The Golden Trio's True Houses

It's commonly accepted by Harry Potter fans that the Golden trio were meant to represent the other three houses. Fan theory is that Hermione represented Ravenclaw, Harry represented Slytherin, and Ron represented Hufflepuff. I don't strictly think that's true.

Hermione very obviously represented Ravenclaw: her thirst for knowledge was unquenchable, to the point where in the first movie of the series, she slaps down a huge book and says, "I checked it out AGES ago for a bit of light reading," to which Ron replies, "THIS is light?!" Her boggart was Professor McGonnagal telling her she'd failed everything.

The other two, however, are a little more tricky. I personally do not believe the common fan theory, I believe it's the other way around. Harry is supposed to have represented Slytherin because he can speak Parseltongue, but that's where his alignment ends with that house. This is highlighted in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, when his name is spit out of the Goblet and he and Ron get into their second biggest fight in the series: "I don't want eternal glory, I just want to be... Look, I don't know what happened that night, and I don't know why. It just did." Harry never wanted to be famous, he never wanted everyone to know his name. Again and again, the series shows his greatest desire as living in relative peace, though perhaps a little mischief now and then wouldn't hurt.

I firmly believe the House Harry is most closely aligned with is Hufflepuff, with his unwavering loyalty to his friends and acceptance of those who on the surface might seem very different from him, such as Luna Lovegood.

Ron, on the other hand, is much more Slytherin (and that's not a bad thing!). He demonstrates this as early as Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, when he sees his reflection in the Mirror of Erised. Always overshadowed by his brothers, he saw himself as Quidditch captain and Head Boy, holding the Quidditch Cup. The deepest and most desperate desire of this boy was to achieve, a classic Slytherin trait. He demonstrates his true House representation, like Harry, most clearly in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, when, under the assumption that Harry put his name in the Goblet, refused to speak to him for weeks out of jealousy. It's even demonstrated by the Horcrux in Deathly Hallows, when it outlined his greatest fear: to never be good enough. "Least loved" were the devastating two words the piece of soul used to tear Ron apart.

Ron exemplified what a Slytherin should be: ambitious, loyal to those who earn it (though with the occasional fight), but still mostly fair. He never cheated to get what he was after, with the exception of his grades, because those didn't really matter to him. Every time he wanted something desperately, he was determined to earn it, fair and square. It was his friends that did the actual cheating (Half Blood Prince: Harry's fake luck potion and Hermione's Confundus Charm).

I believe Ron represented Slytherin, and he should have been put in the House. I think he, as a character, could have done a fantastic job of dispelling the negative stereotypes surrounding the House.