Gryffindor House

Gryffindor was one of the four Houses of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and was founded by Godric Gryffindor. Gryffindor instructed the Sorting Hat to choose students possessing characteristics he most valued, such as courage, chivalry, nerve and determination, to be Sorted into his house. The emblematic animal was a lion, and its colours were scarlet and gold and its house point hourglass was filled with rubies. Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington, also known as "Nearly Headless Nick", was the House ghost. Gryffindor corresponded roughly to the element of fire, and it was for this reason that the colours scarlet and gold were chosen to represent the house. The colour of fire corresponded to that of a lion as well, with scarlet representing the mane and tail and gold representing the coat. The Gryffindor motto was "Forti Animo Estote", which was displayed on a stained glass window in the common room.

The Gryffindor house emphasised the traits of courage as well as "daring, nerve, and chivalry", and thus its members were generally regarded as brave, though sometimes to the point of recklessness. Some Gryffindors had also been noted to be short-tempered. Notably, Gryffindor house contributed many members to Dumbledore's Army and the Order of the Phoenix, although this may have been because the main members made it a point not to associate with other houses.

Gryffindors and Slytherins had shared a fierce house rivalry since their founders, Godric Gryffindor and Salazar Slytherin, respectively, had a severe falling out over Slytherin's emphasis on blood purity. There might also be an element of feeling wronged, as Harry and his fellow Gryffindors tended to win in a lot of circumstances which, when viewed from a neutral point of view, may be considered unfair.

The entrance to the Gryffindor common room (which, in turn, lead to the Gryffindor dormitories) was located behind a large portrait of the Fat Lady in a pink silk dress. If one knew the right password to tell her, she swung open to reveal a round opening in the wall. The common room contained a lot of squashy armchairs, a fireplace, and tables. The fireplace was connected to the Floo Network, but as it was extremely public except in the dead of night, Gryffindors usually used owls to communicate with their families instead.