aequalitas - User Profile

Name:	Helga Hufflepuff

Main Entry: egal·i·tar·i·an
Function: adjective
Pronunciation: i-"ga-l&-'ter-e-&n
Etymology: French égalitaire, from égalité equality, from Latin aequalitat-, aequalitas, from aequalis equal
: asserting, promoting, or marked by egalitarianism
1 : a belief in human equality especially with respect to social, political, and economic rights and privileges
2 : a social philosophy advocating the removal of inequalities among people

       Helga Hufflepuff was written to have come from the valley broad. In truth, she came from Wales. Almost a century and a half before her birth, her ancestors the Geats left their homeland. Götaland, was facing increasing invasions by both Muggle and Magical forces. The Hufflepuffs packed up their belongings and moved across the sea.

       They did not move far.

       The Hufflepuffs settled quite comfortably on the Isle of Anglesey where they lived for a few decades before moving again, this time trying to get away from the Viking raids. They had been there, done that and wanted to be finished with it. They moved north and eventually stayed on Holy Island. Employing both house elves and several charms, both restorative and defensive, they were able to turn a former Roman watchtower, Caer y Twr, into a very comfortable home.

       For the most part, the magical family kept to themselves. Magical knowledge was written down into their family's grimmoire and passed to the next generation. In the time when there were no schools, this was how they taught their children. Everything that the owner knew, discovered and learned was recorded. When they became of age, the grimmoire was duplicated and handed over to them. Through a unique spell, what was written down in one Hufflepuff grimmoire was written down in all of them. At the time of death, their grimmoire was buried with them. By the time that Helga received hers, it contained over five centuries worth of information.

       Helga was born in the year nine-hundred and seventy. Her parents were Eleanor and Llewellyn Hufflepuff. She was to their only daughter.

       Her kind nature was evident at a very early age. Often she would bring home injured animals, magical and non-magical alike. Occasionally the animals weren't injured, Helga just wanted to give them a good home. It was very difficult for her to release them back into the wild but her parents always made her. There was one exception. She had once found two orphaned badger cubs. She had intended to release them once they were able but always they came back. After the fourth time, her parents accepted their presence.

       Throughout her entire lifetime Helga was a doer of good deeds. It did not matter the size, it did not matter how difficult, the location did not matter nor did who the person was. If it would help and if the cause was just, Helga offered her assistance. She developed a nickname after a while, Helga the Kind.

       She was charitable, accepting of others regardless of their station in life. Being kind was certainly not enough to make her the greatest witch of her age. Or was it? In an era of much violence and hardship, kindness was and still is a rare thing. It did make her stand out and people knew of her because of that. However, she wouldn't fully come into her legendary status until many years later.

       With this kindness came a certain sense of naivety. Helga was an idealist and wanted to believe the best in people. Some found it endearing, others were a bit annoyed with it. It was something about her that others could take advantage of and she was deeply hurt by some betrayals. However, Helga was never taken advantage of for very long. She can only be pushed for so long before she pushed back.

         Muggles were becoming increasingly paranoid. Attacks on folks suspected to be witches were on the rise. In most cases, real witches could get themselves out of trouble. Giants were a nuisance as well. Another threat came from the outside forces that were continuously threatening to invade, raid or take over. Something had to be done to ensure that the next generation were protected. They needed a place where they could be taught in safety.

       It was decided that such a place should be built. Helga was asked if she would like to help and she accepted the invitation.

       Over the course of building Hogwarts, Helga became very good friends with Rowena Ravenclaw. All of the Founders were friends but those two were especially close. It took almost five years to build the castle. House elves had to be borrowed from other families. Wizards and witches from other countries had to be consulted for some aspects of the castle's construction. It proved difficult to get some of them to cooperate but in the end Helga's charm won out over their objections.

       She always had the feeling that something was left out. Never could she put her finger on what it was. There was something missing and it constantly nagged on her mind. Helga had even gone so far as to ask Rowena what she thought. Rowena thought she was being ridiculous. They had planned for everything. Helga still had her doubts. It wasn't until she heard Godric complaining about the lack of quarters for the groundskeeper that Helga had her idea. They needed a room that could be anything even if that was a lavatory, laboratory, a spare room to study, a place to hide or anything else. Without the other's knowledge, Helga created the Room of Requirement. If a student needed it, they would find it.

       When construction was close to completion, their arguments heated up. Rowena only wanted to teach those who were intelligent and smart, in short young witches and wizards like herself. Godric only wanted to teach those of an adventurous spirit, those who were brave and not afraid of fighting that good fight. Salazar only wanted to teach the young magical folk that had been born to other witches and wizards, preferably those who were very cunning. At the very least he did not want to teach anyone related to the foreigners that were constantly invading and conquering England. Helga just wanted to teach anyone capable of doing magic. To her, it seemed such a shame to build such a large castle without using all of it.