Ravenclaw:
Annotated and dog-eared books, lovingly highlighted and battered with broken spines and worn covers; sitting in a bay window with a hot coffee as rain pours outside; ink on a page; the scents of vanilla, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, damp stone, and rain; early spring when everything is cool and wet and green; antique chemistry sets; a winter sunrise; vintage dresses; huge, soft sweaters with leggings and flats; sleeping on a bare mattress with a single pillow and heavy blankets; curtains dancing in front of an open window on a summer night; stargazing; astronomy; paint-stained clothes and hands; pencil sketches on homemade paper; doodle-riddled notes and assignments; scouring the web for obscure facts in the middle of the night; writing essays at three a.m. in a caffeine induced haze; exploring old moors; pressed flowers between the pages of heavy books
Slytherin:
Ivy climbing a crumbling stone wall; slinky velvet evening gowns; finely tailored suits; torch-lit stone halls; furniture of leather and dark woods; the scents of coffee, allspice, wood smoke, and steel; black tea; heavy wool coats; misty hills and damp stone; the quiet hours just before dawn; cold spring rains; special-edition, leather-bound versions classic horrors like Frankenstein and The Picture of Dorian Gray with gold and silver-leafed pages; rooms lit only with stained glass lamps; the twilit sky painted indigo, gold, and bloody orange; hedge mazes and dark forests; jewel-tones like sapphire blue, deepest red, and emerald green; knife-sharp eyeliner and matte lips painted in reds so dark they look black; sky-high heels knocking on the stone floor of an empty cathedral; quiet words powerful and carrying as thunder
Hufflepuff:
Summer mornings when the forests come alive; wading through creeks looking for stones to collect and little frogs to catch; pulling up grass and hand-tilling soil for a garden; tire swings; picnics on a hill; making pottery with clay you harvested yourself; arms covered in mud and dirt up to the elbows; rolled-up jeans and sun-bleached t-shirts; sneakers battered from exploring fields and forests; herbs hung from the ceiling to dry; washing fresh-grown vegetables in the sink; sitting down for a family dinner; laying in the grass with your significant other pointing out the shapes of clouds; standing up for that one kid at school that gets picked on; settling a fight between your little siblings; holding a friend while they cry; painting pictures of everything you see even if you’re not very good at it; potted plants in every available space in your house; a messy kitchen that smells like cookies and baking bread; volunteering with the Special Olympics; reading to little kids at shelters; helping your friend with a breakup by treating them to a movie night complete with footie pajamas and ice cream
Gryffindor:
Going to all the charity events your high school hosts; getting into scraps because someone picked a fight; late-summer bonfires surrounded by the songs of cicadas and frogs and glimmering fireflies; roasting a marshmallow until it bursts into flames; throwing your best friend into a pool; pickup games of basketball with the neighborhood kids; screaming your lungs out at a concert or football game; going out on the town with your friends; eating as much pizza as you can; traveling the world because it makes you feel alive; trying to cook something and catching it on fire; laughing so hard it hurts; lighting fireworks on the Fourth of July; laughing with your friend to make them feel better after an awkward attempt at asking someone out; riding your bike to your friend’s house; messing with your sibling and being ready to tear someone apart when they try to do the same; living until it hurts because you’re young and invincible and free