Anyone who has ever set foot inside of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry could tell you that it's beauty is revealing with only looking in the Entrance Hall. Torches line the walls embedded with doors. Marble steps climb up ahead of you. To the right is the Great Hall's oak doors. Beyond those is the room where you, my first year, will eat your meals, receive owl post, and be sorted into your house. 

Tonight, the night that opens the term, you will step in there and see the enchanted ceiling, candles hovering above the four house tables, and the staff table stretching across the front of the room. You will stride down the aisle, let the sorting hat be placed on  your head, and then sit down to a magnificent feast with your house. 

There are four houses: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Gryffindor's are known for their bravery, Hufflepuff's for their kindness and loyalty, Ravenclaw's for their creativity, and Slytherin's for their ambition. You may hear of Slytherin being the 'evil' house and Hufflepuffs being 'leftovers'. I tell you that neither of those stereotypes is true. Slytherin may produce a good number of bad magic-folk, including You-Know-Who, but all houses have their fair share of bad magic-folk. Hufflepuffs are not, in any circumstances, leftovers. Hufflepuff has produced the fewest number of bad wizards, and is home to some of the best magic-folk, including Cedric Diggory, Nymphandora Tonks, and Newt Scamander. 

Each of the houses has their own private common area, where you will share a dorm with 4 other students of your age and gender. There will be a common room where you can study, hang out, and socialize with fellow members of your house. The houses have locations that have locks. While Gryffindor and Slytherin's Common areas are locked by passwords, to get into the Ravenclaw common room you must answer a riddle, and to get into Hufflepuff's you have to tap a certain rhythm onto a set of barrels. Prefects will tell you more.