Who is Ravenclaw’s Head of House?
by Antariksh Bothale
Editor’s Note: As many of you have pointed out, JK Rowling disclosed that Flitwick is Ravenclaw’s HoH in one of her online interviews. In the absence of this information, the author still wrote an articulate article, and we thank you for the correction.
I read NT-20 and totally agree with Maline’s take on Ravenclaw being hard to reach and her Romance theory. As I read through HP, it suddenly struck me about how LITTLE we know about Ravenclaws. I mean, they really are the mysterious, hard to reach sort. Just think–we know about the Heads of House of Gryffindor (McGonagall), Slytherin (Snape) and Hufflepuff (Sprout). Do we know who the Head of House is for Ravenclaw? NO. I tried to see if any teacher we know fits and here it is. I have the name of the teacher followed by his/her probability of being revealed as HoH of Ravenclaw.
Dumbledore: Headmaster (So not possible)
McGonagall: Already HoH of Gryffindor
Snape: Already HoH of Slytherin
Sprout: Already HoH of Hufflepuff
Hooch: Don’t think she would be (too busy with flying!)
Trelawney: She can’t be either. (Who would want her?)
Flitwick: I will explain later
Vector: Seems to be the MOST PROBABLE. We know Vector teaches Arithmancy, which seems to be quite a difficult subject, meaning s/he must be clever and sharp.
Now as we see, the ONLY thing we know about Vector is that he (or she, we don’t even know that!) teaches Arithmancy. That’s all. S/he has been mentioned just once in the whole HP series. S/he is the most probable HoH.
Other teachers are not permanent – we have Kettleburn, Grubbly-Plank, and Hagrid as CoMC teachers, and Quirrell, Lockhart, Lupin, Moody, and Umbridge have been DADA teachers, but each for only a year.
We have ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA (or I haven’t read the books carefully enough) about the Muggle Studies and Ancient Runes teacher.
I have DELIBERATELY not mentioned Professor Sinistra in the above list. She definitely needed special attention. Just think: She, the astronomy teacher, in the North Tower high up – hard to reach. What astonishes me most is that how the Ravenclaws, being a part of the school, are so noticeably isolated. Harry has double lessons with Slytherins and Hufflepuffs but not with Ravenclaws. Also, double lessons with Slytherins are POTIONS, with Snape (Slytherin HoH). Double lessons with Hufflepuffs are HERBOLOGY, with Sprout (Hufflepuff HoH). So we can deduce that the DOUBLE CLASSES INCLUDE THE OTHER HOUSE’S HoH AS TEACHER. Also, Harry studies the following subjects:
TRANSFIGURATION
POTIONS
DADA
CHARMS
HERBOLOGY
ASTRONOMY
DIVINATION
CARE OF MAGICAL CREATURES
Hermione, apart from the above-mentioned subjects, studies:
ANCIENT RUNES
ARITHMANCY
MUGGLE STUDIES (AT LEAST FOR THE THIRD YEAR)
By my deduction, we can assume the Ravenclaw house master doesn’t teach Harry and Ron. We see the world from Harry’s perspective and Ron has taken the same subjects as Harry. So the three subjects which only Hermione studies – Ancient Runes, Arithmancy, and Muggle Studies, are on the list. Now, the teachers for Ancient Runes and Muggle Studies have never been mentioned, so I think it must be Professor Vector who is the HoH of Ravenclaw. JKR never mentions a character unless that person turns up later in the books.
At last, let me justify my stand against Prof. Flitwick being the HoH. I know he has the chances (and he is also HARD TO REACH given his low stature!), but then I think they should have had Double Charms with Ravenclaw. Maybe Hermione has Double Arithmancy with Ravenclaws, under Prof. Vector. That could also explain how Hermione came to know about Ginny and Michael Corner’s dating together. Maybe Ginny has taken Arithmancy too, or even Michael. Ron has declared himself how bright Ginny is, and Arithmancy really seems to be a difficult subject. That also explains how Hermione seems to know more about Ginny than even Ron.
