A Surprising Number Of People Would Choose To Eliminate Hufflepuff Over Slytherin

Godric Gryffindor, Rowena Ravenclaw, Helga Hufflepuff, and Salazar Slytherin: Together, they founded Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, but separately, they formed their own houses within the school to foster traits and skills they deemed of chief importance. In Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, we learn the magical Sorting Hat places each student into one of the four houses, based on their personality. As we read the books or watch the Harry Potter movies, common traits between members of each house become clearer. We're often told none of the four houses is inherently good or bad, but three heroes we get to know the most — Harry, Hermione, and Ron — all find a home in Gryffindor, while Slytherin seems to have more than its fair share of bullies.  

Hogwarts wouldn't be the same without all four houses, but what if it had to lose one? We at Looper were curious to find out which of the four houses fans would give the axe. The charismatic Gryffindors? The loyal Hufflepuffs? The studious Ravenclaws? Surely, it would be the Slytherins, right? It would have to be Slytherin. The Malfoys were Slytherins, as were Draco's cronies Crabbe and Goyle. Bellatrix Lestrange was Slytherin and so was Tom Riddle — the precursor to Lord Voldemort himself. Sure, Severus Snape was Slytherin and in the end turned out to be a lot more heroic than anyone realized, but he was the exception. 

To find out which house wouldn't make the grade, Looper conducted an online survey. Surprisingly, it wasn't the Slytherins that fans wanted to go. Instead, they chose the home of Cedric Diggory, Newt Scamander, and Professor Sprout. That's right: a surprising number of people would want to eliminate Hufflepuff over Slytherin.

Of the 650 people in the United States surveyed about which Hogwarts house they'd happily give to the Death Eaters, 31.85 percent chose Hufflepuff. Slytherin was second, at 27.85 percent, and Ravenclaw came in third with 23.2 percent. Predictably, Gryffindor came in behind all the other houses; only 10.62 percent of respondents voted to chop the Hogwarts home of Hermione, Harry, and more than a few Weasleys. 

Rounding out the survey's results were write-in answers, which made up 6.46 percent of the vote. Asked to specify why, most of that 6.46 percent of people said they either weren't familiar enough with Potter lore to pick, or that they believed none of the houses should be chosen.

So, why did such a clear majority choose Hufflepuff? We probably shouldn't be surprised. Sadly, Hufflepuff has long suffered as the least popular Hogwarts house. The Atlantic's David Sims wrote about Hufflepuff's unpopularity in 2015, spurred by comedian Mindy Kaling's tweet, "Nobody wants to be Hufflepuff." However, Hufflepuffs are known for their ethos of hard work, their loyalty, and their honesty. Heck, Hufflepuff House has produced the fewest Dark Wizards — something that the other houses can't say (via Pottermore). 

That considered, the most likely guess is that while Hufflepuffs have many admirable qualities, they simply aren't as "appealing" as the courageous Gryffindors, the ambitious Slytherins, or the brainy Ravenclaws. To use another popular fantasy franchise as an analogy, the Hufflepuffs are the Hobbits of Harry Potter. They get the job done without the glory, but when fans see Legolas surfing down the trunk of a Mûmakil he just killed, no one's going to say, "I want to be Samwise." 

And let's be honest — the name's got to be part of it, right? After all, if we ran a "Which Hogwarts house name sounds most like the name you'd give a lawn gnome?" survey, we have a feeling Hufflepuff would win that one too.