Gryffindor
Harry Potter
So I better get right to it and just start with the boy everyone will want to know about. Harry Potter, the Boy who Lived, the one who defeated Voldemort, the Chosen One, etc. Personally I didn't find his mind particularly different to your average eleven year old but he was extremely difficult to sort.
Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff were ruled out pretty quickly for Potter. He's reasonably intelligent but doesn't have the same enthusiasm for learning as the Ravenclaws do; come exam time, he wouldn't have enjoyed being with the Ravenclaws. Hufflepuff wasn't really an option- Potter will grow to have a hot temper and Hufflepuff just wasn't a good match for him.
This just left Slytherin and Gryffindor.
As soon as Potter put me on his head, he made it clear he wasn't going into Slytherin. I obviously ignored him- I needed to consider both houses. I still think Potter would've done well in Slytherin. He has ambition and wants to prove himself. He has the potential to rise to the top if he'd been sorted into Slytherin. But Potter seems to be quite modest so maybe Slytherin wasn't for him.
Of course Potter was still hoping for Gryffindor so I did consider it. He's certainly brave enough for Gryffindor and isn't afraid to speak his mind – that was pretty obvious. Potter has a sense of determination in him and a good sense of right and wrong. Gryffindor would suit him perfectly and he wanted it so badly so that is where he went. When Gryffindor is concerned, I do listen to the students preference a bit more because it takes bravery for an eleven year old to tell a talking hat what to do especially having come from a non-magical background. Make no mistakes though, I did not just sort Potter into Gryffindor because he wanted it, it could've easily gone the other way.
Potter will do brilliant things even if he hasn't got ambition or influence of Slytherin to help him and I'm sure Gryffindor will help him grow and flourish into a great wizard.
Parvati Patil
I was in quite a bad mood when it was time to sort Potter as I'd recently had one girl internally screaming at me for splitting her up from her twin. This girl was called Parvati Patil and I'd already sorted her twin into Ravenclaw so she expected to go the same way. She couldn't have been more wrong.
Ravenclaw just wasn't the right place for the second Patil. Ravenclaws value science, logic and creativity. Patil is definitely creative but she doesn't really care about finding new things out to do with science and maths. I can see her excelling in Divination in future years but not Arithmancy and Transfiguration.
Yes I understand that she wanted to stay with her twin and I do normally find myself sorting siblings into the same house but I couldn't sort Parvati Patil into Ravenclaw and her twin couldn't go anywhere else. It was difficult to try and explain to Patil that she couldn't stay with her twin. They are extremely close but I know that they will both make new friends and learn to live without each other so my decision was final – Parvati Patil would not go to Ravenclaw. But where to put her?
Patil prefers arguing and having it out with people than getting revenge which meant that Gryffindor was a better choice than Slytherin. Patil is fiercly loyal to her friends and is quite helpful so Gryffindor or Hufflepuff would be a good choice. However, Patil can hold grudges for quite a while so she'd struggle in Hufflepuff. That just left Gryffindor.
Gryffindor will suit Patil very well and will help her become more confident in herself without spending everyday with her twin.
Hermione Granger
Another girl who wanted Ravenclaw and got Gryffindor was Hermione Granger, although she was much easier than Patil as she was open to both Ravenclaw and Gryffindor. And I can see why! Granger was the perfect example of a student who should be sorted into Ravenclaw. She's extremely intelligent, a complete bookworm (which is a good thing!) and loves to learn new things. I took one look in Granger's mind and nearly shouted out Ravenclaw without giving it a second thought. But then I saw something in her mind that made me reconsider.
Intelligence isn't the thing she values most. Yes, she is probably going to come out of Hogwarts with top grades and that seems to be very important to Granger, she wants to do while. I expect that at first that is all she will care about which is why I wanted to sort her into Ravenclaw. But as she grows and matures as a person, Granger will find in herself a desire to make the world a better place for everyone and everything. Of course, she could change the world in Ravenclaw but I felt that Granger's determination meant I had to consider Gryffindor for her.
Gryffindors are brave and loyal and have determination whilst Ravenclaws are calm and collected, logical and wise. Granger has all these attributes. But the question was, which house would she do better in, in the long run?
Of course Slytherin and Hufflepuff were out. Despite being ambitious, Granger is too selfless for Slytherin but too passionate and hot tempered for Hufflepuff. I've already proved that Granger would do well in Ravenclaw and she's a strong character and would do well in Gryffindor.
Once I realised that Granger was such a strong independent girl, I started to lean towards the idea of sorting her into Gryffindor more. She's extremely intelligent and would've done well in Ravenclaw but when difficult times come, she'll be better off in Gryffindor as she'll be a good leader and calm in the face of danger.
Lavender Brown
Might as well do the only other girl to be sorted into Gryffindor as I just did the other two. Her name is Lavender Brown and she was the first Gryffindor I sorted this year. Brown didn't actually take me too long; she was pretty easy to sort, much easier than the other two girls. I didn't really have to consider one or two houses for Brown as one stood out by quite a mile. Brown is so determined to get what she wants which could be a Slytherin trait but she prefers not to upset other people which is more Gryffindor. I didn't really consider Ravenclaw or Slytherin for very long as Brown just didn't suit them very much. I did consider Slytherin for a bit as Brown is ambitious and determined but she's not cunning and calculated enough.
Gryffindor was just perfect for Brown. She's driven and knows what she wants, she's determined and loyal and brave when she needs to be. Gryffindor was the best place for Brown and she'll make a lot of friends there.
Seamus Finnigan
It wasn't just the girls that were difficult, I spent about a minute trying to decide where to put Seamus Finnigan which is quite a long time for me. He showed different traits from three houses which is quite rare as I usually have to decide over two. Finnigan is brave and daring meaning Gryffindor was a possibility, he is kind and just meaning he could be in Hufflepuff and he is curious and seems to be able to do some extraordinary magic meaning he'd be well suited to Ravenclaw. This is an example of when I would welcome the student's opinion but Finnigan didn't seem to have a preference over the houses I was considering. Finnigan wasn't very helpful to me at all.
This caused me to rule out Hufflepuff. Finnigan is quite impatient and isn't hard working when he doesn't want to be. Yes, he is quite easy going and generally good natured but his temper sometimes gets the better of him so Hufflepuff wasn't a
suitable choice.
Ruling out Ravenclaw was an entirely different kettle of fish. Finnigan had all the right traits for Ravenclaw: talented, competitive and logical. He could do really well in Ravenclaw so instead of thinking of what traits he had that weren't suited to Ravenclaw like I did for Hufflepuff, I had to think how he would mature as a person if I sorted him into Ravenclaw. I expect his grades would be slightly better but I don't think he would enjoy himself as much. Finnigan wants to do well in life but he wants to have fun doing it and the other Ravenclaws might intimidate him come exam time. Yes, he wouldn't be as intelligent as some of the other Ravenclaws but I think he could keep up and I don't just sort people into Ravenclaw based on their intelligence. Ravenclaw is so much more than just having a good brain and I feel that a lot of people forget that. Finnigan himself seemed to be surprised at me considering Ravenclaw for him but I don't think he would be happy there and I always make sure that the students will be happy in their houses.
That meant by process of elimination, Finnigan would have to go to Gryffindor. He was definitely brave enough and was determined and driven. I needed to put him somewhere so Gryffindor is where Finnigan went.
Neville Longbottom
When it gets difficult to choose between the houses for a certain student, I have to consider how they will grow and change if I sort them into a particular house. Neville Longbottom was one of those cases. I knew where I wanted him to go as soon as he put me on. I remember every single person I sort and his mind was so similar to his parents that I wanted to put him in Gryffindor. But Longbottom was so scared of the prospect of Gryffindor that he begged to be put in Hufflepuff. He is so shy and timid that at first he might seem ill suited to Gryffindor but I'm confident he will change as he gets older and will eventually do very well in Gryffindor. It might take him a while though.
Longbottom's main problem, which will stop him being a good Gryffindor for some time, is that he lacks confidence in himself. That's why he wanted to be in Hufflepuff so badly as he thought that he didn't have any particular trait to be sorted into the other houses. But he was wrong.
He might not show it now but Longbottom will grow to be extremely brave and loyal, just like his parents. I don't often think about the parents when I'm sorting a student but I could tell how similar Longbottom was to his parents so he had to go in their house, Gryffindor is just right for him. He's determined, helpful and will grow to be courageous and brave. Longbottom might think I was wrong now but he'll thank me for it later. He's too passionate and once he matures he will find that Hufflepuff would've been too easy going for him.
Dean Thomas
Dean Thomas was yet another student sorted this year that could've gone into three different houses. The choice was between Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff – Thomas is too selfless and brave for Slytherin. This bravery that meant he couldn't be in Slytherin, made me lean towards Gryffindor as Thomas certainly shows some traits of Gryffindor such as courage and loyalty. However Gryffindors tend to sometimes be hot tempered and reckless and Thomas doesn't seem to be either of those things.
That's what made me consider Hufflepuff. Thomas is open minded and gets along well with just about everyone so he'd make a lot of friends with Hufflepuff. But he doesn't seem to mind breaking the rules and isn't so bothered about fair play, which again made me think of Gryffindor as competitiveness is a trait of Gryffindor.
Yet this meant I needed to consider Ravenclaw as well as Ravenclaws are even more competitive than Gryffindors. Thomas is creative, has a sharp mind and is enthusiastic about learning magic so Ravenclaw was a possible for him.
Throughout considering these three different houses, I always seemed to be leaning towards Gryffindor. Yes, Thomas was competitive and creative like a Ravenclaw and he was good natured like a Hufflepuff but these traits could apply for Gryffindor. For Thomas I went with my gut instinct and sorted him into Gryffindor.
Ronald Weasley
And now we've reached the final student that I sorted into Gryffindor this year. Ronald Weasley- fifth Weasley child I'd sorted in this generation. All Weasleys tend to go to Gryffindor so I was reasonably confident that this Weasley would go the same way but I still had to have a quick check just to make sure he was the same as his family.
It wasn't too difficult, even if he wasn't a Weasley it wouldn't have taken me long to sort him. He has brains but can't be bothered to use them so Ravenclaw was out. He's not particularly calculating and cunning and prefers to have things out with people so Slytherin was out. He's a good natured person and very loyal but he has too much of a temper and can be insensitive sometimes by accident so Hufflepuff wouldn't really suit him.
This Weasley has a similar mind to the rest of his family. He's brave, protective of his friends and family, courageous and determined. He suited Gryffindor perfectly, just like the rest of his family. Weasley is quite insecure about being overshadowed by his brothers but being in Gryffindor will help him believe in himself and give him the confidence that he needs. I can guarantee that he will do well in Gryffindor as his hearts in the right place and I'm sure he'll make lots of friends.
I wasn't on his head for long before sorting him into Gryffindor but for the brief time I was, I got the impression that he wanted to be in Gryffindor so he wouldn't let his family down. Normally I would consider sorting him somewhere else away from his brothers but he was a Gryffindor through and through so there was no choice but to put Weasley where he belonged – in Gryffindor.
Well that's Gryffindor done. Some of them might not be happy about my decision but they'll come to learn why I put them there. I feel that this years lot will do well, they will all grow into strong independent characters and I look forward to seeing how they get on especially the ones who think I've sorted them incorrectly – I love proving them wrong. Anyway onto Slytherin!
Authors Note: Sorry if they're all a bit repetitive but all these characters are in Gryffindor because they have the same traits so it's hard to give each character different traits. Thanks for reading!
