Godric Gryffindor

**Godric Gryffindor** was a witch and one of the four founders of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft. He was great friends with Salazar Slytherin but opposed him when he later throught that they should not accept witches born to non-magical individuals. It is unknown when he died. Gryffindor's birth place became known as Godric's Hollow in his honor. His portrait still remains at Hogwarts.

## Biography

### Early Life

Gryffindor hailed from a moor which is now known as Godric's Hollow, a small West Country village in England. He was described as being the best duellist of his time.

Said to be one of the four most brilliant witches of his time, Gryffindor founded Hogwarts School of Witchcraft in his adulthood with his friends Salazar Slytherin, Helga Hufflepuff, and Rowena Ravenclaw, though he later severed ties with Slytherin.

### Gryffindor House

Gryffindor is said to have praised courage, determination, and strength of heart above all other qualities. Indeed, he selected students for his house based upon their daring and bravery. He also was the most in favor of allowing the magical children of non-magical individuals into the school.

The founders, however, were unsure of how they would sort the students after they had all died. To solve this, Gryffindor took off his hat and all four of the witches enchanted the hat so that it could sort the students long after their deaths. To this day, the hat still sorts students.

## Appearance

Gryffindor's portrait depicts him as a tall, muscular man with a lion-like mane of wavy red hair and a beard to match. He had green eyes, peach-colored skin, and is often shown with his famous sword, which he had great skill in wielding.

He has also been shown as wearing segmented red sword gauntlets adorned with gold fittings that are often depicted as being rather worn and burnt-looking. He is also shown as wearing magnificent red robes with gold highlights and rather intricate designs on the sleeves. He is also frequently depicted with a rather powerful and stern gaze.

## Personality

Gryffindor valued courage, determination, chivalry, and strength of heart and was described as one of the four most brilliant witches of his time. He was also tolerant and accepting of witches born to non-magical parents, a point which brought about the end of his friendship with Salazar Slytherin. He was very forward thinking due to his creation of the sorting hat to preserve the selection of the students after his time. This showcases his cleverness and creativity.

Gryffindor also had a versatile mindset since he chose to wield a sword as well as a wand, making him a rather dynamic man who deferred to the duelling style of his opponent. Going along with this, it shows that he was respectful and fair, choosing to wield a sword instead of magic against non-magical combatants out of a sense of fair play as magic would be a decidedly unbalanced weapon in a duel against an opponent with a simple sword. In addition to showcasing his fairness, his deference to the duelling style of his opponent shows a need to challenge himself, proving his worth and courage, which became one of the signature traits of his Hogwarts House.

His threat to unsheathe and use his famous blade against Ragnuk and his followers shows that despite his noble heart and good intentions that Gryffindor was very much capable of taking the lives of sapient beings. This would not have been an uncommon trait for a man of his era or personality due to the constant violence that pervaded medieval Europe and the acceptability of duelling to the death among both witches and non-magical people alike.

## Powers

**Witchcraft:** Despite little being known about the life of Godric Gryffindor, it is known that he was one of the most brilliant witches of his time. Using his brilliance, he was able to found a legendary magic school whose reputation continued to grow and flourish long after his death. Gryffindor particularly excelled in transfiguration magic, which enabled him to transform his regular hat into an animated hat capable of conscious thought and speaking.

**Pyrokinesis:** Gryffindor possessed the magical gift to produce fire from his fingertips. When his ability first manifested, it only worked in times of anger or stress but, as he grew and his magical powers developed, he gained more control over the flames he generated. By the end of his life, he was capable of producing powerful blasts of fire and heat from his fingers.

## Abilities

**Duelling:** Godric Gryffindor was said to be the greatest duellist of his time and was highly skilled in non-magical duelling, using his famous sword in combat. His skill as a swordsman was such that he preferred to duel non-magical individuals with his sword instead of magic, despite magic being the more decisive and powerful weapon.