So last Thursday night, I saw Fantastic Beast and Where to Find Them with my dad, his best friend, my friend Meghan, and my cousin Alex. I'd been kind of nervous about the movie, partly because I was so disappointed by The Cursed Child, and partially because I didn't know how to process that there were going to be five films made with a protagonist from Hufflepuff. As a Hufflepuff, I've spent years having to defend my house from people who doubt how amazing we are and having to fight for the recognition we deserve. However, the second I saw Newt wearing his Hufflepuff scarf while trying to catch a niffler, I knew the movie was going to make all my dreams come true. However, when we left the movie, my cousin kept saying how Hufflepuffs weren't that important, even though he'd just watched a movie about Hufflepuffs literally ruling the world. So I'm going to take this opportunity to tell you all why Hufflepuffs are the greatest people ever.

When you first read Harry Potterat least if you were like me, you wanted to be in the house of your favorite character. Harry Potter was mine, so all I wanted to be was a Gryffindor. As I got older, however, all of that changed. I realized that I didn't like how impulsive Harry was, how the Gryffindor practice of act first, ask questions later, didn't really sit well with me, and how as much as I loved red and gold, Gryffindor wasn't my home. When I make a big decision, I think about how it'll affect everyone else before how it'll effect me. I value my family more than I value anything else in the world. I want people to be happy and safe more than anything, and I try to live my life making others' lives better. That's not really Gryffindor. But the Sorting Hat has a place for everyone, and by the time I took my Pottermore Quiz and was sorted, I was positive Hufflepuff was for me.

According to Pottermore, "Hufflepuffs value hard work, patience, loyalty, and fair play ". Hufflepuffs are the kids who make sure that everyone is picked first for kickball at least once. Hufflepuffs are the ones who make sure the group project is done by everyone, not just the smartest kid, or the kid with the most time, but every single person. Hufflepuffs are the friends who come to every one of your plays and sports games and are the ones cheering the loudest in the audience. When the Battle for Hogwarts was being waged and students were asked to stay and fight for their school, "The Slytherin table was completely deserted, but a number of older Ravenclaws remained seated while their fellows filed out: even more Hufflepuffs stayed behind, and half of Gryffindor remained in their seats " (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows). Sure, the Gryffindors had their friends and family in the Order, and the Gryffindors are known for their bravery, but the house that has supposedly "meek" and "cowardly" people ends up having the second most amount of people stay? Do you want to know why half the Hufflepuffs didn't stay? Because the over 17-year-olds didn't makeup half the house. We're not idiots (no offense Gryffindors), but we know that only fully trained wizards and witches could help with the fight against Voldemort, and the rest of us would be better getting our fellow classmates out of Hogwarts to safety. Yes, I was three years old when this battle actually happened, but I know that's what my housemates were thinking, because Hufflepuffs care. We are loyal to our school, to our friends, and to our families, and the Hufflepuffs who fought in the final battle were heroes, just as much as the Gryffindors who stayed.

Speaking of heroic Hufflepuffs, let's talk about them: Hufflepuffs are BAMFs. Sure, Harry Potter killed the Basilisk, but who made the mandrake reviving potion to save those already petrified? Pomona Sprout did, and when she's not busy saving people's lives, she's being the BEST HEAD OF HUFFLEPUFF HOUSE EVER!!! Sorry, I really love that woman. Then there's Nymphadora Tonks, better known as the metamorphagus who we all love because she and Luna were the only lights in the darkness that was Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Tonks died in the final battle after helping protect Hogwarts and her family as best she could. Tonks sacrificed her life so her son, the son of a half-blood metamorphagus and a werewolf, could have freedom. And speaking of said werewolf, people literally ran from Remus Lupin. Tonks looked past the werewolf and saw the man, and she accepted both, loved both, married both, and had a precious baby boy with that man. Tonks was loyal to Remus regardless of anything that anyone, including him, could say about how dangerous he was. And besides her romantic life, Tonks made Sirius laugh. She made Harry smile when he literally was about to lose it. She kept Ginny and Hermione happy. She made sure that people didn't lose hope when there was nothing to hope for.

Then there's Cedric Diggory. People forget about Cedric or write him off because Harry was the other champion who went to Hogwarts, but Harry wasn't the Hogwarts Champion. The Triwizard Cup picked Cedric Diggory as the best candidate to represent Hogwarts in the Triwizard Tournament. Cedric was so honorable that he made sure Harry got the cup with him, instead of taking it for himself. And, if you remember, Cedric wanted Harry to take it by himself because he felt Harry deserved it more. Sure, Cedric had faults, but his loyalty and honorability had been a constant character trait since his introduction in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban when he fought for the Quidditch match to be redone since Harry had fallen off his broom. Cedric would have won the tournament by himself if he was from any other house, but Hufflepuffs know what is right, and Cedric knew that Harry deserved the cup just as much as he did.

Finally, and there are obviously hundreds of Hufflepuffs, like Helga Hufflepuff who literally is the greatest woman ever (please see the cover photo of this article), but the inspiration behind this article is my new icon, Newt Scamander. Spoilers will follow so stop reading or skip ahead if you haven't seen Fantastic Beasts yet. Newt created the literal wizarding-bible of magizoology. Newt saved the Statute of Secrecy in New York City. Newt exposed Gellert Grindelwald working in the MACUSA. Newt saved an entire species of animals that were on the brink of extinction. Newt was one of two people who tried to save Credence and also one of the only ones who believed that being an Obscurial was a legitimate mental illness and not the fault of its victim, unlike many others. Just watch Fantastic Beasts, Newt is my favorite person ever and you all deserve the privilege of getting to know him.

I could go on and on about how proud I am to be in my house, and why you wish you were a Hufflepuff, but I won't. Eddie Redmayne, fellow Hufflepuff and the actor behind my love Newt Scamander, can say everything I've ever wanted to say better. So, I'll leave you with a gif of our best skill and the promise that if you see Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, you will understand why Hufflepuffs are the best. And what are Hufflepuffs best at?

(Image Credit: the-xfiles-is-bisexual.tumblr.com)

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