A Beginners Guide to Being a Hufflepuff

Chapter Two - Yellow and Black

As you probably know by now, the house colors for Hufflepuff are black and yellow. When we were looking at colors for our house (we being Godric, Salazar, Rowena and I) we each took the time to find colors that had meanings that aligned with our own values.

Rowena chose blue because it symbolizes intelligence, wisdom and truth. All things that Rowena wanted her students to be. She also chose bronze as the secondary color of her house. Bronze refers to strength, growth and experience, which were things that Rowena wanted her students to obtation.

Godric, of course, chose red the most 'heroic' of colors as his facet color. As it symbolizes danger, adventure and violence, I'm not sure where he got that from. Anyways, Godric also claimed gold for his own. Symbolizing courage, passion and magic gold has always been a pretty flashy color.

Salazar's first color choice based solely upon its meaning would be perhaps the most confusing if you didn't know him personally. Everyone assumes that I'm the healer, though I'm not sure why, but although I did dabble in the healing arts Salazar was the real star of the show. Where Godric was great at dueling Salazar matched him in the healing arts, that's why they made such good friends, you see. Godric hired him as his personal healer and then they hit it off, you would have never seen two closer people than them, until their falling out that is. Anyways, back on topic.

Salazar ended up choosing the colors green and silver. Green commonly represents healing and fertility. Silver is usually thought of as sophisticated and elegant, a nice balance for his students. After considering what each of them chose, as I went last, I decided on yellow and black, two colors that most people think of as polar opposites.

Yellow, as you might have guessed, means optimism, happiness and creativity. Three things that I think it's important that all students go forward with, no matter their house. I also chose black, this was not because of most of the ideas of death and darkness that follow the color, but because of what the color black is. It is not in fact a color, as I have been calling it, but it's the absence of said color, meaning without black all other colors would not have any depth or hue. Without Hufflepuffs the other houses would have no depth or hue.

Hogwarts needs to work as a team to continue to grow and change (as Rowena wants it to), go against all the odds (like Godric does), and to continue teaching stronger and more powerful witches and wizards (which is Salazar's wish). What do I wish? I wish that someday the houses might be abolished, for maybe they were necessary when I was alive but they won't be necessary later on. If the Gryffindors and Slytherins can get over themselves, that is (I swear Godric is amping up the tension on purpose).

All my love,

Helga Hufflepuff

P.s. Seriously, someone needs to feed Dempsey, I can hear him growling from my office