Hey everyone,
Welcome to another installment of Harry Potter Theory. In today’s video, we’re going
to be discussing Hogwarts, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Gryffindor. More specifically-
we’re going to be discussing the darker side of the wizarding world, and seeing which
Hogwarts houses (other than Slytherin) produced dark witches and wizards.
Slytherins get a bad rap- they really do, and are commonly painted with the same brush:
all Slytherins are evil. This is reinforced by Hagird in the Philosopher’s stone when
he says ‘There’s not a single witch or wizard who went bad who wasn’t in Slytherin’.
But in a video I made just last week, which I’ll link down below, I proved that this
isn’t true, and was able to make a list of 7 Slytherins that ended up perfectly fine.
Today’s video will be challenging Hagrid’s statement once again, however. As it turns
out, not only are there witches and wizards from Slytherin that turned out just fine,
but there also happens to be a number of witches and wizards from other houses that went down
a darker path. This video isn’t going to be looking at purely ‘evil’ wizards (though
I will include them), but focusing mainly on wizards that just weren’t ‘good’
and made some questionable moral decisions in their lives.
Without further ado, I present to you, in no particular order, 5 BAD wizards that didn’t
come from Slytherin.
Peter Pettigrew Peter Pettigrew, also known as Wormtail, was
a british pure-blood wizard born in 1959 or 1960, he had pale skin, unhealthy hair that
was constantly falling out, and blue eyes. He was a snivelling excuse for a man whose
loyalties only lay where there was power, and he did not value friendship or love in
the way that most do. Pettigrew started at Hogwarts in the year 1971, the same year that
Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and James Potter began attending the school. The quartet of
boys would eventually form a group called the Marauders. One thing that they had in
common was that they were all Gryffindors. However- that turned out to be all that Pettigrew
had in common with the other 3 boys, as over time he proved to be quite different. The
problem with Pettigrew was that he didn’t have his own identity- he just mirrored those
around them. His character was exceptionally weak, and this is what lead to him being convinced
to join Voldemort. Unconvinced that the good guys would prevail, Pettigrew turned his back
on everyone that was close to him, and in one massive act of cowardice exposed the location
of the Potter cottage to Voldemort. Pettigrew is perhaps the best and most extreme example
of someone from another house going bad.
Quirrell
Quirinus Quirrell was an english half-blood wizard born sometime in the 1960s. When he
was of age he began attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, at which point
he was sorted in to Ravenclaw house. Quirrell certainly didn’t start off all bad- in fact,
he was initially a meak natured boy that simply focused on his school. However, Quirrell,
who was also highly unusual and delicate, was teased profusely at school- making the
anxious Quirrell even more anxious. His feelings of inadequacy led to him taking a particular
interest in the dark arts- a highly complicated and dangerous field of magic that could perhaps
garner Quirrell the attention and respect that he always longed for.
For the duration of his studies he showed a particular affinity for the dark arts, and
he ended up graduating from Hogwarts with impressive grades across the board.
It was at this point that he was able to secure a job as muggle studies professor at Hogwarts.
In the year 1990, Quirrell took a year-long sabbatical. He told his peers that the sabbatical
was an opportunity for him to gain ‘first-hand’ experience in the field- where in reality
his objective was to find Lord Voldemort- exceedingly curious about what had happened
to the dark lord who tyrannized the wizarding world for years on end. And find Voldemort
he did, however, things didn’t go exactly according to plan. Voldemort recounts his
first meeting with Quirrell:
"A wizard – young, foolish and gullible – wandered across my path in the forest
I had made my home. Oh, he seemed the very chance I had been dreaming of ... for he was
a teacher at Dumbledore’s school ... he was easy to bend to my will ... he brought
me back to this country, and after a while, I took possession of his body, to supervise
him closely as he carried out my orders."
Quirrells’ lack of confidence and his neurotic nature led to him being easily manipulated
by Voldemort, and, though Quirrell didn’t necessarily have to end up being bad- he certainly
did.
Lockhart
Let me start off by saying that Lockhart is a bit of a unique case. He wasn’t ‘evil’
per-se, but he was greedy and ambitious, which led to him performing some questionable acts
in his life.
Gilderoy Lockhart was a british half-blood wizard born in the year 1964 to a witch mother
and muggle father. His parents had two other children, two girls, but Lockhart proved to
be the only one that was magical, which (whether she would admit it or not) made him his mother’s
favourite child. Lockhart was a clever, good-looking boy, and when he realized quite early on that
he was magical it only went to his head, and inflated his already massive ego even further.
In 1975, Lockhart began attending Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry where he
was sorted in to Ravenclaw house. When he first walked through the doors of the school,
he was met with disappointment, as he came to the crushing realization that at a school
for witches and wizards- he was just another magical young boy. In the muggle world, Gilderoy
was exceptional, but here he didn’t stand out, and that’s all he ever longed for.
It’s been expressed that as a young boy, Lockhart did possess slightly above-average
abilities, but nothing particularly noteworthy, and his lack of attention only fuelled the
fire inside of him to be successful. However, the success that Lockhart found (and achieved)
in his life, was certainly not deserved. He became famous by stealing the accomplishments
of others by wiping their memories and then claiming those accomplishments as his own.
This morally questionable behaviour, though not necessarily ‘evil’, is certainly horrific-
and I don’t think that he ever properly considered the ramifications of his actions.
Similar to Quirrell, Lockhart felt ‘inadequate’ and it’s primarily for this reason that
he was led down a darker path.
Barty Crouch Jr
Let me start off by saying that Barty Crouch Jr’s house isn’t actually confirmed. While
many have been quick to plot him in to Slytherin (due to his obvious evil nature and association
with the death eaters), I think that they’re neglecting to properly look at his past.
Barty Crouch Jr was a british pure-blood wizard and the son of Ministry of magic official,
Bartemius Crouch Sr. Crouch Jr has a rich history with the Deatheaters, and joined them
in his teenage years. Throughout his life he certainly committed many atrocities, including
helping to torture the longbottoms, murdering countless witches and wizards, and playing
an instrumental role in Voldemort’s resurgence.
However, there is another dimension to Crouch’s character that is often overlooked - his intelligence-
a trait which is most closely associated with Ravenclaw house. He was really really talented,
and before turning over to the dark side, actually gained 12 OWL’s while studying
at Hogwarts. To put this in to perspective, Hermione only gained 10.
Though we can’t say for sure that Crouch Jr WASN’T a Slytherin- I think that there
is a strong case to be made for him being a Ravenclaw. As far as dark wizards come-
Barty Crouch jr was pretty bad.
Young Dumbledore
That’s right! Dumbledore. However- not the old, wise Dumbledore that we’re used to,
but instead- the young foolish Dumbledore. The Dumbledore that was heavily influenced
by Gellert Grindelwald. The Dumbledore that operated (along with Grindelwald) under the
slogan ‘For the Greater Good’.
In the Deathly Hallows we learn that Dumbledore and Gellert Grindelwald, in their early years,
plotted wizard-domination over Muggles. This is when they first came up with their slogan
and this was also when their plan was effectively to become RULERS over muggles. Dictators.
Before actually acting in accordance with this slogan, however, Dumbledore abandoned
the idea, and eventually confronted his friend Gellert Grindelwald. What likely prompted
Dumbledore’s change of heart was his sister getting killed after a three way duel involving
Abeforth, Dumbledore and Grindelwald.
Though Dumbledore eventually became ‘good’- who’s to say that, if his sister hadn’t
been killed, Dumbledore wouldn’t be ruling over muggles to this very day.
And that’s it for this video! Do you guys agree with this list? Am I missing someone?
Let me know in the comment section below.
Until next time
YER A WIZARD ARRY