Hello! I have yet to read a "HufflepuffHarry" story, which I find surprising. After all, all 11-year-old Harry wanted was to be accepted and finally have friends. I think Hufflepuff would be the best house for him to do that.
I will be following the books, but may mix in some movie things if I'm going off memory instead of the books. The first few years probably won't have many changes, but Hufflepuff will eventually become a House that is just as respected at the others, and some of their adventures will change due to Harry's new friends. Hermione will still be a friend, and Ron eventually will be. If you have any other questions feel free to PM me. If Sam seems to mary-sue (which would disgust me so please let me know if that happens) and I will shut her down super fast. xD
On with the story!
Samantha's mother, Gabriella Taylor, desperately tried to straighter he daughter's hair to perfection one last time.
"Mum, the wind from the train is just going to mess it up again," Sam complained.
"Just hold still!" Her mother commanded. Jason Taylor looked on with amusement, Samantha's little brother tucked under his arm.
"Perfect!" Gabriella finally put the brush in her bag. Samantha's long brown hair was sleek and shiny, courtesy of her mother's insistent brushing.
"I'm going to miss the train." Sam insisted. Gabriella ignored her pleas and pulled her in for one last hug. "Remember Sammy, it doesn't matter what House you get in, as long as you're happy and make lots of friends."
"Yes mum. I love you!" Sam kissed her mother's cheek and ruffled her brother's hair. "Take care of them Mikey."
"Love you Sammy!"
Jason helped carry her trunk to the train. "Don't forget to write. I love you sweetheart." He pulled his daughter in for a tight hug.
"Bye Dad." Samantha's eyes watered as her dad let go. He gave her a big smile, and then the train was whistling and she hopped on board. She waved to her family, wiping the tears from her face. I'll see them at Christmas. And besides, I'm going to Hogwarts!
-BREAK-
After passing a few compartments that had older students or already had a bunch of younger people in them, she reached one that had two boys in it. She debated looking for one with some girls her age, but her trunk was heavy and she didn't want to lug it all around the train if this was really the last compartment.
"Do you mind if I join you?" She asked, peeking her head into the compartment. The boy with jet black hair and glasses glanced at his red-headed friend.
"Sure." He said.
"Thanks." She slipped in and sat next to the window. There was a moment of awkward silence, and as the black haired boy moved, his hair parted and she saw a glimpse of a lightning scar.
"You're Harry Potter?!" She demanded, shocked. Her parents used him as a lesson to say that no matter how young you were, you could accomplish anything (mostly for chores, which Samantha thought was a terrible comparison, but still).
"Erm, yeah." Harry replied awkwardly. Samantha realized she was staring at his scar and blushed. Her mother would be furious at her manners.
"I'm Samantha Taylor, by the way." She stuck out her hand. "Sorry for the, um, staring."
Harry grinned. "I suppose I'll be getting a lot of that." Samantha smiled in reply. She extended her hand to the red haired boy next.
"Ronald Weasley." He stated, giving her hand a quick shake.
"So Samantha, are you from a full wizarding family too?" Harry asked.
"Sort of. My parents are both muggle-borns, so they don't use too much magic around the house. They just use the practical stuff. But that doesn't stop them from making me do chores." Sam rolled her eyes.
"Tell me about it! My mum always goes on about being responsible, and that I won't be able to whip my wand out for everything when I'm of age." Ron jumped in.
"I can't wait to use magic. I'll never have to wash a dirty dish again." Samantha said.
"That sounds great." Harry agreed.
"What house do you want to be in Harry?" Samantha asked.
"I don't know. I don't know much about the houses." Harry admitted.
"What? How do you not know about the houses?" Ron demanded.
"Well, I was raised by muggles." Harry said, looking a little ashamed. "That's alright Harry!" Sam assured him. "The Houses are Slytherin, Ravenclaw, Gryffindor and Hufflepuff."
"Gryffindor is the best." Ron added. "Slytherin is the worst."
"My parents told me that one house isn't better than the other, and that each house has great qualities." Sam quoted.
"What qualities?" Harry asked, before Ron could go on about how Gryffindor is better than any of the other houses.
"Well, my dad told me it's like this: Slytherin is for the cunning and ambitious. Ravenclaw is for the clever and smart. Gryffindor is for the brave and bold. Hufflepuff is for the kind and loyal."
Ron waved his hand dismissively. "That's just what they want you to think. Slytherin is full of the evil kids, Ravenclaw is for the people who likes books, Gryffindor is for the good and courageous, and Hufflepuff is just a bunch of pushovers."
Sam glared at him. "I want to be in Hufflepuff." A moment of tense silence followed her words.
"Why do you want to be in Hufflepuff?" Harry asked quickly. He didn't want his first two friends to already be mad at each other and hoped more conversation would smooth things over.
"My mom told me to go to the house that will make me happy and where I'll make the most friends. Hufflepuff is known to be friendly and loyal. I love the idea of a bunch of people being nice to each other for seven years." Sam said.
Harry hadn't thought about that. What if I had to dorm with Dudley for 7 years? He was interrupted by an old lady with a trolley walking by.
"Candy from the trolley dears?" She asked kindly.
"I'm good, thanks." Ron said with a grimace, holding up a sandwhich.
"Hold on, I have some money in my trunk." Sam jumped up and began rummaging in her trunk for her coin purse.
Meanwhile, Harry was handing the trolley lady a handful of coins and taking a little bit of everything. Everything. Samantha's eyes nearly popped out of her head. Her parents weren't necessarily health freaks, but she had never been allowed near that much candy.
"It's alright Sam, we can share." Harry said.
"Wow, thanks Harry!" She said, sitting back down.
"Ya, thx Hery," Ron added through a pumpkin pastry.
Sam grabbed a chocolate frog, a liquorice wand and a sugar quill. The next hour or so was filled with meaningless chatter, dares to eat Bernie Bott's flavored beans and multiple sugar highs.
A boy came by and asked if they had seen a toad. When they responded with negatives, the poor kid looked near tears and left to search for his lost pet.
"Poor guy." Sam said sympathetically, munching on her Sugar Quill.
"A toad is cool than this old thing." Ron agreed, pointing to his rat.
"At least you have a pet. I'm not allowed one until at least third year. I need to learn more responsibility first." Sam sighed. She loved her parents, but couldn't they understand that the kitten she had seen in the window was adorable and she needed to own it?
"I guess. Fred and George – my older brothers – taught me a spell to turn him yellow." Ron said.
"Can you show us?" Harry asked, eager to see magic being done. Ron pulled out his wand and cleared his throat. Before he could cast the spell though, a girl about their age with bushy hair came by with the same sad looking boy in tow.
"Hello, have any of you seen a toad? Neville's lost his."
"We already told him we haven't seen it." Ron responded. The girl's eyes were drawn to his wand. "Oh, are you doing a spell? Let's see it then."
Clearly uncomfortable, Ron waved his wand and spouted words that were yellow. Scabbers barely even twitched.
"That didn't sound like a real spell." The girl said disapprovingly.
"Do you know any?" Sam asked curiously. The girl's eyes glowed.
"Well, I've read all the books of course, but I've done only a few spells. I'm Hermione Granger, by the way." The three first year's eyes went wide.
"You read all the books?" Sam asked. "Were we supposed to do that?"
Hermione blushed. "I don't think so no. It's just….magic is so fascinating isn't it?"
"What can you do?" Harry asked.
In response, Hermione pulled out her wand and pointed it at Harry's nose. "Reparo!" Harry's crooked and taped up glasses were fixed immediately.
"Wow!" Sam breathed. "That's really good! My mum did that on our window. Mikey – that's my little brother – cracked it when he tried to fly my dad's broom."
"Why was he on a broom?" Harry asked.
"He was trying to play Quidditch." Sam explained. "Quidditch?" Harry asked.
"You don't know what Quidditch is?" Ron, Sam and even Neville asked in surprise.
"Erm – is that a bad thing?" Harry asked uneasily.
"It's only the best sport in the world!" Ron declared.
"I'm going to continue looking for Neville's toad." Hermione said quickly. It looked like Ron was about to go on a rant.
"Oh, I never introduced myself. I'm Samantha Taylor." Sam said, standing up and reaching out to shake their hands.
"Neville Longbottom." Neville said, after she shook Hermione's hand. Sam gave him a warm smile. "Nice to meet you! Maybe we'll all be in the same House."
"Maybe." Neville mumbled, giving her a shy smile. Hermione and Neville departed after that and Ron launched into the intricacies of the game of Quidditch.
Sam had just swallowed a Bernie Bott Bean (Vanilla, score!) when a blonde boy and two boys who looked like miniature bodyguards came by their compartment.
"Rumor is that Harry Potter is on the train." The boy said.
"What's it to you?" Sam asked. She had a few bullies at her primary school, and they all shared the same facial expression of disdain and superiority.
"I'm Draco Malfoy." Draco said, as if that explained everything. "Let me guess –" He turned to Ron. "Hand me down robes, red hair, freckles – you must be a Weasley?"
"Yeah, so what?" Ron demanded.
"You shouldn't hang out with riff-raff like the Weasley's and this no-name over here." Draco turned. "I can help you there." Draco extended his hand to Harry.
"I think I can choose my own friends, thanks." Harry responded coldly. Draco glared at him. He looked like he wanted to say more, but it was 3 on 3, and he didn't want to fight a girl. His father had raised him better than that.
"You'll regret this Potter." Malfoy said at last, and stalked away.
"Ponce." Ron muttered. Sam smiled mischievously at Harry. "Defending your friends Harry, how very Hufflepuff of you!"
"No, he stood up to Malfoy. That was brave and so he's a Gryffindor." Ron argued.
"Nope, it was for his friends. Out of loyalty. Completely a Hufflepuff move."
"Gryffindor!"
"Hufflepuff!"
"I think it was more Slytherin, honestly." Harry interrupted. Ron and Samantha stared at him in surprise for a second, before Harry broke into a grin. Ron and Sam burst into laughter. Harry smiled, happy he had made his new friends laugh. Inwardly, however, he couldn't help but think, What House do I really want to be in? Can I choose between them?
What did you guys think? Read and Review!