You are a new, incoming student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and are currently in the process of being assigned your house. Standing in the great hall amongst all of your new peers, you see the renowned sorting hat, singing.
You might belong in Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart,
Their daring, nerve and chivalry set Gryffindors apart;
You might belong in Hufflepuff, where they are just and loyal,
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true and unafraid of toil;
Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw, if you’ve a ready mind,
Where those of wit and learning will always find their kind;
Or perhaps in Slytherin. You’ll make your real friends.
Those cunning folk use any means to achieve their ends.
(Excerpted from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone)
Harry and Ron are Gryffindors, both incredibly daring [1], primarily due to their willingness to go into battle, even when they cannot be certain of the outcome. Malfoy, a Slytherin, is particularly resourceful [2] in the way he approaches fights-- he is always able to make the most of a given situation, sometimes using tricks to achieve victory. Hufflepuffs are dedicated, both to each other and to Hogwarts as a whole; they will commit themselves to supporting each other and their classmates above all else. Last but not least, Ravenclaws are defined by their intelligence and wit [3]; it isn’t just that they’re smart, they think and work incredibly quickly.