Poor Hufflepuff. Despite the fact most Hufflepuff students are notorious for being kind and considerate, Hufflepuff still often gets the shorthand of the stick. Their house is commonly considered a joke due to not being known for bravery, cunning, or intelligence, like the other houses.
Even main characters in Harry Potter typically believe that Hufflepuffs are somehow beneath the other houses and considered less skilled or worthy. We know that’s not true. There have been plenty of clever witches and wizards sorted in Hufflepuff. Helga Hufflepuff herself was extremely altruistic and a bright, notable witch. However, as if just to show the range of Hufflepuffs, they have also been responsible for some surprisingly mean acts.
The Hufflepuffs turned against Harry in Goblet of Fire
In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, most of the school turned against Harry after his name was called from the goblet during the beginning of the Triwizard Tournament. Many of the students believed that Harry cheated to gain more glory despite the fact Hogwarts already had a champion in Cedric Diggory.
Hufflepuffs were also hoping that Cedric would be their first change at notoreity and that Harry was trying to get in the way of it. Despite their reasoning, it still seemed cruel for them to distrst Harry so readily and wear the “Potter Stinks” badges with pride.
Ernie Macmillan spread rumors about Harry being the heir of Slytherin
Back in book two, there was a rumor going around that Harry was the true Heir of Slytherin and the person behind opening the Chamber of Secrets. Ernie Macmillan, a pompous Hufflepuff student, was known for being the person to instigate these rumors and persistently spread them around school.
There was more than one occasion when Ernie was only too happy to make people believe Harry was secretly evil and controlling the Basilisk.
Zacharias Smith is a jerk who bails on the final battle
Zacharias Smith just gave Hufflepuffs a bad name in general. Every time we saw Zacharaias he was being a jerk. He constantly complained about everything and always had an attitude.
Despite all of this, surprisingly, Zacharias still decided to become a member of Dumbledore’s Army and stuck it out until the end. However, he cowardly bailed on the final Battle of Hogwarts and even shoved first-years out of the way so he could try and escape.
Depending on who you ask, Helga initiated house elf enslavement at Hogwarts
If you’re someone who thinks in similar fashion to Hermione Granger, you might believe that Helga Hufflepuff’s decision to implement house elf employment at Hogwarts was an unkind action.
In truth, Helga did it so that the elves would have stable employment with benevolent employers, but still, to some it might seem like another form of indentured servitude due to the lack of house elf rights.
Justin Finch-Fletchley fuels the rumor that Harry is evil
During the dueling club in the second book, Harry accidentally reveals his secret Parseltongue ability to everyone in the vicinity. After Malfoy makes a serpent shoot out from his wand, it turns its fangs towards Justin. Harry makes the snake back off in Parseltongue, but Justin doesn’t take it that way.
While it may not be entirely Justin’s fault since he was clearly startled and unsure of what was happening, you’d think he would give Harry the benefit of the doubt. Instead, he hurls an accusation at Harry that adds fuel to the fire of Harry being Slytherin’s heir.
Professor Sprout devised a Devil’s Snare to protect the Sorcerer’s Stone
Professor Sprout’s duty to devise a Devil’s Snare as one of the many challenges to keep the Sorcerer’s Stone safe.
Of course, this isn’t mean to the people trying to protect the stone but if you ask Harry, Ron, and Hermione, they might think a little differently since they got tangled up in the plant and almost died in its clutches. Anyone else forced to tussle with it might have also felt the person who created it was “mean” too.
Cedric dates Cho before Harry
Again, this wasn’t intentionally a mean act but Harry became pretty jealous when Cedric would up asking Cho out on a date before he got his chance to.
Cedric and Cho get into a relationship sometime during the third book. Harry shows resentment towards Cedric for being able to get everything he wants without having to work that hard to achieve it.
The Fat Friar was partially responsible for inflicting Peeves on everyone
As far as ghosts go, the Fat Friar was actually a nice guy. But the problem was, he was way too nice. The Fat Friar was partially responsible for keeping Peeves around at the castle.
He felt bad for the poltergeist and believed that all Peeves needed was a chance to prove himself. He was always willing to give him another chance even when the other ghosts were firmly against keeping him around.
The Hufflepuff common room has a curious anti-intruder device
Surprisingly, the Hufflepuff common room is the most well-protected out of all four houses. It is the only common room that hasn’t been visited by anyone who wasn’t part of the house it was meant for. No non-Hufflepuff has ever been into the room.
In order to gain access, you have to tap out the precise code on the right barrel where they’re stack up. If you tap the wrong amount of times or on the wrong barrel, you’ll be greeted with a face full of vinegar.
Cedric Diggoy became a Death Eater
Cedric’s storyline in Cursed Child has been met with a large amount of dissastisfaction and criticism by fans of the series who weren’t happy with the direction things went in and felt it was a disservice to the character.
In the books, during an alternate reality, Cedric becomes a Death Eater, murders Neville Longbottom, and aids Voldemort in winning the war. Given everything we know about Cedric, it doesn’t seem likely that this is something Cedric would do even if pushed to an extreme.
Next: Harry Potter: The 5 Most Powerful Hufflepuff Wizards And Witches (And The 5 Worst)
