Okay, so this isn't my best work. I was just reading something that was mocking Cedric, and I had to write this. Maybe you'd be nice and review? I'm not being mean to characters for once!
"I'd hate to be a Hufflepuff!" exclaimed eleven year old James Potter, shovelling breakfast into his mouth. It was an innocent comment, a joke coming from the son of a family of Gryffindors.
Harry wouldn't allow it.
"James," he said calmly. "Don't you ever say that again, understood?"
"Why?" James asked. "You know I'm going to be a Gryffindor, Dad. I'm brave. I don't think there's anything wrong with Hufflepuff, I just don't want to be in it. Gryffindor is for the bravest."
"James," Harry repeated, sitting down next to his son, staring at him. "Let me tell you something. I knew someone when I went to Hogwarts. His name was Cedric Diggory."
The Auror paused to take a deep breath. "Cedric was in Hufflepuff. He was one of the best people I've ever met.
"It's impossible to sum up all of Cedric in a sentence. He was brave, he was good – "
"Why wasn't he in Gryffindor, then?" James interrupted. Harry sighed.
"Bravery isn't just a Gryffindor trait, James. Cedric was a living example – he was killed just because he had the misfortune to get in Voldemort's way. If I hadn't been there? He would be alive right now. He would be alive and the winner of the Triwizard Tournament."
Harry cracked a grin. "I have to admit, I was a bit jealous some of the time – I was interested in a girl who he had asked out first. He had the support of most of the school during the Tournament. He beat me in a Quidditch match. He was older. He was smarter. He had every reason to look down on me – I was famous for something I couldn't remember while he had earned every bit of recognition he had. But he didn't. He treated everyone equally. Fairly. And that was why he belonged in Hufflepuff. Fairness. Loyalty.
"I'm not saying that you shouldn't want to be a Gryffindor. I'm saying that you shouldn't look down on Hufflepuff's. Ever.
"So, remember, James – if you ever have to make a choice...between what's right and what's easy...remember Cedric. Remember the man who always chose what's right."