House Championship

The **House Championship**, or the **House Cup**, is an event in the *Harry Potter book series*. It is held by Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry every year. Students gain or lose house points throughout the school year to determine which of the four Houses will be the winner of the House Cup. It is held from September until June.

## About

### House Cup

The House Cup is a trophy awarded to the one of the four Houses at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for winning the House Championship. The House Championship begins on 1 September every year. The Championship continues until the final day of term when the winner will be announced at the End-of-Year Feast.

### House points

*Main article: House points*
The number of house points the students of each house achieves toward the House Championship are kept in hourglasses, one for each house. The hourglass adds or subtracts jewels. Each House has their own kind of stone: ruby stone for Gryffindor, emerald for Slytherin, sapphire for Ravenclaw and diamond for Hufflepuff.

## History

Starting in June 1986, Slytherin won the House Cup for seven years in a row. In the 1991-1992 school year, Nearly Headless Nick found the Bloody Baron unbearable because he kept boasting about Slytherin winning every year. Nick hoped that the new Gryffindor students could lead their House to victory for once. Gryffindor had never went so long before without winning.

In October, Gryffindor could have been second place if they won their first Quidditch game against Slytherin, which they did. If they won their next game against Hufflepuff, they take first place for the first time in seven years. They won the game and usurped Slytherin.

In April however, Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and Neville Longbottom lost fifty house points each which put Gryffindor in last place for the House Championship. Slytherin celebrated but everyone else in the school was angry because they thought they had ruined their chances of finally defeating Slytherin. In June, at the beginning of the End-of-Year Feast, Slytherin had won the House Cup but Dumbledore gave points to Harry, Ron, Hermione and Neville that propelled their House to victory.

In June 1993, Harry and Ron were awarded two-hundred points each for their House to win the House Cup for the second year running.

## Trivia

* In June 1992, it had to be at least nine years since Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff had won the House Cup, owing to the fact that Slytherin won it for seven years in a row and Gryffindor won it eight years earlier.

## Notes and sources

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 *Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone*, Chapter 7
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 *Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone*, Chapter 17
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 *Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone*, Chapter 13
4. ↑ *Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone*, Chapter 11
5. ↑ *Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone*, Chapter 15
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 *Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets*, Chapter 18
7. ↑ In *Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone*, Chapter 7, Nearly Headless Nick said in 1991 that Slytherin had won six years in a row and that Gryffindor had never went that long before without winning the House Championship. Gryffindor had to have won in the 1984-1985 school year because Nearly Headless Nick would be wrong if they didn't.
8. ↑ *Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban*, Chapter 22