Hufflepuff should be disbanded

Conjecture My opponent makes the argument that if Hufflepuffs were sorted into different houses then they would be more useful. For example, if they were in Ravenclaw they would be more intelligent, if they were in Gryffindor they would be more courageous, etc. Even though each House certainly develops the skill of an individual, the point of the House system is to hone certain skills specific to a certain type of individual. The reason a Hufflepuff shouldn’t be sorted into Gryfindor to learn courage is the same reason as to why a Slytherin should not be sorted into Ravenclaw to learn intelligence. It ignores the specific trait possessed by each student and hones the skill that is not primarily attributed to that student. My opponent’s argument does not just apply to Hufflepuffs, it applies to every House. His argument is basically: “If that Hufflepuff had more courage he could have survived!” Therefore disband Hufflepuff and sort that fellow into Gryfindor. This argument could be applied to all the houses. “If that Slytherin had more courage he would have survived!” Therefore disband Slytherin and sort that fellow into Gryfindor. Obviously this is not enough support to completely disband a house. Just because a certain trait is not useful in a given situation does mean that the House that hones that trait has failed, or is useless. However, imagine if Hufflepuff were disbanded and say, Cedric Diggory, had instead been sorted into Gryfindor. This doesn’t make Cedric Diggory a Gryfindor, rather he is forced into Gryfindor because the option of Hufflepuff was not given to him. He would essentially be a Hufflepuff forced into a House that does not reflect his own primary personal values and traits. My opponent has the burden to show that disbanding Hufflepuff would have a net positive effect. At the very least I have called into question whether disbanding Hufflepuff would have any positive effect whatsoever. In summary, I have argued that the only thing disbanding Hufflepuff would accomplish is that students who possess the traits of Hufflepuff would be forced into a house that less stands for the values the Hufflepuff does. The main problem with this is that the House system was specifically designed to put students with similar traits with each other. Hufflepuff’s Role in the Series My point was simple. There were times in the series where strain was put on the relationship between Gryfindor and Hufflepuff (I cited two examples), but by the end of the series the Hufflepuffs and Gryfindors were strong allies and fought together in the final battle while many Ravenclaws did not fight and most Slytherin did not. My opponent makes the bold claim that tones of Hufflepuffs quit the DA (Dumbledore’s Army), however, after reading the entire wiki page on Dumbledore’s army I found no such thing. The wiki mentioned that “Harry was surprised to see a large amount of students from Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw turn up.” [1] It also states that at times the organization of the DA was broken down due to the rise of Voledmort and the death eaters in addition to problems with the Ministry of Magic. Many students were forced into hiding. At its best, any students who quit were forced to due to lack of organization and having to go into hiding. It is unsurprising that Gryfindor did most of the major work in the Second Wizarding War. The main house of the series and all the main characters were from Gryfindor. This however, does not make the case that Hufflepuff should be disbanded just because they were not the main focus of the book. My point is that Hufflepuff stayed and fought alongside Gryfindor, and did so not out of zest, courage, or recklessness, but as a stand for their values of goodness. Why I Win -The Hufflepuff House represents and hones strong values that every person and society ought to pursue. -The point of the house system is to separate students by their specific traits. By disbanding Hufflepuff, students who primarily exhibit the traits of Hufflepuff are instead sorted into a House that does not represent their values and strengths as well. -Hufflepuff played a relatively strong role in the series, being the only House alongside Gryfindor to unanimously fight in the final battle of the series. - I successfully called into question whether there would be a positive net gain from disbanding the Hufflepuff house. This alone is enough for my opponent to fail to uphold his BOP. Thank you for this debate! [1] http://harrypotter.wikia.com...