A new Harry Potter fan theory, which stems from one small section in Goblet of Fire, will make you re-think how Slytherins could’ve played a role in the remainder of the series.

We all know that it was Cedric Diggory who was (first) selected to compete in the Triwizard Tournament on behalf of Hogwarts. But what if it was Slytherin student Cassius Warrington, who J.K. Rowling specifically mentioned as a possible contender in one passage?

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A Slytherin in the tournament — a Slytherin dying at the hands of Voldemort — would’ve completely changed how the rest of the Harry Potter series played out.

How so? After reading the highlighted passage above, Tumblr user crazybutperfectlysane decided to run with the idea of Cassius getting selected for the tournament. What resulted was a wonderful look at how Slytherins could’ve been treated differently — Slytherins could’ve worked with Gryffindors to take down their own family members, Voldemort, and save the Wizarding World.

So I was rereading Harry Potter, when I came across this and thought- what if instead of Cedric Diggory, Cassius Warrington had been chosen to compete in the Triwizard Tournament? Imagine Dumbledore calling out the name of the Hogwarts champion and it isn’t a Gryffindor, or a Ravenclaw, or even a Hufflepuff, but it’s a Slytherin. A student from a House most people hate. Imagine Cassius Warrington getting up, and three out of four Houses are booing at him and shouting things like “NO!” or, “We can’t have a Slytherin champion!” or demanding a retry. But he’s a Slytherin- he’s been dealing with this shit since he got sorted, so he keeps his head high and joins the other champions. Imagine Harry trying to catch Warrington alone because he doesn’t really want to associate with Slytherins (plus Malfoy has this tendency of being around the guy ALL THE TIME since he got chosen), but at the same time he’s also fair enough not to want him to walk into the first task unprepared. Imagine Warrington walking over to Harry a few months later, and Ron and Hermione both jump into a protective stance, wands out, but instead of attacking Harry he just tells him to stick the egg underwater. (Because Slytherins don’t forget those who helped them out). Imagine Warrington and Harry helping each other out in the labyrinth. Imagine Harry being devastated when Peter kills Warrington- because Voldemort doesn’t care what house they’re form, a spare is a spare. Imagine the uproar that causes among the Slytherins, because some of their parents really are Death Eaters and they know what really happened. Imagine Slytherins fighting in the Battle of Hogwarts and shouting “This is for Cassius!”

Crazybutperfectlysane’s chain of thoughts inspired aplatonicjacuzzi to reblog the post and add these interesting ideas:

Imagine Harry returning with Warrington’s body, and the crowd realizes what’s happened, but Warrington’s parents don’t show up. There’s no one to mourn him, to cradle him in their arms and cry for their son. The Slytherins know why. His parents were Death Eaters, too. Imagine Slytherins reaching out, asking for help from classmates from other houses. They’re terrified, truly terrified because the being their parents claimed would never hurt them because they’re pureblood, they realize that he does not care. Imagine Slytherins in the fifth book sneaking off to join Dumbledore’s Army, to learn more about who Voldemort is without their parents acting as a filter. Imagine the shock when they’re told what he’s really done. Imagine that a few talented Slytherins went with Harry and the others into the Ministry of Magic. The others are a bit wary but they prove themselves as friends. Imagine them being confronted by Lucius Malfoy in the the Hall of Prophecy, and when the Death Eaters descend, they know that any one of them could be their parents. Imagine the shocked gasp of a Death Eater as they realize their own child, a pureblood, is standing defiantly with Harry Potter. They choke back a cry. They can’t let their child know that they were about to duel to the death. Imagine a DA Slytherin facing off against their own Death Eater parent. That they make the decision to let their child defeat them, because in that moment, they realize that they love their child more than they fear Voldemort. They go down, mask unveiled, and the Slytherin kid has to be dragged from the fight before he gets killed. Imagine Book 6 Slytherins getting more friendly and cooperative with the other houses. Two years of Voldemort terrorizing the muggle and Wizarding world, two years where their parents just up and leave some days, cringing from the pain in their arm, two years after the death of the first Slytherin pureblood, Cassius Warrington, killed by Voldemort’s right-hand man, and they’re slowly hitting the breaking point. Imagine Slytherin kids keeping tabs on their parents, sending the information to Harry, who shares it with the Order of the Phoenix, and hoping that their parents won’t be killed. Imagine Book 7 Slytherins low-key rebelling against the new oppressive Hogwarts staff. Imagine the final siege on Hogwarts, where Slytherins stand proudly by their fellow houses, knowing full-well they could be fighting their own parents. Some Slytherins know their parents were in the fighting. They hope to find them first and sneak them away. Their fellow students understand. Professor McGonagall allows 7th Year Slytherin, Pansy Parkinson, to duel a death eater in her stead; her father is under that veil. She knows it. Imagine the aftermath of the battle; every house suffered losses. Slytherin students crying over the deaths of friends they made in every house. Imagine a Cassius Warrington statue made in his honor, the first Slytherin to fight and die nobly with Harry Potter, the boy who lived, in the face of ultimate evil. He was a true Slytherin, and it’s in his name that Slytherin children and their families have cut all ties with the Death Eaters, denounced Voldemort, and are finally living in peace.

Imagine indeed. While we would never question Rowling’s decisions, this theory does make you realize how one little change could’ve had a huge affect on the remainder of Harry Potter.

Since people like Draco and Lucius are the only type of major Slytherin characters we see, we and Harry never have reason to sympathize with the House. Making Warrington a more prominent character with a tragic death would have forced us to connect with Slytherin in a way we never had a chance to in the books.

In Rowling’s own words about Slytherin: “They’re not all bad,” she said in 2005, “you are seeing Slytherin house always from the perspective of Death Eaters’ children. They are a small fraction of the total Slytherin population. I’m not saying all the other Slytherins are adorable, but they’re certainly not Draco, they’re certainly not, you know, Crabbe and Goyle. They’re not all like that, that would be too brutal for words, wouldn’t it?”

The beauty of the Goblet of Fire passage in question is that right below it you see there’s a mention about Cedric Diggory’s name in the goblet too.

It could’ve been either one of these guys.

It could’ve been a very different series.

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