Story: The Loyalty of Brothers

"Welcome class to, A History of Hogwarts. If you will please take a seat, we can begin," said Professor McGonagal.

The students quickly filed in. Every year, A History of Hogwarts was always the busiest class on campus because it was dubbed an "easy A." Harry and Ron, much to Hermione's dismay were much more interested in the prospect of an easy grade, than learning the history of their beloved school. Professor McGonagal knew what the perception was of her class. Yet, every year she hoped for one student who would want to learn the material. She smiled when she saw Hermione, knowing at least one student would be paying attention to today's lesson.

"Okay class, settle down. As many of you know I am Professor McGonagal. I teach two classes here at Hogwarts, the class you are in now and Transfiguration. I suspect I will see many of you in that class later today. A History of Hogwarts, is designed to give you a better understanding of the historic school you go to. The things you will learn in this class aren't for the faint of heart, as you know Hogwarts has a torrid past, full of loyalty and betrayal. For today’s lesson, we will be learning about the founding family of the four houses here at Hogwarts. Pay attention, because you are about to learn how the loyalty of four brothers came to create the best wizarding school in the world. " with that last remark, McGonagal turned around and began writing on the board. 

House Rama: House Rama was created to represent our historic hero, Rama, who with the help of a Golden Eagle vanquished the demons that plagued the land. Rama and his wife Sita wanted to honor the eagle who helped save Sita's life and defeat the demon, so that is why to this day, the mascot of the House Rama is a Golden eagle. To remind us that bravery and selflessness go hand in hand. 

House Lakshmana: In House Lakshmana, resides those who are pure of heart and have a deep thirst for discovery. Lakshmana, brother of Rama, gave up everything to follow his brother into every adventure. Because of his dedication to helping his brother, the mascot for this House is the tiger. This is to represent loyalty and fierce discovery. 

House: Bharata: House Bharata is the house of the elephant. Bharata, had to lead in Rama's stead. Rather than be consumed by the power he was given, Bharata stayed loyal to his brothers and led the people with a fair and just rule. This house is represented by an elephant because it represents the steadfast determination and the wisdom to lead.

House Shatrughna: The House Shatrughna is a place for those who dare to be different. This house is represented by the Monkey. During the war against the demon, Shatrughna used his passion for entertaining people, to boost moral during the war. He was also the constant support of the three brothers, who looked to him for strength and guidance. The monkey was chosen to represent this house because the monkey represents balance and control in life. 

"Because the brothers worked together and utilized their unique skills, they were able to rid the land of the demons. While some people consider houses to be better than others, I caution you against that belief. Each of the four brothers played a pivotal role in the foundation of this school and each house has their reason for existing. "

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If you want to find out which house you would be in take the quiz by Buzzfeed and then check out my answer key below. 

Answer Key: 

Gryffindor: If you got Gryffindor, congrats you belong to House Rama

Hufflepuff: If you got Hufflepuff, you are tried and true, you belong to House Bharata

Ravenclaw: If you got Ravenclaw, you are an adventurer, you belong to House Lakshmana

Slytherin: If you got Slytherin, you are mischievous and loyal, you belong to House Shatrughna

Author's Note: 

I got inspired to write this story after reading the Ramayan. When reading this story I saw a lot of similarities between this story and the story of Harry Potter. The eagle dying reminded me of Hedwig and the brothers each reminded me of a different Hogwarts house. For me, picking who would be Slytherin was the hardest decision! I ended up picking Shatrughna not because I think he's evil, but because Slytherins aren't afraid to be who they are and thats the vibe I got from Shatrughna. I hope that by putting the characters into houses, it will help people to have a better understanding of each of the brothers! I hope you take the quiz and comment below to let me know what house you would be in!! 

The Ramayana by R. K. Narayan

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Web Source 

Reading Notes: Ramayana Part 4

• I really want to explore the concept of dharma in my stories. I really like the idea of a cosmic order

• Hanuman- was an interesting character! I liked that he was so strategic when visiting Ravana. Instead of fighting being paraded through the city he was analyzing the layout of the city to help Rama. 

• It would be fun to do a story that featured Hanuman 

• Vibheeshana to me is an unsung hero. Even though he is Ravana's brother he tries to help Sita and ultimately joins Rama's army 

• I still find it interesting that when Rama finds Sita she still has on all her jewelry even though she dropped it along the way (Its not relevant, but super interesting) 

• It was interesting that Hanuman lets Indrajit, Ravana's son, capture him and bring him to Ravana-I thought it was really strategic that he was willing to let the soldiers parade him through the streets, just so he could get an inside look into how the city was laid out
• It would be fun to write a story that was like a guide to spying. It could be written from the POV of Hanuman 

• It is ironic that Rama ends Ravana's life with a weapon from Brahma, who is the creator of all things

This is a photo of Rama. Web Source 

The Ramayana by R. K. Narayan

Reading Notes: Ramayana Part 3

• It is interesting that every hero has his or her own weakness-to me, Rama's weakness would be Sita 
• During my reading I debated whether I thought Rama's love for Sita or his love for his brothers was the biggest weakness 
• Jatayu is by far on of my favorite characters, I think there is something simplistic and awesome  about his devotion to Rama and Sita 
• When Ravana kills Jatayu, I felt like it was Hedwig from Harry Potter dying
• It felt like a right of passage that Rama had to go through to get Sita back 
• I found it interesting that both Sugriva and Rama had their wives stolen- Not only did this help create a bond between the men but it calls into the question of why do the wives keep getting stolen? 
• For a possible story idea it might be interesting to flip the roles and have the men get kidnapped for once
• It would then be up to the wives to be the heroes of the story
• It was also interesting that Sita left her jewelry behind as a way to mark her path, yet when Rama finds her she is still decked out in jewelry (while I know this is an inconsequential detail of the story, it still makes me wonder if she got new jewelry from Ravana or if she was wearing a ton of jewelry while in Exile) 
• When browsing storybooks I saw someone did one over the fashions of India- It would be fun to do a "how-to" story on how to style your outfit with jewelry like Sita
• Sampathi, the brother of Jatayu was also a fun character. I hope I can find a way to use both of them in the same story. 

Jatayu as he fights Ravana. Web Source 

Here is the link to Hedwig's death in Harry Potter. There are so many similarities between the stories. 

The Ramayana by R. K. Narayan