You might belong in Gryffindor / Where dwell the brave at heart / Their daring, nerve and chivalry / Set Gryffindors apart. So said the Sorting Hat in Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone. Its no wonder that Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lived, was sorted into the bravest, most courageous of houses. He showed wonderful grit and determination throughout all seven books, as did his fellow Gryffindors, who were his first and loyalest allies. When You-Know-Who finally took a dirt nap at the end of Book 7, every Gryffindor student shared a piece of that victory, and had much to be proud of. Well... almost every Gryffindor student. Dont get it twisted; most of them had a crucial role to play, but there were several Gryffindors who were either minimally consequential or detrimental to Harrys overall success. Peter Pettigrew proved that Gryffindor is no guarantee of a persons inner goodness, or effectiveness for that matter. And the same goes for Harrys group. Including Harry, there are ten known Gryffindors in Harrys year five boys and five girls - and because theres a fine, fine line between being brave and being stupid, not all of them were quite as wonderful as The Boy Who Lived...
Kevin is an AP English Language teacher and freelance writer from Queens, NY. His focus is on American pop culture and American issues. He wrote a weekly column for Complex called "Throwback Thursdays," which spotlighted video games and trends from previous console generations. Kevin has also been published in VIBE, Salon, PopMatters, Joystiq, and Racialicious. Follow him on Twitter to learn more.
