Hogwarts Houses

The Hogwarts Houses

At Hogwarts, all students are sorted in their first year into one of four houses where they will live for all seven school years that they are at Hogwarts. In order to be placed in the houses, all students are sorted by the Sorting Hat, which is placed on the students heads and magically taps into their minds, desires and personal attributes. The Sorting Hat places the students based on their personal attributes, such as courage and ambition, into the house that most values the attributes they possess. None of the houses value "evil" or evil attributes, like violence or malice, but Slytherin is clearly viewed as the "evil" house. In actuality, the only thing that separates students from Slytherin from any of the other students is their lack of morality. Like the use of religious symbolism, an association of a character with one house or the other, generally, clearly defines them as either being on the side of good or the side of evil, which is most evident in the Gryffindors and the Slytherins.

The Houses

The Hufflepuff house was founded by Helga Hufflepuff and is one that values loyalty, patience, hard work and justice as characteristics possessed by its students. Within the Harry Potter Series, the Hufflepuffs are viewed as being kind and slightly passive, though they are neither definitively good nor definitively evil. Although they generally get along well with the students from Gryffindor and Ravenclaw, there are numerous points within the novels where they outcast Harry based on jealously or prejudice. Such examples would be when Harry was suspected as being the Heir of Slytherin and when Harry was selected as the second Hogwarts champion by the Goblet of Fire. By no means does such treatment make them evil, but it does show that they, like most characters, are not definitively good.

The most notable Hufflepuff student is Cedric Diggory.

The Ravenclaw house was founded by Rowena Ravenclaw and is the house that values intelligence, knowledge and wit as characteristcs possessed by its students. Within the Harry Potter Series, the Ravenclaws are viewed as being smart and are not underestimated by other houses like Hufflepuff often is. Like Hufflepuff, the Ravenclaws and neither definitively good nor definitively evil, as they too showed prejudice and distain for Harry when he was thought the Slytherin's heir and when he was selected as the Hogwarts champion. Despite this, religious symbolism aids in portraying Ravenclaw as a "good" house, as its house animal is an eagle, which is symbolic of Christ.

The most notable Hufflepuff students are Cho Chang, Penelope Clearwater, and Luna Lovegood.

The Gryffindor House was founded by Godric Gryffindor and is the house that values courage, chivalry and boldness as characteristics possessed by its students. Within the Harry Potter Series, the Gryffindors are the most prevalent characters, as this is Harry's house, and they seem to be portrayed as Syltherin's official opposition, making them the "good guys". Unlike the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws, the Gryffindors are definitely good, as they are Harry's house and, although they are sometimes mischievous, they are always the students who face down Slytherin and stand up for what is right. Like Ravenclaw, their house animal, the lion, is a symbol of Christ

The most notable Gryffindor students, and former students, are the Potter family, the Weasley family, Hermonie Granger, Neville Longbottom, Albus Dumbledore, Minerva McGonagall, Rebeus Hagrid, Sirus Black, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew.

The Slytherin House was founded by Salazar Slytherin and is the house that values, ambition, cunning and slyness as characteristics possessed by its students. Within the Harry Potter Series, the Slytherins are viewed as the villains as they are cruel and disrespectful to anyone who is not from their house. Unlike the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws, the Slytherins are definitively evil because they do nothing unless it benefits them or hurts someone else, and therefore they obviously lack any sense of morality. This is also apparent as virtually all of the Dark Witches and Wizards have come from Slytherin. Traditionally, the Slytherins have been arch rivals with the Gryffindors, who are the complete opposite from Slytherin, as they never act to harm anyone and always act to help. It is this rivalry that puts Gryffindor and Slytherin at opposite ends of the good vs. evil struggle. Also opposite of Gryffindor, Slytherin's house animal is a snake, which is a symbol of sin and the Devil

The most notable Slytherin students, and former students, are the Malfoy family, the Crabbe family, the Goyle family, Tom Riddle/Lord Voldemort, and Severus Snape.

The Sorting Hat and Harry's Moral Choice

In Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry has a personal crisis, as he is led to believe that he is the rightful heir of Slytherin and therefore should have been placed in that house. He recounts his experience with the Sorting Hat to Dumbledore, and explains how the Sorting Hat said that he would make a good Slytherin, and therefore Harry assumed that Slytherin was the house that he should have been placed in, but was not only because he asked the Hat not to put him there. Dumbledore responds to this by telling Harry that, yes he may have made a good Slytherin, but it was the fact that he chose not to be that made him a Gryffindor. Harry made the moral decision not to be a Slytherin, even though doing so could have given him power and influence, because he could never believe in hurting others to benefit himself. Again, Harry's moral choice shows that the only difference between good and evil characters is their sense of morality and decency. It is this type of moral decision and sacrifice that separates the good from the evil, and the Gryffindors from the Slytherins.