House system
Houses at Hogwarts are the living and learning communities for its students. Each year group of a certain house shares the same Dormitory and classes. The houses compete throughout the school year, by earning and losing points for various events, The house with the most points wins the House Cup. Each house also has its own Quidditch team that competes for the Quidditch Cup. These two competitions breed rivalries between the houses, the greatest of which is that between Gryffindor and Slytherin.
In the Hogwarts' early days, the four founders handpicked students for their Houses. When the founders worried how students would be selected after their deaths,
Godric Gryffindor took his hat off and each "put some brains" in it, allowing the
Sorting Hat to choose students. Now, at the beginning of each school year, the magical Sorting Hat is placed on each new student's head, during the
Sorting ceremony. The Sorting Hat announces the house the student is bound to join. Before beginning the Sorting ceremony, it sings a short song about the founding of the school and the four houses; the Sorting Hat's songs are different every year, and the Hat is said to take all year composing the next one (according to
Ron Weasley, at least). The songs tends to give advice in troubled times
[HP5].
The Hat sorts by judging each student's qualities and placing them in the most appropriate house. The student's own choices may affect the decision: the clearest example is the Hat telling
Harry Potter that he would do well in Slytherin in the
first book, but ultimately selecting Gryffindor after Harry asks it not to put him in Slytherin. Another example is in the
fifth book when
Hermione Granger states that The Sorting Hat considered sorting her into Ravenclaw, but after she clearly stated in a previous chapter that she wanted to be in Gryffindor, her choice probably ultimately overrides The Sorting Hat, resulting in her placement into Gryffindor.
Albus Dumbledore later explains to Harry that this is how it should be, when one considers how a person's choices 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
Horace 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 which every other member of his family had been in; however, when Harry mentions this,
Hermione points out that
Parvati and Padma Patil, who are twins, are sorted differently (into Gryffindor and Ravenclaw, respectively), suggesting that the twins may have wanted to be in their respective houses prior to sorting). For example, every member of the
Black family had been sorted into Slytherin, with
Sirius Black being the sole exception, which was remarked upon by Slughorn, its Head. On the other hand, many House members appear to share common traits: it is unknown if these are present before Sorting and used as criteria, or if they are inculcated into students through their presence in the House.
The hat does not just consider the student's most obvious strengths; it also sees a student's potential qualities. "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. Similarly, Hermione 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 as they have grown. Hermione is even asked point-blank, 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, yet was sorted into Gryffindor.
House dynamics
The four houses are rather separate entities. Each has its own Common Room and Dormitory, its own table in the
Great Hall, and students mostly share lessons with classmates of their same house. There is no rule against students from different houses mingling, but in practise, 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 like 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 and the Head Boy and Girl have the authority to grant and deduct points as they see fit in each instance.
[1] Prefects also have this authority, though they cannot take points from another prefect. 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. It is not known how much favouritism the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw Heads show, although it can be deduced that it's minimal or non-existent, as both Professor
Filius Flitwick (of Ravenclaw) and Professor
Pomona Sprout (Hufflepuff) are kind, lighthearted people, who obviously want to win the House and Quidditch Cups but are not as vindictive as Snape in going about it. It is known that Professor
Minerva McGonagall, the stern head of Gryffindor, does not show much favouritism towards her house. In fact, she deducted 50 points apiece and awarded detentions to three students in her house (Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and
Neville Longbottom when they were caught out of bed after hours in Harry's first year), and supported Professor Snape wholeheartedly in giving Harry detentions for the rest of the school year, even on overlapping Quidditch matches, after Harry used the
Sectumsempra spell on
Draco Malfoy in Harry's sixth year.
According to
Rubeus Hagrid, "every wizard that's ever gone bad was in
Slytherin," (though this is for the most part correct, there are a few exceptions, former
Gryffindor Peter Pettigrew the most notable of them; Hagrid's statement here is also interesting, as at that time he surely would have thought
Sirius Black, an ex - Gryffindor student, to have been a Dark wizard). None of this necessarily means, however, that all Slytherins are evil. Andromeda Tonks and Horace Slughorn are examples of this. Slytherins are chosen for their
cunning and
Pure-blood heritage (although
Blood purity does not appear to be essential -
Lord Voldemort and Snape were
Half-bloods, though they both are prejudiced. 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. Slytherins may have earned their reputation as evil because they show such contempt towards
Gryffindor, the protagonist house. They also do not show much generosity towards other houses either, whether those in them are pure-blood or not.
House rivalry is most seen between
Slytherin and
Gryffindor ("Gryffindor and Slytherin students loathed each other on principle"
[HP6]). This rivalry likely 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.
[HP5] While it is not clear if there is a similar rivalry between
Ravenclaw and
Hufflepuff, it seems very much unlikely due to the cheerful disposition of the Heads for said Houses, as opposed to the contempt of Professor Snape and the passion of Professor McGonagall (
Rowena Ravenclaw and
Helga Hufflepuff, however, once great friends, are documented as having had a severe falling out at some point by the Sorting Hat's song in
1996. However, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff house members seem to get along just fine, as shown with Cho Chang and Cedric Digggory, who were dating. Also, if the two were rivals it would be more obvious, however the two houses seem to be friendly.
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 of the 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.
[HP4] Also in the first Quidditch match of 1996, it is said that many of the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws had "taken sides" in the Gryffindor vs Slytherin match, but does not specify which Houses took which side.
The houses of Hogwarts
- You might belong in Gryffindor,
Where dwell the brave at heart,
Their daring, nerve and chivalry
Set Gryffindors apart"
-
Gryffindor is one of the four
Houses of
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, founded by
Godric Gryffindor. Its emblematic animal is the
lion, and its colours are
scarlet and
gold.
Minerva McGonagall is the most recent
Head of House. Sir
Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington, also known as "Nearly Headless Nick" is the house ghost. The particular characteristics of students
Sorted into Gryffindor are courage and chivalry.
Gryffindor corresponds roughly to the element of
fire, which may partly be the reason for its colours.
Common Room
The
Gryffindor Common Room is located in one of the castle's towers (Gryffindor Tower), the entrance to which is located on the seventh floor and is guarded by an oil painting of the
Fat Lady, who is garbed in a pink silk 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. It is very comfortable and members of the Gryffindor house meet there for study groups, celebrations, or relaxation.
Reputation
"The House of Godric Gryffindor has commanded the respect of the wizarding world for nearly ten centuries."—
Minerva McGonagall[src]
-
-
Gryffindor emphasises the traits of courage as well as "daring, nerve, and chivalry," and thus its members are generally regarded as brave, though sometimes to the point of recklessness. Notably, Gryffindor house contributed many members to Dumbledore's Army and the Order of the Phoenix. According to Phineas Nigellus Black, members of other houses, particularly Slytherin, sometimes feel that Gryffindors engage in "pointless heroics." Another Slytherin, Severus Snape, considered many Gryffindors to be self-righteous and arrogant, with no regard for rules.
However, this may be taken with a grain of salt, as Gryffindors and Slytherins have shared a fierce house rivalry since their founders, Godric Gryffindor and Salazar Slytherin, respectively, had a severe falling out over Slytherin's emphasis on blood purity. There might also be an element of jealousy;as Harry and his fellow Gryffindors tend to win in a lot of circumstances which, when viewed from a Slytherin's point of view, may be considered unfair. Examples of this include the last-minute points awarded by Headmaster Dumbledore at the Leaving Feast, which conveniently put Gryffindor ten points ahead of Slytherin in the 1991–1992 school year, and Harry being permitted by Professor McGonagall to have his own broomstick for the Gryffindor Quidditch team, even though first-years are not normally permitted their own broomstick.
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Hufflepuff, founded by Helga Hufflepuff, is the most inclusive among the four houses, valuing hard work, patience, loyalty, and fair play rather than a particular aptitude in its members. Its emblematic animal is the badger, and yellow and black are its colours. Pomona Sprout is the Head of Hufflepuff. The Fat Friar is its ghost. Hufflepuff corresponds roughly to the element of earth. The Hufflepuff Dormitories and common room are located somewhere in the basement, near the castle's kitchens.
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Ravenclaw values intelligence, knowledge and wit. Its emblematic animal is the Eagle, and its colours are blue and bronze. The Ravenclaw Head is Filius Flitwick. The ghost of Ravenclaw is revealed in Book 7 to be the Grey Lady, who is the daughter of Rowena Ravenclaw called Helena Ravenclaw. The house was founded by Rowena Ravenclaw. 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. Ravenclaw students must answer a question as opposed to giving a password to enter the dormitories like it is for Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs, and Slytherins.
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Slytherin house values ambition, cunning and resourcefulness. Its emblematic animal is the serpent, and its colours are green and silver. Professor Horace Slughorn was the Head of Slytherin during the 1997–1998 school year, replacing Severus Snape, who as well, replaced Slughorn when he retired for the first time several years ago. The Bloody Baron is the house ghost. Slytherin corresponds roughly to the element of water. The Slytherin Dormitories and common room are reached through a bare stone wall in the Dungeons. The Slytherin common room is a long, low underground room (probably under the Hogwarts lake, thus Slytherin house's affiliation with water) with rough stone walls and round greenish lamps hanging from the ceiling. |
