The Houses at Hogwarts

by Tania Penwell
If one character has defined literature of the last decade or so, then it has to be J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter. And with a major portion of Harry's life and adventures being unraveled at his school, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, it is quite obvious that there has been an increasing interest among the readers to learn and remember more about the institute and the ways in which it functions. An integral part to the school is the various houses that the students are camped into. Following is a brief write-up highlighting the major features of the houses in the Harry Potter series.

If one character has defined literature of the last decade or so, then it has to be J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter. And with a major portion of Harry’s life and adventures being unraveled at his school, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, it is quite obvious that there has been an increasing interest among the readers to learn and remember more about the institute and the ways in which it functions. An integral part to the school is the various houses that the students are camped into. Following is a brief write-up highlighting the major features of the houses in the Harry Potter series.

The Names

There are four houses in all and each is named after its founder. They are,


Gryffindor after Godric Gryffindor,
Slytherin after Salazar Slytherin,
Ravenclaw after Rowena Ravenclaw and
Hufflepuff aafter Helga Hufflepuff

Students of a year group will share the same dormitory and classroom.

The Sorting Hat

The sorting of students into respective houses is a very important event and takes place during the Sorting Ceremony at the beginning of each school year. And the event is fantasy at its best. What happens is that a hat, the Sorting Hat is placed on op of each student’s head and it is the hat which decides, or at least declares, which house the student will go to. As the events have unfolded in the various volumes of the series, it can be suggested though the h at can choose for a student, if the student has a stronger liking for some other house, then that choice is accepted. It is only for those who are not informed or are not sure, that the hat decides unilaterally.

The Rivalry

The houses, like any other modern present day school, are famous for their rivalries. And this is at its best and most evident during the Quidditch matches and the annual inter-house competition for the House Cup. In this event, each member of a house earns or loses point for his or her house, and the one with the highest aggregate emerge as the winners. Not only is it an issue of prestige and pride but often team members stoop to levels of cheating and treachery to win. This shows how important the event is to the members of the rival houses.

Characters of the Houses

Each of the houses stands for certain values and bears an animal emblem.

Courage and boldness are the values of Gryffindor and lion is its animal emblem.

Slytherin values ambition the snake being its emblem.

Ravenclaw values intelligence and the emblematic animal for the house is the raven.