Ranking the Hogwarts Houses in Harry Potter
By Ani Bundel
Which Hogwarts house is the very best House that ever was? Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, Slytherin or Hufflepuff?
While all students at the illustrious Wizarding Academy in the the UK known as Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry can agree that Hogwarts is our home, which House is the best house is a subject for debate. EVERYONE believes in their heart of hearts that their House is the Best House.
It doesn’t matter if Tom Riddle was once a Slytherin. If you are in Slytherin, you believe it is the best house of them all, because it is the most pure. Logic may say that Gryffindor is superior because Harry Potter was a member, but that won’t actually pass muster with a Ravenclaw, who will list you ten reasons why Gryffindor still logically sucks, while simultaneously studying for next week’s exam you don’t even know is coming yet and writing a treatise on the history of Quidditch.
So which House is the best House? Well, as a Hufflepuff would say, let’s look at this fairly….
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Slytherin
I can already hear the accusations that this is just more anti-Slytherin propaganda, and that the Green and Silver get a bad rap that’s undeserved. And it’s hard not to see it that way sometimes. There are, after all, good people who were and are sorted into Slytherin. Some of my best friends are Slytherin! (Ok, well, one.) Members of House Slytherin have their good points. They are smart, they are driven, they are ambitious. Many of them go on to be highly successful and productive members of Wizarding society. And more often than not, Slytherins are really good looking, as long as they haven’t taking the whole “pureblood” intermarriage to inbred extremes.
But it can’t be ignored that the majority of the Death Eaters in both the First and Second Wizarding Wars were drawn primarily from this house, to the point that Hogwarts had to evict all the members of it prior to the Battle of Hogwarts in 1997. And the pureblood mania is extremely disturbing, and can give rise to an ugly anti-muggle streak if left unchecked. And it’s not just that Tom Riddle came from Slytherin–he was the true born heir of Slytherin. The heir of the wizard who founded this House… a wizard, it should be noted, who left a terrible murderous Basilisk under the school, with the hope that one day it would be let loose and murder most of the present day student body. There’s no getting around that. This House has serious work to do to rise again.
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Ravenclaw
Ravenclaws are probably very defensive to see themselves here. They always seem to wind up second to last on these lists. And there’s a level where they are right: that’s just not fair. After all, Ravenclaws are some of the smartest wizards and witches you’ll ever meet. Not only are they smart, but they think in ways so brilliant, a regular wizard or witch would simply never consider the methods they use. (Luna Lovegood is a perfect example.) Many times, spell adaptations come from Ravenclaws who have a tendency to practice magic differently than others. Many advances in Wizarding thought came from esteemed members of this House.
But there’s one key thing about House Ravenclaw, one detail that is so damning, that it prevents the House from finding itself on the top half of House rankings. And no, it’s not the ultra-competitive, almost backstabbing spirit that invades the House at O.W.L. time. It’s the fact that the movies got their House Crest and Symbol utterly wrong.
Yes, you heard me. Wrong. The symbol of House Ravenclaw in the books is an Eagle. Yet in the movies, the crest is clear adorned with… a raven. Yes, director Chris Columbus paid so little attention to this house, that he designed its House logo wrong, and for seven subsequent movies, no one ever noticed or bothered to change it. (And just in case you think maybe Rowling would just leave the change, she didn’t. Pottermore’s artwork is still an eagle.) Sorry Ravenclaw, but that’s really hard to get around. You have to agree, it’s only logical.
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Hufflepuff
Now, Hufflepuff is the most popular House other than Gryffindor. They are smart, loyal, generous individuals who are always there if you need them. There are so many Hufflepuff alumni who are credits to the House’s name. Newt Scamander, who we all know will be the focus of his own trilogy of movies starting later this year, is an esteemed member of House Hufflepuff, and exhibits many of the traits that make this House so great, including a love of animals and living things.
Hufflepuff are hard workers, and I am proud to say that I have been a member of this House for many years myself. We are also known for how impartial we are, which is why I felt that I was qualified to make this list–it was only the most fair way to do it. And though Hufflepuffs are some of the most wonderful people there are, and their House is clearly the best of the four, we would never actually be so gauche as to put ourselves first on a ranking list.
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Gryffindor
The most famous house of the four in Hogwarts, its reputation nowadays is based upon that of the membership of The Boy Who Lived. But that’s not the reason that Gryffindor tops this list, even though his presence in the House certainly is impressive. There are other Gryffindors in history who have been far more influential in bringing this House fame. One such alumnus is Albus Dumbledore. During his time he was Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards and Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot. His fame was such that he turned down the position of the Minister of Magic several times over the course of his life. And of course, before Tom Riddle came along, Dumbledore was the one to face Gellert Grindelwald in a Wizaading War that was far more international than anything started by Voldemort.
Yes, Gryffindor is certainly a House worth being in, and though its members may not be as kind or generous as those in Hufflepuff (Gryffindors tend towards arrogance a little bit here and there, and I’m sure being placed first on this list will not help that), there are modern day wizards and witches other than Potter to consider as well. Hermione Granger, the brightest witch of our age, is a member of Gryffindor, and her fame and influence on history may well outstrip Harry’s before all is said and done. It boasts members of the Sacred 28, such as every last one of the Weasley Clan. Speaking of which, Gryffindor also boasts Quidditch hero Ginerva Weasley as a member, as well as the current Head of Hogwarts, Minerva McGonagall. No wonder the saying goes “100 points to Gryffindor.”
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Disagree with our rankings? Somehow, even if you *are* a Gryffindor, I’m sure you have quibbles with our choices. Sound off in the comments–which House is the Best House? And was that the House you were sorted into or no?