A/N: This is my interpretation of the four houses and what they're really all about. I tried not to use main characters for the signatures, especially for Gryffindor because they're too obvious. Really, this is just an attempt at getting people to look a bit deeper.
Title: Unstereotyped
Hufflepuff house is often called stupid. Is it just because we have a funny name? We're often thought of as the house where everyone who doesn't fit in anywhere else goes. Actually, that's not entirely true. Not just anyone can be a Hufflepuff. Hufflepuffs have to be loyal, patient, hardworking, kind, honest, and fair. Also, because we "take the rest", Hufflepuffs have to be tolerant and accepting. If you're disloyal and intolerant and lazy, you will not be a Hufflepuff. We don't usually quote the movies, but as Albus Dumbledore says, "You are unfailingly kind, a trait people never fail to underestimate."
Nymphadora Tonks, Cedric Diggory, Ernie Macmillan, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Hannah Abbott, Susan Bones, Zacharias Smith, Pomona Sprout
Ravenclaws are often thought of as stuck-up because we're supposed to be smart. To be perfectly honest, not all Ravenclaws do really well in classes. Not all Ravenclaws enjoy studying. Not all Ravenclaws read constantly. What being a Ravenclaw really means is that we want to know things or that we're very witty, or that we're wise or see things more clearly than others. Some of us are really good at classes. Some of us are not.
Luna Lovegood, Cho Chang, Terry Boot, Michael Corner, Anthony Goldstein, Padma Patil, Filius Flitwick
Slytherins are thought of as the evil house. That's just not fair. How many of us have you actually interacted with? If you actually listen to the Sorting Hat, it never says 'and Slytherin if you're evil.' Actually, the terms used are cunning, ambition, pure blood, and shrewd. None of these qualities makes a person evil. Of course, unchecked ambition can lead to evil, but it is not a guarantee. And for your information, cunning can be used for good and has been many times. And there have so been witches and wizards who went bad who weren't in Slytherin! A prime example of this is Peter Pettigrew. He was a Gryffindor. Slytherins aren't all evil. So shove off and stop hating on us.
Tracey Davis, Astoria Greengrass, Daphne Greengrass, Theodore Nott, Blaise Zabini, Horace Slughorn, Severus Snape
Gryffindors are the egotistical idiots who recklessly plunge themselves into any kind of danger, right? Er, no. Not quite. You know, a lot of people ignore the chivalry bit. And not every Gryffindor has been good. There have been some evil Gryffindors. We are also not all stupid. That should be clear to anyone with a brain. And there are many different kinds of courage. There's not just the stupid daring type, though that does have a tendency to show up in Gryffindors. There's the type of courage that shows only in really serious situations. And that's real courage. We also have nerve, which is not quite the same. It means that we can stand up through a lot.
Neville Longbottom, Dean Thomas, Seamus Finnigan, Lavender Brown, Parvati Patil, Colin Creevey, Dennis Creevey, Ginny Weasley, Fred Weasley, George Weasley, Percy Weasley, Minerva McGonagall
