If we got to choose our Hogwarts house, how many of us would pick Hufflepuff?

“I was sorted by the Sorting Hat on Pottermore.

I'm 100% Hufflepuff.”

“I'm so sorry” [laughs]

To quote Mindy Kaling: “Nobody wants to be Hufflepuff.”

In the first Harry Potter book, Malfoy says,

“Imagine being in Hufflepuff, I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?”

In our Slytherin video,

we talked about the story's anti-Slytherin bias.

but at least that house has a certain coolness and prestige.

The story pretty much dismisses Hufflepuff as

essentially, insignificant and boring.

It's got the silliest sounding name and the least badass mascot.

People write off Hufflepuff as the place

where you sort those leftover students who don't have something special about them.

“We play our game, Hufflepuff doesn't stand a chance.

We're stronger, quicker and smarter.”

Yet if you look at the facts,

this perception of Hufflepuff is completely off-base.

Hufflepuffs aren't the riff-raff of Hogwarts-

if anything, they're aspirational.

Hufflepuff represents decency and goodness that doesn't seek to be recognized.

It embodies fairness, justice and loyalty for their own sake-

even when no one is looking.

In short, what the world needs now, is more Hufflepuffs.

So maybe it's time that more of us started stepping up

and claiming the Hufflepuff identity with Pride.

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“You know what I see in Hufflepuff?

I see loyalty, I see fierce friendship.

So we are hardworking, we are compassionate,

and at the end of the day, we are going to do the right thing

and not because of the glory, not because of the glory,

but for the greater good”.

The philosophy of Hufflepuff is this: always do the right thing,

just because.

In the first book, the Sorting Hat tells us:

“You might belong in Hufflepuff, Where they are just and loyal,

Those patient Hufflepuffs are true And unafraid of toil.”

Just take a second to think about how long this list is.

Hufflepuffs are,

one, fair,

two, loyal,

three, patient

four, honest

and five, hardworking.

Put another way,

is there anything wrong with Hufflepuffs?

They're almost morally perfect- deeply virtuous people.

“You saved me!

Take it!”

If you had to use one word to sum up Hufflepuff's superpower,

it would be integrity.

And this is precisely what we hope for from the people

we'd like to make up the world around us.

Loyalty, friendship, a good work ethic and honesty,

that's everything we'd want in a friend or a colleague.

Yet, at the same time

most of us would like to think of ourselves as

successful Slytherins, or daring Gryffindors,

or genius Ravenclaws.

Rowling speaks of her love for Hufflepuff,

“In many, many ways, Hufflepuff is my favorite house.”

But, of course, the author herself is partly responsible

for this dismissiveness towards the house.

Listen to this anecdote:

“My daughter Jessica said something very profound to me,

not many days ago actually, she said to me—

and she, by the way, was not sorted into Hufflepuff house—

she said to me,

'I think we should all want to be Hufflepuffs.'”

Did you notice how even as she's praising Hufflepuffs,

in the same breath, she feels the need to clarify

that her daughter is definitely not one?

So why is it that few of us like to identify as Hufflepuffs,

when it's clear that Hufflepuffs make the world a better place?

Part of the problem is that Hufflepuff strengths

are devalued in our society -

patience, honesty, and loyalty are far less rewarded

than smarts or bold moves.

The biggest reason Hufflepuffs don't get appreciation, though,

is probably that they're not out there bragging about their achievements.

Rowling explained her respect for Hufflepuff

by referring to their behavior during the Battle of Hogwarts:

“The Hufflepuffs virtually to a person stay, as do the Gryffindors.

Now, the Gryffindors comprise a lot of foolhardy and show-offy people...

You know, there's bravery and there's also showboating.

Now the Hufflepuffs stayed for a different reason --

they weren't trying to show-off, they weren't being reckless.

That's the essence of Hufflepuff house”.

Hufflepuffs do good without expecting anyone to see it.

And that's a rare and special person, who embodies both courage and humility.

How many of us can really sustain virtuous behavior

without getting back some kind of validation or gratitude,

even just a simple acknowledgement?

“Sorry to burst that bubble, Pheebs.

But selfless, good deeds don't exist.”

“I'm going to find a selfless, good deed.

I'm going to beat you, you evil genius.”

Only a Hufflepuff can pull off a selfless good deed.

"Please take these Occamy eggshells as collateral for your bakery."

The main Hufflepuff we get to know in the story, Cedric Diggory,

embodies the qualities of the house.

“Cedric Diggory was, as you all know,

exceptionally hard-working, infinitely fair-minded,

and, most importantly, a fierce, fierce friend.”

Harry envies Cedric,

because he's essentially a better looking, more popular, version of him.

“Just wondering if, maybe, you wanted to go to the ball with me?”

“I'm sorry, but someone's already asked me.”

Cedric is hardly the person you want to be competing against,

either in the TriWizard Tournament, or in romance.

“The other boy.

The handsome one.

Cedric”

Meanwhile, mature Cedric seems to be above Harry's petty feelings

of competition and jealousy.

“Look, I realized I never really thanked you

properly for tipping me off about those dragons.”

“Forget about it.

I'm sure you would've done the same for me.”

“Exactly.”

In a way it's hard to imagine this perfect Hufflepuff

being the hero of our story

because it's hard to relate to someone who's so lacking in flaws.

“And this strapping young lad must be Cedric, am l right?”

“Yes, sir”.

So while we tend to look down on Hufflepuffs in the abstract,

it's really the Hufflepuffs who have plenty of reasons

to look down on everybody else.

Cedric Diggory is the one who earns his spot in the Triwizard Tournament

-

which means that, objectively speaking, he's the best all-around student at Hogwarts.

“The Hogwarts champion, Cedric Diggory!.”

Meanwhile, Harry just gets entered in due to his special connection with Voldemort,

and Cedric ends up being the casualty of that situation.

So this plot is a perfect example of the way

that a Hufflepuff excels and outperforms,

only to get overshadowed and even martyred in a cruel, unfair world.

“We'll celebrate a boy who was kind and honest, and brave and true.”

Likewise, in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,

Hufflepuff Newt Scamander is too good for this world

“You're too good, Newt.

You never met a monster you couldn't love.”

Newt embodies an empathetic humanity,

his selfless concern for animals represents an alternative

to the human cruelty that's dominating his world.

“They're currently in alien terrain,

surrounded by millions of the most vicious creatures on the planet—

Humans”.

To further make the case for why the world needs Hufflepuffs,

let's look at some pretty great ones outside of Harry Potter.

This Is Us patriarch, Jack Pearson, would be a Hufflepuff.

“I will encourage you, trust and respect you.”

He's endlessly giving, loving, humble and brave,

never seeking glory,

and always putting his family first, over his own pride.

“You are…something else.”

“I try.”

In real life, “The Rock,” Dwayne Johnson is a Hufflepuff

The world's highest paid actor this year exudes down-to-earth friendliness and kindness,

essential Hufflepuff qualities that are no doubt a big part of

why he's such a universally likeable box office draw.

And despite his buff, macho appearance,

he's also been open about his struggles with depression -

“I fell into a deep depression, and I remember at that time,

the only thing I wanted to do was clean the walls.”

So this shows the Hufflepuff way of doing the right thing,

over curating a self-aggrandizing image.

The deeply good Mr. Rogers would be another Hufflepuff.

[singing] “Would you be mine?

Could you be mine?”

Instead of trying to act macho or cool,

he's given boys a model for masculinity that's about gentleness and decency.

We could actually group Jack, Johnson, and Mr Rogers together because -

while each represents a very different image of masculinity -

all three can be nurturing and vulnerable,

and that's important in male role models.

Some of the best friend characters from literature and movies

would certainly be Hufflepuffs -

like Sam from Lord of the Rings.

He's loyal and hardworking,

and there's no way Frodo would have got to his destination without

Sam.

“I can't carry it for you, but I can carry you.”

Samwell Tarly from Game of Thrones, too.

“I always wanted to be a wizard.”

Yes, he has a Ravenclaw-like bookish nature, but he clashes with the Maesters

because they value knowledge over doing the right thing,

“These Maesters, they set me to the task of preserving that man's

wind-accounting, and enrollments, and bowel movements, for all of eternity.

While the secret to defeating the Night King

is probably sitting on a dusty shelf somewhere

completely ignored.”

and Sam puts helping his friends, and saving humanity, first.

“I made a promise to defend the wall, and I have to keep it.

Because that's what men do.”

More Hufflepuffs in Game of Thrones would be the incomparably faithful knight

Brienne,

“Nothing's more hateful than failing to protect the one you love.”

The morally steadfast Ser Davos,

[Shouting] “You burned a little girl alive!”

“I only do what my lord commands.”

“He commands you to burn children, your lord is evil!”

and Jorah Moramont, who, despite a dark past, is now defined by his loyalty

to Daenerys and her cause.

“All I've ever wanted was to serve you.”

Ned Stark some might call a Gryffindor, because of his bravery,

but he's a Hufflepuff,

because he does the just thing for its own sake,

without expecting any credit -

“I hope I serve you well.”

Just look at the way he let everyone falsely believe he had a bastard son

in order to protect Jon Snow.

Looking at some beloved literary figures, Jane Eyre could certainly be a Hufflepuff.

She's humble, modest,

and doesn't think a lot of herself, or chase glory.

“I must respect myself.”

Beth from Little Women would be Hufflepuff -

she's almost unbelievably kind and virtuous -

“Perhaps you could send the Hummels our bread.”

that's why it breaks everyone's heart when she gets.

“God wants me with him, there is none who will stop him.”

“I never saw myself as anything much.”

Unfortunately, because Hufflepuffs are so morally pure,

they make great martyrs and victims,

and they get killed off by writers who want to manipulate our emotions.

George Bailey from “It's a Wonderful Life”

is someone who struggles with his Hufflepuff identity -

he'd like a more exciting life

“I'm shaking the dust of this crummy little town off my feet,

and I'm gonna see the world!”

but in the end, his Hufflepuff integrity forces him to put his personal dreams aside

“I got two-thousand dollars, here's two-thousand dollars,

this'll tide us over until the bakery opens.”

so that he can help all the regular folks from his home town who need him.

“To my big brother George, the richest man in town.”

Looking at some of our animated favorites -