Hogwarts Houses

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In the Harry Potter series, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is divided into four houses, each bearing the last name of its founder: Godric Gryffindor, Salazar Slytherin, Rowena Ravenclaw and Helga Hufflepuff.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Contents

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The Sorting

Image:Z psss film 18.jpg In the school's early days, students were handpicked by the founders. When they began to worry how students could be picked after the founders' deaths, Godric Gryffindor took his hat off and the four "put some brains" in it, so that the sorting hat could choose the students instead. Now, at the beginning of each school year, the magical Sorting Hat is placed on each new student's head, at a ceremony named the Sorting Ceremony. The Sorting Hat announces the house that the student is bound to join. Before beginning the sorting, it sings a short ballad about the founding of the school and the four houses; the song is different every year, and the Hat is said to take all the year composing the next one.

The hat sorts by judging the qualities of the student and choosing the most appropriate house for him or her. The student's own preferences probably affect the decision: the clearest example is the hat leaning towards putting Harry in Slytherin in the first book, but ultimately selecting Gryffindor after he asks it not to put him in Slytherin. Dumbledore later explains to Harry that this is how it should be, when one considers how the choices people make define them more than their abilities. It is in fact likely that the Hat selects houses according to the predetermined decisions of an informed student, and only genuinely selects those who have no preconceptions or expectations (according to Professor Slughorn, House Affiliations tend to run in families; and it is notable that Ron Weasley could not consider being in any house other than that every other member of his family has been in).

The hat does not just consider the student's most obvious strengths; it also sees the student's potential qualities, ones that may not have developed yet. "You could be great you know, it's all here in your head, and Slytherin will help you on the way to greatness," it says to Harry when it suggests Slytherin as the best house for his future (possibly more a case of Devils Advocate than genuine ability to foresee talents). Similarly, Hermione Granger and Neville Longbottom do not immediately jump out as prime examples of Gryffindor courage in the beginning of the series, but they have both gained a tremendous amount of courage and confidence as they have grown. Hermione is even asked point-blank in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix why the hat didn't put her in Ravenclaw considering her intelligence. Her answer is that the hat "considered it, but decided on Gryffindor in the end" (notably, she wanted to be in Gryffindor before even arriving at the school). Similarly, Neville may have a number of qualities suggestive of Hufflepuff House, yet was sorted into Gryffindor.

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House dynamics

The four houses are rather separate entities. Each has its own common room and dormitory, its own table in the Great Hall, around seventy pupils, and students mostly share lessons with classmates of their same house. There is no rule against students from different houses mingling, but in practice, a good majority of social interactions occur within the same house. Each house has one teacher who acts as its Head of House. Each house also has a house ghost. The function they serve (if any) is unknown, although they might be house mascots. Each Head of House and house ghost was previously a pupil within that house.

A great deal of rivalry exists between the houses, not always friendly. This rivalry is demonstrated in the Quidditch matches and the annual school competition for the House Cup which is determined by the number of points earned or lost by each member of the rival houses. These points are awarded or taken based on students' conduct throughout the school year. All members of the faculty, prefects, and the Head Boy and Girl have the authority to grant and deduct points as they see fit in each instance. [1] Some, like Severus Snape, the former Potions master, tend to favour their own house, but that does not seem to be against the rules. He is despised by many students, other than those in Slytherin, where he is very popular. We do not know how much favouritism the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw Heads show.

It is commonly assumed that anything Slytherin is evil. It has been said that "every wizard that's ever gone bad was in Slytherin," though this is clearly untrue (Hagrid is capable of extreme generalisation). In fact, some Slytherin families are viewed as neutral in regards to the war. Other houses as well have produced evil witches and wizards, the prime example being Peter Pettigrew. In Harry Potter's first year, the sorting hat says that Harry could be great in Slytherin however he chooses to be sorted into Gryffindor instead. This of course, still does not take away from the fact that Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, had and has the potential to be great in Slytherin. To some, this may indicate that Harry is not completely immune to the dark path, but to others, it might show that Harry is extremely versatile and would be a good candidate for a leader in the upcoming battle. It has also been said that all four houses must band together and fight as one if Hogwarts is to stand. It must be remembered that all of the Houses have their virtues and flaws: none are inherently good or evil (and Harry has ambition, if somewhat limited).

House rivalry is most seen between Slytherin and Gryffindor ("Gryffindor and Slytherin students loathed each other on principle"Template:HP6). This rivalry likely to goes back to the days of Godric Gryffindor and Salazar Slytherin after they founded Hogwarts, because the Sorting Hat said that they were the best of friends before they founded the school.Template:HP5 It is not clear if there is a similar rivalry between Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff.

Usually, though not always, the other two houses appear (in Harry's eyes) to support Gryffindor in its rivalry with Slytherin, which again is reminiscent of how Slytherin was in the end opposed by all three other Founders. One exception to this occurred when Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin all initially supported Hufflepuff's Cedric Diggory instead of Gryffindor's Harry Potter in the Triwizard Tournament.Template:HP4

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The four houses

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Gryffindor

Image:Gryffindor.jpg Gryffindor claims to values courage, chivalry and boldness. Its emblematic animal is the lion and its colours are scarlet and gold. Minerva McGonagall is the most recent Head of House. Nearly Headless Nick is the house ghost. The founder of the house is Godric Gryffindor.

As this is the house to which Harry Potter belongs, its private quarters are the only ones that have been described in any detail (though Slytherin's common room was described briefly in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets), and its members tend to get the most attention. These are located in one of the castle's towers, the entrance to which is located on the seventh floor and is guarded by a painting of the Fat Lady, who is garbed in a pink dress. She permits entry only after being given the correct (regularly changing) password. Behind her is a large common room, with a fireplace, and two staircases leading up to the boys' and girls' dormitories.

According to J. K. Rowling, Gryffindor corresponds roughly to the element of fire, which may partly be the reason for its colours.

It must be remembered that since Harry Potter is a Gryffindor, it receives the most favourable depiction.

There are notable bullies in Gryffindor: the Weasley twins pick on isolated figures in order to get attention and applause.

A few notable Gryffindors (for a complete list, see List of characters in the Harry Potter books):

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Hufflepuff

Image:Hufflepuff.jpg Hufflepuff, founded by Helga Hufflepuff, is the most inclusive among the four houses, valuing hard work and patience, loyalty and friendship, and justice and fair play rather than a particular aptitude in its members. Its emblematic animal is the badger, and yellow and black are its colours (purple and yellow in the video games.) Professor Pomona Sprout is the head of Hufflepuff. The Fat Friar is its ghost. According to Rowling, Hufflepuff corresponds roughly to the element of earth. The Hufflepuff common room and dormitories are located somewhere in the basement, near the castle's kitchens.

Perhaps as a consequence of the broad principles of acceptance upon which it is founded, Hufflepuff has been stereotyped as the house of the unexceptional (or, more unkindly, as "a lot o' duffers"). One Hufflepuff of note is Cedric Diggory, who brought his house rare glory as its Quidditch captain and Seeker, and later as Hogwarts' champion in the Triwizard Tournament in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

A few notable Hufflepuffs (for a complete list, see List of characters in the Harry Potter books. Also see Minor Hufflepuffs):

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Ravenclaw

Image:Ravenclaw.jpg Ravenclaw values intelligence, knowledge, and wit. Its emblematic animal is the eagle, and its colours are blue and bronze (silver in the films). The Ravenclaw head is Filius Flitwick, the house ghost is the Grey Lady, and the house was founded by Rowena Ravenclaw. According to J. K. Rowling, Ravenclaw corresponds roughly to the element of air. The Ravenclaw common room and dormitories are located in a tower on the west side of the school.

A few notable Ravenclaws (for a complete list, see List of characters in the Harry Potter books. Also see Minor Ravenclaws):

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Slytherin

Image:Slytherin.jpg Like Salazar Slytherin its founder, Slytherin house values ambition and cunning. Its emblematic animal is the serpent and its colours are green and silver. Severus Snape and Horace Slughorn have been heads of Slytherin. The Bloody Baron is the house ghost. According to J. K. Rowling, Slytherin corresponds roughly to the element of water. The Slytherin common room and dormitories are located underneath the Hogwarts lake, and are reached through a bare stone wall in the dungeons. The Slytherin common room is a long, low underground room with rough stone walls and round, greenish lamps hanging from the ceiling.

Although the Sorting Hat claims that "blood purity" is a factor in selecting Slytherins, it is notable that this is not mentioned until the fifth book. This suggests that it bases its decisions more upon the views of its members, than directly on any accurate test of blood.

Contrary to the beliefs of the others, Salazar Slytherin may have wanted a stricter policy of admittance—one limited to pure-blood students. The controversy this created apparently led to Salazar leaving the school, leaving the Chamber of Secrets behind. A millennium later, the house's students are still considered affiliated with Salazar's reputed views (though some half-bloods, most notably Voldemort and Snape, have been in Slytherin). Blood purity is certainly one of the things in Voldemort's agenda. It is often mentioned in the novels (especially in Philosopher's Stone and Chamber of Secrets) that most of the dark wizards were in Slytherin. However, good Slytherin wizards also exist. Cunning and ambition are easily turned towards ill purposes, but are not inherently negative. A possible reason Slytherins may not be thought of as the best kind of people is because they value their own lives more than the lives of others. When Harry is trying to run away, because he is afraid that his presence is putting his friends' lives in danger in Chapter 23 of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Phineas Nigellus sees him and says, "We Slytherins are brave, yes, but not stupid. For instance, when given the choice, we will always choose to save our own necks."

A few notable Slytherins (for a complete list, see List of characters in the Harry Potter books. Also see Minor Slytherins):

J.K. Rowling wrote a character named Mafalda, who was a cousin of the Weasleys. The character never made it into the series, but if she had, Mafalda would have been in Slytherin.

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Reference

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External links

J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series
Philosopher's Stone book film game
Chamber of Secrets book film game
Prisoner of Azkaban book film game
Goblet of Fire book film game
Order of the Phoenix book (film)  
Half-Blood Prince book (film)  
Unnamed Seventh Book (book)    
Other books Other games
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup
Quidditch Through the Ages  
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