From what we know about the four founders of Hogwarts, there were descendants of at least three of the founders, including Salazar Slytherin.
The most cunning founder wanted nothing more than a pure wizarding society. We can understand that he wished for his descendants to continue in his footsteps of purifying magical society.
Salazar Slytherin left behind not only his locket and pureblooded line of wizards, but he also left a deadly surprise in Hogwarts that could be opened only by his true heir.
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Is Malfoy the Heir Of Slytherin?
Malfoy is not the heir of Slytherin. Neither Draco nor his father, Lucius, are related to Salazar Slytherin, although we are sure that Lucius would do a lot to claim such a connection.
During Harry’s second year at Hogwarts, the Chamber of Secrets was open again, and Harry and his friends thought that Draco Malfoy was the heir of Slytherin and opened the Chamber.
Draco’s behavior and pride of being in Slytherin were enough for the trio to suspect him.
While under the disguise of Crabbe and Goyle by using Polyjuice Potion, Harry and Ron ventured into the Slytherin common room to find out if Malfoy would boast about his achievements.
Draco not only didn’t confess, but he also didn’t know who the heir was. Harry and Ron also found out that the Chamber was opened before, and Lucius Malfoy knew perfectly well who did it, although he never revealed it to his son to prevent him from being suspected of knowing too much.
Who Is the True Heir Of Slytherin?
There probably were a few true heirs of Slytherin since the great wizard graced the halls of Hogwarts himself, but the true heir of Slytherin, of whom we now, is Tom Marvolo Riddle, aka Lord Voldemort.
Although Voldemort didn’t know it initially, presuming his mother was a mere Muggle because she died, he figured out his ancestry.
Voldemort knew that he could speak to snakes just like one of the four founders, and he quickly put two and two together.
He killed his Muggle father and grandparents, focusing mainly on his ties to the wizarding world, and boasted about his Slytherin heritage.
When he was still in school, Voldemort planned to implement his ancestor’s wishes of getting rid of “impure” blood by opening the Chamber of Secrets and killing Muggle-born students.
He tried to do it even after he was long gone from Hogwarts castle. During Harry’s time in school, part of Voldemort’s soul tried to come back to human form and revealed to Harry his connection to Salazar Slytherin.
How Is Tom Riddle the Heir Of Slytherin?
Tom Riddle is the heir of Slytherin, same as his mother Merope, uncle Morphin, and his maternal grandfather, Marvolo Gaunt.
The Gaunt family used to be rich and purebred. They often married their cousins to keep their blood status. It led to inbreeding, creating less intelligent but still very arrogant wizards.
The arrogancy came from the knowledge of their heritage – being direct descendants of the great Salazar Slytherin, one of the founders of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
By the time Voldemort was born, all the gold was spent by foolish inbred wizards, who didn’t care about their future, rather about their blood status.
The only heirloom left from the great wealth was the Slytherin’s locket, but that still didn’t diminish the value of Voldemort’s blood and his self-importance.
Is Harry Related To Salazar Slytherin?
No, Harry Potter is not related to Salazar Slytherin.
During his second year at Hogwarts, Harry discovered that talking to snakes is not common even in the wizarding world and that Salazar Slytherin was one of those wizards who could also use Parseltongue.
It made Harry believe that he could be Slytherin’s descendant, even though he was reluctantly placed in Gryffindor by the Sorting Hat.
The truth behind Harry’s ability to speak with snakes was not the Salazar Slytherin’s bloodline but the piece of Voldemort’s soul lodged inside him.
Once Voldemort himself killed that piece of soul inside Harry, and Harry killed Voldemort, the ability to speak with snakes disappeared, much to Harry’s joy.
There is also the possibility that Harry could be related to Slytherin through other bloodlines, but there is no proof of Potters ever mixing with Slytherin’s descendants.
Final Thoughts
The only heir of Slytherin we ever got to know is Tom Marvolo Riddle, also known as Lord Voldemort, or You-Know-Who for the faint of heart.
Many others probably passed through Hogwarts classrooms, but we don’t know much about them (except maybe Corvinus Gaunt, who protected the entrance to the Chamber while Hogwarts got plumbing installed in the 18th century).
Even though Harry was presumed to be Slytherin’s heir because of his knowledge of Parseltongue, he was not related to Salazar. The ability to speak with snakes only came from the piece of Voldemort’s soul.