Sorting My Family into Hogwarts Houses

Left to Right: Gramps, Aunt Holly, Mom & Grandma, 1993

You can tell a lot about a person by the house they’re sorted into at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I grew up in the 1990s and, unsurprisingly, some of the first books that I fell in love with were the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling. My mom’s family agreed to take the Sorting Hat’s quiz on Pottermore to determine their Hogwarts Houses–Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff or Slytherin–and I think the results are spot-on. Without further ado, here’s a few anecdotes and reasons why these Houses are the perfect fit. It’s a different take on genealogy research, for sure, but wouldn’t it be great if we could travel back in time and ask our ancestors to take a few Internet personality quizzes?

Gramps: Ravenclaw

Growing up, my grandfather loved his English classes in school, and he was always searching for more books to read. He would dress up as the cowboys and soldiers in his favorite stories and act out the best scenes with his friends after class, always playing the part of the hero. When I started to take an interest in reading, he sent me copies of all of his favorite novels, and he would call every weekend to discuss what I had been reading that week. Gramps loves learning for the sake of learning, and he passed his love of literature down to the rest of us in little ways, too.

Until he retired at the age of 65, my grandfather worked as a technician doing cash register repair and ATM/computer service and repair. He worked as a technician and programmer in the Navy during the Vietnam War, as well, and he’s always tinkering with electronics and trying to figure out how each device works. (My grandmother is hopeless when it comes to technology, so they make a great match.) Ravenclaws prize wit, learning and and wisdom, and the house’s motto is “wit beyond measure is man’s greatest treasure.” Gramps’ love of learning, enthusiasm for reading and interest in technology and programming makes him a perfect fit for Ravenclaw House.

Grandma: Gryffindor

My grandmother and her Cousin Joyce were inseparable from the start, and they were almost always getting into trouble as kids. My family would make the twelve-hour drive to my grandparents’ house in Buffalo every summer, and my sister and I would beg my grandmother to tell us stories from her childhood the entire time we were there. Grandma and Joyce would tie blankets around their necks like capes and jump off the roof of the shed in the backyard, pretending to be superman. They dared each other to eat the potato bugs they had found in a gasoline can in the garage one day, and they learned how to fry an egg on the sidewalk in front of my grandmother’s house. The pair would chase off the neighborhood boys who made fun of their Sunday dresses, and they’d sneak candy from their grandfather’s store after school when he wasn’t looking.

Gryffindor is the house which most values the virtues of courage, bravery and determination, and I can think of no one who exhibits these traits more than my grandmother. She’s quite the character, and absolutely fearless. Grandma’s never afraid to try something new, and she always stands up for herself and the people she loves. The things that the rest of us fear–needles, for me–have never phased her; she would often dismiss my nerves with the wave of a hand, saying, “Oh, it’s just a pinch.” I have always admired my grandmother’s confidence and courage, and I wanted to be just like her when I grew up; truly, I think the only thing she’s afraid of is airplanes–but she’s working on that, too.

Mom: Hufflepuff

Hufflepuffs value hard work, patience, loyalty and fair play, and my mom is a perfect fit for Hufflepuff House. Mom is the most selfless and hardworking member of the family, and we don’t tell her that enough. She’s always putting everyone else’s needs before her own, and she goes out of her way to support all of our goals.

My mom worked a full-time job throughout my childhood while my Dad remained at home, and she often tells me that she should have been around more for us in those early years. I am proud to be her daughter, though, and she set an incredible example for her children about the importance of dedicating yourself to your work–your work is, after all, a reflection of yourself. Mom is determined, dependable, goal-oriented and caring, and she has always there for us–everything a Hufflepuff would be.

Mom now works from home, and since I moved back to the area in May, we’ve become even closer. She’s just as hardworking and determined as she has always been, but I love that she’s also able to spend time with my younger sisters and watch them grow up. I can tell that she’s happier now that she’s able to balance her career and her family life more easily; the rest of us are happier, too.

Aunt Holly: Slytherin

Aunt Holly is the only one I couldn’t convince to take the Pottermore quiz, but we already knew which house she would be in anyway. Slytherin produces more than its share of Dark wizards, but it also turns out leaders who are proud, ambitious and cunning. My aunt is a workers compensation attorney, and she spends each day fighting on behalf of individuals who were injured on-the-job. Holly inherited all of my grandmother’s confidence and courage–as well as my grandfather’s love of learning–and this surety and ambition shows in the courtroom. She’s sarcastic, witty, fashionable, career-driven and my favorite member of the family to hang out with; Aunt Holly is a Slytherin through-and-through.