100 Fun Facts About Hogwarts Houses

What animal is Gryffindor's mascot?

A lion: Luna Lovegood, a Ravenclaw, cheers the house on at Quidditch in a lion-head hat that really roars.

What are Gryffindor's house colours?

Red and gold: at Harry's first end-of-year feast, a burst of last-minute points from Dumbledore snatched the House Cup away from Slytherin.

Who is Head of Gryffindor House?

Minerva McGonagall: she catches first-year Harry flying against orders and, instead of punishing him, makes him Seeker and buys him a racing broom.

According to Rowling, Gryffindor corresponds roughly to which element?

Fire: Rowling says the four houses loosely match the four classical elements, and that each house's colours were chosen to suit its element.

What animal is Hufflepuff's mascot?

A badger: Rowling's notes in an annotated first edition say she first planned a bear, and wonder whether the house would get more respect if she had kept it.

What are Hufflepuff's house colours?

Yellow and black: Rowling says the pair stands for wheat and soil, and she describes the house's common room as decorated in cheerful, bee-like colours.

Who is Head of Hufflepuff House?

Pomona Sprout: in Harry's second year it is her crop of Mandrakes that, once grown, is brewed into the cure for the monster's petrified victims.

Which Fantastic Beasts character was sorted into Hufflepuff?

Newt Scamander: he faced expulsion from Hogwarts after a beast endangered a life, and Dumbledore argued strongly against it.

Where is the Hufflepuff common room?

Near the kitchens: it sits off the same corridor, and Rowling admits she never found a reason for Harry to go inside, the only house room he never sees.

How do Hufflepuffs open the barrel that hides their common room?

By tapping it in a rhythm: the beat follows the house founder's name, and the wrong barrel or the wrong count of taps drenches you in vinegar.

In the novels, which bird is Ravenclaw's mascot?

An eagle: despite the house's name, the books never use a raven, and only the films swapped one in.

What are Ravenclaw's house colours in the novels?

Blue and bronze: Rowling ties the pair to the sky and to its mascot's feathers, while the films swapped the bronze for silver.

Who is Head of Ravenclaw House in the novels?

Filius Flitwick: the tiny Charms master is said to have been a duelling champion in his youth, and he brings down the Death Eater Dolohov in the final battle.

Besides Quirrell, which Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher was sorted into Ravenclaw?

Gilderoy Lockhart: Rowling writes that he earned good marks at school but valued learning only for the attention it brought him.

How do students get into the Ravenclaw common room?

By solving a riddle: the door knocker asks a fresh question each time, and anyone who gets it wrong must wait for someone who gets it right.

What is Slytherin's mascot?

A serpent: founder Salazar Slytherin was famed for being able to talk to snakes, which is why his house took one as its symbol.

What are Slytherin's house colours?

Green and silver: Rowling notes that green is also the colour of much Dark magic in her world, from the Dark Mark in the sky to many curses.

Who heads Slytherin House until he becomes headmaster?

Severus Snape: he is handed the school once Voldemort controls the Ministry, yet all along he is secretly working to protect Harry.

Who takes over as Head of Slytherin in Harry's seventh year?

Horace Slughorn: the comfort-loving Potions master returns to the final battle and duels Voldemort himself, dressed in emerald silk pyjamas.

Which legendary wizard was a Slytherin at Hogwarts, by Rowling's account?

Merlin: Rowling writes that the Order of Merlin, First Class, hangs on a green ribbon said to reflect his old school house.

Where are the Slytherin dormitories?

In the dungeons: the rooms run out under the school's lake, so the common room windows look into the water and the giant squid sometimes drifts past.

Which member of the Black family broke its tradition by being sorted into Gryffindor?

Sirius: he also rejected the family's pure-blood creed, ran away from home at sixteen to live with the Potters, and had his name struck off the family tree.

Which Death Eater was sorted into Gryffindor?

Peter Pettigrew: Rowling writes that the famously stubborn Sorting Hat still refuses to accept that the choice may have been a mistake.

Which founder's small golden cup was stolen by Voldemort and made a Horcrux?

Helga Hufflepuff: Tom Riddle killed the cup's owner, Hepzibah Smith, and planted a false memory in her house-elf Hokey so that the elf took the blame.

Which Gryffindor silently begged the Sorting Hat to put him in Hufflepuff instead?

Neville Longbottom: Rowling writes that the house's reputation for bravery scared him, and that the silent wrangle ended in triumph for the Hat.

Who crafted the Sword of Gryffindor?

Goblins: Rowling says their king Ragnuk the First forged it to order, coveted it, then pretended Gryffindor had stolen it and sent minions to take it back.

In which country did Helena Ravenclaw hide her mother's stolen diadem?

Albania: she hid it in a hollow tree in a forest there, the same forest where Voldemort later lurked for years after losing his body.

Which house ghost murdered Helena Ravenclaw and then killed himself?

The Bloody Baron: sent to fetch her home, he stabbed her in a rage when she refused, then turned the knife on himself, and he has worn chains in penance ever since.

Which ghost is barred from a famous hunt because his execution was botched?

Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington's botched execution left his head hanging by a strip of skin.

Which Monty Python member plays Gryffindor's house ghost in the first two films?

John Cleese: his ghost drops out of the films after the second one, although in the books the character is still around for the final battle.

Which cheerful, helpful ghost represents Hufflepuff?

The Fat Friar: Rowling says churchmen had him executed after growing suspicious that he cured the pox by poking peasants with a stick and pulled rabbits out of the communion cup.

By what name is Helena Ravenclaw known as a ghost?

The Grey Lady: Rowling's earliest list of school ghosts called her the Whispering Lady, and she describes her as the least talkative of the four house ghosts.

Which Gryffindor became Head Boy and then a Ministry of Magic employee?

Percy Weasley: he sided with the Ministry against his own family, then came back for the final battle, apologised, and joked about resigning while duelling the Minister.

Which Hufflepuff Seeker won the Triwizard Tournament alongside Harry?

Cedric Diggory: a year earlier he had caught the Snitch against Harry, then offered to replay the match when he saw that Dementors had made Harry fall.

Which Ravenclaw Seeker was Harry's first love interest?

Cho Chang: their first kiss comes under the mistletoe after a secret defence lesson, and she is in tears at the time, still grieving for her late boyfriend.

In the books, which Ravenclaw student betrayed Dumbledore's Army to Umbridge?

Marietta Edgecombe: Hermione had jinxed the sign-up sheet, so the moment she talked the word SNEAK broke out in pimples across her face.

Which Slytherin Seeker joined Umbridge's Inquisitorial Squad and became a Death Eater?

Draco Malfoy: ordered to kill Dumbledore, he corners the disarmed headmaster on the Astronomy Tower, finds he cannot do it and begins to lower his wand.

Which Hogwarts ghost was a Ravenclaw student killed by the Basilisk?

Moaning Myrtle: she was hiding in a toilet stall, crying because Olive Hornby had teased her about her glasses, when she looked out and met the monster's eyes.

Which of these is one of the four houses at Ilvermorny, the American school?

Pukwudgie: co-founder James Steward, the only No-Maj in the family, chose the creature because his wife's tales of a grumpy one named William always made him laugh.

In which West Country village were Harry's parents living when Voldemort attacked them?

Godric's Hollow: it is named after Godric Gryffindor, who was born there, and it is also where Bowman Wright forged the first Golden Snitch.

Who destroys Slytherin's locket with the Sword of Gryffindor?

Ron Weasley: the locket's Dark magic had driven him to walk out on his friends, and he came back just in time to pull Harry out of a frozen forest pool.

In the Deathly Hallows novel, whose Fiendfyre destroys Ravenclaw's diadem?

Vincent Crabbe: he cannot control the cursed flames and dies in them, while the film hands both the spell and the death to Gregory Goyle.

Which Oscar-winning Dame plays the Head of Gryffindor in the films?

Maggie Smith: she kept filming Half-Blood Prince while being treated for breast cancer, and appears in seven of the eight films.

Who plays the Herbology professor and Head of Hufflepuff on film?

Miriam Margolyes: she teaches the screaming Mandrake lesson in Chamber of Secrets, then is not seen again until the very last film.

Which actor plays the Charms master who heads Ravenclaw?

Warwick Davis: in the first film he only voiced the goblin Griphook while Verne Troyer wore the costume, then took over the whole part for Deathly Hallows.

What role do Ron and Hermione both take up in their fifth year?

Prefects: Harry sulks at being passed over until he learns that his father never got the badge either, while Lupin did.

Which Gryffindor serves as the school's Quidditch commentator?

Lee Jordan: during Voldemort's rule he hosts the pirate radio show Potterwatch under the code name River.

Hufflepuff values hard work, patience, justice and what?

Loyalty: Rowling has said that when students were free to leave before the Battle of Hogwarts, virtually every of-age Hufflepuff stayed to fight.

Gryffindor values courage, nerve and what?

Chivalry: the Sorting Hat's first song credits the house with daring, nerve and chivalry, and legend says the Hat itself once belonged to Godric Gryffindor.

Slytherin values ambition, cunning, resourcefulness and what?

Leadership: the Sorting Hat tempted Harry with this house too, telling him it could help him on the way to greatness.

Whose portrait guards Gryffindor Tower at Hogwarts and opens only for the right password?

The Fat Lady must hear the password before anyone reaches the circular room beyond, with its cosy sofas and its parties after Quidditch victories.

Which magical brew gets Harry Potter into the Slytherin common room at Hogwarts disguised as another student?

Polyjuice Potion gets Harry and a friend past the bare stretch of wall that hides the entrance, which opens only to those who know the password.

Which rare ability is needed to open the Chamber of Secrets, created beneath Hogwarts by Salazar Slytherin?

Parseltongue is the only way in, which kept the Chamber hidden so well that it was long believed to be a myth. Inside lived a giant snake that only its builder or his heirs could control.

In Harry Potter's first year, Dumbledore awards Gryffindor fifty points for a student's skill at which game?

Chess earns the award after Harry's best friend steers the trio safely through a dangerous, life-sized game on the way to the Philosopher's Stone. The fifty points help Gryffindor finish the year on top.

Which eccentric Ravenclaw in Harry Potter's circle is the daughter of the editor of The Quibbler magazine?

Luna Lovegood stands out for her homemade dirigible plum earrings, yet she is often one of Harry's most clear-sighted friends. Her courage and kindness earned her a place in his circle of most trusted friends.

Which gemstones stud the Sword of Gryffindor and represent Gryffindor in the Hogwarts house-point hourglasses?

Rubies are inset in a sword of pure silver, with its first owner's name engraved just beneath the hilt. Its maker coveted the finished sword so much that he tried to have it stolen back.

Which creature, one of Voldemort's Horcruxes, is killed with the Sword of Gryffindor in the last battle at Hogwarts?

Nagini is killed by a Gryffindor who pulls the sword from the Sorting Hat as Voldemort demands the school's surrender. Harry had asked him to destroy her before walking out to give himself up.

Which actor plays the Potions master who heads Slytherin House in the Harry Potter films?

Alan Rickman took the part only after Tim Roth, the original choice, turned it down to make Planet of the Apes. He and Richard Harris were confirmed for the first film in August 2000.

Which friend of Harry Potter kept the Sorting Hat torn between Ravenclaw and Gryffindor for nearly four minutes?

Hermione Granger came close to being a Hatstall, the old Hogwarts term for a new student whose Sorting lasts more than five minutes. True Hatstalls turn up only about once every fifty years.

The Slytherin common room at Hogwarts owes its tinted light to extending underneath which part of the grounds?

The Great Lake lies above the room, which is furnished with dark chairs and leather sofas. Tapestries and a large mantelpiece make it feel grand rather than cosy.

Which bird brings Harry Potter the Sorting Hat, and with it the Sword of Gryffindor, in the Chamber of Secrets?

Fawkes, Dumbledore's pet phoenix, then blinds the monster so Harry can fight it, and later heals his poisoned wound with tears.

Which actor plays Harry Potter's Slytherin school rival in every film of the Harry Potter series?

Tom Felton auditioned to play both Harry and his best friend before he was cast as their Slytherin enemy instead.

Which Hogwarts trophy is awarded each year for points gained in class and lost for breaking rules?

The House Cup goes to whichever of the four has the most points when the school year ends. At the end-of-year feast, the Great Hall is decked out in the winner's colours.

Which former Gryffindor returns to Hogwarts as a professor and teaches Harry Potter to conjure a Patronus?

Remus Lupin was the practical one of his schoolboy gang and grew into a kind, excellent teacher, though he tended to disappear at certain times of the lunar calendar.

J.K. Rowling says the Sword of Gryffindor, which comes only to the worthy, owes something to which legendary blade?

Excalibur, in some legends, must be drawn from a stone by the rightful king, and Rowling echoed that test of fitness. She adds that wizards once used swords as often as wands, in the days before they went into hiding.

Which Gryffindor Quidditch captain and Keeper is known for lengthy pre-match team talks in the Harry Potter books?

Oliver Wood was delighted to discover Harry's flying talent, a perfect fit for the vacant Seeker position on his team. He went on to play for Puddlemere United.

Where inside Hogwarts castle is the entrance to Salazar Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets hidden?

In the girls' toilets on the second floor is where the way in lies. It began as a concealed trapdoor, which a descendant of Slytherin secretly protected when plumbing was built over the site in the 1700s.

Salazar Slytherin quit Hogwarts after a breach with the other founders over teaching which group of students?

Muggle-borns were the cause: Slytherin had an aversion to teaching anybody of Muggle parentage. Most wizards of his day considered that view unusual and misguided.

Which Death Eater kept a Hogwarts founder's golden cup, one of Voldemort's Horcruxes, locked in a Gringotts vault?

Bellatrix Lestrange was left in charge of the two-handled cup, which had passed down its first owner's family for years before a young Voldemort got hold of it.

Which future Twilight star plays Hufflepuff's Triwizard champion in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire?

Robert Pattinson took over from Joe Livermore, who had briefly played the character in a Quidditch scene one film earlier. Henry Cavill auditioned for the part before Pattinson was cast.

By what name is the Gryffindor foursome that included Harry Potter's father and a schoolboy werewolf known?

The Marauders created the map that bears their name and spent their schooldays sneaking off to the Forbidden Forest and the Shrieking Shack.

Which subject is taught by the Head of Gryffindor House, who also serves as Hogwarts' deputy head?

Transfiguration suits a witch who is herself an Animagus, able to turn into a tabby cat. Strict but fair, she also counts Quidditch among her great passions.

In which Harry Potter story is a Potter sorted into Slytherin, breaking the family's Gryffindor tradition?

Cursed Child sends Harry's son Albus to Slytherin, where his closest friend is the son of his father's old school rival. Albus feels unable to live up to his father's legacy.

With what does the Sorting Hat open each school year at Hogwarts, giving an account of its own origins?

A song comes first, before any first-year is sorted. J.K. Rowling calls the Hat one of the cleverest enchanted objects most witches and wizards will ever meet.

Which website, opened to a million fans via its Magical Quill challenge, sorted users into Hogwarts houses by quiz?

Pottermore was rebranded as WizardingWorld.com in 2019 and as HarryPotter.com in 2024. A 2015 redesign dropped its Sorting ceremony, which returned the next year so users could reclaim their old house or be re-sorted.

Where on the seventh floor of Hogwarts castle is Ravenclaw's lost diadem hidden and finally destroyed?

The Room of Requirement, also known as the Come and Go Room and the Room of Hidden Things, appears only when someone is in particular need of it. Dumbledore's Army met there in secret.

Which Gryffindor a year below Harry Potter adores him and is never seen without a camera?

Colin Creevey trails Harry asking endless questions and taking numerous photographs. Two years later his equally adoring brother Dennis joins him at Hogwarts.

Which Gryffindor in Harry Potter's year, devoted to Divination, has a sixth-year romance with his best friend?

Lavender Brown firmly believes the future can be read in crystal balls and tea leaves. She never saw eye to eye with the cleverest girl in her dormitory.

Which Gryffindor classmate of Harry Potter came to Hogwarts from Ireland and is noted for his pyrotechnics?

Seamus Finnigan was not always on Harry's side once rumours spread about whether he was telling the truth, yet he stepped up and fought bravely when Voldemort returned.

At Hogwarts, what liquid drenches an intruder who fails the entry test at the Hufflepuff common room door?

Vinegar bursts from a nearby lid and soaks anyone who gets the entry wrong. Inside, an earthy passage slopes up to a cosy round room where cacti wave and dance at passers-by.

Which mind-reading skill lets the Hogwarts Sorting Hat look into a wearer's head and judge their capabilities?

Legilimency lets the Hat divine a wearer's capabilities or mood and even respond to their thoughts. It is also notorious for refusing to admit it has ever sorted a student wrongly.

Where at Hogwarts is the Sorting Hat kept on a shelf between one Sorting ceremony and the next?

The headteacher's office is also where the Sword of Gryffindor is kept. Students can argue with the Hat's choice of house, as Harry Potter famously did.

Which broom does a player's father buy for the whole Slytherin Quidditch team in Harry Potter's second year?

Nimbus 2001 brooms, a full set of them, were a bribe so that the team would choose the donor's son as its Seeker. They were more advanced than the model Harry was flying.

Which Slytherin, a Death Eater who turned on Voldemort, swapped the locket Horcrux for a fake and left a signed note?

Regulus Black signed the note "R.A.B." and meant to destroy the real locket, at the cost of his own life. Like most of his family, he had been sorted into Slytherin.

In which English woodland does Harry Potter find the Sword of Gryffindor at the bottom of a frozen pond?

Forest of Dean is where a doe Patronus leads Harry through the trees to the pond, with the sword lying on the bottom.

Which Hufflepuff member of Dumbledore's Army grows up to become the owner of the Leaky Cauldron?

Hannah Abbott left Hogwarts during Half-Blood Prince after Death Eaters murdered her mother, but she came back to fight in the Battle of Hogwarts.

Which Slytherin in Harry Potter's year did J.K. Rowling base on real girls who teased her at school?

Pansy Parkinson, a prefect and member of the Inquisitorial Squad, is played in the Half-Blood Prince film by Scarlett Byrne, alongside Louis Cordice as fellow Slytherin Blaise Zabini.

Which word opens Rowena Ravenclaw's motto, '... beyond measure is man's greatest treasure', etched on her diadem?

Wit is the word, and the sapphire-encrusted diadem was said to make its wearer wiser. That power made Rowena's own daughter so jealous that she stole it and ran away from home.

Through what does the Hogwarts Sorting Hat speak when it addresses the school and names each student's house?

A rip near its brim serves the Hat as a mouth. It literally contains the intelligence of the four founders, who are said to have enchanted it together.

What surname is shared by identical twins in Harry Potter's year who were sorted into Gryffindor and Ravenclaw?

Patil is the name: Parvati went to Gryffindor while her twin, Padma, was a Ravenclaw. At the Yule Ball the sisters were the dates of Harry and his best friend.

Which family of Salazar Slytherin's descendants inherited his locket and boasted of knowing the Chamber of Secrets?

The Gaunts counted Voldemort among their descendants. One of them, Merope, sold the locket with its glittering 'S' after her father and brother were sent to Azkaban.

Complete Hagrid's verdict on one Hogwarts house: 'everyone says Hufflepuff are a lot o' ...'?

Duffers was his word, though the official encyclopedia says Hufflepuffs were actually well known to be kind, reliable and honest. J.K. Rowling adds that several outstanding brains have emerged from the house.

Before the Sorting Hat, J.K. Rowling had what come alive in the Hogwarts Entrance Hall to select students?

Statues of the founders, four of them, would have chosen students from the throng while the school watched. Her first idea, an elaborate machine, had felt at once too complicated and too easy.

J.K. Rowling says one of Hufflepuff's two house colours represents soil; which crop does the other stand for?

Wheat is the answer in her notes on colour. She adds that peach and salmon pink are distinctly un-magical shades, and therefore much favoured by Aunt Petunia.

Which British actor, famous for the catchphrase 'Ding dong', voices the Sorting Hat in the Harry Potter films?

Leslie Phillips voiced the Hat in three films: the first two and the very last. He made his name in 1950s British comedies, including three early Carry On films.

What pattern covers the carpet of the Ravenclaw common room, high in a Hogwarts tower?

Stars cover the carpet beneath a domed ceiling, in one of the airiest rooms in the castle. Its windows look out to the Forbidden Forest and the mountains beyond.

At which form of combat did the Hogwarts founder of Gryffindor House, first owner of a famous sword, excel?

Duelling was his forte, and many gifted wizards of his day fought as ably with a blade as with a wand. When thieves came for his sword he drove them off by magic without killing any of them.

Which Hogwarts troublemaker is kept in check by Slytherin's house ghost and pitied by Hufflepuff's?

Peeves the Poltergeist answers to Slytherin's fearsome ghost, whose skills include controlling him. Hufflepuff's ghost is one of the only residents of the castle with any sympathy for him.

What do Ravenclaw students have inside their own common room, at the top of a Hogwarts tower?

A library of their own sits at the top of Ravenclaw Tower, up a spiral staircase. Anyone who cannot get past the door has to wait outside until a housemate arrives who can.

Which London football club is supported by Dean Thomas, a Gryffindor in Harry Potter's dormitory?

West Ham has his heart: he was more at home with red cards and strikers than with Quaffles. He later learned to fly and made himself useful when a spot arose on the Gryffindor Quidditch team.