As you may have guessed from the post title I signed up for the Potterhead July blog tour which is being run by the amazing Aentee (Read at Midnight). I spent ages trying to decide what to write my post about - Snape? Character appreciation? Something about the houses? And eventually I decided to do a combination. I decided to discuss why characters were placed in the houses they ended up in, so here goes:
‘You might belong in Gryffindor,
Where dwell the brave at heart,
Their daring, nerve and chivalry
Set Gryffindors apart;
You might belong in Hufflepuff,
Where they are just and loyal,
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true
and unafraid of toil;
Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,
If you’ve a ready mind,
Where those of wit and learning,
Will always find their kind;
Or perhaps in Slytherin
You’ll make your real friends,
Those cunning folk use any means
To achieve their ends.’
- The Sorting Hat on Harry's first night at Hogwarts
Harry
We all know Harry is a Gryffindor (if you don't I'm very worried about what you've been doing with your life), but there's the age old question of why he was sorted into this particular house. The sorting hat said he'd do well in Slytherin, and if Harry hadn't asked not to be put in that house he probably would have ended up there. But that's just it. He asked. Starting at a new school can be scary to say the least, especially when your whole world has been turned upside-down only days before. Walking into the hall in front of the entire school when you don't know anybody would have been daunting for an 11 year old, most of us probably would have been terrified and yet Harry still managed to pluck up the courage to tell the Sorting Hat that he didn't want to be in Slytherin regardless of what the hat saw inside him. That took courage - that was brave. And bravery is the main trait of someone in Gryffindor.
Also, I think that at least in the beginning, because of what the Sorting Hat said to Harry on that first night at Hogwarts, he felt the need to prove himself worthy of his place in Gryffindor, almost as though he needed to prove to himself as well, that he was not meant to be in Slytherin. It explains why, even as a first year he managed to get into dangerous situations and yet still manage to prove himself even though he was so young - he was trying to show people he was worthy.
Hermione
Like Harry, Hermione is also a Gryffindor. While re-reading the books last year I found myself questioning why she had been put in Gryffindor by the Sorting Hat - the obvious choice for someone so clever would have been Ravenclaw. One theory is that the Sorting Hat was considering Ravenclaw, but it saw that she valued friendship and courage just as much, if not more and therefore belonged in Gryffindor. In effect she also asked to be in Gryffindor - on the train on the first day she confided in Harry and Ron that she would like to be in Gryffindor.
I recently read something about Hermione being put in Gryffindor that, if not explained it, at least gave more reasons for the choice of house. Hermione was constantly dealing with people making fun of her for being a "know-all" and yet in the end she wasn't affect badly by it. That takes bravery - to live every day being made fun of just for being intelligent and yet still rise above it all, especially at such a young age. She then left everything she loved behind, including her family to stand by her best friends while they fought Voldemort. If that's not bravery I don't know what is.
Ron
Ron's housing choice may seem obvious - his whole family had been in Gryffindor before him - and yet if you look at his personal traits, he seems more suited to Hufflepuff than any other house. Yes he lays his life on the line on multiple occasions to save his friends and family, and yet he doesn't have the courage to tell Hermione how he really feels. Some might argue that Ron is still brave and I completely agree - you have to be if you're going to be friends with Harry Potter! But expressing your feelings is a different kind of bravery. However in the end he does manage to tell her so I think he earns his place in Gryffindor - he learns to be brave.
Also, Ron almost asks to be a Gryffindor. He felt a lot of pressure to follow in his family's footsteps and be sorted into the house and so was hoping and praying it would happen. I think the Sorting Hat picked up on this and decided that Ron deserved to be played in Gryffindor.
Thinking about these three though raises another topic - all three friends showed qualities of one of the other three houses throughout the series and yet all three were placed in Gryffindor. But one other thing that links them together is the fact that THEY ALL ASKED. All three of them asked to be in Gryffindor one way or another, and it made me wonder if that is not the ultimate form of bravery. They all denied some of their own traits in order to ask to be in a certain house. They all went against the obvious, and possibly the Sorting Hat in order to get what they wanted. Maybe that is why they were all deemed brave enough to be in Gryffindor.
All of these are just suggestions and thoughts I had. If you disagree, have another theory or want to put forward some theories about other characters please feel free to leave them all in the comments below and start some discussions. There are no right or wrong answers and I'd love to know what you think!
