Duuude I have this weird headcanon that Hufflepuffs have the most raw talent and power but lack the self assurance to be straight good or evil so they are very easily persuaded. So Helga took them and showed them all the kindness how magic can help people because "man we need to make sure these kids dont go to the dark side." Thoughts?
((OOC: I do agree with the raw talent and power, because that is exactly what I have given Helga. But I don’t think Helga taught them kindness to “keep them on the good side” per se,(I think all students have the capacity to choose good or evil, or not to align themselves at all) I think she taught them kindness because that’s what they truly needed. (Also my particular idea of Helga is very rooted in her beliefs and not easily pushed to one side or the other)
Salazar and Godric sought to teach the wizards to defend themselves, to fight. Rowena sought to educate them, to give them the tactical upper hand, to give them the skills to survive. They indirectly, and maybe directly, wanted to build an army. Hogwarts is evidence that this is what they intended: changing staircases to confuse invaders, passwords for many of the doors, secret tunnels to get out or in, the spell Piertotum Locomotor. Hogwarts is a fortress. And it reflects the time, the Anglosaxons were being raided by the vikings and the Norman Conquest was coming, and while some magic was accepted, more than half of the practitioners were persecuted, exiled, or executed. This all generated fear.
Helga, though she may have been afraid of war or death, stood in the face of it. She realized that her way of overcoming all the fear was to be unafraid of toil, that no matter what she would persist to live life, to love without condition, to be kind, to have mercy, because that is the only way to “win”. And she realized that they were not outfitting an army, but they were teaching children, not to fight or “survive”, but how to live.
And a couple quotes that came to mind:
“The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.” ― G.K. Chesterton
“Raise your words, not voice. It is rain that grows flowers, not thunder.” ― Rumi
Helga’s way of fighting can be physical, yes. She has to be a warrior at times, like Godric. But her true fighting nature is like water that carves canyons, and makes new paths for future generations.)
