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The sorting hat had made a mistake. Surely it had. He wasn’t a Slytherin. He couldn’t be. He just couldn’t. Nobody good ever came from Slytherin.
But that was what the hat said, and so it must be, right?
No, it couldn’t be. He couldn’t be. He wasn’t evil. The hat must be malfunctioning.
Sure he had ambition, resourcefulness, determination, and cleverness - all traits of Slytherin - but those weren’t what he valued the most. Or, at least, they weren’t what he wanted to value the most. Had he only been fooling himself all his life? Did he truly value cunning and ambition over honesty, integrity, bravery, intellect, kindness, and even courage?
He would have rather been anything but a Slytherin, even a Hufflepuff. Hufflepuff’s weren’t exactly known for their bravery and wit, but they were hardworking, loyal, and patient, and often known as the kindest of the four horses.
Or he could have been a Ravenclaw. Their wisdom, thirst for knowledge and intellect appealed to him. In a way he supposed that they valued many of the same traits similar to Slytherin. The main difference between the two being that Slytherins value knowledge for what it can do for them personally, while Ravenclaw’s value knowledge for the sake of knowledge and more importantly, how that knowledge can help others.
Most of all though, he felt he should have been a Gryffindor. He certainly had the courage, and the drive to do what was right even if others disagreed. He was certain he had the Integrity of a Gryffindor too. He wouldn’t put others' needs above his own. That wasn’t who he was. Right? That was who Slytherins were. But he wasn’t a Slytherin. The hat had made a mistake. It had to have.