In the first Harry Potter installment, Dumbledore awards some last-minute points to Gryffindor that wins them the house cup, and then the tournament is never really mentioned again — here's why the house cup stopped being important. In the Harry Potter book series, the Hogwarts house cup garners much more significance, with students being awarded and losing points many times. Among many things that Harry wants, one of his biggest wishes in The Sorcerer's Stone is that he will win the house cup for Gryffindor, as Slytherin has taken the winnings for the previous six years. While this is highlighted more in the novel, the movie still sees Dumbledore give Gryffindor the victory after Harry, Ron, and Hermione save the school from Professor Quirrell and Voldemort.
By the time that Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. At first glance, it may seem like a plot hole, but there is a reason why the house cup is no longer in play. The absence of the house cup marks a definitive narrative shift in the Harry Potter series. As Voldemort grows in power, things like the house cup don't matter anymore, as Harry and his friends are no longer fighting for points anymore — they're fighting for their lives.
Who Actually Won The House Cup In Harry Potter (& When)
In The Sorcerer's Stone, Slytherin was first in the running for the Hogwarts house cup, hoping to continue their six-year streak. Richard Harris' Dumbledore famously awarded Gryffindor 170 points at the end-of-term feast to snatch the house cup in Harry's first year. In the Chamber of Secrets book, Gryffindor won the house cup again, after Ron and Harry were awarded 200 points a piece for going up against Voldemort's then-unknown horcrux in the Chamber of Secrets. For Prisoner of Azkaban, Gryffindor took their third win because they managed to scoop up the Quidditch cup that year. After Prisoner of Azkaban, no other house cup winners are mentioned, which is fitting considering that the narrative scope shifts to the gang going up against Voldemort in the flesh.
Why Hogwarts Stopped The House Cup
Outside of the obvious reasons why the house cup lost importance in Harry Potter, Hogwarts put the house cup tournament on hold for a number of years as well. Order of the Phoenix, possibly skewing any and all points towards Slytherin. Therefore, it's not really mentioned in the books or the movies what happens to the house cup in Harry's fifth year.
The Half-Blood Prince sees Dumbledore's death at the end, which overshadows something so trivial as the house cup. Finally, the wizarding world is in a state of all-out war by the time Hogwarts until the final battle to find out what happened with the house cup. All in all, the house cup in Harry Potter loses its importance as Harry grows up and is faced with much bigger battles. It's a necessary shift for the protagonist, as it's just one more symbol of his journey from boyhood into manhood as he faces his biggest threat yet.
