A Very Potter Post: Heralding Hufflepuff

I remember my first experience on Pottermore (the old Pottermore). While I cared about the new book-related information and the fun, interactive tours of Diagon Alley, I was primarily interested in getting sorted into Hogwarts. I zoomed through the first part of The Sorcerer’s Stone right to the sorting ceremony. Like young Albus Severus, I started the sorting process feeling both nervous and excited, and I hoped to be in Gryffindor. I had to be in Gryffindor. I’m embarrassed now to admit that I took the quiz with Gryffindor in mind. The quiz was surprisingly difficult to manipulate, but I did my best to answer as though I were in Gryffindor.

So the moment I finished the quiz and the screen read Hufflepuff I felt a huge wave of disappointment.

It shouldn’t matter, right? I was an adult, and it was fictional, after all. And I didn’t even have to accept the results of the quiz—a short personality quiz couldn’t actually tell me anything about myself. Nevertheless, my heart sank. So I erased my account and tried again. This time I took the quiz and answered honestly. The result: Ravenclaw. While still a little sad about not being in Gryffindor, I felt relief for not truly belonging to Hufflepuff. I have taken other quizzes since then, and I always get interesting results. One quiz told me I was a mix between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw. The updated Pottermore told me I was in Hufflepuff. The quiz for Ilvermorny (the American equivalent of Hogwarts) sorted me into Horned Serpent, though I’m still not quite sure what that means. The point is, I never felt quite satisfied with my results because I thought anything other than Gryffindor was second (or third or fourth) best.

In the first book, the sorting hat seems to favor Gryffindor: “You might belong in Gryffindor, / Where dwell the brave at heart, / Their daring, nerve, and chivalry / Set Gryffindors apart . . .” From the beginning of the series, Gryffindors are “set apart” from the rest of the students. Most of our favorite characters from the books were in Gryffindor. The entire Weasley family was sorted into Gryffindor. Hermione, the brightest student in her year, was sorted into Gryffindor. And Harry Potter, the boy who freaking defeated Lord Voldemort, was sorted into Gryffindor. Gryffindor seems to be the end-all be-all of Hogwarts. The books almost push a Gryffindorian agenda since every installment revolves around acts of daring and bravery. Many of the Gryffindors I know see their sorting as a badge of pride—proof that they’re special. They look down their noses at us lowly Ravenclaws. (OK, that’s not fair. I know not all Gryffindors are arrogant, but my old insecurities at not being in Gryffindor made me resentful.)

Even if we couldn’t be in Gryffindor, as we took the sorting quiz on Pottermore we chanted, “Not Hufflepuff. Not Hufflepuff.” Those who proudly accepted Hufflepuff as their house held their chins up high while the rest of us secretly pitied them. Yet sometime during the four or five years since I was originally sorted on Pottermore I have had a change of heart, and my recent adventuring in the Harry Potter world has shed new light on the underrated house. I hesitate to say there’s a “best” Hogwarts house, but if I had to choose one, if you made me pick, I might actually choose Hufflepuff. As a house, it espouses the most noble and most important values, and we should all try to be a little more Hufflepuff.

Let me explain.

As any Potter fan knows, each house is motivated by the characteristics that describe it. In Sorcerer’s Stone (and many of the other books) the sorting hat describes these characteristics quite plainly.

Gryffindors are motivated by courage and daring;
Slytherins are motivated by cunning and ambition;
Ravenclaws are motivated by cleverness and learning;
and Hufflepuffs are motivated by loyalty.

Doesn’t loyalty seem disjointed from the other house characteristics? The sorting hat uses words closely associated with action or motion. Loyalty seems more abstract or even animal-like—dogs are loyal creatures, but they’re not particularly courageous, ambitious, or clever.

While we romanticize the other characteristics, and while I won’t deny their importance in a dynamic human being, I believe loyalty is the loftier attribute. Hufflepuff is the only house that is motivated by relationships, by standing boldly and unflinchingly alongside others. Instead of turning inward and drawing on personal strength and power (like Gryffindors, Ravenclaws, and Slytherins), Hufflepuffs turn outward. They focus on other people.

So here’s my main argument and one of the overall themes of the Harry Potter franchise: the truest, noblest characteristic you could possess is loyalty, and we’d all be a lot better off if there were more Hufflepuffs in the world. The Harry Potter universe, while full of courage, learning, and ambition, is more about love and loyalty than it is anything else. (While love and loyalty are not necessarily synonymous, they certainly uphold each other. True love requires loyalty, and loyalty often grows out of love.) The books would have no meaning without the relationships and loyalties of its characters.

The greatest sorrows and conflicts come to the characters we know and love when someone is disloyal. One of the biggest cowards in the book (arguably the biggest coward) displays his cowardice via disloyalty. Without Wormtail’s betrayal, “the Boy Who Lived” may have simply been “a boy who lives.” The entire book hinges on the loyalty of a friend. On a less devastating scale, Percy grows disloyal to his family and friends as he advances in his career at the Ministry of Magic. He redeems himself by returning to his family and by realizing that his defiance wasn’t strength, courage, or intelligence—it was disloyalty.

Conversely, the greatest victories and joys throughout the book come through acts of loyalty. At separate key moments from the story, Lily and Narcissa save Harry’s life because of the love and loyalty they feel for their children. Snape remains loyal to Lily and Dumbledore, which makes him integral to Voldemort’s downfall. Harry defends Dumbledore, so Fawkes delivers the sword that disables the Basilisk in The Chamber of Secrets. On an equally admirable scale, Neville puts his life on the line by defending Harry to Voldemort. And Dobby’s ultimate sacrifice for Harry and his friends is born out of love and loyalty for someone who had once saved him.

Think of nearly all of the moments you love from the series; all of the moments that send chills down your spine; all of the moments that make you angry. Think of the moments you paused to reflect on the reading. Think of the moments of greatest emotion. I’d wager that most of these moments have love and loyalty either at their center or on the line. Harry Potter teaches us that love is more important than anything. Love is more important than everything. And love without loyalty is fruitless.

I’m going to go out on an even bigger limb here: I believe most of the inspiring peacemakers throughout history were Hufflepuffs. People like Gandhi, Mother Teresa, and Jesus all thought of others before they thought of themselves. They were motivated not by courage, cunning, or intelligence, but by love and loyalty. They turned outward to others rather than inward to themselves. On the other hand, the evil and power-hungry individuals throughout history could not have come from Hufflepuff. Dictators, religious zealots, and corrupt politicians did not aspire to their esteemed positions out of loyalty for others. Likewise, Voldemort was loyal to nobody, and he only understood loyalty as a means for power, not a force on its own, thus setting the path for his own downfall. Dumbledore learned the price of disloyalty as a young wizard. After losing his family, he dedicated himself, as a loyal servant, to fighting the dark arts. Fiercely loyal to muggles and wizards alike, he counteracted Voldemort’s hatred and inspired loyalty in others.

Now, admittedly, many of the characters and situations I mentioned above also involved a fair amount of courage, cunning, or intelligence. Lily’s sacrifice would have required a great deal of courage. Narcissa’s lie was a cunning strategy to reach her son. But there again, courage and cunning throughout the book are often inspired by loyalty. Lily probably didn’t have to think twice about standing between Voldemort and Harry. It wasn’t really a matter of courage. There was no question. Thus, loyalty provides the backbone for most (if not all) of the noble actions from any of the characters. Loyalty is the backbone for the entire Harry Potter series.

Unfortunately, Rowling has yet to give us a memorable Hufflepuff hero. Certainly we can look to Cedric Diggory as an exemplary Hufflepuff, and people often forget that the sorting hat made Nymphadora Tonks a Hufflepuff. In the books, Tonks is brave and talented, and she gives her life to The Order of the Phoenix. Yet Rowling wrote Cedric and Tonks as minor characters, and Hufflepuffs everywhere await the emergence of a strong Hufflepuff hero. Hopefully that wait is almost over.

Hufflepuff will soon get its time in the spotlight. An Entertainment Weekly article notes a Rowling tweet in which the author states that “This is starting to feel like the dawn of the age of Hufflepuff.” With the Harry Potter spinoff film Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them coming out later this year, we’re sure to learn a little more about what it means to be a Hufflepuff since the main protagonist was sorted into the house during his Hogwarts years. We may even learn more about Hufflepuff when The Cursed Child comes out in less than a month. In any case, I’m excited to learn about Hufflepuff and its champions as J.K. Rowling reveals more about the Potter universe. Until then, I’m content to cheer for the underdog. And hopefully Hufflepuff won’t remain the underdog for much longer.