Although Hufflepuff is often considered the most neglected of the four Hogwarts houses in the “Harry Potter” franchise, there is good reason to say that Ravenclaw’s situation is even worse. At least Hufflepuff has that adorable underdog reputation that always elicits sympathy; Ravenclaw is characterized as a nerdy house, and they’re not even very good at being nerdy. They are constantly outranked by Hermione Granger, a Gryffindor student, who is apparently the only kid in Harry’s class to raise her hand in class. Even the books’ other famous bookish character, Percy Weasley, is also a proud Gryffindor.
Ravenclaw House, with its eagle sigil and colors of blue and bronze, was founded by Rowena Ravenclaw over a thousand years before the series began. The house is supposed to have a rich history and a reputation for housing the brightest students Hogwarts has to offer, so why doesn’t it feel like it? Why do they feel like such an afterthought, even after appearing in seven books and eight movies?
What are the main characteristics of a Ravenclaw student?
As the Sorting Hat explains in the first book, Ravenclaw House is where “those of wit and knowledge will always find their kind.” He sang that Ravenclaw was a good choice for any students who had a “ready mind” and described the house as “wise and old”.
If there’s one fault with Ravenclaws, it’s that they apparently tend to be a little cold in their pursuit of knowledge. At least according to Pottermore – an official site for the series throughout the 2010s – it was rumored that Ravenclaw students were so competitive in their studies that they would often betray themselves to get ahead. This is a quality that implies that, if Slytherin House were ever dissolved (as it should be!), many of these Slytherin students would be sorted into Ravenclaw. Slytherin is known for being the cunning house, after all, and Ravenclaws are perfectly capable of being cunning.
Although Ravenclaws are known for their intelligence, the books really emphasize the idea that intelligence comes in different forms. This is why Ravenclaw is home to many strange characters like Uric the Oddball and Xenophilius Lovegood, people who would seem to fall down the QAnon rabbit hole if they existed in our modern Muggle world. The intelligence Ravenclaws possess can manifest in ways that, at least at first glance, seem to make no sense.
Who are the most notable Ravenclaw characters?
For the first two books, the most important Ravenclaw in the series is Professor Filius Flitwick, a minor character who seems nice but rarely has anything important to do. The third book introduces a more prominent Ravenclaw teacher: Sybill Trelawney, who teaches divination. Making Trelawney a Ravenclaw seemed like an odd choice at first, as she is implied to be a complete fraud. But at the end of “Prisoner of Azkaban,” she proves her worth by delivering a real and useful prophecy.
“Prisoner of Azkaban” also gently launches Harry’s romance with Cho Chang, a Ravenclaw student who would receive much more attention in the next two books before being cast aside. Cho is supposed to be a good student, but her main qualities in the fourth book are that she is kind and pretty, while her main qualities in the fifth book is that she is depressed over the death of her boyfriend Cedric.
It is in “The Order of the Phoenix” that the series introduces its best and most memorable Ravenclaw student: Luna Lovegood. Sweet but eccentric, Luna is often looked down upon by book-savvy Hermione, but her unorthodox approach to learning proves useful nonetheless. She teaches Harry about Thestrals, and her family newspaper, The Quibbler, proves to be a valuable tool in helping Harry fight the Daily Prophet’s propaganda. Luna may be nicknamed Loony by the other students, but beyond any weirdness, she seems to have a good head on her shoulders.
Have certain characters been wrongly distributed in Ravenclaw?
It seemed that author (and deeply problematic public figure) JK Rowling liked to present a seemingly ditzy character and make him a Ravenclaw so as not to underestimate him. Trelawney and Lovegood are repeatedly dismissed by the other characters as unserious fools, and (especially in Lovegood’s case) this often turns out to be a mistake. Still, it’s hard not to wonder why there are so few prominent Ravenclaws in the series who actually embody the house’s intelligent stereotype. Even after seven books, the most Ravenclaw character is still Hermione, but she’s a proud Gryffindor.
One of the few positives of the upcoming “Harry Potter” reboot TV show (which hasn’t been promising so far) is that the series will have the opportunity to show more Ravenclaw students, demonstrating why these Ravenclaws are considered so intelligent.
It’s easy to imagine a TV show having time to introduce a fun subplot in which Hermione fights with a Ravenclaw girl for the best grade in a class, or introduces Luna and Cho earlier than they are in the books. Cho was a classmate from day one, and Luna joined Hogwarts in “Chamber of Secrets”, but neither were introduced in the books or films until later. Looking back, the series has the opportunity to include more depictions of Ravenclaw in Harry’s early years.
Are Ravenclaws overrated?
This may seem insignificant, but we need to talk about the fact that Ravenclaw didn’t win a single house cup during Harry’s entire time at Hogwarts, nor in the years immediately preceding it. A house as intelligent as Ravenclaw should do well in this competition, but they instead settle for third or even fourth place every school year. What’s with that?
Maybe the show was making the point that brains don’t matter much if there’s no heart to go with it. The bravery of Gryffindors is valued more in the text than the intelligence of Ravenclaws, and the moral strength of Hufflepuffs is also valued more. This point is emphasized towards the end of “Deathly Hallows”, during the Battle of Hogwarts, where it is largely the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff students who remain to fight the Death Eaters. Sure, there are a lot more Ravenclaws than Slytherins, but Ravenclaw’s numbers are still significantly lower than the other two houses.
Slytherins may be Rowling’s least favorite house in the series (although she admittedly seems more pro-Slytherin these days), but I suspect she never liked Ravenclaw either. Given how disinterested the books are in focusing on the more typical Ravenclaw students, it seems that the sheer cleverness of the books is not something Rowling finds commendable.
It seems that the books’ stance on Ravenclaw can be best summed up in an exchange between Harry and Hermione at the end of the first book. Harry says he’s not as good a wizard, and Hermione replies, “Books! And intelligence! There are more important things: friendship and courage.” But while Hermione would prove to be a true friend capable of great courage, few Ravenclaws in the series are lucky enough to do the same.
