Hey guys,
Welcome to another installment of Harry Potter Theory. In this video we’re going to be
discussing Hogwarts school, the sorting hat, and none other than Alastor ‘Mad-Eye’
Moody.
Alastor ‘Mad-Eye’ Moody was a Scottish Pure-blood wizard born in to the ‘Moody’
family- a family known for producing a plethora of amazingly talented aurors. In his youth
he attended Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry, and later on in his life and
career, true to his family name, went on to become one of the most famous and respected
aurors of all time. Aurors are of course members of an elite and highly-trained unit of magical
law enforcement. They work for the department of magical law enforcement in the ministry
of magic, and are trained to investigate dark crimes, and detain dark witches and wizards.
While studying, Moody was an exceptionally gifted student, earning the mark of ‘Exceeds
Expectations’ in at least 5 of his NEWTS or Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests. And
it’s a good thing that he was a good student, because becoming an auror REQUIRES it. Before
you are even initially considered for the position of auror, you must first ensure that
your academic credentials are in excellent standing. The recommended NEWTS for becoming
an auror are Potions, Defence against the dark arts, Transfiguration, Herbology, and
Charms- and the final grade on these NEWTS cannot be lower than ‘exceeds expectations’.
MCgonagall sums up the pursuit of the auror career path nicely:
“"You'd need top grades for that," said Professor McGonagall, extracting a small,
dark leaflet from under the mass on her desk and opening it. "They ask for a minimum of
five NEWTs, and nothing under 'Exceeds Expectations' grade. Then you would be required to undergo
a stringent series of character and aptitude tests at the Auror office. It's a difficult
career path, Potter, they only take the best. In fact, I don't think anybody has been taken
on in the last three years."
But, being an auror isn’t ALL about the academic side of things. Aurors also need
to be exceptionally strong-willed, and able to act under pressure. That is why, in their
auror-training, prospective aurors have to participate in a series of aptitude tests,
showcasing just how well they perform under pressure. It’s not all achieving top grades
and shoving your head in the books, it’s also about charisma, intelligence, bravery,
and so much more. So with all of that being said, I think that
it’s safe to say that becoming an auror is an impressive feat in and of itself, but
being perhaps the most famous auror to have ever lived? Moody must have truly been exceptional.
One thing that’s interesting however, is that Alastor Moody’s Hogwart’s house is
not on record. That means, we don’t know actually know for sure which House he was
sorted in to when he attended Hogwarts. I’m not exactly sure why his house was never disclosed,
but it has been expressed that his house was never recorded in ministry records. So, what
I’m going to be doing in this video is effectively sorting Moody in to the house that I feel
he would fit best.
The sorting ceremony is an annual tradition at Hogwarts- it occurs at the beginning of
the school year, and its function is to assign new students to one of the four houses: Gryffindor,
Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, or Slytherin. Students are sorted using the Sorting hat, a sentient
hat that once belonged to Hogwarts Founder Godric Gryffindor. The sorting ceremony dates
back to the beginning of Hogwarts, but before the existence of the hat, the founders would
sort the students themselves. However, when the founders were faced with the realization
that they wouldn’t be around forever, they combined their powers and enchanted what we
now know to be the sorting hat.
Recognizing that they each valued very different traits in students, hence the rationale for
having 4 houses in the first place, each founder passed on the main criteria for their particular
house to the hat. The criteria passed on to the sorting hat can be roughly summed up in
it’s own words:
“By Gryffindor, the bravest were Prized far beyond the rest;
For Ravenclaw, the cleverest Would always be the best;
For Hufflepuff, hard workers were Most worthy of admission;
And power-hungry Slytherin Loved those of great ambition.“
To perform it’s task, the hat uses legilimency, which is the art of magically navigating through
a person’s mind. The student places the hat on their head, and then it assigns you
to a house based on how closely you resemble one of the four founders, and the traits they
valued. If the hat senses great bravery, Gryffindor is the likely choice. If the hat senses great
intelligence, Ravenclaw is the likely choice, if the hat senses that someone is a hard worker,
Hufflepuff is the likely choice, and finally, if the hat senses that someone is hungry for
power, then Slytherin is the likely choice. There are a million more aspects to each house
than just the traits listed above, but these are good overarching traits for getting a
sense of how the houses differ overall.
To get things started, I’m just going to clear up one thing: I really don’t think
that Mad-Eye was a Slytherin. Here’s why:
First of all, let me just say that Slytherins get a bit of a bad wrap. They are often unfairly
and automatically labelled as inherently ‘bad’ witches and wizards, but this really isn’t
the case. Despite what you may believe, being a Slytherin does not mean that you’re evil,
and I think that a lot of their bad reputation comes from founder Salazar Slytherin’s attitude
towards blood purity. On the positive side, Slytherins are often very clever, very resourceful
and very determined, however, Dumbledore once labelled Slytherin students as also possessing
‘a certain disregard for the rules’. In addition to the above qualities, they are
also often very strong leaders- as shown with Tom Riddle and even Salazar Slytherin himself.
Despite all of the good here, I still don’t think that Alastor Moody is a great fit. He’s
a good leader, but that’s not the role that he necessarily likes to assume, he doesn’t
care if he’s in charge or not, he just wants to get the job done. He’s also very clever,
resourceful and determined, but not in the sly/cunning way that Slytherins usually are.
He just doesn’t fit there.
Next, let’s look at Ravenclaw. The defining characteristics of Ravenclaw house, in a nutshell,
are knowledge and wisdom. Ravenclaws are often exceptional students with a thirst for knowledge
and unparalleled study habits. Ravenclaws are like sponges who take in their environments
and question well..everything. All aspects of life exist to be uncovered and examined.
So, do I think Moody is a good fit HERE? Not really. But does Moody actively personify
some of the traits of Ravenclaw? Certainly. Moody was an excellent student, and he is
definitely incredibly wise, but do those traits overpower the other things that we might recognize
Moody for? I don’t think so.
Next, let’s look at Hufflepuff. The defining characteristics of a Hufflepuff are that they
are hard working, wholesome, trustworthy and loyal. Hufflepuff often gets given a bit of
a hard time, and is sometimes criticized for being neither particularly exceptional or
clever-but this is far from the truth, as Hufflepuff has produced some of the most impressive
witches and wizards to date. Witches and wizards like Nyphadora Tonks, Newt Scamander, and
Cedric Diggory were all Hufflepuff’s, and they were all incredibly impressive.
So- does Moody fit here? I think there’s a good chance-but first, let’s look at Gryffindor.
The classic defining character trait of Gryffindor is bravery, something that is exhibited by
the trio time and time again throughout the series. Gryffindors are brave, courageous,
fearless, and every other descriptor that fits that category. Bravery, for Gryffindors,
is valued above all other traits-and we certainly know that if Harry hadn’t been brave, then
the wizarding world would have turned out a lot differently.
So, is Moody more Gryffindor? Or Hufflepuff? Though I think arguments could be made for
either, I’m going to go with Gryffindor. Here’s why:
Alastor Moody was an auror, a dark wizard catcher, and it was once stated that half
the cells in Azkaban were filled thanks to him. Day after day, Moody put his life on
the line in order to secure a safer and more prosperous wizarding world- and he did it
entirely selflessly, and without fear. Moody shows us time and time again that he’s not
afraid of anything, and that he will always put his own life on the line if it means achieving
something meaningful-something that will contribute to the greater good of the wizarding world.
When I think of Moody, I think of pure, unadulterated, valiant bravery- and I can’t think of a
better house to fit that than Gryffindor. He’s ultimately killed putting his own life
on the line to save Harry, and in turn the wizarding world, and he truly died a hero’s
death.
What do you guys think? Do you agree with this? Where would YOU Sort Moody? Who should
I do this for next?
Let me know down in the comment section below
Until next time
YER A WIZARD ARRY