a kaleidoscope of ways to look at the Hogwarts houses

Today I am going to dive somewhat deeply into Hogwarts houses and the sorting system surrounding them. (Try saying that three times fast.)

I’m basing most of my information on the books and movies, but also on the Pottermore website. (Where you can take the official quiz to see which Hogwarts house you belong to.)

As a side note, I have spent way too much time the past few days trying to sort fictional characters into houses, and by next week I’ll probably be disagreeing with myself.

• Slytherin

Via GIPHY

Perhaps in Slytherin
You’ll make your real friends,
Those cunning folks use any means
To achieve their ends

Okay, first up, Slytherin. Because I have many things to say about this.

So say it with me, Slytherin is NOT the evil house for evil people. It is not the house for jerks or the house for snobby snot-face people. These are not its defining qualities.

Slytherin is for the ambitious. Those who are cunning and use all their abilities to get where they want to go. This can be both good and bad.

Obviously, many dark wizards and witches came from Slytherin, but Hagrid was wrong when he said that all the baddies were Slytherin (see Gryffindor.) Also, there were some Slytherins who were good guys, like Professor Horace Slughorn, Regulus Black, and Andromeda Tonks.

Fictional Characters Outside Harry Potter Who Could Be In Slytherin:

While many of you may disagree with me, I feel like Steve Rodgers (who could also totally be in Gryffindor) could be in Slytherin. At least the pre-serum Steve Rodgers. Stay with me for two seconds. The dude was willing to do anything to be able to fight in the War. He lied multiple times on federal forms and even post-serum Steve will do things that are generally frowned upon (like stealing cars) and justify it because of his goals.

Another person (who is not as nice) who comes to mind is Hans from Frozen. He’s also very ambitious, but his ambitions led him to become a liar and almost-murderer. It can go both ways.

• Gryffindor

Via GIPHY

You might belong in Gryffindor,
Where dwell the brave at heart,
Their daring, nerve, and chivalry
Set Gryffindors apart

There are also lots of stereotypes that go along with the Gryffindor house. Whether it’s that everyone there is a show-off, or rash, or the human personification of YOLO.

These could all be true for a Gryffindor, but most of the time…no. To me, it seems like the defining characteristic of Gryffindors is doing the right thing because it’s the right thing to do.

Neville doesn’t fit the house stereotype, and yet he’s still in Gryffindor because he does what he believes to be right, even if it’s not the easy thing to do.

Also when Hagrid said, “there’s not a single witch or wizard who went bad who wasn’t in Slytherin” he was clearly being overdramatic, because Peter Pettigrew, a Gryffindor, was just as bad (if not worse) than many of You-Know-Who’s Slytherin friends.

Fictional Characters Outside Harry Potter Who Could Be In Gryffindor:

Thor comes to mind when thinking about Gryffindor qualities (and stereotypes.) He’s obviously brave and more than a little rash, but most of the time he does the right thing. (“Because that’s what heroes do!”)

Another person who I think would be Gryffindor is Lucy Pevensie. After all, Aslan says that if she was any braver she would be a lioness.

• Ravenclaw

Via GIPHY   (My apologies that this is blue and silver instead of blue and BRONZE.)

Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,
if you’ve a ready mind,
Where those of wit and learning,
Will always find their kind

Ravenclaw is one of the most difficult houses for me to understand, because while it’s for the “Smart People” it’s also more complicated than that. While it may partly have to do with being a Brainiac, I feel like it’s more about seeing things differently and thinking outside the box.

If this weren’t the case, Luna probably wouldn’t be a Ravenclaw. She has a lot of knowledge and can come up with unique solutions to problems, but she isn’t exactly what I would call logical. And I highly doubt Spock would approve of her.

One person I’ve always wondered about is Gilderoy Lockhart, though. It seems like he would belong better in Slytherin because of his ambitions, but according to this Pottermore article, he was an exceptional (and obnoxious) student.

Fictional Characters Outside Harry Potter Who Could Be In Ravenclaw:

While she would fall into the slightly stereotypical genius section, I feel like Shuri would be a Ravenclaw. Being that smart at such a young age isn’t simply because of what you’ve been taught, it’s how your brain works.

In the same vein, I think Sherlock Holmes would be Ravenclaw, along with Rocket (because he is good with coming up with quick fixes in tight situations), and Anne Shirley.

• Hufflepuff

Via GIPHY

You might belong in Hufflepuff,
Where they are just and loyal,
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true
And unafraid of toil

Hufflepuff is stereotypically the lame house, where all the leftovers go. And if it’s not made fun of, it’s at least seen as less than the other Hogwarts houses.

But just because Hufflepuffs aren’t known for bravery or intelligence or cunningness doesn’t mean that they aren’t these things, it just means that they value loyalty more.

Other than Gryffindor, Hufflepuff had the largest amount of students who stayed for the Battle of Hogwarts.

And while Cedric Diggory always seemed kind of wimpy to me, Nymphadora Tonks and Newt Scamander most certainly are not.

Fictional Characters Outside Harry Potter Who Could Be In Hufflepuff:

Bucky is a Hufflepuff. Change my mind. His loyalty to Steve is ridiculous. Even when he was brainwashed and couldn’t remember anything, he didn’t follow through with his orders and he saved Steve’s life. Also to anyone who thinks Bucky belongs in Slytherin, you are an idiot. His only ambition in life is to buy plums.

I also feel like Han Solo would be in Hufflepuff, and I feel even stronger about this after seeing Solo (which was great, btw.) While he might seem a bit Slytherin-y, behind almost all his motivations is the need to help his friends. He literally just meets people and then becomes bffs with them and starts championing their cause.

• • •

Now that that’s all fleshed out, I wanted to talk about two interesting theories I read about how house selection happens.

The first, which I have seen several times, is that you aren’t sorted based on what traits you have but on what traits you value. Which makes some sense when you think about it. Young Peter Pettigrew valued bravery and practically worshipped James and Sirius. And families like the Weasleys were all in the same house not because they necessarily all had the same traits, but because they were raised to value the same traits.

The second is that you are sorted based on how you perceive magic. Gryffindors view magic as a weapon. A power to use to fight for what’s right. Hufflepuffs view it as a gift. Not to be jealously guarded or used to hurt others. Slytherins view it as a treasure. A power to be protected at all costs. And Ravenclaws view it as an art form. Something beautiful to be appreciated and studied for its own sake. You can see this whole post here.

• • •

For some reason, I thought this was going to be a short post that I could easily get done in a day.

It is now 11:47.

P.M.

Whoops.

So, how do you view Hogwarts houses? Do you think they depend on your personality? Or your values? Or some other sorting system?