Welcome to the Slytherin Common Room
Head down into the dungeons, leave the brighter corridors behind and look for what appears to be an ordinary stretch of stone wall. Give the correct password and the hidden entrance opens onto a long, low room beneath the lake — green-lit, quietly grand and unmistakably Slytherin.
You’ve Found the Slytherin Dungeons
The Slytherin common room lies deep beneath Hogwarts, hidden behind a bare stretch of stone wall in the dungeons. Students enter by giving the current password, after which the concealed doorway grants access to one of the castle’s most atmospheric rooms.
The common room is long, low and built from rough stone, with greenish lamps, dark chairs and leather sofas. Because the room extends beneath the lake, the water outside casts an eerie green tint across the space and gives Slytherin its famously underwater feel.
It is less cosy than grand: a place for quiet conversations, late-night plotting, studying and watching the shadowy life of the lake drift past the windows.
Inside the Common Room
You will spend a lot of time down here over the next seven years. Best learn which shadows are furniture and which ones are moving.
The Lake Windows
The common room stretches beneath the lake, giving the windows a view into green water and whatever happens to be swimming past. The Giant Squid is a considerably better distraction than homework.
Dark Chairs & Leather Sofas
The seating is darker and more formal than the squashy furniture upstairs in some other houses. Comfortable enough for studying, strategizing or quietly learning everything happening around you.
The Carved Mantelpiece
A fire burns beneath an elaborately carved mantelpiece, bringing a little warmth to the stone room and giving students a natural place to gather when the dungeons feel especially cold.
The Noticeboard
House notices, Quidditch reminders and scraps of parchment collect here throughout the year. Read carefully. Information is useful — especially when everyone else has overlooked it.
Slytherin Notices
A few things every student beneath the lake should probably remember.
Prefect’s Reading List
Someone has left four useful volumes beside the noticeboard. A little knowledge, after all, is rarely a disadvantage.
The Common Room Has Seen a Lot
Most of Slytherin’s history happened far from Harry’s point of view. One memorable visit, however, gave readers a rare look inside.
Harry and Ron entered using Polyjuice Potion
During their second year, Harry and Ron disguised themselves as Gregory Goyle and Vincent Crabbe and followed Draco Malfoy into the Slytherin common room while investigating the Chamber of Secrets.
One known password was “pure-blood”
The disguised Harry and Ron reached the concealed entrance by following Malfoy, who gave the password “pure-blood” to the stone wall. The doorway then opened into the room beyond.
Draco revealed what he knew about the Chamber
Harry and Ron hoped Draco might be the Heir of Slytherin. Instead, their conversation in the common room confirmed that he did not know who was opening the Chamber — even if he was eager to speculate.
The lake is part of the room’s atmosphere
Later descriptions of Slytherin House emphasize that its windows look into the depths of the Hogwarts lake, where the Giant Squid and other creatures may pass by. Few common rooms can compete with that view.
Slytherins Who Called It Home
Generations of ambitious witches and wizards have passed through the hidden stone entrance — with very different ideas about what ambition should be used for.
What Kind of House Is This?
Slytherin is famous for ambition, but ambition is not the same thing as villainy. The house also values resourcefulness, determination and the ability to read a situation before acting. Slytherins tend to know what they want — and to think carefully about how to get there. What matters most is what they choose to do with that drive.
Keep Exploring
Before you head back into the castle, there are a few more pieces of Slytherin reading worth picking up.
Slytherin: Are They All Evil? Understanding Slytherin Traits and Ambition
Look beyond the villain-house stereotype and explore ambition, resourcefulness, cunning and the Slytherins who complicate the reputation.
Read the guide
Who Is Severus Snape? The Full Story Behind Harry Potter’s Most Complicated Character
Trace the former Slytherin from Spinner’s End to Hogwarts, the Death Eaters, Dumbledore’s service and the memories that changed everything.
Read the story
MuggleNet’s Free Printable Wizarding Activity Book
Print a collection of wizarding activities and bring a little Hogwarts fun away from the screen.
Get the activity bookReady to Head Back Into the Castle?
There is much more of Hogwarts to explore. Leave the dungeons behind and continue through classrooms, corridors, grounds, secret passages and the rest of our guide to the castle.
Explore Hogwarts
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