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Hufflepuff

4th Bee Gee

New Member
Does anyone else feel that Hufflepuff house is quite underrated?

There are quite a few instances of people from other houses looking down on Hufflepuff throughout the books. Right from the very start, Draco Malfoy tells Harry that if he was in Hufflepuff, he'd leave. And Hagrid did tell Harry later that "everyone says Hufflepuff are a load o' duffers" - to be fair to him, before Harry interrupted, it did seem like he was going to add an alternative opinion to this, since he said "but." Also, on the Hogwarts Express, when Harry and Ron met Hermione, the two houses that Hermione mentioned as the ones she thought were best were Gryffindor and Ravenclaw. When she'd gone, Ron agreed, and put down Slytherin...Hufflepuff wasn't given a second thought.

I'd expect a lot of the Slytherins to be dismissive of Hufflepuff, but there are examples of people from Gryffindor, which is supposed to be one of the better houses, making rather cutting remarks about Hufflepuff, and being dismissive of some Hufflepuffs in general. Seamus Finnigan referred to Cedric as "pretty-boy Diggory" and in the third book, when the Gryffindor Quidditch team was discussing their match against Hufflepuff, Fred referred to Hufflepuff as "a pushover" whilst also making a condescending remark about Cedric - "he's too thick to string two words together."

Admittedly, it is stated in the GoF that the Hufflepuffs "were usually on excellent terms with the Gryffindors", but is it possible that a lot of that is down to the gentle, accepting nature of the Hufflepuffs in general? I'm not saying that Gryffindors don't like Hufflepuffs, but it seems like Hufflepuff is a house that is looked down on quite a lot and seen as either a bunch of idiots or a bunch of softies who can be walked all over. I think Hufflepuff is treated somewhat unfairly by some people in the books.

I think that we, as readers, are supposed to favour the Gryffindor house, since the heroes are in it, but I personally like Hufflepuff the best. They're kind, honest, loyal, hard-working...they have some great traits! I love Hufflepuff - it's definitely the house I'd want to be in if I were at Hogwarts. Admittedly, I didn't like Zacharias Smith - he didn't seem a particularly pleasant person, but I suppose not everyone from Hufflepuff is kind and understanding.

Does anyone else feel this way about Hufflepuff?
 
I have gotten the same impression as you as well. But I think part of the reason for that is revealed in the words of the Sorting Hat--I don't have the direct quote, but it said something to the effect of Helga Hufflepuff taught all the students that didn't fit into the categories of brave, smart, or ambitious. The students of Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Syltherin were bound to notice this method in placing the students, and to think of the Hufflepuffs as losers.

But as Cedric Diggory proves, this isn't necessarily true. He seems to be fairly intelligent and brave, although he's a Hufflepuff. It will just probably take the other Houses a while to realize that there is a bit more to the selection process.
 
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