Hogwarts: Foundation and History
written by Atharva Bikram Shah
About Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Last Updated
05/31/21
Chapters
13
Reads
1,212
Biography of The founders
Chapter 3
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Godric Gryffindor
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Early life
A medieval time wizard Godric Gryffindor one of the four founders of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and was described as being "the best duellist of his time". Early Life Godric Gryffindor was born before 993 in a small village known as Godric's Hollow (which was named in his honour) in England. Godric Gryffindor even as a child is said to have praised courage, determination and strength of heart above all other qualities.
Physical appearance
Godric Gryffindor's was a tall, muscular man with a lion-like mane of wavy red hair and a beard to match. He had green eyes, peach-coloured skin and is often shown with his famous sword, with which he had great skill in wielding. He is also shown as wearing magnificent red robes with gold highlights and rather intricate designs on the sleeves. He is also frequently depicted with a rather powerful and stern gaze.
Personality and traits
Godric Gryffindor valued courage, determination, chivalry, and strength of heart, and was described as one of the four most brilliant witches and wizards of his time. He was also tolerant and accepting of Muggle-borns, a point which brought about the end of his friendship with Salazar Slytherin. He was very forward thinking due to his creating the Sorting Hat to preserve the selection of the students after his time.
He also had a versatile mindset as he chose to wield a sword as well as a wand, making him a rather dynamic man who deferred to the duelling style of his opponent, muggle and wizard alike. Going along with this, it shows that he was respectful and fair, choosing to wield a sword instead of magic against muggle combatants out of a sense of fair play as magic would be a most decidedly unbalanced weapon in a duel against a simple sword. In addition to showing his sense of fairness, his deference to the duelling style of opponent also shows a need to challenge himself, proving his worth and courage, which became one of the signature traits of his House at Hogwarts. His threat to unsheathe and use his famous blade against Ragnuk the First and his followers shows that despite his noble heart and good intentions, that Godric was very much capable of taking the lives of sapient beings such as Goblins. This would not have been an uncommon trait for a man of his era or personality due to the constant violence that pervaded medieval Europe and the acceptability of duelling to the death among both wizard and muggles alike.
Magical abilities and skills
Duelling: Godric Gryffindor was said to be the greatest duellist of his time, and was also highly skilled in Muggle duelling, using his sword in combat. His skill as a swordsman was such that he preferred to duel muggles with his sword instead of his magic, despite magic being the more decisive and powerful weapon.
Transfiguration: With the help of the other founders, Godric transfigured the Sorting Hat into a sentient artefact to sort students after his lifetime.
Etymology
The name Godric is an Anglo-Saxon name in form, and can have several meanings, including, "he who rules with God" or "he who rules well".
His surname is a reference to the half-lion magical beast, the Griffin, a fierce, legendary beast with the body of a lion, and the head and wings of an eagle. The Hogwarts house named after him uses a lion as its symbol. Furthermore, the last part of his surname, "dor", is similar to both the French d'or, "made from gold", "golden", which is one of the colours of his Hogwarts House, or the suffix dore, which means "gift of," in which case the meaning of "Gryffindor" would be "gift of the Gryffin."
Gryffindor is also a pun on the golden griffin, which is a lion that only has eagle wings, so it has the head and front paws of a lion, and has golden fur and feathers. Even the French for Griffindor, Griffondor is a French homophone for the actual beast, Griffon d'Or.
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Helga Hufflepuff
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Early life
Helga Hufflepuff was a witch of medieval times and was one of the four founders of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. While the other founders chose to have special students, Hufflepuff accepted them all, but the students of her house are described as loyal and hard-working. It is unknown when she died. Helga's portrait remains at Hogwarts.
Helga Hufflepuff was born in the 10th Century and came from the broad valleys of Wales.
Founder of Hogwarts
Helga Hufflepuff was one of the four founders of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She was a friend of Rowena Ravenclaw. Hufflepuff helped to build the school and admitted students into her House that were loyal, fair, and unafraid of hard work. While the other founders took students based on either ambition, bravery, or intelligence, Helga Hufflepuff took the rest, treating them all equally and teaching them all she knew. She brought people from different backgrounds together to help in the building of the school and was known for her charming ways.
Helga Hufflepuff had a gift for Food-related charms, and her recipes are still used as the basis for many Hogwarts feasts. Helga Hufflepuff also arranged for the house-elf contingent to work in the kitchens, giving them somewhere safe to work, where they would not be mistreated or abused.
Physical appearance
Hufflepuff was a round, plump woman with red hair and blue eyes, and usually wore a brown dress. She often sported a wide smile.
Personality and traits
Hufflepuff favoured loyalty, honesty, fair play, and hard work. Members of her Hogwarts House usually display at least one of these traits in varying degrees. Cedric Diggory, the deceased Triwizard Tournament Champion, was one of the students who appeared to embody all four. Additionally, Hufflepuff was renowned for her compassionate nature; she took in the house-elves to work in Hogwarts Kitchen where they could work in peace and safety, and while the other founders were careful in selection of students, Hufflepuff took in the rest. She was said to be kind and caring, and particularly famous for her dexterity at food-related charms. She was also a woman of tolerance, as she was willing to accept Muggle-born students and disagreed with Slytherin's pure-blood exclusiveness. Given that all of her portraits show her with a wide smile, it can be inferred that she was a very jolly woman.
Magical abilities and skills
Magical device inventor: Hufflepuff created a cup which, according to her descendant, Hepzibah Smith, had special magical powers (though it was never revealed as to what they were).
Magical cookery: Hufflepuff was skilled with food-related charms, and many of her recipes are still used in Hogwarts.
Etymology
Helga
The name Helga is from Helge, from Old Norse heilagr, meaning "prosperous" or "brave." Their symbol is the badger, a large mammal related to the weasels with distinctive white stripes on its head. In Celtic mythology, a badger was a guide. The badger also can symbolise a tendency to be hard-working, strong, and tenacious. Hufflepuffs are known for loyalty and hard work.
Etymology
Helga was a name which was common in northern Europe; in countries such as Norway. It was soon adopted by many soviet countries and others which bordered with the north, including; Russia, Latvia, Denmark and Belgium. As those in northern Europe pronounced the 'e' in Helga as more of a cross between 'e' and 'o', and, like the french, didn't pronounce the 'h', the soviet countries adopted the name as 'Olga'. Some countries, including Germany, kept the name as 'Helga'.
Hufflepuff
Hufflepuff could mean "huff and puff" or blustery. "Huff" also means to breathe; "puff" is a medieval term for pastry.
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Rowena Ravenclaw
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Rowena Ravenclaw was a Scottish witch, who lived in the early Middle Ages. Noted for her intelligence and creativity and regarded as one of the greatest witches of the age, Ravenclaw was one of the four founders of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry along with Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff and Salazar Slytherin, as well as the namesake of the Ravenclaw House. Ravenclaw was "beautiful yet slightly intimidating."
Early life
Rowena Ravenclaw was born sometime in the tenth century. She was from the glens of Scotland,and was either born or married into the Ravenclaw family. She was a good friend of Helga Hufflepuff, from the Welsh valleys.
At an unknown time and by unknown means, Ravenclaw acquired a wand. It is possible she purchased it from the Ollivander family, who had been in the wand-making business since 382 B.C. or made it herself.
Founding of Hogwarts
United by the common goal of creating the world's best magic school, Rowena Ravenclaw and her good friends Helga Hufflepuff, Godric Gryffindor, and Salazar Slytherin built Hogwarts Castle together and established Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry sometime around 993.
It is a popular historical theory that the location and name of Hogwarts were both chosen by Ravenclaw, who dreamt that a warty hog was leading her to a cliff by the lake. Ravenclaw came up with the ever-changing floor plan.
Ravenclaw selected her students according to intelligence and wisdom. Ravenclaw House therefore values a sharp mind, wisdom, creativity, and cleverness in its members.
At some point, Ravenclaw bore a daughter, Helena, who was taught by Rowena herself at Hogwarts.
Physical appearance
From her statue in Ravenclaw Tower and Xenophilius Lovegood's bust of her, Rowena Ravenclaw was a beautiful yet austere-looking and slightly intimidating woman. She was tall, had long black hair and dark eyes, and spoke in a pronounced Scottish accent.
Personality and traits
Ravenclaw's most notable trait is her intelligence and creativity, and the fact that she valued the same in her students. She also seemed strict and intimidating, but despite this she seemed to be forgiving and loving, as shown by the fact that she was willing to disregard her daughter's betrayal just to see her one last time on her deathbed. She was also very proud, not admitting that her daughter had run away with her diadem not even to her close friends, the other founders. She was also not prejudiced towards those of Muggle parentage or inheritance, as she disagreed with Slytherin's views on admittance to Hogwarts and a large percentage of her house were of Muggle descent.
Magical abilities and skills
Ravenclaw was described as the most brilliant witch of her time.
Charms: Rowena Ravenclaw's diadem was a magical artefact that was enchanted, presumably by Ravenclaw herself, to enhance the wearer's wisdom, which implies a considerable level of skill in Charms.
Magical architecture: It is thought that Rowena Ravenclaw herself devised the ever-changing floor plan of Hogwarts Castle.
Etymology
Rowena is a Latinised form of an old Germanic name: "Fame" (cf. the Anglo-Saxon hrōd, or hrōð), and "Joy", (cf. the Anglo-Saxon wyn(n)), or "Friend", (cf. the Anglo-Saxon wine). Rowena, Queen of Britain, is a figure in Britain's traditional history; she was supposedly the daughter of Hengest and the wife of Vortigern.
In Welsh poetry, Rowena is named "mother of the nation", which could link in to her being a founder of Hogwarts. She also is another character whose name surfaces in the great epic Ivanhoe.
Ravenclaw is simply 'raven' + 'claw'. A raven is a large black bird that belongs to the crow family; however Ravenclaw's symbol is an eagle. In legend, ravens are known to be smart birds and quick learners; Ravenclaws are known to be also wise and quick learners.
Later life and death
At some point after her graduation from Hogwarts School, Helena stole her mother's diadem, which was said to enhance the wisdom of the wearer. Helena was jealous of her mother's famous intellect and took the diadem with her to Albania, far away from her mother's reach, in hopes of surpassing her. Ashamed of her daughter's betrayal, Rowena Ravenclaw opted to keep her daughter's treachery a secret from others, and denied it even from her fellow founders.
Then, Rowena fell fatally ill. Disregarding her treason, she asked the Baron, who was in love with Helena, to go and find her daughter, merely wishing to see her one last time. He eventually tracked her to a forest in Albania but when she refused to return with him, the Baron flew into a fit of rage, furious at her refusal and envious of her freedom, and stabbed her. Immediately overcome with guilt, he then took his own life. The two would later become, respectively, Ravenclaw and Slytherin house ghosts. Thus, Rowena did not get the chance to reconcile with her daughter before their untimely deaths (unless her daughter's ghost returned to the castle before Rowena's death).
Legend had it that a "broken heart" added to her early demise. This story may have had origin in her estrangement with her daughter.
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Salazar Slytherin
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Salazar Slytherin was a pure-blood wizard of medieval times. He was a Parselmouth (a wizard with the rare ability to speak to snakes) and skilled at Legilimency. He was one of the four founders of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and the former best friend of Godric Gryffindor, a fellow founder. Slytherin didn't trust Muggle-born students, and he expressed his opinion by proposing that they should not be accepted at Hogwarts. However, when the other Hogwarts founders didn't agree, Slytherin created the Chamber of Secrets, concealing a basilisk inside. He left the school soon afterwards, never to return.
Early life
The Sorting Hat described him as "power hungry Slytherin" and that he came "from fen." This could be the reason why he and his family have the rare gift of speaking Parseltongue. It is also said that anyone who can speak Parseltongue is somehow related to Salazar Slytherin. The fens of Eastern England are in Norfolk, Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire, and adjoining counties, although it is not established that Slytherin actually came from that particular region.
Founder of Hogwarts
Said to be one of "the four most brilliant witches and wizards of the time", Salazar Slytherin founded Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in his adulthood, with friends Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff and Rowena Ravenclaw, though he later severed ties with Gryffindor. He even appears to have carefully selected members of his own House. According to Albus Dumbledore, the qualities which Slytherin prized in his "handpicked students" included resourcefulness, cleverness, determination, and a certain disregard for the rules, along with the ability to speak Parseltongue. He also selected his students according to cunning, ambition, and blood purity. His House within Hogwarts is symbolised by a serpent, with House colours of green and silver.
After founding Hogwarts and co-existing for years, a rift eventually began to grow between Slytherin and the other founders. Slytherin despised taking students from Muggle families, seeing them as untrustworthy, and tried to persuade the other founders to only take students from pure-blood families. However, the other founders didn't agree with Slytherin, particularly Gryffindor. Eventually, Slytherin and Gryffindor had a huge argument over the subject, according to the Sorting Hat it is possible that they duelled, or that a civil war of sorts broke out between the houses. Slytherin chose to leave the school eventually, but he had left the Chamber of Secrets and his Basilisk behind.
Later Life
According to ancient legend, as told by History of Magic Professor Cuthbert Binns, Salazar Slytherin was responsible for the construction of the Chamber of Secrets beneath Hogwarts dungeons. It was specifically created for the purpose of purging the school of all Muggle-born students. The Chamber contained a basilisk which could be controlled only by his own "true heir", and use it to rid the school of all Muggle-borns. At least part of the legend was revealed to be true in 1943, when Tom Marvolo Riddle, the heir of Slytherin, opened the Chamber and used the Basilisk to attack Muggle-borns.
One girl the Basilisk actually killed is now a ghost known by the name of Moaning Myrtle. The opening to the Chamber of Secrets is located in the bathroom she now haunts, and can only be opened by speaking Parseltongue, as Slytherin could. Riddle opened the Chamber again in 1993 through the use of one of his seven Horcruxes, his diary. Using the bit of his soul encompassed by the diary, he possessed Ginny Weasley and forced her to do his bidding. While he still attacked Muggle-born students, his ultimate goal was to lure Harry Potter into the Chamber and kill him.
Salazar Slytherin owned a locket emblazoned with the letter S that became an heirloom of his last known line of descendants, the Gaunts. Merope Gaunt sold the locket to Caractacus Burke. It was then bought up by Hepzibah Smith, who had a love for antiques. It was subsequently stolen from her by Tom Marvolo Riddle. Riddle would later turn the locket into a Horcrux, and conceal it in a seaside cave he had visited in his youth. The same locket was later removed from the cave by Regulus Black with aid from his house-elf, Kreacher. Kreacher was ordered to destroy the locket, but was unable to do so.
It was later stolen from the Black family home at 12 Grimmauld Place by Mundungus Fletcher, and eventually found its way into the hands of the Ministry of Magic employee, Dolores Umbridge. Umbridge used it as an intimidation tool by wearing it and claiming the S stood for Selwyn, a pure-blood family line. She either did not know better or wanted to conceal its real meaning from the public.
The locket was recovered by Harry Potter, and was later destroyed by Ron Weasley with Godric Gryffindor's sword. This act of destruction removed all of the Horcrux's power.
There were also portraits of Slytherin hung at Hogwarts Castle, one guarding a secret shortcut between the dungeon's antechamber and the Entrance Hall side room. The password required to gain access to said shortcut was Mortal Dread. The other was hung at the Headmaster's office, part of the Headmaster portraits gallery.
In the 1997–1998 school year, Slytherin's heir, Riddle (now known as Lord Voldemort), realised his ancestor's wish of purging the school of Muggle-borns via another method: by taking over the Ministry of Magic and using falsified propaganda. Voldemort managed to have Muggle-borns evicted from the wizarding world, and at the end of the year, Voldemort even claimed that Hogwarts no longer needed Sorting, and that Slytherin's symbols, shields and colours would suffice. After Voldemort's death, all of this was repealed, and Slytherin's ultimate desire ended in failure.
Physical description
The statue of Salazar Slytherin in the Chamber of Secrets depicts an "ancient and monkey-like" man with a "long thin beard that fell almost to the bottom of his sweeping robes." His beard was white in colour. Marvolo Gaunt, a blood relative, is similarly described as being monkey-like in appearance.
Personality and traits
Salazar Slytherin was known to possess great cunning and determination, qualities he prized in students of Slytherin House. At one point, the Sorting Hat refers to him as "power-hungry Slytherin". He seemed to stop at nothing to get what he wanted; this was proven when he constructed the Chamber of Secrets to purge Muggle-borns, despite the fact that the other founders disagreed with his beliefs. Slytherin is said to be one of the greatest wizards of his age, with extensive abilities, particularly in Legilimency. When considering Sorting a student into Slytherin, the Sorting Hat looks for Slytherin's traits in the student, including cunning, determination, ambition, and resourcefulness.
Magical abilities and skills
Parseltongue: Salazar Slytherin was one of the earliest recorded Parselmouths and used this ability to control a basilisk. His house's symbol is a serpent due to this, and he passed this trait on to his descendants.
Legilimency: Slytherin was said to have been a skilled Legilimens.
Basilisk breeder: Slytherin managed to breed a basilisk and kept it alive in the Chamber of Secrets for over one thousand years, surpassing its average nine-hundred year lifespan.
Dark Arts (possibly): There are rumours that he originally built the Chamber of Secrets as a place to teach students Dark Arts.
Wandmaker: Slytherin created his own wand of snakewood and basilisk horn. He also taught it the unique ability to "sleep" when instructed.
Possessions
Wand: Slytherin owned a wand made of Snakewood with a Basilisk horn core. It was passed down through the generation until it was stolen from Gormlaith Gaunt by her niece Isolt Sayre and later buried on the grounds of Ilvermorny School in North America.
Locket Slytherin owned a locket which he passed down to his descendants. It was later turned into a Horcrux by his descendant Tom Riddle.
Basilisk: Slytherin owned a basilisk and kept it in the Chamber of Secrets.
Etymology
The name Salazar is originally a Portuguese family name. António de Oliveira Salazar was a fascist dictator of Portugal (where Rowling lived for several years) from 1932 to 1968. Rowling stated that the name "Salazar Slytherin" was chosen after the Portuguese dictator's name.[8]
Meanwhile, Slytherin may refer to the words "sly" as well as "slithering", which is the form of locomotion of snakes, possibly referring to his rare ability to talk to snakes called parseltongue. Salazar, sometimes spelled as Salasar, is a Basque surname meaning old hall (from Castilian Sala (hall) and Basque zahar (old)). The name originates from the town of the same name: Salazar, in northern Burgos, Castile.
Alonso de Salazar Frías was a 16th-17th century Spanish inquisitor who is famous for convincing the Spanish Inquisition that most of the witchcraft cases were based on insanity and confessions made to stop torture, rather than accurate cases of people associating with the devil. He was able to stop convictions based solely on testimony.
Death
How he died is unknown and wexplained will probably never know
Godric Gryffindor
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Early life
A medieval time wizard Godric Gryffindor one of the four founders of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and was described as being "the best duellist of his time". Early Life Godric Gryffindor was born before 993 in a small village known as Godric's Hollow (which was named in his honour) in England. Godric Gryffindor even as a child is said to have praised courage, determination and strength of heart above all other qualities.
Physical appearance
Godric Gryffindor's was a tall, muscular man with a lion-like mane of wavy red hair and a beard to match. He had green eyes, peach-coloured skin and is often shown with his famous sword, with which he had great skill in wielding. He is also shown as wearing magnificent red robes with gold highlights and rather intricate designs on the sleeves. He is also frequently depicted with a rather powerful and stern gaze.
Personality and traits
Godric Gryffindor valued courage, determination, chivalry, and strength of heart, and was described as one of the four most brilliant witches and wizards of his time. He was also tolerant and accepting of Muggle-borns, a point which brought about the end of his friendship with Salazar Slytherin. He was very forward thinking due to his creating the Sorting Hat to preserve the selection of the students after his time.
He also had a versatile mindset as he chose to wield a sword as well as a wand, making him a rather dynamic man who deferred to the duelling style of his opponent, muggle and wizard alike. Going along with this, it shows that he was respectful and fair, choosing to wield a sword instead of magic against muggle combatants out of a sense of fair play as magic would be a most decidedly unbalanced weapon in a duel against a simple sword. In addition to showing his sense of fairness, his deference to the duelling style of opponent also shows a need to challenge himself, proving his worth and courage, which became one of the signature traits of his House at Hogwarts. His threat to unsheathe and use his famous blade against Ragnuk the First and his followers shows that despite his noble heart and good intentions, that Godric was very much capable of taking the lives of sapient beings such as Goblins. This would not have been an uncommon trait for a man of his era or personality due to the constant violence that pervaded medieval Europe and the acceptability of duelling to the death among both wizard and muggles alike.
Magical abilities and skills
Duelling: Godric Gryffindor was said to be the greatest duellist of his time, and was also highly skilled in Muggle duelling, using his sword in combat. His skill as a swordsman was such that he preferred to duel muggles with his sword instead of his magic, despite magic being the more decisive and powerful weapon.
Transfiguration: With the help of the other founders, Godric transfigured the Sorting Hat into a sentient artefact to sort students after his lifetime.
Etymology
The name Godric is an Anglo-Saxon name in form, and can have several meanings, including, "he who rules with God" or "he who rules well".
His surname is a reference to the half-lion magical beast, the Griffin, a fierce, legendary beast with the body of a lion, and the head and wings of an eagle. The Hogwarts house named after him uses a lion as its symbol. Furthermore, the last part of his surname, "dor", is similar to both the French d'or, "made from gold", "golden", which is one of the colours of his Hogwarts House, or the suffix dore, which means "gift of," in which case the meaning of "Gryffindor" would be "gift of the Gryffin."
Gryffindor is also a pun on the golden griffin, which is a lion that only has eagle wings, so it has the head and front paws of a lion, and has golden fur and feathers. Even the French for Griffindor, Griffondor is a French homophone for the actual beast, Griffon d'Or.
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Helga Hufflepuff
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Early life
Helga Hufflepuff was a witch of medieval times and was one of the four founders of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. While the other founders chose to have special students, Hufflepuff accepted them all, but the students of her house are described as loyal and hard-working. It is unknown when she died. Helga's portrait remains at Hogwarts.
Helga Hufflepuff was born in the 10th Century and came from the broad valleys of Wales.
Founder of Hogwarts
Helga Hufflepuff was one of the four founders of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She was a friend of Rowena Ravenclaw. Hufflepuff helped to build the school and admitted students into her House that were loyal, fair, and unafraid of hard work. While the other founders took students based on either ambition, bravery, or intelligence, Helga Hufflepuff took the rest, treating them all equally and teaching them all she knew. She brought people from different backgrounds together to help in the building of the school and was known for her charming ways.
Helga Hufflepuff had a gift for Food-related charms, and her recipes are still used as the basis for many Hogwarts feasts. Helga Hufflepuff also arranged for the house-elf contingent to work in the kitchens, giving them somewhere safe to work, where they would not be mistreated or abused.
Physical appearance
Hufflepuff was a round, plump woman with red hair and blue eyes, and usually wore a brown dress. She often sported a wide smile.
Personality and traits
Hufflepuff favoured loyalty, honesty, fair play, and hard work. Members of her Hogwarts House usually display at least one of these traits in varying degrees. Cedric Diggory, the deceased Triwizard Tournament Champion, was one of the students who appeared to embody all four. Additionally, Hufflepuff was renowned for her compassionate nature; she took in the house-elves to work in Hogwarts Kitchen where they could work in peace and safety, and while the other founders were careful in selection of students, Hufflepuff took in the rest. She was said to be kind and caring, and particularly famous for her dexterity at food-related charms. She was also a woman of tolerance, as she was willing to accept Muggle-born students and disagreed with Slytherin's pure-blood exclusiveness. Given that all of her portraits show her with a wide smile, it can be inferred that she was a very jolly woman.
Magical abilities and skills
Magical device inventor: Hufflepuff created a cup which, according to her descendant, Hepzibah Smith, had special magical powers (though it was never revealed as to what they were).
Magical cookery: Hufflepuff was skilled with food-related charms, and many of her recipes are still used in Hogwarts.
Etymology
Helga
The name Helga is from Helge, from Old Norse heilagr, meaning "prosperous" or "brave." Their symbol is the badger, a large mammal related to the weasels with distinctive white stripes on its head. In Celtic mythology, a badger was a guide. The badger also can symbolise a tendency to be hard-working, strong, and tenacious. Hufflepuffs are known for loyalty and hard work.
Etymology
Helga was a name which was common in northern Europe; in countries such as Norway. It was soon adopted by many soviet countries and others which bordered with the north, including; Russia, Latvia, Denmark and Belgium. As those in northern Europe pronounced the 'e' in Helga as more of a cross between 'e' and 'o', and, like the french, didn't pronounce the 'h', the soviet countries adopted the name as 'Olga'. Some countries, including Germany, kept the name as 'Helga'.
Hufflepuff
Hufflepuff could mean "huff and puff" or blustery. "Huff" also means to breathe; "puff" is a medieval term for pastry.
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Rowena Ravenclaw
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Rowena Ravenclaw was a Scottish witch, who lived in the early Middle Ages. Noted for her intelligence and creativity and regarded as one of the greatest witches of the age, Ravenclaw was one of the four founders of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry along with Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff and Salazar Slytherin, as well as the namesake of the Ravenclaw House. Ravenclaw was "beautiful yet slightly intimidating."
Early life
Rowena Ravenclaw was born sometime in the tenth century. She was from the glens of Scotland,and was either born or married into the Ravenclaw family. She was a good friend of Helga Hufflepuff, from the Welsh valleys.
At an unknown time and by unknown means, Ravenclaw acquired a wand. It is possible she purchased it from the Ollivander family, who had been in the wand-making business since 382 B.C. or made it herself.
Founding of Hogwarts
United by the common goal of creating the world's best magic school, Rowena Ravenclaw and her good friends Helga Hufflepuff, Godric Gryffindor, and Salazar Slytherin built Hogwarts Castle together and established Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry sometime around 993.
It is a popular historical theory that the location and name of Hogwarts were both chosen by Ravenclaw, who dreamt that a warty hog was leading her to a cliff by the lake. Ravenclaw came up with the ever-changing floor plan.
Ravenclaw selected her students according to intelligence and wisdom. Ravenclaw House therefore values a sharp mind, wisdom, creativity, and cleverness in its members.
At some point, Ravenclaw bore a daughter, Helena, who was taught by Rowena herself at Hogwarts.
Physical appearance
From her statue in Ravenclaw Tower and Xenophilius Lovegood's bust of her, Rowena Ravenclaw was a beautiful yet austere-looking and slightly intimidating woman. She was tall, had long black hair and dark eyes, and spoke in a pronounced Scottish accent.
Personality and traits
Ravenclaw's most notable trait is her intelligence and creativity, and the fact that she valued the same in her students. She also seemed strict and intimidating, but despite this she seemed to be forgiving and loving, as shown by the fact that she was willing to disregard her daughter's betrayal just to see her one last time on her deathbed. She was also very proud, not admitting that her daughter had run away with her diadem not even to her close friends, the other founders. She was also not prejudiced towards those of Muggle parentage or inheritance, as she disagreed with Slytherin's views on admittance to Hogwarts and a large percentage of her house were of Muggle descent.
Magical abilities and skills
Ravenclaw was described as the most brilliant witch of her time.
Charms: Rowena Ravenclaw's diadem was a magical artefact that was enchanted, presumably by Ravenclaw herself, to enhance the wearer's wisdom, which implies a considerable level of skill in Charms.
Magical architecture: It is thought that Rowena Ravenclaw herself devised the ever-changing floor plan of Hogwarts Castle.
Etymology
Rowena is a Latinised form of an old Germanic name: "Fame" (cf. the Anglo-Saxon hrōd, or hrōð), and "Joy", (cf. the Anglo-Saxon wyn(n)), or "Friend", (cf. the Anglo-Saxon wine). Rowena, Queen of Britain, is a figure in Britain's traditional history; she was supposedly the daughter of Hengest and the wife of Vortigern.
In Welsh poetry, Rowena is named "mother of the nation", which could link in to her being a founder of Hogwarts. She also is another character whose name surfaces in the great epic Ivanhoe.
Ravenclaw is simply 'raven' + 'claw'. A raven is a large black bird that belongs to the crow family; however Ravenclaw's symbol is an eagle. In legend, ravens are known to be smart birds and quick learners; Ravenclaws are known to be also wise and quick learners.
Later life and death
At some point after her graduation from Hogwarts School, Helena stole her mother's diadem, which was said to enhance the wisdom of the wearer. Helena was jealous of her mother's famous intellect and took the diadem with her to Albania, far away from her mother's reach, in hopes of surpassing her. Ashamed of her daughter's betrayal, Rowena Ravenclaw opted to keep her daughter's treachery a secret from others, and denied it even from her fellow founders.
Then, Rowena fell fatally ill. Disregarding her treason, she asked the Baron, who was in love with Helena, to go and find her daughter, merely wishing to see her one last time. He eventually tracked her to a forest in Albania but when she refused to return with him, the Baron flew into a fit of rage, furious at her refusal and envious of her freedom, and stabbed her. Immediately overcome with guilt, he then took his own life. The two would later become, respectively, Ravenclaw and Slytherin house ghosts. Thus, Rowena did not get the chance to reconcile with her daughter before their untimely deaths (unless her daughter's ghost returned to the castle before Rowena's death).
Legend had it that a "broken heart" added to her early demise. This story may have had origin in her estrangement with her daughter.
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Salazar Slytherin
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Salazar Slytherin was a pure-blood wizard of medieval times. He was a Parselmouth (a wizard with the rare ability to speak to snakes) and skilled at Legilimency. He was one of the four founders of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and the former best friend of Godric Gryffindor, a fellow founder. Slytherin didn't trust Muggle-born students, and he expressed his opinion by proposing that they should not be accepted at Hogwarts. However, when the other Hogwarts founders didn't agree, Slytherin created the Chamber of Secrets, concealing a basilisk inside. He left the school soon afterwards, never to return.
Early life
The Sorting Hat described him as "power hungry Slytherin" and that he came "from fen." This could be the reason why he and his family have the rare gift of speaking Parseltongue. It is also said that anyone who can speak Parseltongue is somehow related to Salazar Slytherin. The fens of Eastern England are in Norfolk, Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire, and adjoining counties, although it is not established that Slytherin actually came from that particular region.
Founder of Hogwarts
Said to be one of "the four most brilliant witches and wizards of the time", Salazar Slytherin founded Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in his adulthood, with friends Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff and Rowena Ravenclaw, though he later severed ties with Gryffindor. He even appears to have carefully selected members of his own House. According to Albus Dumbledore, the qualities which Slytherin prized in his "handpicked students" included resourcefulness, cleverness, determination, and a certain disregard for the rules, along with the ability to speak Parseltongue. He also selected his students according to cunning, ambition, and blood purity. His House within Hogwarts is symbolised by a serpent, with House colours of green and silver.
After founding Hogwarts and co-existing for years, a rift eventually began to grow between Slytherin and the other founders. Slytherin despised taking students from Muggle families, seeing them as untrustworthy, and tried to persuade the other founders to only take students from pure-blood families. However, the other founders didn't agree with Slytherin, particularly Gryffindor. Eventually, Slytherin and Gryffindor had a huge argument over the subject, according to the Sorting Hat it is possible that they duelled, or that a civil war of sorts broke out between the houses. Slytherin chose to leave the school eventually, but he had left the Chamber of Secrets and his Basilisk behind.
Later Life
According to ancient legend, as told by History of Magic Professor Cuthbert Binns, Salazar Slytherin was responsible for the construction of the Chamber of Secrets beneath Hogwarts dungeons. It was specifically created for the purpose of purging the school of all Muggle-born students. The Chamber contained a basilisk which could be controlled only by his own "true heir", and use it to rid the school of all Muggle-borns. At least part of the legend was revealed to be true in 1943, when Tom Marvolo Riddle, the heir of Slytherin, opened the Chamber and used the Basilisk to attack Muggle-borns.
One girl the Basilisk actually killed is now a ghost known by the name of Moaning Myrtle. The opening to the Chamber of Secrets is located in the bathroom she now haunts, and can only be opened by speaking Parseltongue, as Slytherin could. Riddle opened the Chamber again in 1993 through the use of one of his seven Horcruxes, his diary. Using the bit of his soul encompassed by the diary, he possessed Ginny Weasley and forced her to do his bidding. While he still attacked Muggle-born students, his ultimate goal was to lure Harry Potter into the Chamber and kill him.
Salazar Slytherin owned a locket emblazoned with the letter S that became an heirloom of his last known line of descendants, the Gaunts. Merope Gaunt sold the locket to Caractacus Burke. It was then bought up by Hepzibah Smith, who had a love for antiques. It was subsequently stolen from her by Tom Marvolo Riddle. Riddle would later turn the locket into a Horcrux, and conceal it in a seaside cave he had visited in his youth. The same locket was later removed from the cave by Regulus Black with aid from his house-elf, Kreacher. Kreacher was ordered to destroy the locket, but was unable to do so.
It was later stolen from the Black family home at 12 Grimmauld Place by Mundungus Fletcher, and eventually found its way into the hands of the Ministry of Magic employee, Dolores Umbridge. Umbridge used it as an intimidation tool by wearing it and claiming the S stood for Selwyn, a pure-blood family line. She either did not know better or wanted to conceal its real meaning from the public.
The locket was recovered by Harry Potter, and was later destroyed by Ron Weasley with Godric Gryffindor's sword. This act of destruction removed all of the Horcrux's power.
There were also portraits of Slytherin hung at Hogwarts Castle, one guarding a secret shortcut between the dungeon's antechamber and the Entrance Hall side room. The password required to gain access to said shortcut was Mortal Dread. The other was hung at the Headmaster's office, part of the Headmaster portraits gallery.
In the 1997–1998 school year, Slytherin's heir, Riddle (now known as Lord Voldemort), realised his ancestor's wish of purging the school of Muggle-borns via another method: by taking over the Ministry of Magic and using falsified propaganda. Voldemort managed to have Muggle-borns evicted from the wizarding world, and at the end of the year, Voldemort even claimed that Hogwarts no longer needed Sorting, and that Slytherin's symbols, shields and colours would suffice. After Voldemort's death, all of this was repealed, and Slytherin's ultimate desire ended in failure.
Physical description
The statue of Salazar Slytherin in the Chamber of Secrets depicts an "ancient and monkey-like" man with a "long thin beard that fell almost to the bottom of his sweeping robes." His beard was white in colour. Marvolo Gaunt, a blood relative, is similarly described as being monkey-like in appearance.
Personality and traits
Salazar Slytherin was known to possess great cunning and determination, qualities he prized in students of Slytherin House. At one point, the Sorting Hat refers to him as "power-hungry Slytherin". He seemed to stop at nothing to get what he wanted; this was proven when he constructed the Chamber of Secrets to purge Muggle-borns, despite the fact that the other founders disagreed with his beliefs. Slytherin is said to be one of the greatest wizards of his age, with extensive abilities, particularly in Legilimency. When considering Sorting a student into Slytherin, the Sorting Hat looks for Slytherin's traits in the student, including cunning, determination, ambition, and resourcefulness.
Magical abilities and skills
Parseltongue: Salazar Slytherin was one of the earliest recorded Parselmouths and used this ability to control a basilisk. His house's symbol is a serpent due to this, and he passed this trait on to his descendants.
Legilimency: Slytherin was said to have been a skilled Legilimens.
Basilisk breeder: Slytherin managed to breed a basilisk and kept it alive in the Chamber of Secrets for over one thousand years, surpassing its average nine-hundred year lifespan.
Dark Arts (possibly): There are rumours that he originally built the Chamber of Secrets as a place to teach students Dark Arts.
Wandmaker: Slytherin created his own wand of snakewood and basilisk horn. He also taught it the unique ability to "sleep" when instructed.
Possessions
Wand: Slytherin owned a wand made of Snakewood with a Basilisk horn core. It was passed down through the generation until it was stolen from Gormlaith Gaunt by her niece Isolt Sayre and later buried on the grounds of Ilvermorny School in North America.
Locket Slytherin owned a locket which he passed down to his descendants. It was later turned into a Horcrux by his descendant Tom Riddle.
Basilisk: Slytherin owned a basilisk and kept it in the Chamber of Secrets.
Etymology
The name Salazar is originally a Portuguese family name. António de Oliveira Salazar was a fascist dictator of Portugal (where Rowling lived for several years) from 1932 to 1968. Rowling stated that the name "Salazar Slytherin" was chosen after the Portuguese dictator's name.[8]
Meanwhile, Slytherin may refer to the words "sly" as well as "slithering", which is the form of locomotion of snakes, possibly referring to his rare ability to talk to snakes called parseltongue. Salazar, sometimes spelled as Salasar, is a Basque surname meaning old hall (from Castilian Sala (hall) and Basque zahar (old)). The name originates from the town of the same name: Salazar, in northern Burgos, Castile.
Alonso de Salazar Frías was a 16th-17th century Spanish inquisitor who is famous for convincing the Spanish Inquisition that most of the witchcraft cases were based on insanity and confessions made to stop torture, rather than accurate cases of people associating with the devil. He was able to stop convictions based solely on testimony.
Death
How he died is unknown and wexplained will probably never know
