I'm a Hufflepuff and I think I'm OK With it

I have a coworker who believe it or not, had never read the Harry Potter books, nor seen any of the movies. People like that are out there, guys. They exist. But thankfully, over the holidays we convinced her to watch all the movies and learn the story and that, she did. So, as she was experiencing Harry Potter for the first time we (obviously) had a lot of HP discussion at work and it got me to remembering how much I love Harry Potter. I began reading HP as a kid as each book came out and I have to admit....I have never once re-read them since (it's fine if you judge me, I'm judging me too on this one). Which also got me to thinking, as we had all these discussions, how much I've forgotten about the story. Feeling ashamed and embarrassed like, what kind of HP fan am I (no seriously), I decided to re-read all seven HP books.

So, at this moment not only am I about 3/4 of the way through Chamber of Secrets, but I'm deep in the Harry Potter fandom, guys. Like, deep. I'm talking, listening to Harry Potter Podcasts (if you want a good one my favorite is MuggleCast), buying all the anniversary collector's editions that came out when I wasn't a dedicated enough fan to be aware of such a thing, and of course re-visiting Pottermore.com.

The best part about Pottermore is that once you create an account, you can take the Sorting Hat quiz (written by J.K. Rowling herself so you know it's 2legit2quit) and be sorted into a House. I did this exercise years ago in 2012 when Pottermore first became a thing and I was sorted into Ravenclaw. Since then, I've always identified as a Ravenclaw and even bought Luna Lovegood's wand when I went to Harry Potter World in Orlando. So, once my coworkers and I got to talking about what houses we had all been sorted into, I felt compelled to go back and visit Pottermore. However upon my first visit, it prompted me to create a new account because apparently, unbeknownst to me, Pottermore got a facelift in 2015 and they totally re-did/re-designed the whole thing. So, new account = new sorting quiz.

I took the quiz and was sorted into Hufflepuff. So naturally, I deleted my account, created a new one and re-took the sorting quiz FOUR more times and three out of those four times, was sorted into Hufflepuff.

I was not okay with this because here's the thing: nobody wants to be a Hufflepuff. The internet tells you so, Draco Malfoy tells you so (although his opinion doesn't really count for too much because he's kind of an ass), and even Hagrid was talking some shit about Hufflepuff in book 1. Quite frankly, if there's a house nobody should want to be in I would think it'd be Slytherin for obvious reasons, but what do I know. So, unhappy with my Sorting Hat Ceremony results and very aware of the reputation of Hufflepuff's, I spent an entire Friday night Googling Hufflepuff House to try and convince myself that being a Hufflepuff isn't a bad thing and you know what, I'm convinced. In fact, I'm kind of obsessed with it now and I am full-on embracing my inner 'puff.

Loyalty, patience, hard work, and fair play might not be the sexy qualities of the bravery of Gryffindor, or the ambition of Slytherin but guess what? We're ride or die ok?       

The Sorting Hat says, 

"You might belong in Hufflepuff,
Where they are just and loyal,
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true,
And unafraid of toil."

Unafraid of toil. Our house symbol is a badger. Do I need to remind you that honey badger don't give a shit?

It doesn't And neither do we. We don't care that you think we're boring, or generic (jk I totally did at first hence, this blog post), we know what's up and we always hold true to it. We're underestimated and we're ok with that. I'm underestimated everyday in my real life; a few months ago an Omaha Steaks salesman knocked on my door and when I answered he asked if my mom was home. I said, I'M THE HOMEOWNER, BETCH. I didn't say that, actually, I was thinking it though. The point is, Hufflepuff's are bad ass in a strong and silent, subtle and unassuming kind of way.

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, and sometimes the two go together. 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." - J.K. Rowling.

Even the queen herself said, "In many many ways, Hufflepuff is my favorite house."

Match point: Hufflepuff

So, from the yellow and black, earthy goodness, to Cedric Diggory and Nymphadora Tonks, Newt Scamander and his fantastic beasts, and all the Herbology in between - Hufflepuff is where it's at and I'm here for it.

And if you too are a Hufflepuff, I say let your 'Puff flag fly because as J.K. Rowling herself said, it's the dawn of the age of Hufflepuff.

We're just out here living our best life and, as they say, everyday we're Hufflin'.

Have you taken the Pottermore quiz? What House do you belong to?!