• House Colours by sarka (2006)
• Better Be Slytherin! by jharad17 (2007)
• Not Slytherin Enough by fruit17 (2007)
• What Would Slytherin Harry Do? by Big D on a Diet (2007)
• Magical Relations by evansentranced (2007)
• On the Way to Greatness by mira mirthv (2008)
• Path of Decision by lulu42 (2008)
• Unlikely Allies by terri_testing (2009)
• Sitra Ahra by Voice of the Nephilim (2009)
• Expectations by Potterworm (2010)
• They Shook Hands series by Dethryl (2010)
• The Other Side of the Coin by Zennith6 (2010)
• Ten Facts About Harry Potter by Elizabeth (anghraine)(2010)
• The If Sieve by c'est what (2010)
• All Desire in a Day by Lomonaaeren (2011)
• Two Households by mad_martha (2011)
• Cunning and Ambition series by MinaAndChao (2011)
• Simple Logic by ocean's pebble (2011)
• Harry Potter and the Slytherin Selection series by DrizzleWhizzle (2012)
• Leo Inter Serpentes series by Aeternum (2013)
• Scales of Change by Night Hawk 97 (2013)
• The Spellmaker by SonnyGietzel (2013)
• Lionsnake Chronicles series by Eria (2014)
• Harry Potter and the Prince of Slytherin by TheSinister_Man (2018)
• Hit The Ground Running by Tozette, deleted story, publication date unknown
• Harry Potter And The Elemental's Power by Raul Fictitious, story unavailable on fanfiction.net
• Grey Maiden by Chris Widger
• Hogwarts Battle School by Kwan
• Life as Dictated by a Talking Hat by RhiannanT (link is defunct)
• Ouroboros by miggy, currently locked to LiveJournal users-only

Fanart

• slytherin harry 🐍, ^{Archived version} by cup-of-coco (2016)
• Untitled art, ^{Archived version} by lantsart, featuring a racebent Harry. (2020)

External Links

• Slytherin Harry tag at AO3
• Themed list: Sorting AUs, by character by painless_j
• Slytherin Heritage, a community on fanfiction.net for "Stories where Harry has some relation with Slytherin. He may be his heir, be in Slytherin House or even be the Snake Lord himself. There are also stories about a more slytherin Harry."