Helga Hufflepuff

Helga Hufflepuff was a Welsh witch and was one of the four founders of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft. While the other founders chose to have special students, Hufflepuff accepted them all, but the students of her house are described as loyal and hard-working. It is unknown when she died. Hufflepuff's portrait remains at Hogwarts.

Early Life
Helga Hufflepuff was born in the 10th century and came from the broad valleys of Wales.

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft
She was one of the four founders of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft. Though she got on well with all her fellow founders, her greatest friend was Rowena Ravenclaw. Hufflepuff helped to build the school and, while the other students took students based on either ambition, bravery, or intelligence, Hufflepuff took the loyal, hard-working, patient, and tolerant and treated them all equally. She brought people from different backgrounds together to help in the building of the school and was known for her charming ways.

Hufflepuff had a gift for food-related charms, and her recipes are still used as the basis for many Hogwarts feasts. 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.

After a time in which the school enjoyed great prosperity, Hufflepuff's fellow founder Salazar Slytherin proposed a controversial action in which witches born to non-magical parents would no longer be admitted to Hogwarts due to their heritage. Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Gryffindor refused this, however, and it escalated to such degrees that Slytherin eventually left the school permanently.

Appearance
Hufflepuff was a round, plump woman with red hair and blue eyes. She usually wore a brown or yellow dress and was often adorned with a wide smile.

Personality
Hufflepuff favored loyalty, honesty, fair play, and hard work. Members of her Hogwarts House usually display at least one of these traits in varying degrees. Additionally, Hufflepuff was renowned for her compassionate nature; she took in the house elves to work in the Hogwarts kitchens where they could work in peace and safety and, while the other founders carefully selected their students, Hufflepuff took in the rest. She was said to be kind and caring and particularly famous for her dexterity at food-related charms. She was also a woman of tolerance, as she was willing to accept witches with non-magical parents as students and disagreed with Slytherin's pure-blood exclusiveness. Given that all of her portraits show her with a wide smile, it can be inferred that she was a jolly woman.

Relatives

 * Hepzibah Smith (descendant) †

Powers
Witchcraft: Hufflepuff was described as one of the most brilliant witches of her time so it can be assumed that she was highly skilled in practicing magic, despite the fact that not much is known about her particular magical skills. It is known that she was quite gifted in food-related charms. It can be inferred from her personality that she disliked duelling or violent magic so she likely didn't practice that type of magic often if ever.

Geokinesis: Hufflepuff had the rare ability to manipulate the earth around her to various effects. Much of the capabilities of this ability are unknown since Helga was not fond of using her specialized gift.