These relationships often follow the rivals or enemies-to-lovers arc. It’s not so much love at first sight as “annoyance at first sight.”
After all, you have two big personalities butting heads in their claim for the top of the podium. They’re competitive, relentless, and neither of them make it a habit of backing down.
For those of you who haven’t marathoned the Harry Potter series recently, here’s a refresher on the Hogwarts House system:
Slytherins are known best for their ambition, cunning, resourcefulness and fierce loyalty to their chosen group. This house values tradition, a sense of fraternity, and power, and each member wants to make their mark. They get a bad rap in the series for their use of manipulation and cutthroat tactics, but really it comes down to self-preservation.
Meanwhile, Gryffindors are all about bravery, nerve and daring. They follow their own code of chivalry and to do what’s right — get their adrenaline-kick on the way. They are not ones for rules (and unlike Slytherins, they get caught breaking them more often) and can be seen as reckless and self-righteous, even when they mean well.
Slytherins and Gryffindors make for some powerhouse couples. Check out these Slytherdor relationships:
Amy Santiago and Jake Peralta (Brooklyn Nine-Nine)
Okay, Amy may be a complete Librarian with her love of binders, puzzles and city codes, but she’s a complete Slytherin. Hear me out!
Amy is ambitious, pragmatic and can be seen as controlling *cough* I mean, “Type A.” She’s whip smart and knows what she wants – to be the youngest police captain of in New York – and she’s not going to let anyone stop her.
In the pilot, she’s introduced as the kind of person who would pour a bottle hot sauce onto her burrito after Scully warns her it’s hot. She’s so competitive that her entire relationship with Jake starts with a bet: Who can make the most arrests before the deadline? Amy thrives when she’s tackling a challenge. She’s achievement-oriented and wants to test herself because she seeks excellence.
Amy is more concerned about status than the average Ravenclaw. She defers to authority and takes inspiration from those who have come before her. Her role model is, after all, her commanding officer Captain Holt. She cares about her role in the precinct and is incredibly loyal to her squad – even if they drive her crazy.
As a Slytherin, Amy values tradition. She follows the rules because she likes structure and sees the law as a legacy to protect. But she’s definitely not above finding a loophole or manipulating the situation if it means winning (read: Halloween Heist.)
Cut to Peralta. Jake defies tradition. He’s bold (though some would say reckless) and relies on improvisation more than organization. He thinks most rules are formalities, such as drinking water or going to the dentist. He usually can be found instigating mischief and shenanigans around the office (can you imagine what he’d do with the Marauder’s Map?)
Jake was drawn to the Cool Factor of being a cop. Danger! Justice! Putting away the bad guys! In true Gryffindor style, Jake sees danger as an opportunity to do great things. His all-time hero is John McClane from Die Hard who is definitely not a traditional police officer. Underneath his love for daring stunts and dramatic reveals, Jake tries to do what is right for his squad and the random citizens of Brooklyn.
One of the great things about Peraltiago is how Jake and Amy foster each other’s weirdness. They are each other’s biggest cheerleaders and honestly make up a dream team.
Yennefer of Vengerberg and Geralt of Rivia (The Witcher)
Yennefer is a survivor. She had a harsh childhood. Born a half-elven bastard and bullied for her physical disabilities, she was met only with disgust and abuse. Her stepfather sold her to a sorceress for four marks – less than a farm pig – and there was no knight in shining armor to come to her aid.
So, Yennefer took her life and destiny into her own hands. The sorceress Tissaia bought her because she saw potential, and Yennefer is not one to squander power or opportunity. She studies at the ruthless academy and spends years honing her powers. She undergoes a painful, magical surgery to “correct” her figure and make her beautiful, because she knows how beauty can be power in her world.
Yennefer is in the game for herself. She is not bound to any particular faction, ideal or person. That’s not to say she doesn’t care for others. She just needs to keep her options open.
Her on-again off-again relationship with Geralt spans across decades in the series. Their paths collide by chance and intertwine, developing into an intense and often complicated relationship.
Geralt is a Witcher. He’s basically a mutant with heightened strength, speed and senses. He’s a skilled fighter and beast hunter. Geralt operates like a mercenary, acting like he’s only doing the job for the coin, but then he’ll offer steep discounts to a poor villager. Not a very “I’m only in it for the money” thing to do.
Geralt has lived for nearly a century, but that doesn’t stop him from putting himself in danger to help others. Not that the people are falling over themselves to give thanks. As a Witcher, he’s more likely to have a rock thrown at him for showing up in town after killing a monster.
He may not always get it right, but Geralt tries to do good in his grumpy style. And if he runs into Yennefer on the way, all the better.
Elizabeth Bennet AND FITZWILLIAM DARCY (Pride and Prejudice)
What enemy-to-lovers story is more classic than Pride and Prejudice? (Circa 1995, thank you very much! The 2005 film adaptation is prettier, but it’s just not the same)
Elizabeth Bennet is a Gryffindor through and through. This quote alone puts her in the lionhearted house:
“There is a stubbornness about me that never can bear to be frightened at the will of others. My courage always rises at every attempt to intimidate me.”
She gets a kick out of poking the bear of society norms, using her sharp wit to challenge others. She can be rash and react to situations without thinking about how something looks, because she doesn’t care how her actions look to others (much to the dismay of Mrs. Bennet.) When Mr. Darcy slights her at the party, she lashes right back, and that’s the start of their back and forth sparring matches. Elizabeth doesn’t care if he’s rich – she’s not about to lose an argument to the brooding man with a bad attitude.
Elizabeth has very strong beliefs and she follows her own path, even if it costs her some social standing. She knows that her sister Jane is good and the love Jane has for Bingley is true. She knows she cannot marry for anything other than love. And she knows that Darcy annoys her to no end…
Darcy is not one to follow social frivolities, either, though he has some more leeway to disregard them (being a rich man at that time helped.) He is a businessman who has grown his family’s estate at an exponential rate and he is not above wielding that wealth and power to crush his opponents *cough* Wickham *cough*
In true Slytherin fashion, Darcy only drops his guard down with the people who have his utmost loyalty. Namely his sister Georgiana and his friend Charles. And eventually Elizabeth. Even after she rejected his proposal, Darcy quietly helps the Bennet family behind the scenes. Once he decides you are part of his tribe, he will do whatever is necessary to protect you.
As you can see, a Slytherin can be a powerful ally or a dangerous foe. A Gryffindor can be unpredictable but always follows a code of honor. If you pit them against each other, prepare for fireworks. Put them together and they become a dream team.
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