What House Was Hagrid In Before Harry Potter?

There are a ton of lovable, unforgettable characters to be found in the wizarding world of "Harry Potter," but the big-hearted half-giant Rubeus Hagrid might just be the best of all of them. Played on-screen by the late Robbie Coltrane (who passed away in the fall of 2022), Hagrid, who's always referred to by his last name, is pivotal to Harry Potter's (Danie Radcliffe) journey from the very beginning. After Harry's parents are killed by the Dark Lord Voldemort (ultimately played by Ralph Fiennes) while Harry is just a baby, Hagrid collects Harry from the rubble of the Potter home and brings him to safety; when Harry turns eleven years old and is unaware of his magical heritage, Hagrid arrives to pester Harry's awful non-magical Muggle relatives the Dursleys and tell him that he's all set to start school at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Throughout Harry's time at Hogwarts, Hagrid serves as a parental figure and guiding force; he's always there for Harry and his two best friends Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) and Hermione Granger (Emma Watson), even if he does sometimes put them into tricky situations without meaning to do so. So what Hogwarts house was Hagrid in while he was at school, what other house would have been a good fit for him, and what happens to Hagrid after the "Harry Potter" story ends?

According to Wizarding World — the official online encyclopedia that covers all things "Harry Potter" — Hagrid was in Gryffindor as a Hogwarts student, though this is never specifically specified in Joanne Rowling's original novel series. "Hagrid's Hogwarts house is never mentioned in the books, but, given his kindness, noble nature and bravery, it might not come as that much of a surprise that Hagrid was in Gryffindor," the website clarifies. 

It does make sense, to be honest, that Hagrid is in Gryffindor, the house of the brave and bold Hogwarts students who often charge headfirst into dangerous situations without a second thought. (Harry, Ron, and Hermione are all Gryffindors as well.) Throughout the series, Hagrid shows a constant affection and affinity for seriously vicious magical creatures including but not limited to a baby dragon that nearly burns down his house, a freakish animal hybrid Hagrid probably breeds himself called the Blast-Ended Skrewt, and a hippogriff named Buckbeak (who, honestly, isn't actually that bad after all). This tendency to embrace dangerous creatures does end up getting Hagrid expelled from Hogwarts, though; after he raises Aragog the acromantula (a giant spider) within Hogwarts' walls and a student is killed by a mysterious force, he's framed for the crime by a young Tom Riddle (who becomes Voldemort). 

Though Hagrid is allowed to stay on as the gamekeeper thanks to Albus Dumbledore (Richard Harris in the first two films and Michael Gambon for the remainder of the franchise), the shame of his expulsion from Hogwarts sticks with him ... even though Aragog never attacked any students in the first place.

Because of the whole "expelled from Hogwarts after a student dies" situation, some "Harry Potter" fans are confused that Hagrid is a true Gryffindor ... because the student killed was actually murdered by a basilisk roaming the school on the orders of the Heir of Slytherin after opening the Chamber of Secrets. So how could Hagrid, a Gryffindor, possibly be accused of being the Heir of Slytherin? (No, he's probably not a secret Death Eater, though the theory is pretty fascinating.)

On a Reddit thread parsing this entire situation, user u/pawterheadfowEVA wrote, "so a while I googled Hagrid's hogwarts house. It said that he seemed to be a Gryffindor. I personally find him more similar to Hufflepuff than Gryffindor but that isn't the point. The Point is that if Hagrid was Gryffindor OR Hufflepuff, how would he have been accused of being the heir of Slytherin."

The explanation here is, sadly, that it was simply easier to accept a young Tom Riddle's explanation that Hagrid and his spider were responsible, and that people probably didn't even think he was the Heir of Slytherin in the first place. (Riddle is, obviously, the heir and culprit here.) As u/shuaib1220 replied, "Like Cornelius [Fudge, the Minister of Magic] said 'his record was against him,' Riddle showed efficient evidence to frame Hagrid. He's extremely persuasive as he said and Dumbledore knew/ensured Fudge that Hagrid didn't hurt anyone nor release the monster. But knowing Fudge, he just does things to please people, to make it seem as if everything is under control. So they took his wand."

The truth is that Hagrid could have fit in well in a different Hogwarts house ... but it's definitely not Slytherin. Unfortunately, Hagrid isn't the most booksmart guy around, so Ravenclaw — a place for the most studious of Hogwarts' pupils — wouldn't be a good match either. With that said, Hagrid would actually make a pretty good Hufflepuff.

Why's that? Well, Hufflepuffs are notoriously fair, and though Hagrid can definitely be quick to anger, he gives everyone a chance, even when Slytherin students like Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton) make it a point to bully him after he becomes the Professor of Care of Magical Creatures. He also works hard, both as the school's groundskeeper and in his post as a teacher, although he sometimes overshoots (showing young third-year students a massive hippogriff might have been a misguided idea). As Wizarding World says about Hufflepuffs, "They take pretty much everything in their stride. They're not scared of hard work, and they definitely step up to the plate when called upon, but they also don't worry about things they can't control." This definitely sounds like Hagrid, although the fact is that the Sorting Hat put him into Gryffindor for a good reason: his outright bravery. Hagrid would make a fine Hufflepuff, but the hat's word is final, so he canonically remains a Gryffindor.

You may recall that Hagrid rescued a baby Harry from his parents' ruined house after Voldemort's attack ... and at the end of the franchise's final book and movie, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," Harry sacrifices himself to Voldemort with the Dark Lord at his full strength in order to destroy the evil wizard's final Horcrux that resides within Harry. So who retrieves Harry's body and carries him out of the Forbidden Forest? That would be a weeping Hagrid, who has no idea that Harry is still alive and now finally ready to take Voldemort down once and for all.

As Joanne Rowling revealed to Today in 2007 after the final book came out, she knew that she couldn't kill Hagrid throughout the series because she specifically wanted him to carry Harry at the end. "It was very significant," Rowling said. "Hagrid brings Harry from the Dursleys. He takes him into the wizarding world ... He was sort of his guardian and his guide ... And now I wanted Hagrid to be the one to lead Harry out of the forest." So what happens to Hagrid after that?

In the novel's epilogue, Harry reminds his son Albus Severus, who's ready for his first year at Hogwarts, that Hagrid wants to have him over for tea once he's sorted into a house and settled in nicely. Hagrid also appears in an early version of the "Harry Potter" stage play — which spanned two parts and roughly five hours — in sequences involving a Time-Turner (a time-travel device), but he was cut along with a few other characters. That's basically what we know about Hagrid's life after the end of "Harry Potter" — but he does play a pivotal role in the story's grand finale.