The “Lord of the Rings” and “Harry Potter” fandoms might be the biggest ones out there. So why not put their fantasy worlds into one? Without help from the sorting hat, I sorted each of the “Lord of the Rings” characters into one of the four Hogwarts houses.
This crossover might be the nerdiest thing I have ever done, but I found it entertaining and I hope you will too.
Traits of the Hogwarts houses
If you aren’t familiar with the four Hogwarts houses, here is a brief guide to the traits exhibited in each house, according to Pottermore.
- Gryffindor: courageous, brave, adventurous, daring, loyal and chivalrous.
House motto: “Their daring, nerve and chivalry set Gryffindors apart.”
- Slytherin: ambitious, cunning, inclined to towards leadership, proud, determined and resourceful.
House motto: “Slytherin will help you on your way to greatness.”
- Hufflepuff: hard-working, dedicated, patient, fair, kind, loyal.
House motto: “Those patient Hufflepuffs are true and unafraid of toil.”
- Ravenclaw: intelligent, creative, clever, witty, and knowledgable.
House motto: “Wit beyond measure is man’s greatest treasure.”
What are the ‘Lord of the Rings’ characters’ Hogwarts houses?
Frodo Baggins: Hufflepuff
Frodo was difficult for me. Part of me leaned towards Gryffindor, but I landed on Hufflepuff because of Frodo’s thoughtful, kind and compassionate nature. These are the reasons Gandalf chose him to carry the ring. He does not seek adventure, power or revenge. All he craves is a quiet life with his friends at the Shire.
“I feel that as long as the Shire lies behind, safe and comfortable, I shall find wandering more bearable,” Frodo explains how thoughts of the Shire will make his difficult journey endurable in “The Fellowship of the Ring.”
Samwise Gamgee: Gryffindor
My instincts tried to tell me Sam is a Hufflepuff — he’s got many hallmark traits of the Hufflepuff house: kind, fair and very patient — but after giving it deeper thought, I became convinced he is a Gryffindor.
On his journey with Frodo to destroy the ring, Sam displays endless courage and bravery. Like most Gryffindors, he follows his moral compass and is daring enough to always do what he believes is right. Without Sam’s undying loyalty to Frodo and the Shire, the mission to destroy the ring surely would have failed.
He takes on Shelob (a giant, terrifying spider that haunts Middle-Earth) to save Frodo’s life and even carries Frodo to the mouth of the volcano so he can destroy the ring. There’s a reason Frodo calls him Samwise the Brave.
Gandalf the Grey: Ravenclaw
A exceptionally wise, intelligent and witty wizard? Gandalf is textbook Ravenclaw. As the fellowship’s leader, Gandalf relies on his deep knowledge and experience to guide them. Some claim he is pretentious — which might be true — but he is not power hungry. He is desperate to avoid the ring and all the consequences that come with it.
“With that power I should have power too great and terrible. And over me the Ring would gain a power still greater and more deadly,” Gandalf responds when Frodo asks him to take the ring. “Do not tempt me! I dare not take it, not even to keep it safe, unused,” per “The Fellowship of the Ring.”
As Gandalf the White, otherwise known as the most powerful wizard of all time, he displays traits from every Hogwarts house, but he still relies on wisdom to make decisions, and therefore, he remains a Ravenclaw.
Merry and Pippin: Hufflepuff
I might get hate for lumping these two Hobbits together, but I’m doing it anyway. Merry and Pippin are the Hufflepuff duo Middle Earth is lucky to have and the real world needs more of.
Their friendship with the Ents (an army of giant, talking trees) perfectly explains their Hufflepuffness. They are inclusive, kind and fair. They make some slip-ups along the way, but their friendship with the Ents proves to be a powerful, lifesaving bond.
Gollum: Slytherin
He’s power-hungry, resourceful and willing to kill to get what he wants. This is what makes Gollum a Slytherin.
Before he became the cunning creature we know as Gollum, he was a typical Stoor Hobbit known as Smeagol. But even then, he craved the power of the ring enough to kill his relative and friend, Deagol, to get the ring.
Once he had the ring, he turned into Gollum — a creature willing to do just about anything for the ring. Slytherins are known for their determination to get what they want. If murdering for power is determination, Gollum has got it.
Aragorn: Gryffindor
Aragorn is one of the bravest men in Middle Earth. But he never seeks power or glory and at the beginning of his journey, he chooses to remain a ranger rather than take over as king. He enters the fellowship out of a sense of duty and ethics. Aragorn’s courage, chivalry and loyalty to the fellowship are what makes him a Gryffindor.
“I would have gone with you to the end, into the very fires of Mordor,” Aragorn told Frodo after he successfully destroys the ring, per the 2001 movie version of “The Fellowship of the Ring.”
This proves how loyal Aragorn is to Frodo and that he would stay with him until the very end if it had been necessary — typical Gryffindor behavior.
Legolas: Ravenclaw
Legolas might look like a member of the Malfoy family, but he is not a Slytherin. For his knowledge and wisdom, as well as his loyalty to friends, Legolas is a Ravenclaw. His impressive fighting abilities and skill with a bow and arrow demonstrate his competitive nature to succeed at his craft — just how Ravenclaws are academically successful.
Legolas also has an appreciation for lore and understanding the history of Middle Earth.
“This forest is old. Very old. Full of memories… and anger. The trees are speaking to each other,” he said in the 2002 movie version of “The Two Towers.”
As an elf, he has lived for thousands of years so his understanding and connection to nature and living things is much deeper than the rest of the fellowship.
Gimli: Gryffindor
Everything about Gimli screams Gryffindor. Like other members of the Gryffindor house, Gimli is guided by morals, driven by adventure and has a deep loyalty to his friends (the fellowship).
Gimli rarely shows fear — even if he is scared, he never falters. He bravely and enthusiastically enters every battle with confidence in his skill. Rather than practicing caution, he keeps track of body count.
Sauron: Slytherin
This one is obvious. Sauron created the “one ring to rule them all” — because he is power-hungry and wants to rule over all of Middle Earth.
“But Sauron was not of mortal flesh, and though he was robbed now of that shape in which had wrought so great an evil, so that he could never again appear fair to the eyes of Men, yet his spirit arose out of the deep and passed as a shadow and a black wind over the sea, and came back to Middle-earth and to Mordor that was his home. There he took up again his great Ring in Barad-dur, and dwelt there, dark and silent, until he wrought himself a new guise, an image of malice and hatred made visible; and the Eye of Sauron the Terrible few could endure,” per “The Silmarillion.”
That sounds a lot like Voldemort (aka Tom Riddle), a notorious Slytherin. And creating a ring so you can rule the world is pretty resourceful.