Gryffindor House

''"You might belong in Gryffindor, where dwell the brave in heart, their daring, nerve and chivalry set Gryffindors apart!" --The Sorting Hat ''

Gryffindor is one of the four Houses of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, founded by Godric Gryffindor. Godric left the Sorting Hat to choose a few particular characters he most values, notably courage, chivalry and determination. The emblematic animal is the lion and its colors are red and gold. Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington is their House Ghost.

Gryffindor corresponds to the element of fire and it is for that reason that the colors red and golden were chosen to represent the House. The color of fire corresponds to that of a lion as well, red representing the mane and tail and gold representing the overall coat.

Traits
The Gryffindor House emphasizes the traits of courage as well as daring, nerve and chivalry and thus its members are generally regarded as brave, though sometimes to the point of recklessness. They can also be short-tempered. Notably, Gryffindor House has greatly contributed to various resistance movements throughout history; many members of both incarnations of the Order of Phoenix and Dumbledore's Army were made up of Gryffindors, for example.

While many see Gryffindor as the House of Heroes or Knights, there are many who hold the house in less esteem. Members of other Houses sometimes feel that Gryffindors engage in "pointless heroics" while others, particularly those from Slytherin House, consider many Gryffindors to be self-righteous and arrogant, with no regard for rules.

Reputation
"The House of Gryffindor has commanded the respect of the wizarding world for nearly ten centuries." -- Minerva McGonagall Gryffindors and Slytherins have shared a fierce rivalry for more than 1,000 years, ever since their founders--Godric Gryffindor and Salazar Slytherin--had a severe falling out over the issues of blood purity, which Godric felt was wrong and had no place in an institution like Hogwarts. In modern times, this rivalry also stems from a feeling of being wronged: in the past, notably under Albus Dumbledore, Gryffindor had the tendency to win in a lot of circumstances that many could consider to be unfair, such as last-second points awarded at the End of Term Feast, after Slytherin colors already decorated the Great Hall and overall general favoritism (especially during Harry Potter's time at Hogwarts).

Ravenclaws often see Gryffindors with a mixture of confusion and respect. While they admire Gryffindor's willingness to leap into danger and confront darkness but also chide them for their lack of preparation or creativeness. They generally regard Gryffindors as a good friend to have in your corner in a scrape but not the sharpest quills in the drawer.

Hufflepuffs regard Gryffindors as their closest allies and are often willing to stand with Gryffindors in times of crisis. They respect the Gryffindor tendency to stand up against injustice. However, Hufflepuffs also view Gryffindors as too willing to jump into danger and too quickly jump to conclusions without a fair assessment of the situation.

Out in the world beyond Hogwarts, the daring Gryffindors often find work in leadership positions, or really any position where decisive minds are a requirement. Gryffindor House makes up the ranks of the Auror organization, as well, as their natural nerve and courage make them naturals to round up dark wizards.

Common Room
The Gryffindor Common Room is located in one of the castle's towers (specifically Gryffindor Tower), the entrance to which is located on the seventh floor and is guarded by an oil painting of the Fat Lady, who is garbed in a pink, silk dress. She permits entry only after being given the correct (regularly changing) password. Behind her painting is a large Common Room, with a fireplace and two staircases leading up and down to the various boys' and girls' dormitories.

There is a spell on the girls' staircase that prevents boys from using it and a similar enchantment exists on the boys' staircase to keep out girls. There are a few ways around this, though, for an enterprising witch or wizard.

The Common Room is very comfortable and members of Gryffindor House meet up there regularly to study, for celebrations or simply to relax. The walls are lined with portraits, each one depicting a previous Head of Gryffindor.

Head of House
The Head of House is a position of great authority and respect, and is always given to an acting Professor that was sorted into that House during their education at Hogwarts. The position of Head of Gryffindor is a particularly respected position, as they are seen to epitomize the traits Gryffindor is supposed to represent.

The current Head of Gryffindor House is Professor Neville Longbottom, who teaches Herbology. Neville has displayed many of the traits associated with the House during the Second Wizarding War and his time as an Auror following that. He is also the only Gryffindor professor currently serving that has wielding the Sword of Gryffindor. He has held this post since 2011.

Before Neville, the Head of House was Septima Vector, Arithmancy Professor, who served as Head of House from 1998 until her unexpected passing in 2010.

Hogwarts' current Headmistress, Minerva McGonagall, served as Head of Gryffindor from 1956 until her appointment as Headmistress in 1998. She was a stern but fair Head of House who was more than qualified to reign in the antics of her students.

Before her was longtime Hogwarts Headmaster Albus Dumbledore, who served as Head of Gryffindor from 1918 until his own appointment to Headmaster in 1956. Dumbledore was evidently an extremely popular Head of House. During his time as Head of House, Gryffindor won the House Cup and Quidditch Cup many times.

House Relic
The relic of Gryffindor House is a thousand year-old blade owned by the famed wizard and Hogwarts Founder Godric Gryffindor. The sword was forged by goblins to serve in the defense of the school and the wizard used it in many adventures over his tenure as Hogwarts leader.

The blade is enchanted and almost sentient, much like a wand. The sword is capable of choosing who wields it through a special link to the Sorting Hat. It is also capable of absorbing the power or properties of what it comes into contact with, making it crucial to the destruction of Horcruxes that occurred during the Second Wizarding War.

It is said that only a "true Gryffindor" is able to wield the sword. In times of great need, it can appear to the true Gryffindor without the use of the Sorting Hat (a notable example being when the sword appeared to Harry Potter during his hunt for the Horcruxes in 1997.

Class of 2026

 * Hugo Granger-Weasley
 * Lily Luna Potter

Class of 2024

 * Meredith Billings-Clyde
 * Harry Creevey
 * Delson Dipper
 * Barry Elkin
 * Carla Escalante
 * Calidora Falk
 * Rose Granger-Weasley
 * Joy McCarty
 * Emily Moriart
 * Cary Nordegraf
 * Petra Perriwinkle
 * Riley Pilgrim
 * Amber Pines 
 * Jeremy Quartey
 * Emileigh Shan
 * Carmine Tumbler
 * Blaine Twelvetrees
 * Ozymandias Uhmlander
 * Jason Williams

Class of 2022

 * Caroline Beasley
 * James Sirius Potter
 * Louis Weasley

Class of 2021

 * Barbary Escher
 * Anna Perriwinkle - Prefect
 * Jeff Torrence - Prefect

Class of 2020

 * Chelsea Cunnington - Head Girl
 * Griffin Keppler - Quidditch Captain
 * Ken Watanabe - Head Boy
 * Roxanne Weasley

Class of 2019

 * Lucy Weasley

Class of 2018

 * Victoire Wealsey

Class of 2017

 * Molly Weasley

Class of 2016

 * Fred Weasley II

Notable Alumni

 * Harry Potter
 * Hermione Granger-Weasley
 * Ron Weasley
 * Ginerva Weasley
 * Neville Longbottom
 * Seamus Finnigan
 * Dean Thomas
 * Pavarti Patil
 * Bem Quartey
 * George Weasley
 * Lee Jordan
 * Oliver Wood
 * Angelina Weasley (nee Johnson)
 * Alicia Spinnet
 * Percy Weasley
 * Charlie Weasley
 * Bill Weasley
 * Arthur & Molly Weasley
 * James & Lilly Potter
 * Sirius Black
 * Remus Lupin
 * Peter Pettigrew
 * Rubeus Hagrid
 * Minerva McGonagall
 * Albus Dumbledore
 * Godric Gryffindor
 * Sir Cadogan
 * Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington
 * The Fat Lady