Inside A Hufflepuff's Head
Disclaimer: No, I don't own Harry Potter. Duh.
My name's Amber Summers. I'm a seventh year here at Hogwarts. I'm also Quidditch Captain and Head Girl, and I'm a Hufflepuff. Got a problem? Wouldn't blame you if I did, not really. I was pretty ashamed of my house status until quite recently, when a little first year taught me some proper house pride.
It was the start of term feast, and I was paying close attention to the sorting (cough*yeah right*cough).We were getting our typical amount of newcomers, and the typical- well, types. The ones who didn't look like they would ever amount to anything. The average ones, the ones without any defining characteristic. I was jolted from my reveries when a rather special name was called.
"Potter, Lily!" the stern Headmistress read from the parchment. A vivacious girl with auburn hair and excited brown eyes skipped happily up to the stool, and I swear she winked at me before the raggedy old had slid over her eyes.
I examined the little girl. Her fingers on both hands were crossed, and her tiny face was scrunched up in concentration. The hat opened its mouth and started to say,"Gryff-"
I almost fell off of the bench where I was sitting when the girl shook her head violently. The hat cut itself off and appeared to be a bit stunned. Lily mouthed something, I couldn't tell what, but it seemed to amuse the hat greatly. Lily nodded vigorously to whatever the hat said to her next.
"HUFFLEPUFF!" the hat roared. Lilly ripped the hat off, beaming, and ran over to our table. The entire hall was silent for a few long moments, and then the badgers exploded with cheering and clapping. It was unheard of for a Potter to be in anything but Gryffindor, and a Hufflepuff? The idea itself was completely ridiculous.
After the feast, us Hufflepuffs headed down to our common room, with me leading the tiny first years. All of whom were completely silent, except for Lily Potter, who kept up a constant stream of chatter with me going until we reached the entrance.
"I'm sooo excited about starting here!" Lily bubbled. (Really, there's no better word for it.) "Especially as a Hufflepuff! It's by far the best house don't you think so?"
I stopped and stared at her for a moment. "You actually wanted to be a Hufflepuff?"
Lily looked at me, puzzled. "Of course. Didn't you?"
I exhaled. The honest answer? No. No, I didn't want to be a Hufflepuff at all, not when I got here. In fact, I was still ashamed of being one.
"Not really," I admitted. Lily stared at me curiously.
"Why ever not?"
"Well, Hufflepuff's kind of for the…the leftovers, you could say. The ones who don't fit into the other houses."
"Is that really what you think?" she asked me, then waved and dashed up into her dorm.
As this was my final year at Hogwarts and the year of the dreaded NEWTS, I was kept quite busy, and so didn't take time to ponder the little girl's words. And even if I did, I probably wouldn't have done anything with it. After all, I was a seventh-year, and she was just a firstie. I was much more experienced with the matters of the world than a little eleven year old.
Right?
Anyways, I was loaded with homework all the time, which is why I was up in the Hufflepuff common room at three in the morning. Stretching, I glanced up from the Potions essay I was working on to see a sleeping Lily Potter, head pillowed on her arms. The book she had been reading was lying open next to her, and I went over to wake her, but the title distracted me. It was called What Makes a Hufflepuff Tick. I picked it up and began to read.
Hufflepuffs are often thought to be the students who don't belong in any other house and so are placed with the badgers. While this may be true, Hufflepuffs are the most accepting of all the houses for the reason being that they too don't fit in. Hufflepuffs are the most loyal, friendly, fair, and just of all the houses, and are in many ways what holds the school together. They are the glue, if you will. They encourage tranquility among the other houses in that they have no specific rivalry. Gryffindor and Ravenclaw have that traditional rivalry with the Slytherins, but Hufflepuffs typically get along with everyone. They have the least amount of dark wizards produced from their ranks, and just as many great ones as the other houses. So while the badgers may not be quite as glamorous as the other houses, don't count out the Puffs!
I gently sat the book back down and trudged up to my room, thinking about what I had just read. I went to sleep still pondering it.
When I woke up the next morning, I passed two of my fellow badgers bemoaning the Hufflepuff house.
"Show some Hufflepuff pride, gents!" I called out cheerfully, "After all, the badgers are the best!" I exclaimed, winking merrily at the now awake Lily Potter. Thank you Lily!