When it comes to the Harry Potter franchise’s four Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry houses, most of the attention goes to Gryffindor and Slytherin. Fellow houses Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw always seem to take a backseat to the main two.

But the first movie in the Harry Potter spinoff series Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them opens in theaters today, and star Eddie Redmayne is having none of this second-rate house nonsense. The actor made a public service announcement video recently, in which he passionately defends the Hufflepuff name, even using a couple of naughty words which would no doubt make Fat Friar blush.

See what Redmayne had to say in the video below.

It’s September 1st, and many kids are getting ready to go back to school. It’s an emotional time, especially if your child is going somewhere new (my own baby starts NYU tomorrow!). But it’s not just the Muggles who are readying to hit the books; the young wizards of the Harry Potter universe will arrive today at Platform 9 3/4 at King’s Cross to embark on their journey to the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for the start of the new school year.

This year is particularly notable as it marks the day that James Sirius Potter, the eldest child of Harry Potter and wife Ginny Weasley Potter, begins his first year at Hogwarts, according to author J.K. Rowling, who posted her best wishes to young James today via Twitter.

It’s every Harry Potter fan’s dream to get an acceptance letter to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. When Darla from Bakingdom talked about having never received her Hogwarts Letter, her online pal Tina of Sugar Bean Bakers decided to send her one for her birthday in a very special way – inside a huge cookie!

Fortunately, Tina has shared the recipe for the Hogwarts Letter Cookie at her site, so now you too can send the Harry Potter fan in your life a Hogwarts Letter in this very special way.

July 31st is the birthday of The Boy Who Lived, Harry Potter!

In honor of this occasion today, we thought it would be cool to share some photos of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry cake that Darla Wireman over at Bakingdom made a while back for the release of the final film.

The Harry Potter-cake represents the four houses of Hogwarts – Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin – and Darla wrote that she wanted to create a cake that she thinks would be served in Hogwarts’ Great Hall. And, as Darla pointed out, since nothing is as it seems at Hogwarts, the cake follows that same pattern: it’s white and plain on the outside with just a white banner and the four House flags, but once you cut into it, there’s a colorful checkerboard design inside that represents the colors of the four Houses.