The Boy Who Lived and his friends inspired an entire generation and left a huge impact on pop culture. As they go through countless dangers and mysteries in Hogwarts, we laughed and cried alongside them.
But when it comes to The Golden Trio, many of us have a weak spot for Hermione Granger. After all, she’s an extremely smart, determined character described as the brightest witch of her age for very good reasons.
However, within the Harry Potter fan community, we are still debating some details to this day. One of the most common questions surrounding Hermione relates to her Hogwarts House choice.
Was she really a Gryffindor or maybe the Sorting Hat should have sent her to Ravenclaw instead?
Hermione Granger didn’t go to Ravenclaw because she valued courage and bravery over knowledge. She also expressed that Gryffindor was the best House in Hogwarts.
Besides, the Sorting Hat prioritizes what type of qualities the students value rather than what they have. Her personality and actions throughout the series make her a true Gryffindor!
What house was Hermione supposed to be in?
Usually, students get sorted to their respective Houses relatively fast.
We saw that with Ron Weasley and Draco Malfoy during the first book. However, a hat stall refers to the rare situation where the Sorting Hat takes five minutes or longer to decide in what house the person should belong.
When Harry started his journey in Hogwarts, only two people in his generation were close to this scenario. Neville Longbottom between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff, and Hermione Granger between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw.
Terry Boot: “How come you’re not in Ravenclaw? With brains like yours?”
Hermione: “Well, the Sorting Hat did seriously consider putting me in Ravenclaw during my Sorting, but it decided on Gryffindor in the end.”
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Why would Hermione not fit in Ravenclaw?
It’s an endless debate whether Hermione should have gone to Ravenclaw instead. After all, Hermione is “the greatest witch of her generation”, has always poured a lot of passion and effort into her studies and her knowledge seems to know almost no boundaries.
However, we have four clear arguments that prove that her place was always in Gryffindor.
Before continuing, we all know that the Sorting Hat decides the students’ fate at Hogwarts. During their first year, the Sorting Hat’s song describes both houses as it follows:
You might belong in Gryffindor,
Where dwell the brave at heart,
Their daring, nerve, and chivalry
Set Gryffindors apart;
…
if you’ve a ready mind,
Where those of wit and learning,
Will always find their kind;
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Chapter 7
With that out of the way, let’s continue:
1. Hermione values courage and bravery over everything else
By now, any Potter fan understands that Gryffindor has people who are brave and courageous, while Ravenclaw is for those who are smart and witty.
However, we have seen characters whose Hogwarts House doesn’t seem to fit their personality. Just think of Petter Pettigrew, the most coward Gryffindor we’ve ever seen!
So, aside from presenting specific traits and values, the Sorting Hat also considers what qualities the student value as important.
Many fans point out that Hermione puts courage, bravery, and friendship over knowledge and intelligence since she openly states it in the first book.
“Harry – you’re a great wizard, you know.”
“I’m not as good as you,” said Harry, very embarrassed, as she let go of him.
“Me!” said Hermione. “Books! And cleverness! There are more important things – friendship and bravery and – oh Harry – be careful!”
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
2. Hermione is resilient and brave
As we’ve mentioned before, her personality and actions during the series are more attuned to Gryffindor.
By the end of the saga, Hermione has proven her courage and bravery over and over. She made incredibly difficult choices like erase her parents’ memory during The Wizarding Wars because she wanted to protect them at all costs.
Her stubbornness and determination helped Hermione withstand horrible torture from Bellatrix Lestrange.
These qualities were also the main drive force behind her S.P.E.W campaigns, even though no one took her seriously at the moment.
3. She can be very close-minded
We have seen Hermione deal with stressful situations and manages to escape complex scenarios. No one denies her magic knowledge, but she tends to stick a lot to logic and reason.
She can remember everything she’s read about magic theory and apply it correctly, but Hermione doesn’t seem to prioritize creativity or “thinking outside the box” in general.
During the first book, she didn’t question the authority and held them in high regard.
While it’s true that her rigid ways helped her become an outstanding student, she can be very close-minded at times. Just think about how much she hated Divination classes!
As a side note, we learn in The Deathly Hallows that Ravenclaw students must answer a riddle to access their tower. If someone doesn’t know the answer, they must wait for someone who does to enter.
The riddles are meant to show you two things. You won’t always have the right answer, and some situations won’t ever have a clear answer. Can you imagine Hermione’s frustration when faced with that scenario?
4. Ravenclaws rely on intuition and creativity
But that’s not all of it! What’s more important for Ravenclaw is to seek knowledge and satisfy their intellectual curiosity. They will use whatever method they find more convenient for that purpose.
Luna Lovegood is one of the most prominent figures we hear about in the entire series, whose creativity and flexible thinking incarnate the most extreme interpretation of a Ravenclaw.
However, we also know other Ravenclaws like Ollivander, Professor Trelawney, and Professor Flitwick. These characters excelled with each character specialized in wand crafting, divination and duelling respectively.
Ravenclaws understand that it’s not about books, but knowledge in general.
Wisdom, creativity and intelligence are not always equated to academic brilliance. While it’s true that Ravenclaws tend to be talented and academically motivated students, intuition and creativity are what truly sets them apart from other Houses.
Overall, Hermione vastly prefers to stick to what’s already known rather than trust her intuition or step outside of the box.
With all this evidence, we can safely assume that Hermione is a true Gryffindor!
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