Harry Potter: Gryffindor House Members Ranked By Likability
One amusing side effect of the unprecedented popularity of the "Harry Potter" franchise is that fans all over the world are obsessed with discovering which Hogwarts house they belong to. While there are four choices amongst Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin, it is generally agreed that Gryffindor is the best imaginary house to get sorted into.
The reason behind this choice is not just because Harry Potter himself belonged to Gryffindor. The house is known for producing the most heroic people in the entire Hogwarts student body. The governing qualities of a true Gryffindor are to be courageous, noble, and display true chivalry. That means Gryffindors are always the first ones to come to someone's aid and believe in looking out for others and not just their own interests.
Over the course of the "Harry Potter" saga, we see many Gryffindor students exhibit these qualities in an exemplary manner. But that does not mean every Gryffindor member is automatically awesome. Let us take a look at the most prominent house members that Harry came into contact with at Hogwarts (not counting ex-students) and see where they stand in terms of likability with respect to each other.
17. Cormac McLaggen
Cormac McLaggen showed up late in the series in "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" but made quite an impression in his limited appearance. And not in a good way. Cormac is an example of what happens when you take a Gryffindor's qualities of bravery and strength to an obnoxious extreme, and you end up with an arrogant and pushy personality.
Being one year older than Harry, Cormac was first introduced as a member of Professor Horace Slughorn's exclusive "Slug Club" of exceptional students (that included Lord Voldemort at one time). In Cormac's case, his superior quality was having well-connected family members. Cormac later showed up as a (replacement) member of the Gryffindor quidditch team, in which capacity he tried to boss everyone around even though Harry was the captain that year.
He also cost his team many points because he was too busy telling other players what to do to focus on his job and accidentally gave Harry a concussion. But Cormac's worst qualities came to the fore when Hermione went on a date with him to spite Ron. We don't get to see the intimate details of the date, but it is implied that he tried to force himself on Hermione at one point, and she had to cancel the date prematurely.
16. Romilda Vane
Another late entry in the series, Romilda Vane first showed up at the start of "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" novel when Harry was sitting with Neville and Luna in the Hogwarts Express on their way to school. Showing her trademark lack of tact, Romilda loudly asked Harry to join her friends in their compartment instead of sitting with such a lowly crowd.
When Harry coldly informed her that Neville and Luna were his friends, Romilda seemed surprised but not put out. That was not the end of her efforts to get with Harry, who was being celebrated at the time as "The Chosen One" who would deliver the wizarding world from Voldemort's evil.
Romilda's next attempt was much more serious. She sent a box of chocolates to Harry on Christmas that were laced with a love potion. Ron accidentally ate the sweets instead of Harry, and the resulting confusion very nearly cost him his life. After that, Harry started officially going out with Ginny, and Romilda backed off. To a certain extent. She continued to badger Ginny about Harry, including asking if it was true he had a tattoo of a hippogriff on his chest.
15. Percy Weasley
There are those who think the Weasley family members are all a bunch of Care Bears in human form, who have nothing but love and friendship to give to the world. But that is not how anyone would describe Percy Weasley, the third oldest of the Weasley siblings. To put it bluntly, Percy would have been much better off in Slytherin rather than Gryffindor.
Ever since his introduction as a Prefect in the first "Harry Potter" novel, Percy's chief defining traits have been his burning ambition, and his love for being seen as "important." This led to many clashes whenever Percy insisted on punishing Fred and George for flouting rules at Hogwarts and later doing the same thing to Ron and his friends. While Percy was annoying at school, he became much worse after graduating.
He cut all ties with his family after the Weasleys sided with Harry over the latter's claims of Voldemort's return. It was even said that his mother came to London to talk to Percy about coming back to his family home, but he slammed the door in her face. Percy eventually came to his senses during the final "Battle of Hogwarts," but he had already hurt so many people by that point that it was hard to cheer for his return.
14. Lavender Brown
Lavender Brown was one of the OGs, a student from Harry's own year who had been around since the first book. In the first few years, Lavender did not have much of a distinguishing personality. She was often seen hanging out with Parvati Patil. The duo was markedly impressed by their class of divination and its teacher Professor Trelawney, in particular.
It was only after the start of "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" that Lavender truly got a chance to shine. But unfortunately not in a good way. It started out innocently enough, with her developing a crush on Ron, who was pleased to find a girl who actually paid attention to him instead of Harry.
Unfortunately, Ron and Lavender's relationship quickly soured after she turned into a clingy and jealous girlfriend. You can't even really blame her since anyone could see that Ron and Hermione had unspoken feelings for each other. The breakup between Lavender and Ron was as bad as you would expect. She continued to hang around in the background and returned to Hogwarts to fight against Voldemort's forces in the final book, but Lavender will unfortunately forever be remembered most prominently as Ron's insecure ex.
13. Seamus Finnigan
Another of the original Gryffindor students from Harry's year was Seamus Finnigan. Much like other students from his year not named Harry, Ron, Hermione, or Neville, Seamus was mostly there at first just to fill in space and make it look like the entire Gryffindor house did not revolve entirely around the previously-mentioned four students.
Unfortunately, Seamus' personality took a turn for the worse during their fifth year. That was the time when the wizarding world at large believed Harry was lying about Voldemort's return. Seamus was one such person, and he had a heated argument with Harry that almost devolved into a physical fight.
Fortunately, things got better later that year when Harry gave a full interview detailing the events that led to Voldemort's resurrection the previous year. While many scoffed at the interview, Seamus was one of the first to reach out to Harry and state that he believed him. Seamus would go on to prove himself a loyal friend to Harry after joining Dumbledore's Army under him and was present during the climactic "Battle of Hogwarts" at the side of his fellow Gryffindors.
12. Oliver Wood
While not the closest of friends, Harry shared a special relationship with his senior, Oliver Wood. The latter was the captain of the Gryffindor quidditch team at its lowest point when there were not enough members to complete the team in a meaningful manner. Wood was overjoyed to discover Harry was fantastic with a broomstick and quickly inducted him into their team's ranks as a seeker.
While other students chiefly saw Harry through the lens of the whole "Boy Who Lived" legend, Wood's governing interest in Harry was as a quidditch player. As such, he drove Harry harder than anyone else to up his game at a physical level but was also a supportive captain and someone Harry looked up to and trusted. In fact, Wood was Harry's fiercest supporter when McGonagall confiscated the latter's brand new Firebolt, although admittedly mainly because having an actual Firebolt on their team would have given the Gryffindor quidditch team a considerable advantage.
Wood's role in the series lessened in later books since he graduated and went on to play as a reserve for the Puddlemere United team. But he proved he was still loyal to his friends at Hogwarts when Wood returned during the "Battle of Hogwarts" to fight at the side of his former classmates and teachers.
11. Ginny Weasley
She's the youngest of the Weasley siblings, the only girl, and the most excitable. Ginny's character growth was hampered in the first few books due to her apoplectic crush on Harry that made her scream and run away whenever she happened to be in the same room as him. At that time, Ginny was best known for accidentally awakening a giant basilisk and needing to be rescued from the Chamber of Secrets.
In later books and movies, however, Ginny came into her own as a character after she finally got over her crush on Harry and started dating other boys. Unfortunately, this change was not all for the better. This new version of Ginny turned out to be quite abrasive, calling Ron a "filthy hypocrite" on at least two separate occasions, getting angry at her brothers for being concerned for her safety, and generally being more pugnacious than anyone could have expected.
Still, the heart wants what J.K. Rowling wants, apparently, and Harry was written to be falling in love with Ginny after years of being bemused by her crush on him. The two finally got together in "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince." Despite a few hiccups along the way, like Harry being hunted by the Death Eaters and needing to survive alone in the wild, he got together with Ginny for good in the end, and they raised a family together — even though Rowling herself has been having second thoughts about that since.
10. Dean Thomas
Along with Seamus Finnigan, Dean Thomas was one of the original students from Harry's first year at Hogwarts who were occasionally seen hanging around in the background. Not much was known about Dean at that point, although he was not as openly hostile towards Harry as Seamus after the world turned against him for claiming Voldemort was back.
In fact, Harry and Dean usually got on reasonably well. Until the sixth year, when Harry started crushing on Ginny and discovered that she was dating Dean. Suddenly Harry's opinion of Dean plummeted by several notches. Of course, none of that was Dean's fault, and he did not act too bitter later when Ginny broke things off with him and started dating Harry.
Dean's most impressive storyline occurred off-screen. It was stated that he went on the run from Death Eaters in the final book and survived for months alone. Dean also returned for the "Battle of Hogwarts," where he not only managed to wrest a wand away from a Death Eater but also fought one of Voldemort's most dangerous supporters, Antonin Dolohov, to a standstill. Honestly, the guy deserves to be remembered as much more than Ginny's ex.
9. Parvati Patil
Before she became Ron's main squeeze, Lavender Brown was usually seen in the company of Parvati Patil. As a distinct character, Parvati did not have much of a role to play until "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire," when Harry asks her to the Yule Ball in a final act of desperation after striking out with Cho Chang.
Parvati came out of that whole incident a lot better than Harry. She was a fashionable girl and gracious about accompanying him to the Ball. She even arranged for her sister Padma from Ravenclaw to go with Ron after Hermione shot him down. But Harry was too distracted mooning over Cho and with his anxieties over the Triwizard Tournament to pay proper attention to Parvati at the Ball. Their first date did not lead to another, although Parvati did end up having a good time with some Durmstrang students.
In later books, she continued supporting Harry as a house member and as a unit of Dumbledore's Army, but their brief attempt at romance was mostly forgotten. Parvati was one of the students who came back to take part in the "Battle of Hogwarts."
8. Ron Weasley
He's one-third of the main trio, the kid with the flaming red hair, the broken wand, and Harry's bosom buddy ever since his first trip aboard the Hogwarts Express. The "Harry Potter" saga would be unthinkable without Ron Weasley in the mix. But not every moment spent with the character has been a picnic for fans. Ron's biggest weakness has always been a rather pronounced inferiority complex born out living in the shadow of his handsome, talented, popular older brothers.
To make matters immeasurably worse, Ron found a best friend in Harry, who was the most famous wizard in the country since infancy and also was literally the prophesied messiah of all of wizardkind. Naturally, Ron struggled with feelings of deep jealousy at frequent intervals towards Harry. Sometimes he managed to hide those feelings, and other times he and Harry would have heated fights, both verbal and physical.
Ron even abandoned Harry and Hermione in their darkest hour in "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," but soon came back to his senses and set off to find them and make amends. Whatever his faults, Ron was ultimately ready to protect Harry, Hermione, and all his other friends with his life if necessary.
7. Angelina Johnson
Despite being a full-blooded teenager surrounded by pretty girls, Harry was never much of a ladies' man and had no deeper friendship with a girl beyond Hermione until Ginny came into the picture. Still, Harry had a few girls as teammates on the Gryffindor quidditch team over the years.
Most prominent among them was Angelina Johnson. She was a chaser on the team and succeeded Wood as captain after he passed out of the school. Angelina was portrayed as a pretty reasonable-minded person until she became captain, at which point she became even more demanding than Wood had been and drilled her new team relentlessly. But Angelina had the talent to back up her strict captaincy, and she led the Gryffindor quidditch team to a highly unlikely victory despite having many major players benched.
Apart from her commitment to making her team the best in the school through ceaseless training, Angelina was pretty laid back in other ways. This was best exemplified by the fact that she dated notorious prankster and all-around fun-loving guy Fred Weasley in school. She later married his twin brother George, and the two raised a family together.
6. Katie Bell
Most of the Gryffindor quidditch team beyond Harry and his close friends did not get much to do in the books or movies apart from the school matches that took place over the years. Katie Bell was one team member who was vaguely described as a chaser in the first few books, and that was it as far as character development goes.
Katie did start to get some prominence in "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" in the most unfortunate way possible. She became an unwitting pawn in Draco's mission to get rid of Dumbledore when he placed the Three Broomsticks bar owner Madam Rosmerta under the Imperius curse.
Rosmerta, in turn, placed Katie under her control and forced her to try to deliver a cursed necklace to Dumbledore. An accident on the way ended with Katie coming into contact with the necklace and nearly dying from the experience. Fortunately, she survived, and later showed up in the "Battle of Hogwarts."
5. Colin Creevey
Most students could not help staring at and whispering about Harry, "The Boy Who Lived," when he first arrived at Hogwarts. Over time, Harry being a student at the school became a mundane event, and few of the students bothered to get excited over his presence unless he was playing in a quidditch match or something.
Colin Creevey had no such reservations. He was a year younger than Harry and hero-worshiped the latter as the great vanquisher of all evil. In the beginning, the biggest thrill for Colin was greeting Harry in the corridors between classes or taking his pictures to add to an ever-growing collection.
Colin's little brother Dennis also joined Hogwarts after a few years, and he was just as excitable and in awe of Harry as his older brother. Despite their enthusiasm getting on Harry's nerves a few times, they were completely loyal to him. So much so that Colin snuck into the castle during the "Battle of Hogwarts" to fight alongside Harry's army despite being underage. Tragically, Colin's loyalty resulted in his death, and the final fate of his brother is unknown.
4. Harry Potter
As the main character whose destiny the entire franchise revolves around, Harry Potter never had the luxury of being the most likable person in his house. The young boy's whole life was defined by tragedy, and if sometimes that resulted in moments of unlikability, they were ultimately outweighed by the innate nobility of Harry's heart.
Every single new year in Hogwarts brought fresh challenges for Harry. There were always multiple people or creatures trying to kill him. His mentor Dumbledore was using Harry for his own plans. The entire student body turned against him at various points because they incorrectly believed him to be a cheat or a liar. And above it all loomed the ever-present specter of Lord Voldemort and the promise of a final deadly encounter with him.
No wonder Harry would occasionally lash out at those around him, whether he was yelling at Ron and Hermione for not writing to him all summer or accusing Dumbledore of hiding things about Snape from him. Despite everything, Harry was always there when his schoolmates, and indeed the entire wizarding world, needed him. He was not always the nicest guy in the series, but he endured so much more than all of his classmates and kept on going down dark and dangerous paths with great heroic resolve.
3. Neville Longbottom
If Harry was the main hero destined to walk the most difficult path to save the world, Neville Longbottom was a loyal ally who had to contend with his own hero's journey on a smaller scale. Timid and perpetually nervous, Neville's home life was almost as tragic as Harry's, with both his parents having been tortured into insanity years ago.
Neville also had a deeper connection to Harry than he realized since both he and Harry had a 50/50 chance of being the prophesied "Chosen One" destined to bring down Voldemort's reign. Fate chose Harry for that role, and once he became busy plotting to take down Voldemort outside of Hogwarts, Neville stepped into Harry's role at the school as the rallying point for those looking to revolt against the Dark Lord's forces.
From a scared little kid whose worst nightmare was Professor Snape scolding him over homework, Neville charted a triumphant course and eventually became a hero in his own right who was deemed worthy of drawing Gryffindor's sword to kill off Voldemort's fearsome pet/Horcrux Nagini. Despite having zero confidence at the start of the series, Neville eventually became the kind of hero his grandmother could actually be proud of.
2. Fred and George Weasley
In many stories, the characters who have been deemed the "comic relief" for the plot rarely get any major moments beyond trying to make the readers laugh. In the case of the inseparable duo, Fred and George Weasley, their jokes and pranks were only a small part of a natural charisma that made most students at the school fall in love with them.
After years of being known for only joking around, Fred and George proved they knew when to take things seriously when they elected to remove themselves from Hogwarts and go out in a blaze of glory rather than continue to be subjected to the unjust rule of Dolores Umbridge.
Despite starting the immensely successful business of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, Fred and George continued to be loyal supporters to Harry and Dumbledore's Army. All the way to the bitter end, when George lost an ear during a fight with Death Eaters, and Fred died during the "Battle of Hogwarts."
1. Hermione Granger
While Harry brings courage and heart, and Ron brings, well, something, to the main trio of the "Harry Potter" saga, Hermione Granger is unquestionably the brains behind the organization. Starting out as Harry and Ron's annoying classmate constantly out to prove she was the smartest student in the year, Hermione was a key part of Harry's victory over Voldemort in "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone."
Her MVP status remained intact over the next six books. Whether discovering the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets and the nature of the monster lurking within, realizing the secret that Professor Lupin was trying to hide about himself, or practicing spells with Harry relentlessly so he wouldn't get immediately slaughtered in the first round of the Triwizard Tournament, Hermione was always the most reliable and useful friend to have in your corner. Apart from looking out for her immediate circle of friends, Hermione also had a deep sense of empathy for all creatures.
She was the first one in the series to recognize the cruelty inflicted on house-elves by their owners and actually tried to do something about it. There was a running joke throughout the series that Hermione's intelligence should have gotten her placed in Ravenclaw instead of Gryffindor. But the truth is, her courage, brains, empathy, and ambition would have made Hermione a credit to any house lucky enough to have her.