Even though we never get to meet the founds of Hogwarts, we cannot deny the impact Salazar Slytherin, Rowena Ravenclaw, Helga Hufflepuff, and Godric Gryffindor had on the entire wizarding world at large. If it weren't for these four, Hogwarts wouldn't exist at all. Their impact can be felt across the entirety of the Harry Potter franchise.
Whether it be Godric's sword, Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets, or the fabled Ravenclaw tiara-turned-Horcrux, J.K. Rowling took meticulous care with folding them all into the mythos. Many fans are passionate about creating intricate backstories and headcanons about the founders. There are tons of hilarious memes charting their potential Hogwarts journeys. We're sharing ten great ones on this list.
Why Helga Hufflepuff was the best
Despite the founders leaving behind an incredible legacy, they did have their faults. Even the noble and brave Gryffindors were selective about those who would be welcomed into their house. Ravenclaw and Slytherin also had strict criteria that needed to be met in order for students to be permitted entry. The only house with more lax rules is Hufflepuff.
Helga Hufflepuff was not as judgmental or arrogant as the other founders. Education is meant to be about teaching anyone willing to learn. Helga is the only founder who truly believed that and thus she is arguably the best of all four founders.
Houses as Tumblr text posts
The above post is a hilarious take on what each Hogwarts house represents at its foundation. Each one is represented by one of the many brilliant text posts floating around on Tumblr. For Gryffindor, of course, they would be upset about swordsmanship not being a respected college major! Who wouldn't be?
Ravenclaw's text post is particularly relatable. Many of us were told we were "gifted" at a young age. Then we spent years struggling because everybody catches up eventually and you're not that special after all! As for Slytherins, despite their intimidating reputation, at the end of the day, they're as insecure as everyone else.
How the Sorting Hat came to be
Considering how great the minds of the Hogwarts founders supposedly were, one has to wonder how they came up with the concept of a talking hat. Why wouldn't they do something more epic like sword fights or wizarding duels? Well, maybe Godric Gryffindor and Helga Hufflepuff got very drunk one night and birthed the idea of a talking hat over Butterbeer.
What is also notable about this particular text post is the implication that Godric and Helga were close friends that regularly got drunk together and came up with ridiculous ideas. Who doesn't love that headcanon?
Hogwarts School Board
The Hogwarts founders presented the idea there were four types of kids, brave, smart, evil, and miscellaneous, per the joke in this tweet. But that is fundamentally true. Gryffindors were known for bravery, Ravenclaws for intelligence, and Slytherin as, well, evil. But what about Hufflepuff?
They weren't known for one specific trait. Everyone looked down on them because of the fact they are supposedly the easiest house to get into. This tweet pokes fun at the little thought the school founders put into defining the sorting material meant to be followed by the Sorting Hat and that no one ever tried to argue against them.
The Room of Requirement
To this day, the Room of Requirement and who created it remains a mystery in the Harry Potter world. Fans have begun to theorize there is a possibility that Helga Hufflepuff created the room as a way for people to access the things they most desperately needed.
If Salazar Slytherin was able to have his private chamber, why wouldn't the other founders do the same thing? This theory also implies that perhaps Helga's idea for the Room was to make Godric's weapon room and Rowena's magical library more easily accessible. They may have all been connected to the Room of Requirement.
The Ever-Changing Staircases
The first Harry Potter book introduces us to the mystical and magical world of Hogwarts. Harry and Ron have a terrible time trying to get to their classes during the first week due to the ever-changing staircases, mysterious walls, walking statues, and unhelpful portraits.
You would think a school of magic would be designed to help students get their education, not hinder them. But this meme helps explain how that possibility came to be. Perhaps Rowena wanted to give her students a daily challenge, and everyone was helpless to stop her. Or, in Godric's case, took the changes as a tactical challenge.
Where to build Hogwarts?
Has anyone ever wondered why, exactly, Hogwarts is built next to something as dangerous as the Forbidden Forest? Surely there were other locations in the world that would have been safer and more fitting to place a school set to host hundreds of magical children?
Well, maybe it was placed there on purpose. Godric simply thought it would be awesome to stick a school next to a forest full of dangerous creatures and Salazar, as someone with an equal interest in all things diabolical, encouraged him, much to the chagrin of Rowena and Helga.
How the Hogwarts motto was chosen
The Hogwarts motto is "draco dormiens nunquam titillandus," which translates to "never tickle a sleeping dragon." What made the school founders decide on that as their motto? One of the funniest things about the Harry Potter fandom is their headcanon that perhaps Godric and Salazar were once great friends.
If so, it stands to reason they would frequently be off doing foolish things, as is evidenced in many of these memes. Maybe one day they were considering tickling a sleeping dragon and they all collectively realized that it has a ring to it in Latin! Plus, it is solid advice, after all.
Healthy & Safety visit at Hogwarts
Can you imagine if Hogwarts had to follow similar regulations to those found in the Muggle world? Picture a team of health inspectors coming to investigate the school before it can open and somehow stumbling upon Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets.
How would Salazar try and cover that up? They would be hearing faint hissing in the walls as the Basilisk traveled through the pipes and Salazar would be quick to chime in and say, "don't worry! It's from the Chamber of S-Safety." The moment explained in this meme is almost sitcom-worthy.
The third-floor corridor
One of the main plot points in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone is the mysterious room in the third-floor corridor. Many fans wondered why such an intricate arrangement of rooms ever existed at Hogwarts in the first place. But maybe it's because the founders always knew one day the school might be used to house a valuable artifact!
Except, why would they ever think the school is the safest place when Slytherin built it with a giant, murderous snake inside a secret chamber all along? It is funny to think about what was going through the founders' minds when they were constructing Hogwarts, that's for sure.