It takes time to realise that people who have excesses of confidence, or intelligence without the emotions, or naked ambition, aren’t the kind of people that you want to be. It takes a bit of maturity to realise that the best house is one that doesn’t trumpet its greatness, but is confident enough its abilities to just go about getting the job done. (Does that remind you of anything? Does Hufflepuff have big dick energy? My heart says yes.)

In recent years we’ve all done a bit of a 180 on Hufflepuff. Rowling herself called the house her favourite, and revealed that her daughter believes that “we should all be Hufflepuffs”.

Rupert Grint, upon taking the sorting quiz from Rowling’s Harry Potter resource website Pottermore, found himself sorted into Hufflepuff. So did the author John Green, the man who gave us The Fault in Our Stars and Looking for Alaska. Rowling believes that if she were to be sorted today the hat would call out the yellow house.

Is it possible that, with time, there’s been a change in the perception of Hufflepuff? Is it possible that Hufflepuff is now very, very cool?

I think it might be. And it would be just like Hufflepuff to not brag about it, too.”

This article was originally published on 15 August, to celebrate our Yellow Issue. Read more about the most playful shade of all here.

Harry Potter at Christmas: Why Hufflepuff is the best Hogwarts house