I, Gryffindor

People say I'm a Gryffindor because of my "reckless courage," my inability to tolerate injustice, and because, as my wife is so often tested, I'm rather short-tempered. Being outspoken or daring, although qualities clearly common to the house of Gryffindor are not necessarily a requirement for admittance. The Gryffindors from my time at school would passionately argue that having a "talent for trouble" should be immediately added to the list of required traits, but in the end such talent is not always the best decision for all situations.

I advocate the equality of all living things, and I firmly believe that if you are in a situation or position where you are able to stop inequity or merely stand up for someone, you are compelled and obligated to do so, even when no one else dares. I do everything in my power to keep the people I care about safe and secure, and would not hesitate to die for someone whom I love. These are the dramatic aspects of my house, but as a professor parents send me their children not only to educate, but to protect from harm. School, any school, Muggle or magical, is a sanctuary of learning and growth and should be encouraged and protected at all times. Ten years ago, our school was made unsafe, and for all the reasons above, myself, my fellow Gryffindors and students from other houses with Gryffindor qualities stood tall against the greatest evil in the history of magic.

Dumbledore's Army was created to fight the injustice circulating around evils attempt to gain power. As children we saw it, we saw it plain as rain. Confused and baffled, we couldn't understand why others didn't see it too. Well we know now that they did see it, but for reasons that escape me even to this day, they chose not to act. They hid safely in their homes, behind veils of pure-blooded racism, and let the world nearly burn simply because they were too afraid to break the status-quo.

Those witches and wizards, from Government or the private sector who were too lazy, too scared or just too uninterested to fight, your obligation to protect children was passed on to children. There, I said it. You made children fight because you were too afraid. You were afraid of breaking tradition, afraid of being different, afraid of getting hurt or just downright afraid of the loss of worldly possessions and gold. I have one thing to say: shame on you. A child standing in your stead; shame on you!

Shame on you.

Here's a little known fact. We didn't create Dumbledore's Army to overthrow the Ministry, as it was said in the trial of Former Undersecretary Delores Umbridge. Albus Dumbledore didn't even know of our existence until we were caught. Being the ever noble headmaster he was, Dumbledore took the blame knowing the punishment would transfer away from the students and on to him. He chose to protect us, even when he'd done nothing wrong. That was a fantastic Gryffindor trait displayed by one of the most famous Ravenclaw's of all time.

Dumbledore's Army gave us all friendships and a sense of belonging many of us had never experienced. Together we learned how to defend ourselves against the dark arts because Delores Umbridge felt it was unnecessary to teach practical skills since You-Know-Who obviously wasn't back.

I disarmed my first ever wand in Dumbledore's Army, I learned to shield the people I care about, and fend off unwanted spells. I learned that every wizard or witch is compelled to learn these skills regardless of their future profession. As a professor myself, and a staff coach for the Hogwarts dueling club, it is my charge to pass on what we learned as children to your children. Every member of the Hogwarts staff has taken an oath to protect your children, and that means that not only do we protect them, but we teach them to protect themselves. That's right, there is NO ONE out there right now, that we know of. No one is coming to attack the school, but we still teach, because this is a school, and school is for learning.

Shame on you.

I can see the owls coming to my office already. Howlers and cursed parchments because in this day and age it's so much easier to send off a snotty letter than to take the five minutes to come and see what your children are learning. If you can't afford the teaspoon of floo powder, send me an owl and I will send you a port-key so that you can take an active role in your child's education.

I have been a Gryffindor all of my magical life, and I must confess I did engage myself in "pointless heroics" as a child. Intemperance in youth is common for Gryffindor males. As critics of Gryffindor house love to point out, some of us can be excessively bold and dramatic. If one of your children is cruel, rude or hurtful, while everyone else tolerates them, Gryffindors will call out the offending child in front of everyone and perhaps make a public fool out of them while doing so. Gryffindors also have been known to flaunt their bravery by metaphorically dipping toes into dangerous situations as their friends watching scream "get down!" or "what if you get hurt?!"

Did anything I just said even make a dent? We are here to celebrate ten years since the Dark Lord, yet all of the conditions that existed the last two times he reached for power, exist yet again. I'm begging parents to take part in their children's education. Become involved; visit the school, some see a quidditch match.

Although Gryffindors are usually favored, there are plenty of negative qualities to match the positive qualities. For example, many Gryffindors, myself included are probably the most opinionated people I know, and in an argument can come off as pushy and hurtful even though that's never the intention. We seldom think before we speak, and on many occasions rely on our emotions and "our gut feeling" to guide us, rather than logic and reason. Gryffindors feel responsible to save and protect everyone in need, and if we fail to do so remorse and guilt will eat us alive. In turn we sometimes come off as overly intense because we hate wishing we had done something more after the opportunity has passed.

This is why I teach, because I'm a Gryffindor. It means nothing to stand in front of someone and protect them when in reality I could have merely taught them to protect themselves. Regardless of house, I teach everyone, because no one is just one house.

Although I'm surely a Gryffindor, I do have many Ravenclaw qualities. I value intelligence, originality, and wit. A lot of my friends could have probably been sorted into Ravenclaw, as I enjoy being around intelligent and creative people. My Ravenclaw tendencies are probably due to my parent's being very good Ravenclaws, as they always strived for academic excellence on their way to becoming Aurors for the Ministry.

Although many Gryffindors would deny that they have any Slytherin traits, I must admit that we do possess a few Slytherin qualities. Gryffindors can be ambitious, clever, resourceful, and natural leaders, but that's where our similarities to the snakes end. Having a bit of Slytherin in you is good if you're a mischievous Gryffindor, since being clever and resourceful in your endeavors will help you succeed and more importantly rarely get caught.

I do love the underrated Hufflepuffs, but I could never fit in with those folk. My wife is a fantastic Hufflepuff, but I am far too lazy, impatient, and apathetic to be one of The Badgers.

Ultimately, all that I as a Gryffindor want is to do what I know to be right, protect those whom I can protect, and most of all be forever wild.

So, to all of you who don't know exactly how to celebrate the upcoming anniversary, you can start by understanding the mistakes that were made in our past. Whether you were too busy to notice, too self-righteous to care, or just too focused on your bloodline to do what's right, now is your chance.

We celebrate the children, teachers, and ordinary people who sacrificed everything for peace. We celebrate that Hogwarts School is still a free place where all magical children are welcome to attend and learn. We celebrate, that one day these sacred halls will be graced with continued generations of Patil's, Weasleys, Lovegoods, Changs, Finnegan's, and thank Merlin, Longbottoms.

We celebrate the new generations of Potters, Thomas's, Grangers, and Abbotts. My friends, the senior members of Dumbledore's Army, their task has been done for almost a decade. Now we bring our children into this world, we teach them, we raise them, so that if one day, evil should ever return, a new generation of Gryffindors will know just what to do.

My name is Neville Longbottom, and if the readers of this article have any issue with anything I've said please feel free to send me an owl at Hogwarts School. Letters addressed to the Head of Gryffindor House will find me promptly. Oh, and I do recommend you owl in lieu of paying a personal visit. People not affiliated with Dumbledore's Army have an incredibly difficult time finding my office.

Neville Longbottom
Order of Merlin, Second Class
Dumbledore's Army
Head of House Gryffindor