Alejandro Alvarez/Tropes

## Gryffindor

* Always Lawful Good: Gryffindor House, with one or two very minor exceptions. Even a rumour that Godric Gryffindor may have come to his famous sword by doubtful means is dispelled in Pottermore. The one major exception to the Gryffindors' glowing reputation is, of course, the meek and cowardly Peter Pettigrew.
* Animal Motifs: Gryffindors are associated with lions, which of course are commonly depicted as leaders and brave heroes.
* Badass Bookworm: It has a tendency to produce these, regardless of what other houses say about Gryffindors only being Dumb Muscle. To wit: Albus Dumbledore, Hermione Granger, Minerva McGonagall, Lily Evans, James Potter, and Remus Lupin were all talented, studious, and intelligent witches and wizards.
* Color-Coded for Your Convenience: Their heraldic colours are red and gold, meant to invoke the colour of fire.
* Cynic–Idealist Duo: The Idealists to Slytherins Cynic. Alot of Gryffindors believe in the nobility of others. Good people can always be found in their eyes. This mindset has made them one the most popular houses, because they value brotherly, unselfish individuals who aren't afraid to speak their minds.
* Determinator: Likeable or not, proud or vain, excitable or maligned, nobody in this house ever seems willing to quit.
* Dumb Is Good: In *Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince*, we encounter two bad Gryffindors, the boastful Cormac McLaggen and the pushy Romilda Vane. Both are big on bravado and not at all about speaking their minds, but *very* short on things like courtesy and humility.
* Enforced Cold War: It has a long-running feud with Slytherin.
* Fatal Flaw: Their obsession with honour often leads Gryffindors to become overzealous, reckless glory-hounds.
* For Great Justice: Gryffindors in general abhor the notion of blood purity and the racist ideology that the Death Eaters follow. Godric Gryffindor himself, a wizard in 10th Century Britain, was a protector and champion of Muggle-borns and Muggles, showing a progressive streak that's borne out in many of the House's students.
* Four-Element Ensemble: Represents Fire among the four Houses, which is reflected in one of their most prominent staff members, Rubeus Hagrid, who loves dragons, and their common room, whose large, roaring fireplace is often mentioned in scenes.
* Genius Bruiser: Gryffindors sometimes turn out to be this. A worthy mention goes to Albus Dumbledore, who is often said to be the most powerful and smartest wizard of the last century.
* Golden Snitch: They move from last to first place in the first book's House Cup ceremony due to Dumbledore heaping on points just before announcing the winner.
* Good Is Not Dumb: A running theme in the books is all kinds of courage, and not only the obvious kind. There's also moral and intellectual courage, such as the ability to challenge established wisdom, demonstrating critical thinking in moments where others would panic, and standing up to one's own friends, as demonstrated by the likes of Hermione, Minerva McGonagall, Neville, and others.
* Heroes Prefer Swords: Inverted; only the greatest of heroes are capable of summoning the Sword of Gryffindor, meaning the *sword* prefers heroes.
* Honour Before Reason: In contrast to Slytherin, this house is more likely to insist on fair play when a sneak attack would have been more effective.
* Knight In Shining Armour: Godric Gryffindor sounds like he had been one, especially to Muggles and Muggle-Borns, and this is the ideal to which Gryffindors are held.
* Knight Templar: At its worst, Gryffindor's opposition to the Dark Arts can lapse into Moral Myopia, where they attack others with the same force and tactics they decry in their opponents.
	+ In the series proper, while Gryffindor is highly friendly to members of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, it seems to have given up on the possibility of Slytherins being good. Even after meeting a morally unobjectionable Slytherin like Horace Slughorn, Harry bristles as soon as he finds out he's the former Head of Slytherin House, even if he was friends with his mother. He and Ron scoff at the idea of "being matey with the Slytherins".
	+ The only Gryffindor that truly averts this is Lily Evans. She befriended Severus Snape, a deeply unpopular Slytherin during the height of Voldemort's infamy, and was even one of Horace Slughorn's most favourite students.
* Odd Couple: Between roommates.
	+ Airheaded Agent Mulder Lavender Brown, and Cerebral Agent Scully Hermione Granger.
	+ The sheer energy of Oliver Wood, and the straight-laced and dull Percy Weasley.
* Only the Chosen May Wield: The Sword of Gryffindor may only be wielded by a true Gryffindor, or rather, by *anyone* demonstrating exceptional courage worthy of those qualities prized by Gryffindor himself. This means that even a former Butt-Monkey like Neville, who started off as an exceptionally poor student, could summon the sword when he Took a Level in Badass. Likewise, Ron when he saved his best friend, Harry, from drowning.
	+ In *Chamber of Secrets,* when Harry voices his doubts about having been sorted into the wrong house, Dumbledore reassures him by saying that despite his ability to speak Parseltongue (snake language), the Sword of Gryffindor only appears to those who truly embody the spirit of Godric Gryffindor.
	+ Considering that Gryffindor's Sword is available to *anyone* in spirit and practice, it contrasts sharply with Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets, a ridiculously exclusive space open only to his heirs. It reflects the values and attitudes of their respective founders greatly.
* Red Is Heroic: Their house colour is red, and their house's defining trait is bravery.
* Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: Little respect for rules in regards to what they consider morally correct.
	+ Though Minerva McGonagall and Hermione Granger are sticklers for the rules in general, and are certainly Rightly Self-Righteous, if a little overbearing.
	+ Fred and George as well as the Marauders seem to break rules for the heck of it. It can be argued that valuing courage includes the guts and chutzpah to break rules in a brazen way.
	+ Despite being told that only students 17 and older are allowed to stay at Hogwarts and fight the Death Eaters, most of the Gryffindors try to stay, resulting in McGonagall having to physically force them out. Colin Creevey sneaks back in to fight anyway and winds up getting killed.
* Underdogs Never Lose: No matter how far behind they are, the Quidditch team always end up winning the championship - unless their Seeker is unavailable.