On to the subject at hand. Let me make a blatant statement, which will send yellow and black badgers forever flying my way: Dolores Umbridge and Hepzibah Smith were Hufflepuffs. Yes, I did say Umbridge's name. Ouch. ::flying badger smacks me in the face::
Let's start with Hepzibah, because I believe that her placement in Hufflepuff House seems the most likely. She's a descendant of Helga Hufflepuff; this much we know. She has Hufflepuff's Cup and is murdered for it (as well as for Slytherin's locket that she bought from Caractacus Burke). Her last name is Smith, which alludes to Zacharias Smith, and I think Rowling is leading us to believe that the two characters are relatives.
Dolores Umbridge is harder to see as a Hufflepuff; even the majority of PotterCast thought that she was a Slytherin. But I believe that she is a Hufflepuff with Slytherin characteristics; that Slytherin is her sub-house. This idea I read about in Geo Athena Trevarthen's book, The Seeker's Guide to Harry Potter. In the third chapter, "Four Houses, Four Elements," Trevarthen explains that there is a balance to the houses, that there can be an "admixture" of the different houses (p. 81). As she explains in her book for example, the four Gryffindor characters, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Neville each exhibit, besides their dominant Gryffindor characteristics, the characteristics of another house, Slytherin, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, respectively.
Now what are the qualities of a Hufflepuff as described by Professor Trevarthen? That they are loyal and hard-working. In her chart under "Magical Precepts," she writes that they "keep silent" and while describing the badger totem, she writes "the term 'badgering' comes from the badger's savage and persistently determined quality" (p. 77).
All of these qualities, however, can be turned to evil purposes, and are done so by both Hepzibah and Dolores. Furthermore, their characters seem to parody two other characters in two other famous works of literature by a single author.
John Granger writes in his essay, "High Inquisitor = Grand Inquisitor?" of the connection between the Harry Potter series and Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov, regarded by some as one of the best, if not the best piece of literature in the history of the world. The tale of "The Grand Inquisitor," a part of the story, is even sold separately, just because of its extreme resonance. But as Granger points out, "Inquisitor" is a pretty unique word, barring its historical references to the Spanish Inquisition. Granger sums up the link between the Grand Inquisitor and Dolores Umbridge, Hogwarts High Inquisitor as such, that
"Both... are convinced that they are performing heroic service for their
organizations, and, through this organization, for the people who are best off
not knowing what is done in their name or enjoying real freedom. Dolores and the
Grand Inquisitor do not hesitate to act boldly and independently for what they
believe is best for the Ministry/Church; one arrests and plans to execute Christ
(again), the other looses Dementors on Harry, tortures him and other students
“for their own good,” and is even willing to use Unforgivable Curses if the
situation justifies those means."
Granger then later goes on to say that "for his several, superficial differences with the High Inquisitor, the Grand Inquisitor is her [Rowling's] original. Both insist on the silence of the unwelcome Savior in the name of protecting the innocent from a truth which they “cannot handle” and, in that process, to safeguard the authority of the regime." Granger also goes on to contrast the differences in the situation between Dostoevsky's novel and Rowling's series, so you really should get on over to hogwartsprofessor.com and read the whole essay (it's so marvelous), but this is enough for now.
Hepzibah, however, I believe can be compared to a character from one of Dostoevsky's other great pieces of literature, Crime and Punishment, in which the old-woman money-lender (virutally a pawnbrokeress) is murdered by the main character, Raskolnikov (who is himself used in comparison to elements of the Potter series in other articles) as he believes that committing this single act of murder is for "the greater good." Sound familiar? Unfortunately, he also murders the woman's half-sister, Lizaveta, who stumbles in on the murder (bad timing for her). The rest of the book is a look at Raskolnikov's shambling soul. But you should really read that classic - I can't give the whole plot away here.
At any rate, yes, Hepzibah Smith is very like the old woman in Crime and Punishment. It's easy to imagine Voldemort thinking about stealing Hufflepuff's Cup and Slytherin's Locket from her and murdering her "for the greater good" - at least the "greater good" that he imagines making Horcruxes and "purifying" the Wizarding World to be.
But let's look at the two characters and bring this back to a discussion of Hufflepuff characteristics: one is extremely loyal to the wealthy and one is extremely loyal to the letter of the law (even if the government is bankrupt). After all, what exactly was Umbridge's role in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince during Rufus Scrimgeour's time as Minister of Magic? She certainly did not have a big one. But she did during Fudge's reign as Minister, especially in Order of the Phoenix, and during Pius Thicknesse's reign as puppet Minister in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. We know that in Voldy-War I, as it's come to be known in the fandom, that Scrimgeour used extra-legal means with Barty Crouch, Sr. at hand to hold down the ministry. I'm not sure that "loyal to the law" Umbridge would have agreed with that.
But she could agree with Fudge. She could be loyal to Fudge. And in fact, she was placed as the Defense Against the Dark Arts intructor at Hogwarts because of her loyalty to Cornelius Fudge. Sure, she had some Slytherin ambition, as I believe Hepizbah, who we know much less about, also probably did, in her dealings with both Caractacus Burke and Tom Riddle, Jr. (the latter of which got her killed). Did Cornelius Fudge really go against the letter of the law and try to be above it? Quite frankly, I don't think he did. That doesn't mean that he's a real idiot and didn't have any ambition himself.
And look closely in Deathly Hallows at Umbridge's role in the Ministry. She was too low on Voldemort's radar, as PotterCast 142 rightly pointed out, to be in direct dealings with Voldemort. After all, how would Voldemort react if he'd met her and seen his Horcrux around the neck? For all the foreshadowings of decapitation in the Harry Potter series up to Book 7, I would not be surprised in hindsight for her to lose her head, walking around with that around her neck. (It also proves Voldemort's trust in his followers - I do imagine that Bellatrix, Lucius and Severus Snape would have seen Umbridge once with that necklace during their relations with the ministry and in the Wizarding World, and none of them apparently did anything about that fact). So what is Umbridge doing in the Ministry in Deathly Hallows besides executing the law in the lower levels? She's making law leaflets and pamphlets. Why did Rowling show us this? Yes, she's loyal to the government now that it's the law that has changed. Remember, she's for theory, not for practicality. We know this from the fifth book.
But these two characters have opposites in the series as well, examples of good Hufflepuffs. Their opposites help to resolve, in a sense, their wicked characters.
Amelia Susan Bones was the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, and participated in Harry's trial in book five as a member of the Wizengamot. She was killed by Voldemort in the summer prior to the start of Harry's sixth school year. Now, we don't know for certain her Hogwarts House, but I think we're very easily led to believe that she was a Hufflepuff due to her niece, Susan Bones, in Harry's year at Hogwarts, who is a Hufflepuff. She is quintessentially Umbridge's opposite. After all, the word "umbrage," which many agree is the word from which Dolores' name is taken, means shade or shadow. Your bones, on the other hand, are an essential element of your body, your essence and your core, and bone is used to describe a light beige color (this is opposed to shadow as darkness).
Hepzibah Smith finds her opposite in Cedric Diggory. Hepzibah held on to her treasures and acquired them through wicked means. Through them, she exhibited the sin of pride and of greed. Diggory offered the cup to Harry, and offered up what would have been a big win for Hufflepuff House, a treasure all it's own. He gave it all up. In the end, Diggory let go of pride and of greed (for there was a thousand Galleons on the line to the winner of tournament). He was also murdered by Lord Voldemort, just like Amelia Bones.
What do the four characters teach us? That loyalty and determination is a good thing, but it can serve evil purposes as well. But by acting like Bones and Diggory, both remembered as symbols of Hufflepuff qualities, the world can be a better place.
extra: Umbridge looks like a toad. Neville, the Gryffindor-Hufflepuff, has a pet toad. Something to think about.
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