... wow, my thoughts into words. Since I read the epilogue, I've found it to suggest the paradoxical nature of humanity. It's like the WWI - "the war to end all wars" - and yet, give us a few years and WWII bursts into the scene... Slytherin, Grindalwald, Voldemort... It's much the same thing, isn't it? I thought JK was hinting at that with the seemingly carefree ending to her series. The direct juxtaposition of grand battles of good vs evil to everyday life draws attention to the prejudices that never really leave.

It's really the chicken or the egg debate: are Slytherins 'naturally' evil, or do the biased attitudes create the stereotypes?

I'm glad someone else shares this view because it really does elevate the entire series when taken this way, in my view.