Disclaimer: Right you all know the drill. i don't own nothing. I'm a pauper. Yeah, JK Rowling gets it all.

Summary: A Slytherin's thoughts about the state of her house.. One shot.

A/N: This was a random urge of mine, since I like Slytherin House. If there was a Hogwarts I'm quite certain that's where I would be sorted to. I also happen to think that ALL of the house can't be bad. So we have this little short one shot. Please read and review, tell me what you think. Maybe I'll do more with it. I dunno. :)

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I am a member of Slytherin. And I'm damned proud of that.

All right so the house has gotten a bit of a bad rap as of late. I won't deny that it has it's... little problems. It's not surprising that pretty much all the bad wizards and witches end up in our house. After all as the sorting hat tells us, Slytherins are cunning and use any means to their end. We like getting what we want. We're clever, sly, cunning. We don't necessarily run head on into a battle like the Gryffindors. Does that mean we're cowards? Not really. I'm perfectly willing to fight, the difference is that I also want to live. So I'll go in when I know I can win, when I've thought it out. That certainly doesn't make me a coward. It just makes me intelligent.

It's the bad wizards though, that use our natural gifts for bad ends, that have given our house it's bad name. Now if you say you're in Slytherin, whispers start.

She's in Slytherin.

You-know-who was in that house.

All his followers were in it.

Shemust be one of them.

They're all slimy like snakes.

It's enough to make me want to tear out my hair and yell at them. Being in Slytherin does NOT make me evil! Snakes are NOT evil. Just because one psychotic former house member decided to go evil, take over the world, and could talk to snakes...

It's very damning isn't it?

But I still proudly wear my silver and green because I know that my house isn't all bad. There are quite a few of us that don't share the belief that purebloods are the only good wizards. Hell, I've had plenty of classes with that Granger girl. Only a jealous twit would say she wasn't a good witch. Then again there are plenty of jealous twits in my house. But I witnessed what happened during the Tri-Wizard Tournament when Potter managed to get in. I saw the jealousy running rampant in the other houses. Believe me, Slytherin doesn't hold a monopoly on that feeling.

We're also not all followers of You-Know-Who. Not even all of our parents are either. When I first owled my parents to tell them, proudly that I was in Slytherin, the response I got wasn't too positive.

It's still possible to send her to another school...

Maybe we can ask to have her resorted...

She might become one of them...

They were a little worried. Perhaps with reason, after all the number of the Dark Lord's followers that were Slytherin house members is very high. But we were in no means the only ones to join him. Desire for power and riches is something that can be seen in any of the other houses. It was something that could be seen during that Tri-Wizard tournament as well. All the people who wanted to enter because it would mean fame forever. Or it can even be seen every year for the Quidditch cup, even if we haven't had many chances for those lately...

At the beginning of this, my final year of school, the school thinned out considerably. It wasn't a surprise by any means. Not after our Headmaster was killed... He was the only reason some parents felt safe sending their students to the school. My house was especially reduced... Where the other houses dwindled down to half, Slytherin was just half of that even. I could fool myself into thinking it was because they didn't feel safe here, but I know better that most of them went off to join their silly dark lord. I'm quite sure some even remain. Slytherins do make good spies after all.

Without our Headmaster the school is not as cheery as it has been in the past. Hell, the way it is now even makes the Umbridge era seem like mardi gras. And the whispers have gotten worse...

Their Head of House killed him...

They had more leave, all to go join him.

One of them even set him up.

It's only a matter of time before the ones left try something.

It's a matter of Slytherin pride though to keep your head up when you hear the current of talk.

Not that I don't agree with them. I know Professor Snape killed Dumbledore. I know Draco Malfoy set him up. I know that most of the missing students have joined you-know-who. But I have a bit more information then all of them. After all I listen to my fellow Slytherins talk. They hardly ever know I'm there. But as I said, we do make good spies.

I know for one that the Professor and Draco haven't joined up with the Dark Lord. They're actually missing. It's whispered about by everyone in the common room. Why aren't they with their lord? Where are they? What happened?

None of my fellow Slytherins know the answer. I'm clueless as well. But I have my ideas on the subject.

I happen to be a big fan of our Head of House. Most of the Slytherins liked him well enough, but that was mainly because he shared their dislike of Gryffindor, and he would always cause them to lose points. I on the other hand actually enjoyed Potions class. I was good at it, I was a Slytherin... so I got along just fine with the Professor. Not that means we were close. No one is close to Professor Snape. He's just not the happy go lucky, emotional type of person.

Of course it is always amusing to watch other houses lose points. Though even I sometimes thought that the Professor was picking on Potter and his friends a little much. They certainly weren't worse at Potions then Crabbe or Goyle. Those two could have blown up the entire school if they hadn't been friends with Draco. Now he was good at making Potions. And obviously Professor's favourite student. Judging from the whispers I had heard over the years, possibly even his Godfather. Now that was playing favourites. Then again he did it with me as well since I was good at Potions. The professor is fond of anyone who is good at Potions and actually enjoys it. Well as fond of someone as he can be.

I wonder what happened to my fellow Slytherin and Head of House.

They're really not helping my house's reputation though. Even if I have an itching suspicion that everything's not all that it appears. But until proof shows up, my suspicion will stay just that. It would be nice in the end to have some proof that not all Slytherins are going to kill, betray, and hurt every person they come in contact with.

With You-Know-Who an alumni, well it's just hard to come up with arguments against inherent evil in Slytherin. I've seen the looks my parents even give me. It's like they're waiting for me to come home with the dark mark on my arm. I feel like pointing out that some death eaters were from other houses, but I doubt that would improve the situation. After all anyone could easily retaliate with percentages. So what if a couple were from different houses, almost all were from my house. It's all very frustrating.

Not like we're the only bad people at this school. Hello, am I the only one who remembers the suspicion towards the saintly Potter second year, fourth year, and fifth year. Okay so once, well even Gryffindors can be expected to be suspicious. But three years of doubting their own golden boy? That's pushing it a bit. First he's the heir of Slytherin (yeah we all found that funny), then he's cheating the system in the tournament and killing the wonderful Diggory, and then he's lying about the dark lord. So much for loyalty there...

Maybe I should just throw my lot in with the Golden Boy against the dark lord, prove once and for all that a Slytherin can be good. Of course I AM a Slytherin. I ain't jumping in until I know I've won. And with Potter himself missing from school that's unlikely.

I wish the Professor would come back. Slughorn is boring me completely. As if anyone wants to go to his Slug Club.

I wish Draco would come back. At least with him here the Slytherins had a leader, at the moment we're all sort of disjointed.

It'd be nice if they came back even slightly redeemed. I know they both have it in them.

Well I suppose the final battle will just decide all of that.

Maybe a Slytherin will come through in the end.

Now THAT would stop the whispers.