Post by skii-chan;; on Aug 1, 2009 22:53:54 GMT -5
Gryffindor values courage, daring, nerve and chivalry. Its mascot is the lion, and its colors are red and gold. The Head of this house is the Transfiguration teacher, Minerva McGonagall, and the house ghost is Nearly Headless Nick. According to Rowling, Gryffindor corresponds roughly to the element of fire. The founder of the house is Godric Gryffindor.
Though Gryffindor is the house of most of the major protagonists, not all Gryffindors fall into that category. Cormac McLaggen is the negative qualities of Gryffindor personified; he is ill-tempered and pushy. Romilda Vane is underhanded and displays a deceptive and devious nature by trying unsuccessfully to ply Harry with a love potion. On the Hogwarts Express, she is somewhat condescending towards Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood. However, both McLaggen and Vane certainly are bold, and show confidence, two very Gryffindor qualities, and were therefore sorted into the house. Peter Pettigrew, a Death Eater, also went into this house.
The Gryffindor common room is located in one of the castle's highest towers, the entrance to which is located on the seventh floor in the east wing of the castle and is guarded by a painting of The Fat Lady, who is garbed in a pink dress. She permits entry only after being given the correct password.
Hufflepuff
Hufflepuff, founded by Helga Hufflepuff, values hard work, loyalty, tolerance, and fair play. The house mascot is the badger, and canary yellow and black are its colours. The Head of this house is the Herbology teacher Pomona Sprout, and the house ghost is The Fat Friar. According to Rowling, Hufflepuff corresponds roughly to the element of earth. The Hufflepuff dormitories and common room are located somewhere in the basement, their entrance is found behind a life-like painting that is somewhere near the kitchens. Students must give the password to the painting to enter. The Hufflepuff common room is filled with yellow hangings and fat armchairs and it has little underground tunnels leading to the dormitories, all of which have perfectly round doors, like barrel tops (very much like a badger sett).
Ravenclaw[/u]
Ravenclaw values intelligence, creativity, wit, and wisdom. "Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure" is an oft-repeated Ravenclaw proverb. The house mascot is an eagle, the house colours are blue and bronze. The head of this house is the Charms professor, Filius Flitwick, and the house ghost is The Grey Lady. According to Rowling, Ravenclaw corresponds roughly to the element of air. The founder of this house is Rowena Ravenclaw.
The dormitories are located in Ravenclaw Tower on the west side of the school. The common room, which went undescribed in the series until the climax of Deathly Hallows, is round and filled with blue hangings and fat armchairs, has a domed ceiling painted with stars, and also features a replica statue of Rowena wearing her diadem. Harry also notes that, by day, the Ravenclaws "would have a spectacular view of the surrounding mountains." A logical riddle must be solved in order to gain entry, whereas the Gryffindor, Hufflepuff and Slytherin common rooms only require a password.
Slytherin
Slytherin house values ambition, cunning, and resourcefulness. The animal representing Slytherin is the serpent, and the house colours are green and silver. The house was founded by Salazar Slytherin. The Head of this house is Severus Snape in the first five books and most of the sixth book. At the end of the fifth book and in the seventh book, the old Potions master and previous Head of House who has come out of retirement, Horace Slughorn, reassumes authority of the house. The ghost of Slytherin house is The Bloody Baron. Slytherin's apparent element is 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, dungeon-style room, located under the Hogwarts Lake, furnished with green lamps and carved armchairs.
Harry developed a negative view of Slytherin and asked the Sorting Hat not to place him in that house because of its sinister reputation. Rubeus Hagrid told him, "There isn't a witch or wizard who went bad who wasn't in Slytherin." This seems to be an exaggeration on Hagrid's part, as at the time, he believed that Sirius Black, a Gryffindor, was a Death Eater. Still, Slytherin House seems to have attracted more evil wizards than any other house, including Voldemort himself and almost all of his supporters. However, Slytherin itself is not evil; it is just that having ambition as a core quality results in a disproportionate amount of self-important, competitive students. There are some good Slytherins such as Slughorn, Andromeda Tonks, and Snape (although his loyalties are unclear until the Deathly Hallows).
The Sorting Hat claims that blood purity is a factor in selecting Slytherins, although this is not mentioned until the fifth book. There is no reason to believe, however, that Muggle-born students are not sorted there, merely that pure-blooded students are more desirable to that house, as there are several examples of half-bloods in the house. In Deathly Hallows, a group of Snatchers claim that "not many Mudbloods" are sorted into Slytherin, which suggests that while Muggle-born Slytherins may be uncommon, they are not unknown.
When believing Harry to be dead and thinking that he has final victory in his grasp, Voldemort proclaims his intention to abolish the other three houses and force all Hogwarts students into Slytherin. This design is foiled by his defeat and death, after which Slytherin becomes more diluted in its blood purity, no longer remaining the pureblood bastion it once was. Its dark reputation, however, does linger.[/size]
[/ul]