The Virtues of Hufflepuff House and Cedric Diggory (Was: Snape and . . .courage)

[huntergreen_3]

No: HPFGUIDX 106319

Carol wrote:
>>I think the Sorting Hat was making a point about Helga Hufflepuff 
and her values, her willingness to teach everything she knew to any 
wizard child willing to learn, than about Hufflepuff as a House in the
passage you're referring to. The essence of what Hufflepuff itself can
be, and perhaps is intended to be, summed up in Cedric Diggory. What a
tragedy that he died at seventeen. I only hope he's not forgotten in
the coming books.<<

HunterGreen:
The sad thing is that Cedric was always looked upon as such 
a "surprise" in a way to the Hufflepuff house (which as its said over 
and over again in GoF, hardly ever gets any glory). The general 
attitude in the books (and its echoed rather often by fans, who often 
try to put 'lower intelligence' characters like Neville or Peter in 
Hufflepuff, when the house is never said to be "stupid"; although I 
do concede that Neville has *other* Hufflepuff characteristics), is 
that being a Hufflepuff is nothing to be proud of. And I wonder how 
much of that is JKR's intention. 
However, thank you for your intrepretation on the Sorting Hat's song 
in OotP. I hope that was the intention, because looking at it that 
way makes me feel quite a bit better (when I first read it I was 
rather horrified after the good impression I had of Hufflepuff from 
PoA/OotP).