Harry Potter & the Chamber of Secrets: More Stuff About Hufflepuff

I'm back with more Hufflepuff Sightings in the Harry Potter Series!

This time I delved into Chamber of Secrets and discovered:

• Second house mentioned in the book, right after Gryffindor
• Gryffindor and Hufflepuff take Herbology together
• Justin Finch-Fletchley introduced -- Harry knows him by sight.  Justin was going to Eton but once he was discovered to be a wizard he chose to come to Hogwarts
• The Fat Friar attends Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington's Death Day party (and seems to enjoy himself)
• Justin becomes suspicious of Harry as the attacks start and after the snake "attacks" him during dueling turns against Harry
• Hannah Abbott and Ernie McMillan introduced as minor Hufflepuff characters
• Justin is Petrified
• Oliver Wood insists on practicing every night leading up to the Hufflepuff/Gryffindor game
• After months of no attacks, Ernie and Hannah support Harry wholeheartedly and even apologize
• After Justin is unPetrified, he apologizes to Harry, which is one of the best parts of Harry's night
• And of course there's more! The above are just the highlights                                                         

It's so interesting that Hufflepuff plays a rather big role in this book.  Justin Finch-Fletchley is mentioned or written about twenty times (often interacting directly with Harry), and Ernie and Hannah are characters mentioned in the rest of the series.

I also find it interesting that the Hufflepuff's are displayed as somewhat competitive rivals with Gryffindor.  They take double lessons together (in Herbology, at least) and Oliver seems to think the Gryffindor team needs every free second to ensure they win against the Hufflepuff Quidditch team.

I do love that Justin, Ernie and Hannah display the Hufflepuff spirit -- they aren't dumb.  They have their doubts about Harry but when the attacks stop, they quickly realize (and apologize) that Harry just can't be the Heir of Slytherin.  Justin even apologizes after he is released from the hospital wing, making Harry feel like everything is right in the world again.

I can't help but wonder why people have such a hard time accepting Hufflepuff as a legitimate house.  Though Justin can be a bit pompous, the Hufflepuffs seem to be capable of putting puzzle pieces together, accepting that they're wrong, and backing Harry up, all while working hard.  Though Ron doesn't think much of Hufflepuff, a lot of that can be traced to house loyalty and stereotypes, although I am not sure at the moment where the stereotypes come in as I haven't seen a truly stupid Hufflepuff yet.

I'll be doing another post on my findings in Prisoner of Azkaban in the next few weeks, so check up soon.

ALSO: Write Wednesday is almost here!  Get ready for an epic interview with Harlan Roddey!  Also, First Line Friday is going to be a blast -- we're going to discuss a truly incredible, inspirational, intriguing book.

Keep reading!