Salazar's retirement career

[sunnyskywalker]

It's interesting that we never hear what happened to Salazar Slytherin after he "departed" that fateful morning. Jodel suggested a couple of possibilities (included below). As a slightly tongue-in-cheek exercise, here's a quiz on his possible post-Hogwarts activities.

(a) He founded Durmstrang.
(b) He founded the Department of Mysteries (whatever it was called pre-Ministry).
(c) He started a war (maybe with pureblood supremacist ideology, maybe something else).
(d) He retired and lived a quiet life of scholarship and contemplation.
(e) He served on the Wizards' Council.
(f) He started a pet shop specializing in exotic snakes.
(g) He accidentally got killed by his own basilisk. The other Founders covered it up out of respect for his memory.
(h) The other Founders killed him and buried him under the foundations of their new Astronomy Tower.
(i) Other, explained in comments.

Comments

[sunnyskywalker]

I have those moments too. The more the narrative insists that some guy a thousand years ago was definitely evil based on very solid rumor which just so happens to match current prejudices, the more I want to think the opposite. But I'd also hate to think that the school was that nasty from the very beginning--it seems so unfair. A tragic accident, or even an argument between friends that got out of hand (whether it ended in manslaughter or just storming out), would at least be different from Harry's day.

But hey, if you want ambiguous evidence that might or might not support the idea of the other three as iffy, here's something: why did Rowena send a homicidal creep like the Baron to fetch her daughter home? The generous answer is that he was good at pretending to be an okay guy and she honestly didn't know. But you could always go for Bad Judgement Rowena (who didn't recognize the warning signs) or Negligent Rowena (who didn't particularly care). Or even Vengeful Rowena, who sent the Baron to kill her daughter for stealing the diadem.

[oryx_leucoryx]

Well, an argument between friends that went horribly wrong would be a prequel to the Dumbles and Gellert parting, so still not completely original.

As for Rowena, I wonder how having that tiara of wisdom and then losing it affected her judgment. Did she come to depend on it too much? Was she more interested in her daughter or in her trinket?

Also, supposedly Rowena is responsible for the insane design of the castle. Why Rowena? What kind of wisdom is in that?

[arcanetrivia]

Maybe she had a Luna Lovegood thing going on.

[torchedsong.livejournal.com]

Also, supposedly Rowena is responsible for the insane design of the castle. Why Rowena? What kind of wisdom is in that?

As much as I like Luna, I never got the sense the few known Ravenclaw characters in the books were wise as much as they were presented as either eccentric or bookish. The few Ravenclaw characters I can think of besides Luna are Cho, Flitwick, Lockhart, Quirrell, and Padma Patil. I'm sure there's more I'm forgetting, but the strengths of Ravenclaws seemed even more ignored than Hufflepuffs in the books (with the exception of Luna, I suppose)

[oryx_leucoryx]

Rowena however had the enhancing powers of the diadem (unless the castle design happened after she lost it, maybe experiencing withdrawal).

[sunnyskywalker]

Not completely, but if that's what happened, at least one of them died instead of a bystander.

[sunnyskywalker]

Maybe only Ravenclaws can figure out the pattern of the moving staircases, and everyone else gets stuck? It doesn't make much sense to me, but she also made answering riddles the only way to get into Ravenclaw Tower, so.

It could be just that it was a really neat intellectual puzzle, and she never got as far as "is this a good idea, though?"

I wonder a lot about exactly how her diadem worked. And why she didn't just make another one if her daughter wanted one so badly.

[chantaldormand]

I must admit that I have always considered Rowena to be proud and overconfident woman who loved to show off and had little regard for what is practical.
Let's take into consideration what little we learn about her from HP books.
She picked students that were intelligent. Additionally Ravenclaw students that attend Hogwarts with Harry tend to be good looking; it's possible that Hat is preprogrammed to take under consideration other factors than those stated in Hat's Songs. In situation where student fits well in Ravenclaw and other house the looks factor might be deciding factor. Intelligence and looks are much easier to show off than hardworking or cunning. Especially in academic setting.
So Rowena might be in this regard a little like Horace.
What next? Ah yes, her architectural legacy. Hogwarts looks like portfolio of insane architectural genius. There is a lot of flashy structures (the ceiling in the Great Hall, moving stairs) that are either impractical or outright dangerous. To make things even worse, her student's Common Room has the worst security system in the whole building. Sure it shows off Rowena's skill at enchanting and shows off her students' intelligence, but can end up in either letting in a dangerous intruder or keeping out a stressed out student during emergency.