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|name=Ravenclaw
 
|name=Ravenclaw
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|founder=[[Rowena Ravenclaw]]
 
|founder=[[Rowena Ravenclaw]]
 
|colours=Blue and Bronze
 
|colours=Blue and Bronze

Revision as of 11:34, 2 December 2010

"Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,
If you've a ready mind,
Where those of wit and learning,
Will always find their kind.
"
The Sorting Hat[src]

Ravenclaw is one of the four Houses of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, founded by Rowena Ravenclaw. Members of this house are characterised by their intelligence and cleverness. Its house colours are blue and bronze, and its symbol is the eagle.[1] The house ghost, who in life was the daughter of the house's founder Rowena Ravenclaw, is the Grey Lady[2]. Many great wizards and witches have come from this house, including Filius Flitwick and Luna Lovegood.

Ravenclaw roughly corresponds with the element of air.

Common Room

Luna: "What do you think, Harry?"
Harry: "What? Isn't there a password? What if you get it wrong?"
Luna: "Well, you have to wait for somebody who gets it right. That way you learn, you see?"
Luna Lovegood and Harry Potter entering the Ravenclaw common room[src]
File:Rowena Ravenclaw.jpg

Ravenclaw's founder, Rowena Ravenclaw.

The Ravenclaw common room is in one of the castle's towers and is wide and circular. You have to climb a tight spiral staircase to get there. It has graceful arched windows, and the walls are hung with blue and bronze silks. The domed ceiling is painted with stars, which are echoed in the midnight-blue carpet. Tables, chairs, and bookcases cover the expanse of the floor, and a white-marble statue of Rowena Ravenclaw sits next to the door that leads to the dormitories above. Harry Potter entered the common room in 1998 while searching for clues to the location of one of Voldemort's Horcruxes.

Unlike the other common rooms in the school, a logical riddle given by a bronze eagle-shaped knocker must be answered to enter.[2] This could prove troublesome as anyone with enough intellect could intrude into the dormitory, as is shown in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows where Professor McGonagall had no trouble entering by answering the riddle correctly. However, Hermione stated in her first year that most wizards and witches do not have much sense of logic, which might be something that Ravenclaw noticed herself and decided to use riddles instead of passwords.

Eagle

Ravenclaw's symbol

Traits

"Wit beyond measure is a man's greatest treasure."
Rowena Ravenclaw[src]

Ravenclaw House prizes intelligence, cleverness, knowledge, and wit in its members.[1] Thus, many Ravenclaws tend to be academically motivated and talented students. Hermione Granger, an extremely intelligent witch and the top student in her year, was sorted into Gryffindor, though she admitted that the Sorting Hat had seriously considered placing her in Ravenclaw.[3]

Ravenclaw House appears to have little rivalry with the other houses, except in Quidditch (in which case it is most fiercely with Hufflepuff). Harry Potter believed that they tended to side with Gryffindor in its rivalry with Slytherin, as did Hufflepuff house. However, during the 1994 Triwizard Tournament, Ravenclaws supported Hufflepuff Champion Cedric Diggory over Harry[4]. This may indicate that Ravenclaw tends to have a closer relationship with Hufflepuff house or simply be a result of the widespread belief that Harry had cheated in order to get his name in the Goblet of Fire. Notably, many Ravenclaws joined Dumbledore's Army and fought in the Battle of Hogwarts along with Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs, while no Slytherins joined[2].

Known Ravenclaws

Ravenclaw Period Attending Hogwarts Notes
Helena Ravenclaw

[5]

Founder's time Daughter of the house founder, Rowena Ravenclaw and house ghost.
Basil Fronsac Mid-19th century (most likely) Was Headmaster sometime prior to Armando Dippet
Myrtle

[6]

1940s was killed by Salazar Slytherin's Basilisk and is now a ghost that haunts the Second-floor girls' lavatory.
Filius Flitwick

[5]

Unknown Later became Professor of Charms and Head of Ravenclaw House.
Gilderoy Lockhart

[7]

May have been a member of the Ravenclaw Quidditch team, possibly as a Seeker.[7]
Raymond Between 1984 and 1998
Penelope Clearwater 1987 - 1994 A Prefect, dated Percy Weasley in 1992
Roger Davies 1989 - 1996[8] Chaser and Captain of the Ravenclaw Quidditch team from 1993 to 1995.
Bradley 1990s Chaser for the Ravenclaw Quidditch team during the 1995–1996 school year.
Chambers Chaser for the Ravenclaw Quidditch team during the 1995–1996 school year.
Duncan Inglebee Beater on the Ravenclaw Quidditch team during the 1993–1994 school year.
Felicity Eastchurch In 1996 she competed in the school Exploding Snap tournament.
Grant Page Keeper on the Ravenclaw Quidditch team during the 1993–1994 school year.
Hemani Roshan
Jason Samuels Beater on the Ravenclaw Quidditch team during the 1993–1994 school year.
Jeremy Stretton Chaser on the Ravenclaw Quidditch team during the 1993–1994 school year.
Latisha Randle In 1996, she took a pair of shoes that belonged to Luna Lovegood, with the intent of hiding them as a prank.
Marcus Belby Member of the Slug Club
S. Fawcett
Cho Chang 1990 - 1997 Seeker for the Ravenclaw Quidditch team from at least 1993 to 1997; member of Dumbledore's Army.
Eddie Carmichael
Marietta Edgecombe Member of Dumbledore's Army (betrayed).
Anthony Goldstein 1991 - 1998 A Prefect and member of Dumbledore's Army.
Kevin Entwhistle
Lisa Turpin
Mandy Brocklehurst
Michael Corner Member of Dumbledore's Army
Morag MacDougal
Padma Patil A Prefect and member of Dumbledore's Army, though incorrectly placed in Gryffindor in the films.
Stephen Cornfoot
Su Li
Terry Boot Member of Dumbledore's Army
Andrew 1992 - 1993 Dueling Club member.
Rebecca
Luna Lovegood 1992 - 1999 Member of Dumbledore's Army and close friend of Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley.
Orla Quirke 1994 - 2001
Stewart Ackerley

Behind the scenes

  • The Ravenclaw colours in the films are blue and silver. In the books, Ravenclaw colours are blue and bronze.
  • It is revealed in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix that the Sorting Hat had originally considered putting Hermione Granger in Ravenclaw, due to her intelligence, but ultimately decided on Gryffindor. This may have been due to either her Gryffindor traits being stronger, or it may have been a matter of personal choice on her part.
  • Basil Fronsac was likely a Ravenclaw.
  • Gilderoy Lockhart was a Ravenclaw, based on his Quidditch robes from a picture of his past while in Hogwarts. However, he does not share the same intelligence that members of the house are supposed to bear.
  • In the Romanian version, the Ravenclaw house is changed to "Ochi-de-soim", translated to something similar to "Hawk-eyes", possibly because ravens are better known as signs of death or danger, and the member of the house have a broader way of thinking, being smart and witty, thus the name of the house.

See also

Notes and references

  1. 1.0 1.1 Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
  3. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
  4. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
  5. 5.0 5.1 F.A.Q. question on J.K. Rowling's Official Site
  6. F.A.Q. question on J.K. Rowling's Official Site
  7. 7.0 7.1 Lockhart wears Ravenclaw Quidditch robes in a photo taken for the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, which can be seen in the "Lockhart's Classroom" feature on Disc 2 of the DVD, and in the picture-in-picture feature on Disc 1 of the Ultimate Collector's Edition Blu-ray.
  8. Roger must be older than Harry Potter, as Fleur Delacour dismissed him as a "little boy" but attended the Yule Ball with Roger. He was captain of Ravenclaw's Quidditch team for at least Harry's third year, fourth year, and fifth year, making him approximately two years older than Harry.
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Hogwarts Houses
Gryffindor ClearBG
Hufflepuff ClearBG
RavenclawCrest
Slytherin ClearBG
Namesake Founders
Godric Gryffindor · Helga Hufflepuff · Rowena Ravenclaw · Salazar Slytherin
Heads of House
Minerva McGonagall · Pomona Sprout · Filius Flitwick · Horace Slughorn
House Ghosts
Nearly Headless Nick · Fat Friar · Grey Lady · Bloody Baron