tracking the Great Hufflepuff

This past Veteran's Day, the Outing Club traveled just west of Camden, to the slopes of Mt. Megunticook . We had heard that there had been multiple sitings that day of the rare Hufflepuff. Our first indication that we might be on track was this first glimpse of color, deep in the woods.

Throughout the day, frequent reports reached us. The sitings were always partial, and located the creature deep in the woods. As we learned, Hufflepuffs can be skittish creatures.

Amazing! We think we captured the first image of the anterior end of a grand Hufflepuff. Notice the mossy, gray covering, indicative of seniority among Hufflepuffs.

Experts are in a quandary over this photo. Supposedly, the tree has been savagely mauled by the Hufflepuff, in an effort to get at one of its favorite meals: maple sugar candy. We're not so sure. Another contentious point in this photo is a 'stick' object, just to the right of the Hufflepuff's leg. Zoologists have yet to determine its use.

A clear image, showing the shell-like covering of the back of the Hufflepuff.

Hufflepuff camouflage is renowned. Here, a grand Hufflepuff blends quite easily into its surroundings. Notice that none of the nearby humans makes any notice of the Hufflepuff's appearance in their mist.

Blurred, yes. But still, a rare image of the ventral side of the Hufflepuff.

We were tantalized throughout our day. We constantly observed the Hufflepuff, but too far away in the woods. One of our clearer photographs, but experts are still in doubt about the existence of the Hufflepuff.

A lucky shot, when the Hufflepuff appeared just downslope of our position. Again, notice the strange markings on the tree.

The Hufflepuff in a moment of leisure? Or grooming? Or gathering food? We may never know.

Conspiracy theorists have been dithering about the existence of the Hufflepuff for centuries. Most of our pictures, like the one here, exhibit the typical out-of-focus areas around the Hufflepuff. Do these creatures create a disturbance in the air surrounding them, such that light becomes distorted?

Woot! A grand Hufflepuff, captured in an upright posture, and only slightly obscured by the vegetation in the foreground.

The light distortion field surrounding the Hufflepuff makes conspiracy theorists theorize that most of these pictures have been doctored.

We can only hypothesize why the Hufflepuff left its typical habitat of basement laboratories. Perhaps to gather ingredients for use in some nefarious experiment?

We must discuss two major points in this image. First, the distortion field around just the body of the Hufflepuff and none of its surroundings; we will need further experiments to confirm this finding. Second, the strange tool use by the Hufflepuff; does this creature use a rare form of tripodal motion to navigate on uneven terrain?

The Hufflepuff, like many songbirds, has a distinctive vocalization. At the same time as this image was captured, our sound engineers recorded some of the Hufflepuff's routine cry: "Go ahead and, bop the baby!"

As conclusive evidence for the existence of the Hufflepuff, we offer this image. Captured on Veteran's Day, 2009, in the hills west of Camden, Maine, this Hufflepuff triggered a motion sensor located beside a large, purple and gold box-like structure that rested upon wheels. Notice the regal image, tripodal stance and peaceful countenance of the grand Hufflepuff.