Helga Hufflepuff

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Helga Hufflepuff
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At least some content in this article is derived from information featured in Harry Potter: Wizards Unite and Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery.
As such, spoilers will be present within the article.
"Point me!"
This article is about one of the founders of Hogwarts. You may be looking for the house in Hogwarts, Hufflepuff.
Helga Hufflepuff
Biographical information
Born
Pre 976[1]
Wales[2], Great Britain
Died
11th century (possibly)
Blood status
Pure-blood or Half-blood[3]
Also known as
Helga
Title(s)
Founder[4]
Physical information
Species
Human[4]
Gender
Female[4]
Hair colour
Brown[5]
Eye colour
Blue[6]
Skin colour
Light[6]
Relationship information
Family members
Hepzibah Smith (descendant) †
Mr Smith (possible descendant)
Zacharias Smith (possible descendant)
Sally Smith (possible descendant)
Magical characteristics
Patronus
Non-corporeal[7]
Affiliation
Occupation
Teacher at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Founder of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
House
Hufflepuff
Loyalty
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Hufflepuff
Hufflepuff family
nationality = Welsh
[Source]
"I'll teach the lot and treat them just the same."
—Hufflepuff's view, unlike that of the other founders[src]
Helga Hufflepuff (fl. c. 993) was a Welsh witch and was one of the four founders of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. While the other founders chose to have special students, she accepted them all without preference, but the students of her house are described as loyal and hard-working. Helga's portrait remains at Hogwarts.
Contents[show]
Biography
Early life
"From valley broad...."
—The Sorting Hat on Hufflepuff's birthplace[src]
Helga Hufflepuff was born in the 10th Century and came from the broad valleys of Wales.[2] She was either born or married into the Hufflepuff family. Helga's greatest friend was Rowena Ravenclaw from the Scottish glens.
Hogwarts founder
United by the common goal of creating the world's best magic school[8], Helga Hufflepuff, and her good friends Rowena Ravenclaw, Godric Gryffindor, and Salazar Slytherin built Hogwarts Castle together and established Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry sometime around 993. She brought people from different backgrounds together to help in the building of the school.[9]
While the other founders took students based on either ambition, bravery, or intelligence, Helga took the loyal, hard-working, patient and tolerant and treated them all equally.[10] She had a gift for Food-related charms, and her recipes are still used as the basis for many Hogwarts feasts.[6] She also arranged for the house-elf contingent to work in the kitchens, giving them somewhere safe to work, where they would not be mistreated or abused.[11]
After a time in which the school enjoyed great prosperity, Helga's fellow founder Salazar Slytherin proposed a controversial action in which Muggle-born students should not be admitted to Hogwarts based on their heritage. Hufflepuff and the rest of the founders refused this, however, and the problem escalated to such degrees that Salazar ultimately left the school permanently.
Post-mortem
Helgaaa
Helga Hufflepuff's Famous Wizard card
One relic of Hufflepuff's, a small golden cup, had been passed down to her distant descendant Hepzibah Smith. Smith said the cup was supposed to have some magical powers, many of which she hadn't tested. The Cup was stolen from Smith by Tom Riddle, who corrupted Hufflepuff's legacy by changing it into a Horcrux. However, the Cup was destroyed by Hermione Granger with a basilisk fang during the Battle of Hogwarts in 1998.[12]
Physical appearance
Helga was a round, plump woman with brown and blue eyes.[6] She often sported a wide smile. Helga usually wore a brown or yellow dress.[5]
Personality and traits
Helga favoured loyalty, honesty, fair play, and hard work, but was known to accept all students regardless of whether or not they possessed these traits. Members of her House usually display at least one of these traits in varying degrees. Given that all of her portraits show her with a wide smile, it can be inferred that Helga was a very jolly woman. Her affinity for food-related charms and plump shape might also indicate that she had a large appetite.
Helga was renowned for her compassionate nature and charming ways. She took in the house-elves to work in Hogwarts Kitchen, where they could work in peace and safety. This was considered to be the best option at the time for house-elves. While the other founders were careful in selection of students, Hufflepuff took in the rest.[13]
She was also a woman of tolerance, willing to accept Muggle-born students and disagreed with Slytherin's pure-blood exclusiveness, as well as bringing together people of varying backgrounds to construct the school and ensuring a decent working environment for house-elves, who were generally treated with indifference if not outright cruelty by most wizards.
Magical abilities and skills
Hufflepuff was described as being one of the four greatest witches and wizards of her age.
Charms: Helga was highly talented in food-related charms and many of her recipes are still used in Hogwarts today, testifying to her unique talent as a magical cook.[6] With the help and abilities of her fellow founders, she bewitched the Sorting Hat into a sentient magical artefact with personality in order to sort students well after their lifetimes. Furthermore, Helga was capable of conjuring a non-corporeal Patronus,[7] which was a highly advanced piece of magic as well as a mark of superior magical skill.
Magical manufacturing: Helga created a cup with special magical powers, which was eventually passed down to her descendant, Hepzibah Smith.
Possessions
Helga Hufflepuff
Hufflepuff's Cup in Helga's portrait at Hogwarts
Wand: Hufflepuff owned a wand made of an unknown wood, length, core and flexibility.
Hufflepuff's Cup: Hufflepuff owned a cup that was reputed to have special magical powers, though these were never revealed. It was eventually passed down through the Hufflepuff family to Hepzibah Smith. The cup was stolen by Tom Riddle and made into one of his horcruxes.
See also
Godric Gryffindor
Rowena Ravenclaw
Salazar Slytherin
Hogwarts founders
Helga Hufflepuff's Cup
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Etymology
The name Helga is from Helge, from Old Norse heilagr, meaning "holy" or "blessed". Their symbol is the badger, a large mammal related to the weasels with distinctive white stripes on its head. In Celtic mythology, a badger was a guide. The badger also can symbolise a tendency to be hard-working, strong, and tenacious. Hufflepuffs are known for loyalty and hard work.
Helga was a name which was common in northern Europe; in countries such as Norway. It was soon adopted by many soviet countries and others which bordered with the north, including; Russia, Latvia, Denmark and Belgium. As those in northern Europe pronounced the 'e' in Helga as more of a cross between 'e' and 'o', and, like the french, didn't pronounce the 'h', the soviet countries adopted the name as 'Olga'. Some countries, including Germany, kept the name as 'Helga'.
Hufflepuff could mean "huff and puff" or blustery. "Huff" also means to breathe; "puff" is a medieval term for pastry.