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If Albus Dumbledore had a Sterling Pound for every time the Sorting Hat misjudged someone, he’d probably have enough to give Hogwarts a modern facelift. We all know that both Dumbledore and the Sorting Hat are not infallible. Both have, in fact, made mistakes over their tenure at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry regardless of whether fans have read the books or watched the movies.
Some of these mistakes have indeed, resonated throughout the Wizarding World. Even something as seemingly minute as sorting children into which house you think they fit in can have certain butterfly effects. As a result, plenty of Harry Potter characters have broken the mold, or at least what the audience expected them to do based on their particular house philosophies.
Updated on August 28th, 2021 by Amanda Bruce: The longer Harry Potter reigns in pop culture discussions, the more apt fans are to see the flaw in sorting a child into a house that’s meant to define them for the rest of their school life – and potentially, beyond. Humans are complex creatures, as are the fictional witches and wizards of Harry Potter. That means most characters are going to exhibit traits beyond the few that encapsulate their Hogwarts house. That’s why even more characters whose motivations and actions could have sorted them into a different house have made this list.
15 REMUS LUPIN: FROM GRYFFINDOR TO HUFFLEPUFF
Like most of the characters that make up Harry’s inner circle, Remus Lupin was sorted into Gryffindor as a child. There’s no question that he exhibits the bravery of the house as he stood up to Voldemort’s Death Eaters for two different generations. The loyalty and the hardworking nature of Hufflepuff, however, also appeared to be dominant character traits for him.
Remus spent most of his adult life heartbroken that one of his best friends had betrayed the rest, never truly believing that Sirius Black was in league with Voldemort. When given the opportunity to find out, he didn’t turn Sirius over, but instead, gave his childhood friend the chance to explain, demonstrating that never-ending loyalty he has for those he cares about.
14 FRED AND GEORGE WEASLEY: FROM GRYFFINDOR TO SLYTHERIN
Gryffindors are known for their impulsive natures as they tend to follow their hearts more than their heads. It’s surprising then that the ambition associated with Slytherin applies to so many Gryffindors, like Fred and George.
Fred and George don’t appear to take much seriously when initially introduced, but in reality, they have lofty goals. Their ambition is to spread happiness throughout the Wizarding World with their jokes. The creative way they develop snacks and trinkets to entertain their fellow Hogwarts students turns into a career path for the brothers.
13 QUIRINUS QUIRRELL: FROM RAVENCLAW TO HUFFLEPUFF
Harry’s first Defense Against The Dark Arts teacher is certainly intelligent, and not a bad teacher, despite him carrying Voldemort’s soul around on the back of his head. While he’s sorted into Ravenclaw as a child, he demonstrates that same Hufflepuff loyalty that Remus Lupin does – just in the opposite direction,
Quirrell has absolutely unwavering loyalty to Voldemort. He could rival Bellatrix Lestrange in that regard. No one else, after all, happens to live with the other wizard’s soul trapped in their body. No other wizard comes close to getting the Sorcerer’s Stone for him to bring him back to life either.
12 LUNA LOVEGOOD: FROM RAVENCLAW TO GRYFFINDOR
Luna’s creativity and outside-the-box thinking makes her an outsider amongst her peers sometimes. That doesn’t appear to bother her one bit. While it’s clear that makes her a good fit for Ravenclaw, she’s also one of the few kids brave enough in the franchise to be authentically herself all of the time.
That isn’t the only way she’s brave, showing her Gryffindor side, either. Luna is one of the only people outside of Harry’s immediate circle of friends who believes his account of Voldemort’s rise – no questions asked. She fights by his side when none of the other students he trained show up to help as well.
11 LAVENDER BROWN: FROM GRYFFINDOR TO HUFFLEPUFF
Though it’s not showcased in the movies, Lavender’s love for all things astrology is well documented in the books. Her aptitude for it, and her near obsession with it, leans her a little bit in the Ravenclaw direction on occasion. The house that she most often demonstrates traits for, however, is Hufflepuff.
Lavender is someone who goes all-in on her relationships. She has the same best friend – Parvati Patil – the entire time she’s in school. When Lavender develops a crush on Ron, he becomes her whole world. They only go their separate ways as a result of her feeling betrayed that he’s so close to Hermione.
10 HARRY POTTER: FROM GRYFFINDOR TO SLYTHERIN
Imagine what the books and movies would have been like if only the Sorting Hat had his way with Harry himself. The judgmental hat was actually poised to put him in Slytherin! That could have easily turned Harry into a Voldemort Jr. Thankfully, Harry despised Slytherin, but not without demonstrating some cunning and ambition.
Apart from the fact that he can speak Parseltongue like Slytherin’s progenitor, Salazar Slytherin, Harry has been on numerous occasions where he kept breaking Hogwarts’ rules and displayed ambition, especially in Quidditch. Let us also not forget that he nearly killed Draco Malfoy using a deadly spell made by the “Half-Blood Prince.” Using any means necessary to gain something is clearly a Slytherin trait.
9 HERMIONE GRANGER: FROM GRYFFINDOR TO RAVENCLAW
Another clear hiccup by the Sorting Hat. Hermione was clearly supposed to be a Ravenclaw. She has wit, a craving for learning, and incredible wisdom for a witch her age. Come to think of it, Hermione would have given Rowena Ravenclaw a run for her money with her penchant to hog all the house points through recitation and classes.
From her first year in Hogwarts to her last, Hermione has displayed her Ravenclaw qualities through studying and impressive knowledge of the Wizarding World. Of course, her being Muggle-born while having those traits probably contributed to her placement in Gryffindor, the Wizarding World is a scary new horizon for any Muggle-born, after all, and that requires courage.
8 RONALD WEASLEY: FROM GRYFFINDOR TO HUFFLEPUFF
Spiders. Show those to Ron and he will go from Gryffindor to… well, Ron, in the blink of an eye. Nevertheless, the Sorting Hat placed him in Gryffindor for a reason, but we can see Hufflepuff qualities from Ron.
Even if most of his antics in the films and books don’t necessarily display chivalry or determination, he is still the most loyal friend ever. Ron never fails to help Harry in his time of need, especially when the Dursleys are giving him a hard time. Loyalty is truly one word that can be used to describe Ron, something which also one of the key traits of Hufflepuffs. It’s just that the Sorting Hat probably thinks it’s funny to place all Weasleys in Gryffindor as some sort of a running joke.
7 PETER PETTIGREW: FROM GRYFFINDOR TO SLYTHERIN
Peter Pettigrew never deserved to be in Gryffindor – in fact, he never deserved to be in any house. Equal opportunity for all wizards and witches is prized; that’s why they still cater to Slytherins. Speaking of which, that’s where Pettigrew should have been in the first place.
The way he betrayed Lily and James Potter just to save himself and align with Voldemort is nothing short of self-preservation, a common trait among Slytherins. Afterward, he displayed plenty of cunning just to help the Dark Lord come back to life. A stereotypical Judas, Pettigrew – and one of the biggest repercussions from the Sorting Hat’s choice.
6 NEVILLE LONGBOTTOM: FROM GRYFFINDOR TO HUFFLEPUFF
Just so Harry wouldn’t feel so special (despite the whole franchise being about him), Rowling threw in another candidate as a prophesied chosen one: Neville Longbottom. That’s probably why the Sorting Hat put Neville in Gryffindor. Still, it wasn’t until the most crucial moments of the Wizarding World when Neville got to display his dominant Gryffindor traits.
Throughout his years in Hogwarts, Neville was visibly more of a Hufflepuff. He was patient, even to his bullies and there is no doubt of his commendable loyalty to what’s right and noble. Of course, the Sorting Hat saw Neville’s true potential even when he begged to be placed in Hufflepuff. That’s the beauty of his character development, he went from Hufflepuff material to Gryffindor material.
5 MINERVA MCGONAGALL: FROM GRYFFINDOR TO RAVENCLAW
Professor McGonagall is Hogwarts’ own Hermione Granger before Hermione was cool or even existed. Because of her sharp wit and her valuable knowledge, she was a clear candidate for Ravenclaw. Somewhere along the lines, however, the Sorting Hat got confused. McGonagall also exhibited ferocity and pride, traits worthy of the Gryffindor house where she was placed.
Apart from being the head of Gryffindor, McGonagall was a professor of Transfiguration, meaning she was brilliant. These two clashing traits have made McGonagall quite a hard case for the Sorting Hat. It even took the hat five minutes to decide where to put her between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw. Knowing her, McGonagall easily would have excelled in either.
4 GILDEROY LOCKHART: FROM RAVENCLAW TO SLYTHERIN
Gilderoy Lockhart is narcissism made manifest and fans all know him as the worst sorry, second worst Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher in the Harry Potter films and books. It must be a mistake, right? The Muggle math simply doesn’t check out. Turns out, the Sorting Hat was somewhat right – Lockhart was indeed, quite an intelligent wizard, only he was lazy.
That did not stop his ambition, however. Throughout the Chamber of Secrets, Lockhart himself revealed that he had outsmarted and taken advantage of other more capable wizards and witches to inflate his own image and fame. It is worth noting that Lockhart himself barely made it into Ravenclaw. The Sorting Hat actually considered putting him in Slytherin, according to J.K. Rowling.
3 PERCY WEASLEY: FROM GRYFFINDOR TO SLYTHERIN
The black sheep Weasley. Ron even went as far as considering disowning Percy Weasley, his own brother, when Dolores Umbridge took over Hogwarts. That’s because Percy has always been ambitious and always wanted to be the ideal prefect and a commended model student despite Umbridge’s tyranny. Such ambition would have landed him in Slytherin but the Sorting Hat wanted to be consistent and placed Percy in Gryffindor.
Weasleys are Gryffindor for life, of course. Regardless, Percy has shown throughout the films that he won’t hesitate to punish his friends. He even condoned Umbridge’s punishment for his brothers, just for some praises.
2 CEDRIC DIGGORY: FROM HUFFLEPUFF TO GRYFFINDOR
Cedric Diggory had everything a boy could ever want. He was brave, popular, and was probably even more skilled than Harry Potter himself! If Godric Gryffindor, the progenitor of the Gryffindor house, were still alive to pick successors, he’d probably pick someone like Cedric. Alas, the Sorting Hat put him in Hufflepuff. That’s because despite being an ideal Gryffindor, Cedric was humble and fair… both in appearance and honor.
Cedric best demonstrated his courage in the final moments of the Triwizard Tournament. He refused to leave Harry in the Little Hangleton Graveyard when confronted by a deadlier wizard, even when Harry kept urging him to leave. Sadly, this cost Cedric his life. He could have been a great wizard.
1 SEVERUS SNAPE: FROM SLYTHERIN TO HUFFLEPUFF
Snape’s development was arguably even more dramatic than Pettigrew’s. He was like a Draco Malfoy– a quintessential Slytherin, and that’s where the Sorting Hat put him. Snape had every reason to hate others and brew his dark ambitions of revenge… until he met Lily Evans, (eventually, Lily Potter, Harry’s mother).
Through Lily, Snape learned love and compassion. One could even say that Snape’s true loyalty is towards Lily, whom he deeply cherished. Such a quality was something Hufflepuffs are known for. Snape upheld this loyalty by protecting Harry, up until his death. It’s a tragic story and a fitting redemption for the snarky Professor Snape.
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