Warning! There are some spoilers ahead. If you haven’t read all the Harry Potter books, you might want to turn back now…

Gryffindor

Well, we all know how this house contributed to winning the Battle of Hogwarts… particularly how a certain Gryffindor defeated one of the Darkest wizards of all time. Yes, if it wasn’t for Harry Potter, the wizarding world could have looked rather different – and a lot bleaker. And obviously his two best friends, Ron and Hermione, who fought alongside him, were instrumental in Voldemort’s downfall.

Then you have Neville, who defied Voldemort, drew the sword of Gryffindor and beheaded Nagini – a Horcrux and one of Voldemort’s most cherished companions (as much as Voldemort could cherish something). Then there were the Weasleys, Remus Lupin, Professor McGonagall, the memory of Dumbledore – the list goes on and on. Honestly, if we were to list all the ways that Gryffindor helped to win the Battle of Hogwarts, we would be here all day. Instead, let us tell you about one of our favourite Gryffindor moments.

How could we talk about the Battle of Hogwarts without mentioning one of its most iconic moments? Molly Weasley, wracked with grief from the death of her son, stood up and defeated Bellatrix while delivering that line: ‘NOT MY DAUGHTER, YOU BITCH’. Her rage and her power in that moment were quite something to behold. This witch, who was easily underestimated, defeated Voldemort’s right-hand woman and proved that you should never mess with the Weasleys.

Hufflepuff

As a house that it is often overlooked, it’s easy to, well, overlook the important role of Hufflepuff in the Battle of Hogwarts. When the time came to fight, Hufflepuff rose to the challenge – exemplifying their house trait of loyalty. Out of all the houses, only Gryffindor had more students who decided to remain behind at Hogwarts and face the evil before them. While this house did a lot as a whole, there were a couple of individuals who stood out.

Firstly, you have Nymphadora Tonks. What you need to remember is that Tonks had only recently given birth to her son, Teddy. She had every reason to stay behind and away from danger, but she didn’t. Instead, she chose to set an example for Teddy by doing what she could to ensure that her son grew up in a better world. She may have lost her life that day, but she didn’t go quietly and fought until the bitter end.

Then you have the Head of Hufflepuff, Pomona Sprout. Not once did her loyalty to the school waver. She knew that she wouldn’t be able to stop Voldemort from breaching the walls, but she could slow him and his cronies down with the ways she knew best: using magical plants as weapons, including screaming Mandrakes to boot. Ingenious.

Ravenclaw

When it comes to a battle, you need brains as well as brawn to emerge victorious. It’s lucky then that Hogwarts has a house well known for its intelligence and wisdom. And it is even luckier that many of its members decided to stay and face Voldemort.

One such clever soul was the Head of Ravenclaw, Filius Flitwick. He used his Charms expertise to perform incredibly complex magic to stop Voldemort and his supporters from breaching the walls of Hogwarts for as long as possible. His actions allowed Harry time to try and find the lost diadem of Ravenclaw which contained a piece of Voldemort’s soul. When the Death Eaters did breach the walls of Hogwarts, he used his considerable wit and excellent combat skills to take down the likes of Yaxley and Dolohov – not an easy feat.

Then there was Luna Lovegood. She did so much for Harry and the wizarding world in the Battle of Hogwarts, it’s hard to know where to begin. She was the one who helped Harry find the diadem. She was the one who helped him thwart a pack of Dementors with words of gentle encouragement and her own hare Patronus. And she was the one who knew Harry needed space and time in the aftermath of the battle, and caused a distraction so he could slip away. Without her, Harry would have been lost.

Finally, it wasn’t just the living members of Ravenclaw that played their part on this fateful night – the dead did to. Specifically, Helena Ravenclaw, otherwise known as the Grey Lady. She had spent centuries tormented by the regret and shame that came with stealing her mother’s diadem. More recently, she had the regret and shame of telling a certain Tom Riddle about the location of the diadem. But she found redemption at the Battle of Hogwarts, sharing her closely guarded story with Harry which helped move him along the path to defeating Voldemort.

Slytherin

Last but by no means least, let’s talk about the way Slytherin contributed to defeating Voldemort at the Battle of Hogwarts. Obviously, we have to address the elephant in the room first. Yes, the Slytherins were led out of the castle at the beginning of the battle. And yes, Voldemort and most of his Death Eaters were former members of this house… But that doesn’t mean there weren’t those that played an important part in defeating Voldemort.

First there was Severus Snape. While Voldemort thought he was on his side, it turns out that Severus had secretly been working on bringing an end to Voldemort’s terror for years. When the battle was at its peak, Snape gave Harry the key to unlocking what he needed to end Voldemort once and for all – his memories. Without them, Harry would never have known that he was another of Voldemort’s Horcruxes and that he would have to sacrifice himself to destroy that piece of Voldemort’s soul. Without Snape importing that knowledge, the battle would have had a very different outcome.

Then there is the other Slytherin we think deserves to be called out – Horace Slughorn. Yes, he might have left to lead the rest of his house out of Hogwarts… but he came back. When he arrived in Hogsmeade, he didn’t run from the fight, instead he helped to rally the villagers and returned to Hogwarts bringing reinforcements. In fact, he was one of the final three people (alongside Professor McGonagall and Kingsley Shacklebolt) to duel with Voldemort before his final showdown with Harry. This might appear to be somewhat out of character for Slughorn, who was known to be a little lazy and had perfected the art of running away. However, he had felt genuinely remorseful for telling a young Tom Riddle about Horcruxes and wanted to redeem himself. Fundamentally, he was good person, and that night he became somebody that Slytherin house could be proud to call their own.

Incidentally, it was his actions during the battle that helped to change the wider wizarding world’s perception of Slytherin – which had been unshakeable for hundreds of years. His courage lifted some of the stigma from his house and his portrait now hangs in pride of place in the Slytherin common room.