Harry Potter: 5 Times Gryffindor Deserved The House Cup (& 5 It Deserved To Lose)
The Hogwarts House that most associate the Harry Potter series with is Gryffindor, as the main characters were all sorted here. Still, there are enough reasons to debate whether Gryffindor really was the best or the worst of the Houses, and the arguments are pretty valid.
Since the House Cup was awarded to the House that received the most points, it’s the best indicator of the behavior the students exhibited and their mettle as witches and wizards. Although it might seem as if Gryffindor deserved to win each time they did, that might not be the case as actions by the characters should have led to a loss.
10 Deserved To Win: All The Times Snape Unfairly Docked Their Points
Largely considered among Snape's worst traits, he had the habit of knocking off points from Gryffindors for the lamest of reasons. This included taking points from Hermione for giving the right answer simply because he didn’t like it. To this end, it’s clear that Gryffindor’s points weren’t representative of their actual performance.
There were many times where Gryffindor’s points were neck and neck to other Houses, something that wouldn’t have happened had Snape not unfairly docked their points, and been at the top as they had deserved to be.
9 Should Have Lost: For The Trio's Act Of Attacking A Teacher
Harry was delighted when Gryffindor won the House Cup in his third year, which was credited to their excellent performance in the Quidditch Cup. However, Harry should have been penalized for attacking Snape in the Shrieking Shack, along with both Ron and Hermione who did the same.
What should have qualified as the worst mistake of the Golden Trio ended up factoring into nothing, as they weren’t held responsible for knocking Snape unconscious because Snape himself made the excuse that they had attacked him under the Confundus charm. Still, considering students lost about 50 points just to be out of bed, attacking a teacher should have cost them hundreds of points at the very least.
8 Deserved To Win: Harry And Ron's Role In Sealing The Chamber Of Secrets
At the end of Chamber of Secrets, Dumbledore made it appear as if Harry and Ron would be paying the cost for breaking so many school rules to get into the chamber. Instead, he awarded them more than 200 points and ensured Gryffindor won the House Cup.
On this occasion, it certainly was deserved on the boys’ part as they had not only defeated Voldemort but had ensured Hogwarts wasn’t closed and brought Dumbledore back from his suspension. Giving them points was the least that Hogwarts could do as gratitude.
7 Should Have Lost: To Set An Example That Regularly Breaking The Rules Isn't Acceptable
While the heroes did their part in fighting the bad guys, that doesn’t mean the rule-breaking they engaged in should have been acceptable in the long-run. After all, they partook in activities such as attacking teachers and students, being out of bounds, breaking and entering, and allowing convicts to escape.
With all this in mind, it would have made sense to take the House Cup away from Gryffindor so as to enforce the fact that rule-breaking so liberally isn't something to be rewarded, especially considering how Harry and his Gryffindor friends influenced others to break many times.
6 Deserved To Win: Share With Hufflepuff For Harry And Cedric's Triumph In The Triwizard Tournament
Cedric Diggory represented the best Hufflepuff has to offer, being kind, courageous, and an all-around good person. He was gracious enough to share the victory with Harry, who also had to endure Cedric’s death and Voldemort’s return right after.
There was no House Cup awarded that year due to Cedric’s demise, but Gryffindor and Hufflepuff would have been given a good tribute by being awarded the House Cup on a shared basis. This way, acknowledgment of Cedric and Harry’s role as Champions of Hogwarts would have been delivered.
5 Should Have Lost: When The Marauders' Bullying Was Public Knowledge
James and Sirius were said to be the best students of their age, along with James being a Quidditch star, meaning the two had won many points for Gryffindor. However, it was a gross injustice how Severus Snape was sadly bullied and nobody did anything about it.
This was common knowledge too, as the two bullied Snape in clear view of other students, only for them to laugh at Snape. The two should have had plenty of points docked for their behavior, with the rest of the Gryffindors who encouraged such behavior also being undeserving of winning the House Cup —which is supposed to represent the best from the students.
4 Deserved To Win: When They Challenged Umbridge And The Inquisitorial Squad
It’s true that Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff students were also in Dumbledore’s Army, but the founders were Gryffindors and the ones who took the most active role, barring Luna — Ginny, Neville, Fred, George — were from this House. Gryffindors like Lee Jordan kept challenging Umbridge right until the end, which should have gotten acknowledgment.
After all, Umbridge’s goons in the Inquisitorial Squad docked points for no reason, such as Malfoy removing points simply because he didn’t like Ron and because Hermione was Muggleborn. It was also due to Harry and Hermione that Umbridge was taken out, so it makes sense to reward them for relieving Hogwarts of Umbridge’s regime.
3 Should Have Lost: For Mistreating The Kids After They Were Docked Points
Gryffindors can be very vindictive, and there are some very unlikable Gryffindors as well. The entire House was unworthy of being winners in The Philosopher's Stone when they treated Harry, Hermione, and Neville horribly for losing points when they were caught out of bed by McGonagall.
Harry was hurt when people outright stopped talking to him, made rude remarks, and began referring to him as “the Seeker” instead of calling him by his name. This is enough proof that the Gryffindor’s didn’t have the winning spirit, as they chose to belittle children rather than double their efforts to win the cup.
2 Deserved To Win: For Neville's Role In Fighting The Death Eaters At Hogwarts
The two most evil characters have to be Voldemort and Umbridge, with the Gryffindors challenging both of them. Except for Slytherin, the other Houses also took part in the Battle of Hogwarts, but Neville had been leading Dumbledore’s Army all year against the Death Eaters.
Neville mentioned how he had saved children from being subjected to the Cruciatus Curse, along with using the Sorting Hat to claim the Sword of Gryffindor to kill Nagini, thereby saving the school as well. With the end of the war, it would have made sense to return Hogwarts to its former ways by presenting Gryffindor the House Cup for their heroics during the worst of times.
1 Should Have Lost: When Dumbledore Arbitrarily Granted Them Points
The ending of The Philosopher's Stone might have been a feel-good moment, but it wasn’t exactly well-deserved. It’s not that Harry and his friends didn’t deserve points; it’s due to Dumbledore handing them the exact number needed to win, and more importantly, saving it until the last moment.
Dumbledore made it appear as if Slytherin had won, even letting them celebrate, before pulling the rug from under them and making a big show out of Gryffindor’s victory. This shattered the spirits of the Slytherins, who were noted to have become red-faced with embarrassment, as a majority of them had worked hard to gain the points needed for victory.
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