The Fantasy Review: The Hogwarts Houses Explained.
Hogwarts, the main setting and wizarding school in the Harry Potter books, is divided into four distinct houses. Each house has its own specific values and characteristics which students are sorted into at the beginning of their time at the school.
While each house has its distinct traits, students sorted into these houses have various personalities and intellects. The Sorting Hat takes into account not just a person’s innate qualities but also their preferred choice, as demonstrated when Harry Potter chose Gryffindor over Slytherin in The Philosopher’s Stone.
This article explains the differences between these four Hogwarts houses.
Gryffindor
Gryffindor House is known for its loyalty, chivalry, bravery, and daring. Its colours are scarlet and gold, and its symbol is a golden lion.
Students from Gryffindor share many attributes, such as being courageous and willing to stand up against wrongdoing they see in the world.
Examples include: Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley.
Slytherin
Slytherin House is the other face of the coin to Gryffindor. They are equally talented and brave, but they are ambitious with their power, cunning, and sly. However, these attributes do not automatically make all the members of Slytherin evil.
Its colours are silver and green, and its symbol is a snake. Many powerful wizards have come from Slytherin, including Tom Riddle/Voldemort, Severus Snape, and Horace Slughorn.
Hufflepuff
Unfortunately often played off as a joke in the series, Hufflepuff House is a strong and respectable house, producing some of the finest wizards of all time. Its colours are yellow and black, and its symbol is a badger.
Those sorted into Hufflepuff are known for their loyalty, hard work, and patience. They value kindness and are not easily swayed into malice.
Some notable Hufflepuffs include: Cedric Diggory and Nymphadora Tonks.
Ravenclaw
Ravenclaw students are seen as the smart ones. They are known for their wisdom, talent for study, and wit. Many of these students are curious about the world, highly talented and creative.
The Ravenclaw House symbol is an eagle and its colours are blue and bronze. Some names you might recognise from Ravenclaw include: Luna Lovegood and Cho Chang.
