Houses notes
21 notes on the four houses, their history and the Sorting, written for wizarding-school roleplay. Each one has a teaching tip for professors.
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A slim crown that belonged to Rowena Ravenclaw and was said to make its wearer wiser. It vanished in her own lifetime and has been missing ever since.
- A diadem is a small crown, much like a tiara.
- Her motto was etched into it: wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure.
- The story goes that her own daughter took it and fled, hoping it would make her the cleverer of the two.
- Ravenclaw kept the theft a secret from the other founders.
- Each founder is linked with a treasure: Gryffindor a sword, Hufflepuff a cup, Slytherin a locket and Ravenclaw the diadem.
“Somewhere out there is a crown that makes you wiser. Nobody has seen it in centuries.”
Teaching tip: Ask students what they would give up to be wiser, and whether borrowed wisdom really counts. Ravenclaws in the class can say how far their house should go to find it.
Each house has a team of seven, led by a captain, and the four houses play each other for the Quidditch Cup.
- Matches are spread across the school year.
- Points scored in every match count towards the Cup.
- The Cup goes to the house with the best record at the end of the year.
Teaching tip: Announce the season's fixtures at the start of term. Students can then play the build-up as well as the match.
Also on: Flying
Four witches and wizards built the school together roughly a thousand years ago, and each house carries one founder's favourite qualities.
- Godric Gryffindor: bravery and daring.
- Helga Hufflepuff: hard work, fairness and loyalty.
- Rowena Ravenclaw: cleverness and a love of learning.
- Salazar Slytherin: ambition and cunning.
“Four founders, four ideas of what a good student looks like.”
Teaching tip: Give each student a founder to speak for. In character, they explain in two sentences what kind of student they would invite to the school.
The founders could not agree on one perfect kind of student, so each took the pupils who shared the qualities they valued most.
- Houses give students a home inside a huge school: a common room, a head of house, and friends in other years.
- The system also feeds friendly competition through house points and the House Cup.
Teaching tip: Ask students what group they would form if they had to split a class into four teams, and what each team would be best at.
Salazar Slytherin wanted the school to teach only children from all-magic families. The other three refused, and after a bitter quarrel he left and never came back.
- He and Godric Gryffindor had been the closest of friends, which is why their falling-out is the one people remember.
- Helga Hufflepuff's answer was to teach anyone who came and treat them all the same.
- Legend says Slytherin built a hidden chamber somewhere in the castle before he went.
- It is the reason the houses have such different reputations.
- Most good RP keeps the old disagreement in the background and lets individual students decide what they believe.
“Two best friends, one argument, and the school was never quite the same.”
Teaching tip: Run a short in-character debate: should a school choose students by background or by potential? Students argue as different founders.
The four founders poured their own ideas into one old hat so that it could keep choosing students after they were gone.
- It was an ordinary pointed wizard's hat before it was enchanted.
- Today it sits in the headmaster's office and comes out each year for the start-of-term feast.
Teaching tip: Ask students what they would put into a hat to make it a good judge. They list three qualities and explain why.
The Hat reads a student's mind and weighs qualities and wishes, not just test results or family background.
- Courage points toward Gryffindor, effort and fairness toward Hufflepuff, curiosity and wit toward Ravenclaw, ambition and resourcefulness toward Slytherin.
- Most students have a bit of everything. The Hat looks at which quality leads.
- It also listens to what the student hopes for.
“You are a mix of everything, and the Hat is only choosing which part leads.”
Teaching tip: Practice the ceremony: one student plays the Hat, asking what the new student values most. Does the character pick courage, effort, learning or ambition?
The Hat takes a student's own wishes seriously, so a character can argue for the house they want.
- Many stories use a character who could fit two houses and has to decide which.
- Wanting a house is a trait of its own: ask what that wish says about the character.
Teaching tip: Let students write one line about what their character secretly hopes for before the Sorting. It often becomes the best backstory detail.
A hatstall is a Sorting that takes unusually long because the student fits two houses almost equally well.
- Most Sortings take seconds. A hatstall can take minutes.
- It is a good way to give a character a story without making them special for any other reason.
Teaching tip: Make hatstalls rare in your class so they feel special. Ask a student why their character might be hard to sort.
The Hat sings a new song at the start of the ceremony, often about the houses and the importance of working together.
- It is usually a short rhyming verse that describes all four houses.
- It sometimes carries a warning for the year ahead.
Teaching tip: Have each student write four lines of their own Hat song in character. No copying real song lines, just their own rhyme.
First years are called one by one, sit on a stool, have the Hat placed on their head, and walk to their new house table when it announces its choice.
- Each house cheers for its new members.
- It takes place in the Great Hall at the start-of-term feast.
Teaching tip: Stage it. One student is the professor calling names, one is the Hat, the rest cheer for their house in turn.
Every house has a teacher in charge of its students, called the head of house.
- They help with problems, give out timetables, and defend their students in rule disputes.
- They are also the ones who decide on serious punishments for house members.
Teaching tip: Ask students which teacher they would pick as their head of house and why, based on how that teacher treats students.
Houses compete in sport and points but often have to work together when the whole school is in trouble.
- Friendships between houses are common even when the rivalry is loud.
- A good RP keeps rivalry friendly unless the story needs real conflict.
Teaching tip: Plan a joint class where students from rival houses must cooperate. Afterward, ask what each house taught the others.
Pick a house by asking what your character values most, then give them one trait that does not fit the stereotype.
- A Gryffindor can be terrified and brave anyway. A Slytherin can be kind. A Ravenclaw can be clumsy. A Hufflepuff can be fierce.
- Make sure the choice feels earned, not just picked from a list.
“I fit my house, but I don't fit all of it.”
Teaching tip: Ask each student to write the reason their character is in that house, and one trait that does not match. Those mismatches are usually the most fun to play.
A house describes what a student leads with, not everything they are.
- Treat house traits as a starting point, not a script.
- Stories get better when characters surprise their own house.
Teaching tip: Do a quick exercise: write one house trait and one trait that seems like the opposite. Students then show a scene where their character displays both.
Values courage, daring and chivalry.
- Animal: lion. Colours: scarlet and gold.
- Founder: Godric Gryffindor. Ghost: Nearly Headless Nick.
- Common room in Gryffindor Tower, behind the Fat Lady's portrait.
Teaching tip: Ask students for an example of courage that is not fighting, such as owning up to a mistake. Then compare it with the other three houses.
Values hard work, loyalty, patience and fair play.
- Animal: badger. Colours: yellow and black.
- Founder: Helga Hufflepuff. Ghost: the Fat Friar.
- Common room near the kitchens, entered by tapping a barrel in rhythm.
- Helga Hufflepuff was famous for her food charms, and she gave the house-elves safe work in the kitchens. A common room next door suits her house well.
Teaching tip: Ask for a team task where patience wins. Students plan it in character, then say how loyalty shows up in the group.
Values wit, learning and wisdom.
- Animal: eagle. Colours: blue and bronze.
- Founder: Rowena Ravenclaw. Ghost: the Grey Lady.
- Common room in Ravenclaw Tower. The door knocker asks a riddle instead of a password.
Teaching tip: Use the riddle-knocker idea: each student writes a short riddle in character for the class to solve before entering a scene.
Values ambition, cunning and resourcefulness.
- Animal: serpent. Colours: green and silver.
- Founder: Salazar Slytherin. Ghost: the Bloody Baron.
- Common room in the dungeons, under the lake.
Teaching tip: Ask students to describe ambition at its best and its worst. A good answer shows that the trait is not the same as being a villain.
An old enchanted hat that sorts first years into houses at the start-of-term feast.
- It once belonged to Godric Gryffindor.
- It takes your own choice into account.
Teaching tip: Let students argue what it means that choice counts. It is a good way to build character backstory before the first scene.
Good work earns points for your house and rule-breaking loses them.
- The house with the most points at the end of the year wins the House Cup.
- Points are tracked in giant hourglasses.
Teaching tip: Say your scoring rules out loud at the start, so points never feel random or personal.
