Nobody wants to be a Hufflepuff. I certainly didn’t want to be one. It’s all about the brave Gryffindors and smarty-pants Ravenclaws, and even the badass Slytherins. Being evil (or even scheming) is cool.

Hufflepuffs are not cool.

Well, actually, maybe they are.

I was always the first person to decry my Gryffindor-ness, or to declare unstinting allegiance to the academic-loving Ravenclaw tribe. I’ve done brave things. I thirst for knowledge and love learning. I’d be happy in either, really.

Whenever I mention this to people, however, they laugh at me. My girlfriends past and my current partner in particular.

“You are the most Hufflepuff person I’ve ever met,” says Eliza.

I used to get huffy. Defensive.

“I AM NOT. Hufflepuffs are LAME,” was my continual retort.

But you know, when I think about it, I really am a Hufflepuff. Through and through.

And you know what? I’m cool with it. I actually love it.

Why?

Well, let’s start with the cornerstones of Hufflepuff values.

Friendship. Loyalty.

I am loyal as shit. Give me a reason to get into the trenches with you and I am yours for the war. Hufflepuffs are badgers, yes? Badgers, in case you didn’t know, fuck shit up. They are fierce and protective and, as Rhodry Maelwaedd proclaims in the Deverry cycle, badgers hold on. You don’t want to get on the bad side of a badger.

Couple that with hard-core loyalty and a firm resolve to stick up for the little guy and you have a Hufflepuff.

Mess with anyone I love and I will end you.

But Hufflepuffs aren’t just fierce – they are also Everyone’s Friend and love great food and parties, and that’s pretty much me in a nutshell.

I love cooking for people. Maybe it’s the Latvian blood flowing in my veins, but cooking for people is all about nurturing and creating warm bonds. Hospitality. I love that. Come into my home and I’ll feed you and ply you with whiskey and wine and we’ll play good music and talk about All the Things.

That’s pretty much what I imagine the Hufflepuff common room to be like (minus the booze, of course). And maybe with a hint of Hobbit-hole about it.

Hey, it’s right next to the kitchens. Everyone knows that Hufflepuff is the party house.

I stumbled upon this while I was flitting about on the internet.

That’s right. What can’t we face, if we’re together? Clichéd as it sounds, that moment from Once More, With Feeling really speaks to me. We’re stronger when we’re together, when everyone has each other’s backs and we’re fighting the good fight.

Call Hufflepuffs lame, or easy, or the dud house. Whatever.

I’m Hufflepuff and proud.

Edit: This Sorted This Way parody video is amazing.