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The popularity of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter has made every Harry Potter book reader and movie watcher dream about going to the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and being sorted by the Sorting Hat. Each individual Hogwarts House (Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff) has many supporters, with fans even buying merchandise associated with their dedicated house.
But in the Harry Potter series, the Hogwarts Houses aren’t treated all that equally. Harry Potter is sorted into Gryffindor, and both his school bully and his nemesis are Slytherins. Gryffindor and Slytherin’s dispute extends from the Quidditch pitch onto the battlefield. The other two Houses receive far less attention, with Hufflepuff being particularly neglected. It’s unfortunate because being a Puff comes with as many advantages as it does disadvantages.
10 PERK: Everyone Is Accepted In Hufflepuff
If there’s one word that defines Hufflepuff House, it’s acceptance. While the founders of other Hogwarts Houses value individual principles like courage, cunning, or intelligence, Helga takes a different approach. She welcomes everyone in her house, choosing to emphasize virtues like hard work and patience rather than a particular ability.
This makes Hufflepuff House inclusive and far less prone to succumbing to disputes than any other house. Hufflepuff students are known to value everyone equally, a trait that the Wizarding World really should focus on more.
9 HARSH REALITY: Puffs Are Mistakenly Seen As Useless
Hufflepuff’s approach of acceptance is often misinterpreted, as it is seen as the “leftover” house. Even the benevolent Hagrid has a dismissive attitude, commenting that everyone says Hufflepuffs are “a lot o’ duffers.” Meanwhile, Draco Malfoy offers that if he were sorted into Hufflepuff, he would actually leave. It’s truly a rare case of a Slytherin and a Gryffindor agreeing on something.
Of course, this attitude couldn’t be further from the truth. Hufflepuff has yielded numerous talented witches and wizards. Examples include Fantastic Beasts’ protagonist, Newt Scamander, who dueled Gellert Grindelwald and received an Order of Merlin for his contributions to Magizoology, and Triwizard Champion Cedric Diggory, who tragically loses his life during Voldemort’s resurrection.
8 PERK: Hufflepuffs Can Be Dangerous If Crossed
Despite the less-than-stellar reputation of Hufflepuffs, the house of badgers shouldn’t be underestimated. In fact, underestimating them can be very dangerous. Befitting of their house mascot, Puffs can be fierce when angered, and someone who doesn’t take the threat seriously may find themselves with a problem on their hands.
Auror Nymphadora Tonks embodies the principles of her house in every way. While fun-loving and goofy, she is also an excellent fighter and a powerful asset to the Order of the Phoenix. Tragically, she is eventually killed by her aunt, Bellatrix Lestrange, though this may have been because she was just recovering from childbirth.
7 HARSH REALITY: They Never Really Seem To Win The House Cup
Another feature that makes Puffs different from other house members is the fact that they are far more modest and less prone to value their successes above all else. Cedric Diggory even offers Harry the Triwizard Cup, but Harry suggests an alternative (that they both take it) indirectly leading Cedric to his death. This sense of fair play which Cedric so embodies may make the house less competitive than the other three.
Throughout the series, Hufflepuff never wins the House Cup, with Gryffindor and Slytherin usually battling for the top. Players of the game Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery have complained that they never seem to win the House Cup as Puffs, something that hasn’t been an issue for Gryffindor or Slytherin players.
6 PERK: Being A Hufflepuff Means Having Great Friends And A Supportive Head Of House
Hufflepuff House is about more than just hard work. It’s also about loyalty and friendship. Being a Puff means having a lot of friends, as the house is far more united than any of the other three. Even leaving aside Slytherins, who tend to be more prejudiced, Gryffindor has been known to treat Harry poorly, and Ravenclaw wasn’t the best home for Luna Lovegood. Hufflepuffs seem to always stand together, and it’s one of the reasons why it is such a great house.
The Head of Hufflepuff House and Herbology teacher, Pomona Sprout perfectly embodies these traits. While she can be stern with her students, she is also very warm and encouraging and is easily the most maternal of the teachers at Hogwarts. The students under her care are in great hands.
5 HARSH REALITY: The Loyalty Of The Puffs Can Be A Double-Edged Blade
Having loyal friends is doubtlessly important, but, sometimes, it can have unfortunate side effects. Harry’s relationship with the Hufflepuffs is soured on two different occasions. In The Chamber of Secrets, he is suspected of having participated in the Heir of Slytherin’s attack on Justin Finch-Fletchley. Hufflepuffs are not immune to displaying prejudice, as they immediately brand Harry as evil just for speaking Parseltongue.
This behavior may be understandable, considering the highly dangerous circumstances of Harry’s second year. During Harry’s fourth year, when Harry is chosen to compete as the fourth champion in the Triwizard Tournament, the Hufflepuffs are furious with him. Feeling Harry is upstaging Cedric, they wear the Potter Stinks badges that are presumably created by Draco Malfoy. The sense of hostility between Harry and the Puffs only fades during the Battle of Hogwarts, when they stand up to defend Harry from Pansy Parkinson.
4 PERK: Their Welcoming Common Room Is Located Near The Kitchens
Being a Hogwarts student comes with many perks, and Hufflepuffs have their own unique advantage. Their common room is the coziest one of all, focusing on comfort and on providing a welcoming feeling. Warm and sunny, it is furnished with overstuffed sofas and armchairs and decorated with plants that are a nod to the house’s affinity to the earth and Herbology. This would undoubtedly help young students adjust easier to having to live in a boarding school.
The Hufflepuff Common Room is also located right next to the kitchens. This means the Puffs have easy access to the Hogwarts kitchen, and to the house-elves working there. As it was Helga Hufflepuff who brought the elves to Hogwarts, an enterprising Puff would definitely be able to make good use of this proximity.
3 HARSH REALITY: They Are The Only House That Doesn’t Really Have A Password
The Hufflepuff Common Room is the only one Harry Potter doesn’t infiltrate during his schooling at Hogwarts. It is only because Harry never really had an interest in it, as Hufflepuff is the only house that doesn’t have an actual changing password. Instead, visitors have to tap barrel two from the bottom in the rhythm of “Helga Hufflepuff.”
Getting the password incorrectly would douse the potential intruder in vinegar, which also makes Hufflepuff the only house to have an active defense mechanism. But that doesn’t change the fact that anyone who actually wanted to go inside could do it with ease. The password never changes, and the gimmick could easily be avoided with only a few attempts.
2 PERK: Hufflepuff Is The House With The Fewest Dark Wizards
Considering the overall attitude of acceptance Hufflepuff House promotes, it perhaps makes sense that Hufflepuff House is the one to have yielded the fewest dark wizards. In fact, the only known dark wizard from Hufflepuff is an alternate version of Cedric Diggory, who becomes a Death Eater as a result of Albus and Scorpius’s meddling with time in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.
The twist is actually seen by fans as highly questionable, but, even so, it does prove some important points. Hufflepuff has the potential for darkness but only in extreme circumstances. And when that happens, when a Puff is pushed to the limits, it’s a good idea to run and hide. Death Eater Cedric falls so far, he actually kills Neville Longbottom.
1 HARSH REALITY: The Fat Friar Is The Ghost With The Least Importance
Alongside its Wizarding students and teachers, Hogwarts is also the home of numerous magical creatures, including ghosts. Each individual house has its own ghost. The ghosts of the other Hogwarts Houses are plot-relevant in some way, with Slytherin’s Bloody Baron and Ravenclaw’s Grey Lady being particularly important in unveiling the mystery of Voldemort’s Horcruxes.
The same thing cannot be said about Hufflepuff’s Fat Friar. He welcomes the young students into the castle in Harry’s first year, after making a comment about giving Peeves the poltergeist a second chance. It is perhaps his only meaningful contribution.
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