Summary
The wizarding world ofHarry Potteris home to four distinctive houses, each representing different characteristics. Throughout the movie, Gryffindor is prominently featured as the main house, symbolizing courage and bravery. Notably, the main protagonists of the Harry Potter franchise all belonged to Gryffindor House. Undoubtedly, Gryffindor has been overrepresented in the movies, and similarly, Slytherin has received significant attention but the latter one was often portrayed as antagonistic. In contrast, the other two houses, Hufflepuff andRavenclaw were frequently sidelinedand depicted as comparatively weaker than Gryffindor and Slytherin throughout the films.
The Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry has had several headmasters over the years but the one we havein the movies is Dumbledore. The professor in his youth also studied at Hogwarts and belonged to the Gryffindor House. The professor is clearly shown to favor Griffyndor over the other houses throughout the movies but what is the reason behind that? Was Dumbledore biased towards Gryffindor because of Harry?
RELATED:Harry Potter: How Was The Marauder’s Map Created
Every time Dumbledore Favored Gryffindor
Dumbledore giving out free points to Gryffindor on almost every occasion has become a meme, but that isn’t the only time the Headmaster has shown favoritism. Throughout the movies, there are numerous occasions where Dumbledore overlooked bad behavior from Gryffindor and let it slide.
The Marauders were a group of four studentsnamely Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, Sirius Black, and James Potter who also studied at Hogwarts and Dumbledore was the Headmaster at that time too. Sirius Black and James Potter were known troublemakers and broke several rules. In one instance,they even sent Snape to Lupinwhile he was in his werewolf form, risking his life but never facing consequences for their actions.
After Harry, Ron, and Hermione joined the school, Dumbledore essentially encouraged the trio to break several rules and let them slide every time. There are several instances when the trio did break rules, like when Harry usedSectumsempra, a forbidden spellagainst Draco Malfoy, but didn’t face any consequences. Hermione also broke many rules, such as stealing from Snape’s locker to make polyjuice potions. Furthermore, Ron stole his parents' flying car and flew it to Hogwarts, and despite many muggles seeing it, they weren’t punished.
Fred and George Weasley, the twin troublemakers, were known for causing chaos throughout Hogwarts. While their pranks were enjoyable, they were severe enough to warrant expulsion, but they never faced any serious consequences. The twins even sold dangerous products, including during the Triwizard Tournament in Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire. Dumbledore was never shown punishing them for their actions.
Furthermore, there are two instances where Dumbledore broke rules and made exceptions for Harry in the movies. The first time was when he let Harry join the Quidditch team even though he was young and put his life in danger. The second time was letting him compete in the Triwizard Tournament despite him being underage once again.The Triwizard Tournament was even more dangerousthan Quidditch.
Was Dumbledore Unfair To Other Houses?
While Slytherins were often portrayed negatively throughout the Harry Potter movies, in the first movie,Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets, Slytherin House worked hard to compete for the House Cup. The House Cup is an award given to one of the four houses based on the accumulation of points earned by students for their achievements and actions.
Towards the end of the first movie, Slytherin appeared to be in the lead to win the House Cup. However, in a dramatic turn of events, at the last moment, Dumbledore made a decision to award extra points to Gryffindor. The professor granted an astonishing 160 points to Gryffindor House. Harry, Hermione, and Ron each received 50 points for their individual contributions: fighting Voldemort, assisting Harry and Ron in the Chamber of Secrets, and playing an exceptional match of chess, respectively.
With the added points, the score became tied between Gryffindor and Slytherin. But then, Dumbledore awarded Neville Longbottom an additional 10 points for his bravery in standing up to his friends. This gave Gryffindor the lead in points, and they ultimately ended up winning the House Cup.
While the score given to Gryffindor can be justified as they were the ones who prevented the Dark Lord’s return but Slytherin was clearly shown to win the House Cup and was already celebrating with The Great Hall already being decorated in the Slytherin theme. Many thought that it was unfair of Dumbledore to rob Slytherin of the house cup at the last minute.
Did Dumbledore Favor Gryffindor Because of Harry’s Membership?
While on paper, it seems that Dumbledore favors Gryffindor and Harry and looks biased. However, the reason behind it is actually intriguing. Gryffindors are known to be daring and it’s only natural for them to break rules. Most of the time Harry broke the rules for the greater good, and his breaking rules to save other people’s lives is actually amazing. No wonder why Dumbledore didn’t punish him.
For instance, if Harry never broke the rules in search of the Chamber of Secrets in his first year, hecould never have saved Ginny Weasley, and she would’ve died. Moreover, inHarry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, if Harry would never have saved Buckbeak using the Time-Turner, Sirius Black would never have been proven innocent. If he hadn’t cast the Patronus Charm, he would have been given the Dementors' kiss.
Furthermore, Dumbledore knew the prophecy about Harry, the Boy Who Lived. According to the prophecy,Harry and Voldemort’s destinies are intertwined. Both are stated to be equal, and one must die for the other to live. Since Dumbledore was aware of this, he encouraged Harry from the beginning by treating him, especially compared to other students, even allowing him to step out of his comfort zone because the professor knew what future lay ahead for him. So, he made him prepared for that.
While Dumbledore may be shown to favor Gryffindor over other houses in theHarry Pottermovies, in the end,his actions were understandable. Despite them being questionable there is no doubt that they were for the greater good.
