The Big Picture

Regulus Black is the greatest Slytherin hero in the Harry Potter series, showing true selflessness and bravery.
Regulus, once a loyal follower of Voldemort, turned on him and stole the Slytherin locket that Voldemort turned into a Horcrux, in the hope of destroying it.
The Harry Potter films minimized Regulus Black’s story, missing key details of his sacrifice and diminishing his redemption arc.

Out of all the Hogwarts Houses, Slytherins have the worst reputation. The Harry Potter franchise often makes them out to be the villains, and it’s easy to see why. With the likes of Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes), Bellatrix Lestrange (Helena Bonham Carter), and Lucius Malfoy (Jason Isaacs), there are plenty of examples of Slytherins who grew up to be evil. But that is not a fair representation of the entire House. Just like there are evil Gryffindors — think Peter Pettigrew (Timothy Spall) — there are heroic Slytherins. The most prevalent Slytherin to help Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) is Severus Snape (Alan Rickman), whose demeanor and role as a spy often make him seem villainous, even to Harry himself. Snape famously has one of the most complex plots in the series, but despite his crucial role in defeating Voldemort, Snape is not the greatest hero Slytherin produced.

Instead, the title belongs to Regulus Arcturus Black, who more than deserves to be called a hero despite never meeting Harry. Though he is dead long before the series begins, Regulus played a part in defeating Voldemort. Once a Death Eater himself, Regulus has a complete redemption story detailed in the books as Harry, Ron (Rupert Grint), and Hermione (Emma Watson) discover they are not the first to chase Voldemort’s Horcruxes. However, the films brush over the details of Regulus’ story. He is mentioned a few times, most notably in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, but only briefly as they cut his most heroic actions.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 The seventh installment in the Harry Potter movie franchise, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1, follows the eponymous boy wizard (Daniel Radcliffe) as he and his friends Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson) leave the safety of Hogwarts and set off in search of dark magical artifacts known as Horcruxes. Finding them is the key to defeating the dark wizard Voldemort who threatens war with the magic and non-magic communities alike.Release Date October 17, 2010 Runtime 147 Writers Steve Kloves , J.K. Rowling Expand

The Harry Potter Films Mention Regulus But Don’t Do Him Justice
Regulus is impossible to cut from the story entirely, but the films greatly reduce his part. After Slughorn sets him up in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by listing Regulus among his most promising former students and giving us the only glimpse we ever get of him, the film ends with Harry in possession of a mysterious note “RAB” wrote to Voldemort when he took the true Horcrux, Salazar Slytherin’s locket. It isn’t until the next film that the heroes discover that Sirius Black’s (Gary Oldman) little brother, Regulus, is RAB. The note reveals that Regulus learned of the locket that Voldemort turned into a Horcrux and took it with plans to destroy it. Regulus finding a Horcrux is significant, not just because Harry must do the same, but because they are a well-guarded secret, making Regulus one of the few to know about them. Yet he believed there was only one, thinking that destroying the locket would make Voldemort mortal.

Though he expected this would kill him, Regulus willingly sacrificed himself in hopes that Voldemort would be able to be killed. However, things didn’t go to plan for Regulus, as his loyal House Elf, Kreacher (Simon McBurney), was unable to destroy the locket after Regulus’ death because of the near-indestructible nature of Horcruxes, leaving Ron to destroy it later. That is the extent of Regulus’ story in the films. Although uncovering and stealing a Horcrux is impressive, this pared-down version of the story neglects Regulus’ most heroic actions.

1:15 Related The Scene That the Harry Potter Movies Did Better Than the Books It was all thanks to Alfonso Cuarón and John Williams.

The Harry Potter Books Tell the Full Tragedy of Regulus Black
Image via Warner Bros

Regulus’ story is one of redemption. Coming from one of the few pureblood families, Regulus was an ideal follower of Voldemort. From the portrait of his mother and his family’s reaction to Sirius’ rebellion, it’s clear that Regulus was raised to believe that wizards were a superior race, making becoming a Death Eater an easy jump. Plus, his cousin, Bellatrix Lestrange, was one of Voldemort’s most trusted allies. Regulus joins the Death Eaters and subsequently dies shortly after graduating from Hogwarts.

Despite a lifetime of being taught the same prejudices as the Death Eaters, Regulus turned against Voldemort, and, unlike the film, the book explains why. After Voldemort borrows Kreacher for a secret task, the poor House Elf is left to die. However, due to Regulus’ specific instructions and House Elf magic, he was able to return to Regulus and tell him what happened. Already doubting Voldemort’s cause, Regulus sees this act of cruelty towards Kreacher as a reason to defect, despite the danger to himself. With Kreacher’s story, he works out why the locket is so important and has Kreacher bring him to it. To replace the Horcrux with the locket Harry and Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) find, Regulus drinks the poison, expecting to die as Kreacher escapes to destroy the Horcrux.

Only Kreacher knows the truth about Regulus’ death until he shares the information with Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Though Sirius tries to learn what happened to his brother, he dies believing Regulus got too deep in the Death Eaters before balking at an order and getting killed by them. He sees Regulus not as a hero but as a young man who made mistakes by getting involved with the wrong people. While that is partially true, Regulus found redemption in the end, demonstrating kindness and bravery as he tried to right his wrongs by sacrificing himself to aid in defeating Voldemort.

The Harry Potter Films Cheat Regulus By Cutting His Story
Image via Warner Bros

By leaving out the details of Regulus’ story, the films minimize his actions and the complex motivations that led to his choices. The films never explain his relationship with Kreacher or the fact that Regulus could have survived if he were willing to let Kreacher die instead. Regulus’ death was selfless as he went to his death, only hoping to aid in Voldemort’s defeat and expecting no recognition or praise for his sacrifice.

Regulus’ story is a tragedy of a good man who was led astray but found his way in the end. No, Regulus isn’t the one to destroy the locket, and really, his actions made it more difficult for Harry and his friends as they had to go on a detour to the Ministry of Magic to steal the Horcrux off Umbridge (Imelda Staunton), but that was not Regulus’ intention. His final act is unadulterated heroism as he rejects Voldemort and the ideologies he has been taught his entire life to do what he knows is right.

Regulus Black Is the Greatest Slytherin Hero in Harry Potter

It’s impossible to deny that Slytherins can be evil. If Voldemort isn’t enough proof, look at Bellatrix or Umbridge. Even the founder of the house, Salazar Slytherin, left a Basilisk in the castle meant to kill muggle-born students. There are plenty of bad examples, but Slytherin House stands for ambition, cunning, and determination, which are not innately evil traits. Many are not totally evil. Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton) may not be the best example, as he antagonizes Harry throughout their years at Hogwarts, but he is unwilling to kill Dumbledore and doesn’t immediately give Harry away when the trio is captured and taken to Malfoy Manor. Narcissa Malfoy (Helen McCrory) is another Slytherin who does some good, lying to Voldemort to say that Harry is dead. Though she certainly has personal reasons for this, it allows Harry to surprise Voldemort and win the war.

Though Draco and Narcissa save Harry, they spend the war siding with Voldemort. Meanwhile, other Slytherins defy him for a longer time. For example, Horace Slughorn (Jim Broadbent) was once taken in by young Voldemort but never became a Death Eater and, more to the point, is among the heroes during the Battle of Hogwarts. Severus Snape is often considered the greatest Slytherin hero because of his years secretly working with Dumbledore, but he has a convoluted arc that is difficult to classify as truly heroic. On the other hand, Regulus’ story is a pure redemption arc, with the tragic twist that no one knows what he did. Cutting the full story in the films did a disservice to Regulus and all Slytherins who deserved that kind of hero.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 is available to stream on Max in the U.S.

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