Hufflepuff

"You might belong in Hufflepuff, Where they are just and loyal, Those patient Hufflepuffs are true, And unafraid of toil"

- The Sorting Hat

Hufflepuff is one of the four Houses of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Its founder was the Medieval witch Helga Hufflepuff. The Head of Hufflepuff is Pomona Sprout. The Fat Friar is the House's patron ghost. Hufflepuff is the most inclusive among the four houses, valuing hard work, patience, friendship and fair play rather than a particular aptitude in its members. Its emblematic animal is the badger, and yellow and black are its colours.

Hufflepuff corresponds roughly to the element of earth.

Traits
Students belonging to this house are known to be hard-working, friendly, loyal, and non-judgemental. It may be that due to their values, Hufflepuffs are not as competitive as the other houses, or are more modest about their accomplishments. Gryffindor and Slytherin share an enormous rivalry, and thus are extremely competitive with one another, whereas Ravenclaw is defined by the intelligence and academic accomplishments of its members. Hufflepuff appears to have the least rivalry with the other houses, except in Quidditch.

According to Minerva McGonagall, all four of the houses have produced exceptional witches and wizards in their time, but due to Helga Hufflepuff's policy of accepting any student and its usually poor performance in the House Cup, Hufflepuff is often thought of as the place where students are sorted when they don't have any of the qualities of the other three houses, which have more defined attributes. Perhaps as a consequence of the broad principles of acceptance upon which it is founded, Hufflepuff has been stereotyped as the house of the unexceptional (or, more unkindly, as "a lot o' duffers"). This also corresponds with the Sorting Hat's song where he states:
 * Dear Hufflepuff, she took the rest and taught them all she knew.

However, this does not mean that there are no talented students in Hufflepuff, or that there aren't students in other houses who perform poorly. Neville Longbottom was sorted into Gryffindor and is unremarkable in all subjects except, ironically, Herbology, which is Professor Sprout's class. Additionally, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle appeared to have been particularly poor performers in all subjects, and did not possess the cunning and ambition prized by Slytherin.

So, though the House is said to have forgone glory for centuries, it is not without its share of exceptional individuals. For example, Hufflepuff Cedric Diggory brought his house rare glory as its Quidditch captain and later as Hogwarts' champion in the Triwizard Tournament in 1994. Also, Nymphadora Tonks was an exceptionally talented Auror who was sorted into Hufflepuff.

It is also of note that Hufflepuff House's loyalty was shown during the Battle of Hogwarts when Harry sees those willing to stay and fight for the school he notices that even more Hufflepuff's stayed than Ravenclaws and the numbers were quite overwhelming. Also when Pansy Parkinson suggested giving Harry Potter over to Lord Voldemort, the Hufflepuff's were quick to show their loyalty to Harry by protecting him.

Common Room
The Hufflepuff Dormitories and Common room are accessed through a painting near the kitchens. It is a quite cosy and welcoming place; not at all like a dungeon. The room is filled with yellow hangings and fat armchairs, with little underground tunnels that lead up to the dormitories, which have round barrel-top like doors. .

Notes and references
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