# Which house was Dumbledore in? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 27, 2003, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-house-was-dumbledore-in/191193 "2003-07-27T02:31:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Engywook](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bc8723/32.png) [@Engywook](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Engywook)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2003, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-house-was-dumbledore-in/191193/1 "2003-07-27T02:31:53Z")
I re-read the five Harry Potter novels, and one of the left-over questions I have is which of the four houses Dumbledore lived in when he was a Hogwarts student. Presuming, of course, that he ever _was_ a Hogwarts student… Was there anything in any of the five books to answer this? Or suggest an answer? He does seem to be partial to Gryffindor… but his character is more Ravenclaw… he suggests a couple times that he doesn’t think much of Slytherin… and he couldn’t be a (_gah_) Hufflepuff… ---
**Author:** ![Wolfian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/7ea924/32.png) [@Wolfian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolfian)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2003, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-house-was-dumbledore-in/191193/2 "2003-07-27T02:45:36Z")
Good question. Let’s see: Slytherin: Value power and purity. Its’ a very long shot, but Rowling could do a plot where he was Nocht Dumbledore, but though experience became Albus Dumbledore. That’s a bit too LotR/Star Wars for me. Ravenclaw: Value knowledge. He is pretty smart, but then again… Gryffindor: Value courage and adventure. He seems to be an adventurer at heart. Maybe he was the Hermoine of his group. Hufflepuff: Um, yeah. Basicly you aren’t brave enough for Gry, smart enough for Rav, or evil enough for Sly, but you’re a nice person. I don’t see that for Dumby. If I were a betting man I would bet on Gryffindor, then Ravenclaw, then Slytherin, then Hufflepuff. ---
**Author:** ![Skott](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Skott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skott)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2003, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-house-was-dumbledore-in/191193/3 "2003-07-27T02:46:49Z")
He was a Hogwarts student. One of the O.W.L. exam administrators said something about giving Dumbledore his N.E.W.T. exam at Hogwarts. I don’t know if the books explicitly state his house, though, but from his bravery in standing up to Tom Riddle and his actions in the showdown with Umbridge, I would probably say that he’s like Hermonie: Really, really smart, but also grandly brave enough to be in Gryffindor. Does the fact that Dumbledore is the keeper of the sword of Gryffindor point in that direction? ---
**Author:** ![karomon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@karomon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/karomon)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2003, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-house-was-dumbledore-in/191193/4 "2003-07-27T03:01:01Z")
Just because Hufflepuff seems to have been ignored and underestimated in the books so far, I think there’s going to be a bombshell that exposes the underdog house as the best of them all. Dumbledore having been a Hufflepuff would do it. Also, there’s that thing about the most important characteristic of all being kindness/a pure heart/love/etc. ---
**Author:** ![Engywook](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bc8723/32.png) [@Engywook](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Engywook)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2003, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-house-was-dumbledore-in/191193/5 "2003-07-27T03:02:57Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Skott \* > \*\* > Does the fact that Dumbledore is the keeper of the sword of Gryffindor point in that direction? \*\* But maybe that comes with the office of Headmaster. Dumbledore could also be the keeper of the Washboard of Hufflepuff, the Bloodtest Strips of Slytherin, and the Thinking Yarmulke of Ravenclaw. No? ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2003, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-house-was-dumbledore-in/191193/6 "2003-07-27T03:04:26Z")
Eliot. Definitely [Eliot](http://www.eliot.harvard.edu/). ---
**Author:** ![Skott](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Skott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skott)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2003, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-house-was-dumbledore-in/191193/7 "2003-07-27T03:13:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Engywook \* > \*\*But maybe that comes with the office of Headmaster. Dumbledore could also be the keeper of the Washboard of Hufflepuff, the Bloodtest Strips of Slytherin, and the Thinking Yarmulke of Ravenclaw. No? \*\* Something tells me that Slytherin wouldn’t need test strips to draw blood 😉 Anyway, it may be a relic passed down from headmaster to headmaster, but what did the CoS say, something along the lines that only a true Gryffindor could wield it or draw it or something? _forgets the rules_ ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2003, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-house-was-dumbledore-in/191193/8 "2003-07-27T03:15:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ukulele Ike \* > \*\*Eliot. Definitely [Eliot](http://www.eliot.harvard.edu/). \*\* No, Eliot is for the Muggle version of Slytherins. Preppies. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2003, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-house-was-dumbledore-in/191193/9 "2003-07-27T04:09:48Z")
Isn’t one of the Slytherin virtues supposed to be cleverness? Considering how easily Dumbledore can outsmart everyone else, I think that it’s possible that he could be from Slytherin. Maybe he’s an example of what a “good Slytherin” would be like. Yeah, Dumbledore is brave (he’s willing to fight Voldemort mano-a-mano), but when I think of Dumbledore I think of his massive intelligence and his unbeatable cleverness first. I would say the most likely house is Ravenclaw, then Slytherin, then Gryffindor, with Hufflepuff being the least likely. My impression of the four houses, if I may apply high school stereotypes, is that Slytherins are the preppies, Gryffindors are the jocks, Ravenclaws are the nerds (and I say that as a nerd myself 🙂 ), and Hufflepuffs are eveyone else. While we’re at it, what about other characters? I bet that Hagrid was a Hufflepuff. As was the nurse. The ghost history teacher was probably a Ravenclaw. ---
**Author:** ![Hot\_Buttered\_Toast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b38774/32.png) [@Hot\_Buttered\_Toast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hot_Buttered_Toast)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2003, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-house-was-dumbledore-in/191193/10 "2003-07-27T04:25:23Z")
> [@](#): > > I’ve been asking around, and I hope I’m in Gryffindor, it sounds by far the best; I hear Dumbledore himself was one… > > - Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone Of course, we don’t know whether Hermione’s sources of information were entirely reliable, but he was probably a Gryffindor. ---
**Author:** ![The\_MacDairmuid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@The\_MacDairmuid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_MacDairmuid)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2003, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-house-was-dumbledore-in/191193/11 "2003-07-27T06:11:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Kuroko \* > \*\*Of course, we don’t know whether Hermione’s sources of information were entirely reliable, but he was probably a Gryffindor. \*\* She probably read it in **Hogwarts, A History** and simply forgot to credit her source. Even the best students will do this occasionally. ---
**Author:** ![gex\_gex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/94ad74/32.png) [@gex\_gex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gex_gex)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2003, 9:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-house-was-dumbledore-in/191193/12 "2003-07-27T09:55:30Z")
Dumbledore? He’s a Gryffindor. If something is wonderously good, then it belongs to Gryffindor. They’re like wizard royalty. You get put in that house and you’ll be charmed for the rest of your life. There’s probably Wizard clubs where the following exchange occurs at the door: Security Guard: I’m sorry sir, I can’t let you in. Wizard: Well, what if I were to shake your hand like _this_? (does secret Gryffindor handshake) SG: Right this way, Sir. We’ll get you out of the cold and away from all the Slytherin scum loitering out here. Gryffindors probably get all the best jobs, any upgrades to first class travel going and backstage passes at Wizard concerts. It’s little wonder that Slythern turns out people like Malfoy. You get put in Slytherin and for the next seven years your life is going to consist of people telling you you’re scum. You’ll be robbed of rightful house-points victories. No wonder you’ll appreciate the one teacher that doesn’t prefer all else to you (Snape) and retreat to your comfortable aristocracy where no-one will tell you that your carrying on the legacy of Salazar Slythern, the one school founder to leave over differences in opinion. No wonder they end up with Lord Voldemorts all over the place. He probably would have become an account if he’s head wasn’t screwed up by that crazy caste system. ---
**Author:** ![Wolfian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/7ea924/32.png) [@Wolfian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolfian)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2003, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-house-was-dumbledore-in/191193/13 "2003-07-27T15:20:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Skott \* > \*\*Something tells me that Slytherin wouldn’t need test strips to draw blood 😉 Anyway, it may be a relic passed down from headmaster to headmaster, but what did the CoS say, something along the lines that only a true Gryffindor could wield it or draw it or something? _forgets the rules_ \*\* > [@](#): > > “Only a true Gryffindor could have pulled _that_ out of the hat, Harry,” said Dumbledore simply. So only Gryffindors can pull it out. There is nothing about wielding it, so in theory Harry could have pulled it out and Cedric could have used it. ---
**Author:** ![qwanderer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ea924/32.png) [@qwanderer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/qwanderer)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2003, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-house-was-dumbledore-in/191193/14 "2003-07-29T02:55:47Z")
I think that there is some secret power of Hufflepuffness that has yet to be revealed. I would be a hufflepuff. But Dumbledore couldn’t be one. In the first book when he was awarding the house cup, he was so unfair and showoffy in the face of the Slytherins. A Hufflepuff would never have been like that. And he sneaks around giving invisibility cloaks to students so they can break the rules. These are Slytherin traits, but in some ways a Gryffindor is just a Slytherin in denial about himself. I think he’s one or the other. Ravenclaws don’t plot and take sides and put use to their knowledge, use it for some great cause. They like the knowledge for its own sake.