The value of someone come from the heart

"Potter, Harry"

The moment Professor McGonagall finished her sentence, the Great Hall fell silent. Among the first year who hadn't been sorted, a young and lanking boy walked towards the Deputy Headmistress and sat awkwardly on the stool. The Professor finally put the hat on the boy's head and all the crowd gathered in the hall held their breath. After a time which seemed an eternity, probably the longest sorting on this night, the hat finally spoke.

"GRYFFINDOR"

Right after the announcement, The Gryffindor table rose to a standing ovation for Harry. Many stood up to shake the boy's hand and congratulate him. The young man literally fell under the weight of the admiration of the young sorcerers. The other houses, on the other hand, looked at the Gryffindors with an envious eye. Some of them, however, seemed to be slandering.

Other first years came before Harry, such as Malfoy who was sent to Slytherin, but none of them got the acclaim the young wizard received. The Weasley twins even took the opportunity to boast about winning the young Potter as a tournament trophy. Harry was really a celebrity in the world of wizards.

McGonagall again requested silence in the room. As the ceremony was still not over, more students had to be sent to their respective houses.

Dudley observed the end of the ceremony with a frowning look on his face and a grumpy expression in his eyes. No other first year had the same experience with the Sorting Hat as he did.He still didn't understand exactly what was going on with that damn cap. The words of the damn thing were still lingering in his head even now. His passage must have been a real entertainment for the audience. He was the only student who was not congratulated. This unwelcoming reception was quite irritating for Dudley, especially after the Gryffindors' exaltation when Harry joined them. Even after joining the Hufflepuff table, none of them came to applaud him or shake his hand. In fact, most of them only stared at him for a moment before returning to watch the ceremony continue. The only ones who were delighted to have him among them were Jenna and Terry, who were worried about him. Dudley reassured them for a moment that all was well and that he had just got angry about something stupid. The two young girls, although worried, did not continue their questioning and simply congratulated Dudley for being with them....

As the ceremony ended, sending the last one into Slytherin, the audience calmed for a brief moment and then the silver-haired old wizard stood up facing the entire Great Hall with a smile on his face.

"Welcome! Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you!" said the old man as sat back.

Everybody in the hall clapped and cheered. Dudley, still frowning, looked at the old man incredulous.

"Is this old man mad or what?" said Dudley in a grumpy tone.

"Probably. But you have to be mad when you're the Greatest Wizard of your time" replied Jenna chewing something between her teeth.

"Greatest Wizard?" asked Dudley, turning back to Jenna.

"You don't know him Dudley. This is Albus Dumbledore. He is the Headmaster of Hogwarts. He was the only wizard You-Know-Who was afraid during his reign of terror." continued Terry while biting into a turkey leg.

"This old man with silver hair, half-moon glasses and an aquiline nose is the world's greatest wizard?" exclaimed Dudley, stunned.

"Yes!" said both Terry and Jenna while munching into sweet potatoes.

"I wouldn't have known if you hadn't told me... by the way, where did you get that food?" asked Dudley looking between the two girls.

"Look at the plates" pointed Jenna.

Dudley turned to the table and was amazed to discover that the previously empty plates were now filled to the brim with food. The young man unwittingly dropped a swear before starting to tackle the mountain of delights that lay before him. If he had to be in a bad mood, he might as well be with a full belly.

The young man devoured his meal by consuming the plates, one after the other.Terry watched him eating his food, stunned, wondering how anyone could swallow so many dishes. Jenna, on the other hand, decided to compete with the hungry fellow to see who could eat the most. While Dudley and Jenna were in the middle of their duel, Terry was taking a new portion of delicious fries that a chubby, transparent head came out of the sausage plate next to it.

"Eat to your heart content, dear! You have to know how to appreciate the gourmet pleasures when you still can." said the sticking head.

Seeing the head in the platter, Terry uttered a little squeal, starttling all the other students in the surrounding!

"Oh don't mind me, sweetheart. I just wanted to welcome you to the Hufflepuff house." responded the head crossing the table, revealing a plump monk with a jovial smile but white as a sheet.

The monk was revealed to be a ghost. Terry stared at the ghost with his eyes wide open as Dudley and Jenna turned towards the undead while each sucked a spaghetti.

"Good evening, Fat Friar!" said a Hufflepuff a bit older sitting close to Jenna.

"Oh yes! What a good evening indeed! So many Hufflepuff this year! It is still our house which received the most students." happily exclaimed the ghost.

"Like every other year, Friar..." replied soberly a Hufflepuff girl a little further.

"Yes, yes, yes, yes… Wonderful, is in it!" exclaimed joyfully the ghost.

Many older Hufflepuff sighed and shook their heads somberly. It was like they didn't share the same optimism that the ghostly monk.

"I'm sure this time we will have great chances to win the Cup this year! Oh, it will be marvelous!", said the Friar smiling.

Once again many older students, especially the oldest, sighed deseperly. Dudley looked around and saw several of his housemates smiling bitterly when listening to the Friar.

"What's the thing about the Cup?" asked Dudley to an older housemate next to him.

"Oh? You're talking to me?" said Dudley's neighbor, a black student with almond eyes.

"No actually, I was talking to my imaginary friend, Captain Obvious" sarcastically answered Dudley.

"Hu?! Captain who?"

"...Yes, I was talking to you. What's the problem with the Cup?" continued Dudley with half-closed eyes.

"Oh yes! The Cup. Well since you're a first year it's normal you may not know about it. Every Year the school organises this competition among the houses where you must win points if you answer correctly to a question or succeed in some task. On the other hand, if you break the rules, you lose you poi…." began the older student.

"No! That I already know. What I'm asking you is why you're so desperate when we talk about this?" corrected Dudley.

The older student bit his lip and slightly frowned when he heard the question.

"Sigh… It's not really a bad thing. It's just… it's been a while since Hufflepuff has won the House Cup" said the student.

"Since when?", asked Dudley.

"...Not for the last fifty years.", replied the student bitterly.

"Actually, it has been fifty and six years since the last time Hufflepuff won the house cup" quietly said a voice near Dudley.

Turning back towards the source of the voice, Dudley found himself face to face with the Fat Friar who was smiling at him.

"Fifty-six years? Hufflepuff hasn't won the cup in over half a century", said Dudley stunned.

"If it was the only thing" sighed a Hufflepuff girl listening to them.

Looking around him, Dudley saw many of his housemates were actually listening to his question about the cup. All of them had a bitter look in their eyes when talking about it.

"I don't understand?", said Dudley.

"Winning the cup isn't really what matters at this point, what is disappointing though is that Hufflepuff is always at the last place of the competition every single year. And it's been going on for more than fifty years." answered the older Hufflepuff who was sitting next to Jenna.

"Hufflepuff is at the last place for more than fifty years?!" exclaimed Dudley stunned

Once again the Hufflepuffs looked down and laughed bitterly.

"But you said we have the largest house in Hogwarts. How is it possible to be last with so many people?" asked Dudley.

"Quantity doesn't mean quality… No offense… But Hufflepuff is considered as the most tolerant house for his selection. You heard the song of the hat, no?", continued the Hufflepuff girl.

"More or less…" replied Dudley evasively.

"The Bold at Gryffindor. The Wise at Ravenclaw. The Shrewd at Slytherin. And the Loyal at Hufflepuff… or you can just say the rest at Hufflepuff." ironized the older student next to Jenna raising his glass as if he were making a toast.

"To sum up, our house is known for recovering the remains of students who are not suitable for other houses. The history of the school says that Helga Hufflepuff advocated tolerance and acceptance. As a result, her house often finds itself with the leftovers. We count among our ranks the most Muggle-born than the rest of the houses. True, Hufflepuff is tolerant, but if you look at the reality, the stricter selection of other houses allows them to pick out the most talented among them. And they are the ones who earn the most points for their house." resumed the Hufflepuff girl bitterly.

The devaluation expressed by his housemates was a grim sight for Dudley. The Hufflepuffs advocated acceptance for all, which is a noble quality in itself. But this left the door open both to the genuinely supportive and generous, as well as to the unscrupulous selfish ones who take advantage of others but whose skills are too poor to be placed in other houses. Dudley found the retribution very unfortunate for those who really tried to value their house. It must be said that Dudley is rather admiring of the Hufflepuffs' tolerance. Without it... perhaps even himself…

"Do not be alarmed, my dear children. Hufflepuffs are not only loyal, they are the most tenacious of all. Because a Hufflepuff has never wavered in the face of effort." said the Fat Friar trying to cheer the students.

"Friar… We can all say at this point that if we are famous for making efforts, it is mainly because it is the only thing we can do." replied bitterly the boy sitting next to Dudley.

The words of their seniors began to weigh on the minds of the young first years who were accepted into the same House. Some even looked at the other houses with an envious look, lamenting the fact that they had not been taken by one of them. Terry and even Jenna started to lose their morale.

"Please! Don't discourage the new students! Look at them… their eyes full of hope and dreaming of discovering the mysteries of magic. The value of a person does not come from his boldness, wisdom or cunning but from his heart." said the Friar designating Dudley and the other first years joining Hufflepuff.

The monk's words echoed in Dudley's head as he turned towards the ghost. He was not the only one, for many of the first years and others in the house fell silent to listen to the friar.

"It is true that it is important to have courage, intelligence or shrewdness to succeed. But a heart loyal to its peers will bring more to everyone than individual success. For the strength of our house is not in individualism, but in solidarity. It is true that winning a cup seemed rather pleasant but this is not the most important thing. Succeeding together in a task will bring more to everyone than simply collecting points out of pride. Victory is not the real reward of this tournament. It is the effort of the house to support each other that is really important. Our strength, the true value of Hufflepuff, is that even in adversity we stand by each other with a loyal heart. And this is a lesson for us to succeed not only at Hogwarts, but in life," concluded the ever smiling Friar.

Dudley and Hufflepuff's roommates gave the Friar a whole new view. Resonating in each one of them, there was a new glimmer of hope in the eyes of the elders of the house, as the newcomers began to feel a new pride in belonging to their new House.

Dudley turned to his glass placed on the table, still magically filled with delicious apple cider, and then grabbed it in his hand before rising from his chair and lifting his glass in front of his fellow students.

"To Hufflepuff, the house for those with a loyal heart."

The others seated at the table, as well as those at the other tables all turned towards Dudley. The other houses couldn't understand why this first grader had got up to make a toast, but before they could even whisper among themselves, Jenna stood up beside Dudley and raised her glass in turn.

"To Hufflepuff, the house for those with a loyal heart."

Terry's turn followed, and she stood too and raised the glass in her hand.

"To Hufflepuff, the house for those with a loyal heart."

And that's all the other Hufflepuff needed before everyone got up and raised their glasses, their cheers echoing across all of the Great Hall.

"To Hufflepuff, the house for those with a loyal heart!!!"