Was Wormtail the ONLY Dark Wizard Sorted into Gryffindor? - Harry Potter Explained

[@sterlingdennett]

I think Rowling really missed a trick, here. She should have given us characters who were representatives of good and bad versions of each house. Gryffindor(good): Courageous, determined, proactive. Gryffindor(bad): Impulsive, reckless, belligerent. Ravenclaw(good): Brilliant, studious, witty. Ravenclaw(bad): Pompous, indifferent, indolent. Hufflepuff(good): Open/friendly, hard-working, loyal. Hufflepuff(bad): Exclusive/cliquish, lazy, fickle. And the last, you know we have to cover this - Slytherin(bad): Ambitious, cunning, corrupt/unscrupulous. Slytherin(good): Natural leader/charismatic, inspiring, visionary.

[@Leonardo-cw1dd]

having ambition could also be a good thing. it’s all about how you use it in the end

[@SevenTheMisgiven]

Great take but it's *always* up to the reader to understand these things and I do think JK gave us the overall opportunity to do so. Just because Hagrid said some things doesn't mean we should all believe him wholeheartedly even if we want to. Also I don't necessarily like the portrayal of Slytherins main traits as solely bad(evil) in the first place. But at the same time it does seem the larger portion of HP fans wants to only view the story through this lens so perhaps it should have been made clearer.

[@LuisDiaz-qg3eg]

The Slytherin good version doesn't work without some version of effort hard-working or intelligent-working

[@toddfraser3353]

Gryffindor: Likes to win, this can lead to winning at any cost. Ravenclaw: Wants to be the smartest. This could lead to learning and creating some dark arts. Hufflepuff: Loyalty can often cause them to follow a cult leader or a friend who had turned, and turn as well. Slytherin: Ambition makes them to want power.

[@NoneofyourBusiness-iv6pi]

Gryffindor(bad): Impulsive, reckless, belligerent = Sirius Black........Love him BUT

[@hannah51238]

You can see Ravenclaws becoming evil. Searching for "knowledge" and therefore power

[@Chris-qo4rt]

Quirrell, Lockhart and Crouch Jr. and i'm sure there are many more dark wizards from Ravenclaw. While Lockhart wasn't allied to Voldemort what he did was evil and selfish and he would do anything for his reputation.

[@JustTony72]

Griffindor aren't the equivalent of lawful good. They're just brave at heart.

[@eranshachar9954]

In Hogwarts Mystery there is a Gryffindor dark witch named Patricia Rakepick. Patricia is responsible for at least 2 cases of murder, so I think she was worthy enough to be mentioned and a proof of evil Gryffindor existence who is not Pettigrew.

[@AquaMarin-ww3qx]

I would think James and especially Sirius were close calls too. Using a werewolf friend as a weapon instead of Avada Kedavra might not count as using dark magic but the result would be the same. In general I always felt that people in the Harry Potter universe were let off too easy and labeled as „good“ just because they were opposing Voldemort. As Sirius himself said later on „The world isn't split into good people and Death Eaters.“

[@dizzyflyer541]

James was very evil

[@hanburgundy4317]

James "hexed people just for the fun of it". Hexes are dark magic, one step below curses, and usually cause pain and disfigurement. Dude was evil asf, and only stopped bullying people "in front of Lily".

[@paulyb7267]

@@greenguy369 Rubbish. Only in your fanfictions would James Potter be a villain. James Potter is the hero in canon, and there is nothing you can do to change that (no amount of anti-James fanfictions will change that).

[@acecashman1237]

@@paulyb7267 exactly, all these comments are nonsense. The man had the opportunity to side with Voldemort in the war but told him to go to Hell and joined Dumbledore

[@Pattmore]

@@acecashman1237yeah it’s very annoying and frustrating,prongs is one of my favorite characters

[@iowaredneck9416]

I’m a Gryffindor through and through, but I’ve always defended that the house of Slytherin is not evil. Has it produced evil wizards, yes. However being a Slytherin does not mean being evil. Slytherins pride themselves on ambition. Ambition is a good quality that pushes for excellence and looks down on laziness. The problem with ambition is that some ignore morality and the means by which they achieve their ambitions is evil. Slytherin has also produced many great and good wizards.

[@stevenceja4706]

If we're counting Hogwarts Legacy, then Sebastian and Ominis are some if the best Slytherins around. Despite what happened, Sebastian wanted to become powerful in order to protect the people he cared about, and Ominis wanted to be better than his family

[@laurendobinson5930]

Fantastic video

[@TomsBackyardWorkshop]

I never thought of Quirrel as evil. I always assumed he was just under the control of Voldemort.

[@mecahhannah]

Agreed

[@camwyn256]

Yeah. He was arrogant, thinking he could defeat Voldemort. He wasn't evil

[@markcahill9255]

Sirius literally tried to kill Snape when he was a kid 😂

[@Mary.Petrie]

Sirius was a bully in his youth, but I see it as that foolishness of youth. We all have things we regret doing, and with growth, most people move beyond that, which Sirius does.

[@menotyou816]

​@@Mary.Petrie exactly. The conversation is, dark wizards. Not foolish and dangerous kids. If Sirius continued on this path, he would have been a dark wizard. But as he stood, he was not.

[@kathovard4574]

Yes but he was a kid not an adult kids make mistakes that adults shouldn't (im.not wording this right but yeah they are kids and it's really just a bad prank bc he was saved

[@lt231]

He was just naugthy not evil

[@Pattmore]

@@Mary.Petriesame with James

[@BjornV1994]

Statistically speaking, it is highly unlikely that Pettigrew is the only Gryffindor Student that turned to the "dark side" in about a millennium. There will have been others who were more brave/courageous than they were sly or cunning, yet would serve darkness. We also can't forget that in the case of many Death Eaters, we only know about a few what their house was. And sure, we can guess it to be Slytherin but are we really that sure? Take someone like Rookwood, Gibbon or Rowle... We know little to nothing about them and they could be Gryffindors. Or how about someone like Runcorn or Greyback. The former was a Muggle Born Hunter for the ministry under the ministry, while Greybacks savagery mostly comes from his lycanthropy. So who know what house they had... As for close calls, actually all the Maurauders would be considered to be close calls. Lupin perhaps the least but he could easily have become another Greyback if he hadn't had friends. He sounded understanding towards the werewolves that would listen to Greybacks call they deserved flesh as they were shunned by wizarding society, once their lycanthropy was known. James missed it for two reasons, maturing enough in time to catch the eye of Lily Evans who further straightened him out and his personal hatred towards dark magic. Sirius however was until his death a mad dog, his lack of remorse over the fact that he tried to have Snape confront a werewolf Lupin as a "Joke" says it all. If it was for James holding the leash, he certaintly would have gone off the deep end. And off course Dumbledore was also a prime candidate for villainy. But again, there will have been plenty of others who turned dark over the years.

[@GamingAnimator1]

I would have also argued Sirius Black. Bro literally almost purposely got Snape killed by sending him to the shrieking shack while Lupin was a wolf as a "joke."

[@jacobdrolet4262]

Fantastic job and amazing video.

[@RayAkuma]

I still wanna know what the sorting hat was smoking before sorting Wormtail seeing how much of a coward he is when Griffindor is all about bravery.

[@RayAkuma]

@kendraroth1276 wouldn't the desire to be around the biggest bully and being a backstabbing coward put him closer to being a slitherin than a griffindor?

[@RayAkuma]

@kendraroth1276 i didn't know that about wormtail. Coming from someone who was sorted into ravenclaw, btw. xD Do you know the house you'd be in? Just randomly asking xD

[@larryroberts3598]

Shocking...what about Hufflepuff? Did they produce any dark wizards?

[@Pattmore]

In Hogwarts Legacy there’s a story about a hufflepuff dark wizard named “Blackwood” I recon you look up the story

[@YellowBear-kx1ff]

*cough cough* Cedric Diggory *cough cough* Cursed Child *cough cough*

[@jacegallagher8589]

Surprisingly, Fred and George could have potentially turned out to become dark wizards. As the years progressed, their "jokes and pranks" often became more dangerous. Had one of those pranks gone far enough awry, something awful could have happened to force them on the run and having to do whatever to survive as outlaws in the wizarding world.

[@andrewhead1840]

I love how Stephen Fry narrates the audiobook and that seen you read out at the end of the video the way he does Hagrid is awesome and everything else.

[@unorthodoxbox]

The way I see it. It’s just a form of personality test to see where you best fit. People change and grow and what house you were sorted into at first may not be reflective of what you’d be in when you leave.

[@macwelch8599]

I feel like we never got to see Peter’s dueling skills

[@diamonddead8162]

Wasn’t he too cowardly for any of that

[@macwelch8599]

@@diamonddead8162 maybe that was just a facade

[@diamonddead8162]

@@macwelch8599 wouldn’t it be great if he got a series I find his story interesting

[@theafaith23]

I doubt he had any.

[@SevenTheMisgiven]

@@diamonddead8162 Careful, a rat will certainly come at you with nasty spells. :)

[@dreadfulspiller8766]

One thing I always wondered is why not make wormtail take the unbreakable vow and make doubly sure of the potters safety.

[@Draconisrex1]

I remember Hagrid's Slytherin line. I was a bit annoyed at the retcon.

[@acecashman1237]

I mean can we really call it that when within the same movie Hagrid says it is, we got a Ravenclaw acting as Voldemort's lackey? More like it was just Hagrid showing his negative bias towards Slytherin and quickly having it be exposed as nonsense by the end of the movie.

[@jamessmithson-br7rm]

Hagrid’s speech is all part of Dumbledore’s plan to influence Harry and make sure he didn’t end up in Slytherin

[@geraldsinger9954]

I am willing to bet that Cornelius Fudge was a Slytherin. Ignoring his disbelief that Voldemort was back until the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, but he is also shown with prejudice against Parselmouths and half-giants. Among the Slytherin traits are Resourcefulness, Leadership, Determination, Ambition, Cunning, and Pride. He fits into some, if not almost all of these categories.

[@michellechouinard4958]

I don't think Hagrid would have become a Dark Wizard. You are saying he could have been a Dark Wizard had he made different decisions... but that would imply he had a different sort of character than what Hagrid possessed. That said, there most certainly would have been some Gryffindors who went bad. Let's look at Pettigrew as an example. I have long wondered if he was friends with James or Sirius prior to school - since both of them were Purebloods, they would have known a lot of witches and wizards already. It's possible he only wanted to be in Gryffindor because his then-friend was likely to be sorted into it. He is a follower, and as an 11-year-old would have been terrified of being separated from his big, strong friend. That doesn't mean he belongs there, but we know the Sorting Hat takes into account your desires. It's unreasonable to imagine this never happened to anyone else. BUT you have to consider the effect of peer pressure on children. Those who go into Gryffindor are going to be shaped by those around them, so they will tend to end up with the same values as most other Gryffindors, nor will they be exposed to a lot of Dark Arts from their friends. Peer pressure from their group would discourage any such malignant practices. They would likely continue to hold those values for the majority of their lives, unless some huge life event throws throws them for a loop. I think most likely Pettigrew did know that what he did was very wrong, based on the values he was exposed to as a Gryffindor. This almost makes him more evil than the Slytherins who went bad. Those Slytherins, by and large, spent their whole lives being told they were superior to Muggles and Mudbloods, and that using the Dark Arts was a good thing. They did not believe those practices were evil because their families and peer group shaped their perception of right and wrong. Therefore, the fact that the Gryffindor ideology didn't make much impression on Peter, indicates that he is a complete sociopath. He knows what is right and what is wrong, he has friends who love him and would die to save him... but in the end nothing matters as much as saving his own skin and making sure his own future is secured.

[@Leonardo-cw1dd]

well said. many good points brought up here

[@WenceslasHolec]

I love the evolution of Dumbledore, from briliant but still childish student enchanted by a radical thinker and criminal. good and observant, but still developing teacher who evolved into great teacher who is humble and focused on helping others. I think Aberforth has seen always the young Dumbledore and never realised, that their pain and grief is one and the same.

[@robertlevy2420]

What about Harry? A little bit of the slytherin in him? Anger issue? Not hanging with Ron and Harmione??

[@professorsassafras]

Technically Ron is from a pureblood family so technically he could join ( no real weasly would) but a fun what if scenario

[@doll9340]

I could totally see him joining in like a alternate path

[@Nick-zp3ub]

Dumbledore did some dark and immoral stuff when he was under Grindelwald's influence. He was also a slaveowner who had thousands of house-elves working for him

[@DrIdaho]

A common characteristic among Gryffindors is arrogant pride. Arrogant pride can corrupt a person.

[@katynewt]

James came pretty close to becoming, not a Death Eater, but something milder. He was a bully. He and Draco had similar characteristics. James was incredibly arrogant and belligerent, but matured later. Draco behaved in much the same way at first, constantly antagonising the trio, then realised he didn't want to be a Death Eater anymore. They ended up redeeming themselves somewhat in the end.

[@grec.]

I think Percy Weasley went evil mode for a few years.

[@Korokwithabigbackpack]

Yea but he might have been imperiused cause he gave harry a high score in the second task of the triwizard tournament even though harry got there late. Percy would never have given somebody who broke the rules a high scoring

[@kendraroth1276]

Not really. Was he on bad terms with most of his relatives? Absolutely. Was he evil though? Not really. Did he ever seek anyone out, deliberately provoking? Nope. In fact, he actually sent a letter to Ron, trying to reach out to him. Remember his family was pushing him away for years. What did they think would happen? This is the reason why I suspect the twins were the first to forgive Percy. They probably realized that They were pushing him away and he didn’t owe much loyalty.

[@grec.]

@@Korokwithabigbackpack ah yeah, I've read that theory a while ago. Makes total sense. However, I wouldn't take away from Percy his own ability to choose; to choose being lame towards his family, specially for being poor and for being in Percy's POV, stuck in poverty for lack of ambition. Percy was at best an a-hole and at worst just showing his true colors.

[@grec.]

@@kendraroth1276 welp, I respect your POV regarding Percy's situation, but I do think if there wasn't for Barty Crouch Sr.'s decime, Percy would just had become Barty Crouch Senior 2.0.

[@Korokwithabigbackpack]

@@grec.yea I agree, he had a choice, and chose the ministry

[@johnwick8756]

Did Snape not know it was Peter that sold out the Potter's and if so why did he not tell Dumbledore. I would think Voldemort would've told Snape who sold the Potter's out if he was willing to spare Lily Potter for him. Then once Dumbledore found out it was Peter in Harry's 3rd year did he go to Snape and ask why he didn't know and trust Snape less.

[@paulyb7267]

He did. Snape, like the rest of the Death Eaters, knew that Peter was the spy and Sirius was innocent, and Snape just let Sirius rot in Azkaban for 12 years.

[@somersault1123]

Maybe Snape and Dumbledore felt it was Sirius' just desserts for his shrieking shack prank he tried to pull on Snape. But also, Dumbledore wouldn't want a godfather with custody rights ruining his spawn protection for Harry. So Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot would just shrug and say, "He was an asshole anyway!"

[@jamessmithson-br7rm]

Snape would never have done anything to help Sirius… he probably thought Sirius deserved to be in Azkaban for trying to get him attacked/ killed by a Werewolf when they were teenagers

[@farseermatt7564]

the way I see it... Peter wasn't "dark" by choice, he simply sided with whoever was more powerful, and (as an example) if someone joins the Mafia, the only way out is death, and I personally seemed to choose that Peter was in that scenario, he felt like he wasn't much with his friends, so he sought out power, so Voldemort being the Mafia Boss, the only way he could get away was by death, which as cowardly as peter was, didn't want to die, Voldemort: "Your devotion is nothing more than cowardice. You would not be here if you had anywhere else to go."

[@NoneofyourBusiness-iv6pi]

per some fanfics Dumbledore was an evil Gryphindor. Dumbledore bashing can be a fun read sometimes

[@KerrieOhanlon123]

When hagrid said that he still believed Sirius to be guilty though

[@sunshinemerlot9790]

I don't think Slytherins are inherently bad. I think the reason so many became Death Eaters was due to proximity to Tom Riddle while in school. Even before he became Lord Voldemort, we know he was very charming but also vicious. I don't think it is a stretch to think that Tom used this time to get information on his fellow Slytherins in order to manipulate & blackmail them into joining with him. If Tom Riddle had been in any of the other houses, it would be that house that would have a reputation as dark wizards including if he had been placed in Gryffindor. Moreover, just in terms of numbers, there would have had to have been followers in other houses. There is no other way he could have had the hundreds of followers without some of them coming from other houses.

[@stevegallo8483]

Peter Pettigrew aka Wormtail was a coward who wanted to be surrounded by people who were better, stronger, braver and more powerful than him. That's why he was friends with the Marauders at Hogwarts and why he later joined Voldemort. I'm not sure he was a dark wizard by choice. Peter knew he would be killed if he failed Voldemort. Remember this is the same guy who hid out as a rat for a lot of years after his "protector" and master disappeared after the murders of James and Lily Potter.

[@mecahhannah]

❤Awesome as always thanks

[@Mohenjo_Daro_]

Depends what you mean by "dark wizard". If you mean doing evil things, then sure, Hagrid may have gone down that route. But if you mean someone who does dark magic, then I highly doubt Hagrid would have. Having his pets attack/kill people isn't the same as practicing dark magic

[@MrTimelord77]

If you want to see a witch or wizard at their worst, combine Harry Potter with Kamen Rider Wizard.

[@cindyhoffman5547]

James & Lily showed poor judgment in designating Wormtail. Remus Lupin would have been a better Secret Keeper.

[@jamessmithson-br7rm]

Are we actually saying Wormtail was a dark wizard? I’ve never thought of him in that vein, just a scared man doing what he thinks he needs to do to survive

[@berserkworkentertainment]

But that's kind of the darkest thing in the whole series in my opinion. Take Slughorn for example, he just went into hiding 24/7 which Peter could've done since he was A RAT, but no he decided to go to the winning side because he was convinced Voldemort was the most powerful wizard. It's more than just trying to survive when you're literally accepted into the ranks as one of his death eaters. (Edit, He also was very very powerful, despite how weak he was. He used that power for evil, this making him a dark wizard regardless of personality)

[@LyleFrancisDelp]

When Hagrid was telling Harry that all bad wizards were from slytherin, he must have forgotten all about (as everyone thought) Sirius.

[@berserkworkentertainment]

I mean yeah but he really wasn't compared to the rest of his family, which are mostly all Slytherins and have pure blooded ideologies. He just hated Snap; which from his perspective he had kind of a right to do so🤷🏻

[@LyleFrancisDelp]

@@berserkworkentertainment But...Hagrid didn't know all that. What is clear is that, to the general wizarding public, Sirius had turned bad...and he was a Gryffendor. So...when Hagrid told Harry all bad wizards were from Slytherin, he wasn't being truthful.

[@berserkworkentertainment]

@@LyleFrancisDelp So you're specifically meaning as to the whole betrayal; that's fair and I'll give you that but how did he not know that he wasn't like his family? He was the gamekeeper so he had to be there for the sorting, we just don't hear about The Marauders having a class with him

[@berserkworkentertainment]

@@LyleFrancisDelp And I'd also like to point out that of course he wasn't being truthful because that whole story was never really made to come to light. They literally keep Harry in the dark from everything around him to the point where he has to find out by himself more often times than not, I'd say he was just following Dumbledore's orders the best he could you know? If he hadn't broken out then he wouldn't have known until WAY later

[@LyleFrancisDelp]

@@berserkworkentertainment But….HE WAS A GRYFFENDOR! And Hagrid knew. And everyone thought Sirius went bad and V’s most faithful servant.

[@Rezkeshdadesh]

When did we learn that Barty Crouch Jr was from Ravenclaw?

[@eranshachar9954]

The house of Barty was never exposed. He only assume it is duo to Barty is mentioned to have the highest score in all of his exams. But he could have been a brilliant Slytherin just like his boss.

[@VincentWeasleyPotter]

Also Harry/ Voldermort

[@mtk064]

Fred and George sold u-no-poo. They literally decided a potential medical condition was “just a joke bro.” They could have easily decided to go down a darker and more dangerous path.

[@sonorangaming449]

What about if Tom was allowed to teach at Hogwarts, How would things have been different?

[@professorsassafras]

I had my own thoughts on this. I only partially agree

[@koppadasao]

Slytherin rules!

[@zacksegelke4709]

I thought Hagrid was in slytheren

[@megatronjenkins2473]

(feeds the almighty Algorithmo of DOOOOOM!!!!!)

[@grokeffer6226]

👍👍👍

[@melanievetter6211]

😊🎉🦁

[@scottbest2001]

Hagrid was Hufflepuff.