Chapter 8 Hufflepuff Qualitie (Patreon)

Most of the time, the atmosphere for learning at Hogwarts was quite relaxed, especially during meal times. Amid the laughter and chatter, the lively welcome feast finally came to an end as Maca finished off the second round of desserts and the plates disappeared with a magical sweep, leaving the table clean and shiny as ever.

At that moment, Professor Dumbledore stood up again, and the hall immediately fell silent.

"Ah, now that everyone's had their fill, I'd like to say a few things," Dumbledore began, his gaze sweeping over to the Weasley twins at the Gryffindor table. "Firstly, I have to remind the first-year students that they are not permitted to enter the Forbidden Forest on school grounds. And some of our older students should keep that in mind as well."

"Secondly, Mr. Filch would like me to remind everyone not to use magic in the corridors during class breaks."

"The Quidditch team trials will be held in the second week of this term, and any students who wish to try out for the House team should contact Madam Hooch."

"And lastly, I have to tell you all that anyone who wishes to avoid unfortunate accidents and a painful demise should avoid the right-hand corridor on the fourth floor."

A few laughed at Dumbledore's apparent joke, but most did not, knowing better than to assume Dumbledore ever joked around about danger.

Maca thought to himself that this probably had something to do with the Philosopher's Stone, though he couldn't recall the specifics. Besides, what did it matter to him? He was more interested in the Stone itself than any related assignments. Of course, that was probably out of the question, as he didn't want to end up being squished by Dumbledore's pinky finger.

Overall, Maca had no intention of getting involved in the events of this school year. He felt he didn't have enough time to study as it was, and he didn't want to cause trouble for the three little lions.

"Now, before we retire for the night, let's sing the school song together!" Dumbledore exclaimed, causing almost all the teachers to stiffen.

He flicked his wand and a long, golden ribbon materialized from it, twisting and writhing in the air above the high table to form lines of text.

"Choose your own tune," Dumbledore said. "Ready, sing!"

Most of the students and teachers burst into song, but Maca found he couldn't bring himself to do it. He felt like a fool opening and closing his mouth, trying to blend in with everyone else's messy singing.

When Dumbledore announced that bedtime had arrived, Maca finally breathed a sigh of relief. But the thought of having to do this six more times filled him with dread.

"Alright, let's go! First-year students, follow me. I'll show you the way," said a friendly-looking older student who had been chatting with Maca earlier.

Was that Cedric? Maca could barely remember his name, let alone his surname, but he had some vague impression of the handsome and just Hufflepuff prefect.

"But he doesn't look as good as I imagined," Maca muttered to himself in a voice only he could hear.

"What's wrong, little Maca? What are you looking at?" the same Charlotte from earlier walked up beside him and whispered, "That's Darren Chris, a sixth-year Hufflepuff prefect."

"Oh," Maca blinked, feeling a bit confused, "I was just thinking about Cedric. I heard about him before I came to school and heard he's a good guy."

"Ah, Cedric," Charlotte nodded in understanding before laughing, "Yes, in a couple of years, he's sure to be a popular candidate for prefect."

Following Charlotte's gaze, Maca caught sight of a handsome young man at the end of the table. No wonder he hadn't noticed him before. Cedric was quite impressive.

"Oh, I see. There are restrictions on who can become a prefect and Cedric hasn't become the male prefect for Hufflepuff yet!"

"Then... what about the female prefect?" Maca couldn't help but ask as they walked past Darren's solitary figure.

"Oh, that's me!" Charlotte grinned and patted Maca's shoulder. Then she whispered, "I don't enjoy leading others, so I usually leave things to Darren. He seems happy to do these things."

Maca looked at the pretty senior next to him who didn't have a proper etiquette and shook his head helplessly.

The new Hufflepuff students followed the friendly senior Darren through a side corridor on the first floor and all the way down to the basement directly beneath Hogwarts.

"That's the Hogwarts kitchen behind us. If you get hungry at night, you can go there to get something to eat. The house-elves there will be very happy to see you," Charlotte pointed chin at a still life fruit painting as they passed by. "Just scratch the pear on top and it will smile with you, very cute."

The entrance to the Hufflepuff common room was nearby, but Maca was a little confused looking at the almost completely filled wall with iron-bound barrels.

"As you can see, it's a pile of messy barrels," Darren smiled and said. "And the entrance to our Hufflepuff common room is located within these barrels."

"Of course, I'm not asking you all to open the lid and crawl inside. Ernie, the barrel you chose is too small," Darren stopped Ernie's attempt to explore a certain suspicious barrel, and then continued. "Please pay attention, the entrance to our Hufflepuff common room is the only room in Hogwarts with anti-intruder magic.

"The method to open it is simple. Just take out your Wand and tap on the bottom cover of the second row of barrels in the rhythm of 'Helga Hufflepuff'. The lid will automatically rotate open."

As Darren spoke, he drew out his Wand and tapped on the bottom cover of a few barrels. Immediately, the two covers rotated in opposite directions and opened, followed by the entire pile of barrels moving, revealing an irregular doorway in front of the new students' eyes.

Darren looked at the commotion and awe of everyone, and his face showed a somewhat proud smile. He waited for a while before continuing to speak.

"But, please pay attention to one point! The entrance to our Hufflepuff common room is the only room in Hogwarts with anti-intruder magic. If you knock on the wrong lid, or tap the wrong rhythm, illegal intruders will be covered with magically brewed vinegar poured from the barrels above."

Here, Darren shrugged and said, "Believe me, you wouldn't want to try that feeling. The taste of that vinegar is hard to wash off, and the sour smell that makes your teeth hurt can be smelled from two hundred meters away."

Ernie immediately trembled at his words and felt greatly grateful to his senior, Darren who prevented him from 'self destruction'.

" Charlotte, what if other people find out about this method? Wouldn't it be useless?" Maca asked with some doubts.

"This is one of our Hufflepuff's biggest secrets. No one will want to talk about it," Charlotte spread her hands. "The Hufflepuff common room and dormitory have never been seen by outsiders in over a thousand years. We know how to hide ourselves and protect ourselves, just like our house emblem."

Maca looked up at the badge on the wall of the common room. The badger on it was emitting a dim light, appearing low-key yet calm.

"Hufflepuff, just, loyal, perseverant, and honest, not afraid of hardships." Maca chewed on the words on the plaque under the house emblem and the puzzled look from the sorting ceremony returned to his face. "If it were me, would I reveal the method of entry here when necessary?"

He himself wasn't sure about the answer to this question.

The Hufflepuff common room was a circular room with a low ceiling that had a faint earthy scent. It was enchanted so that sunlight shone during the day and there were faint glow-in-the-dark lights at night. Through the round windows, you could see swaying grass and dandelions. There were many polished copper decorations and plants hanging from the ceiling or placed on window sills. Professor Pomona Sprout was in charge of herbology classes and would always bring the most interesting specimens to decorate this small but cozy room.

Everyone sat or stood here, relaxed and at ease as if they were in their own homes. Hufflepuff was the largest Hogwarts house, but also the most united. There had been almost no changes in a millennium, which surprised the other houses.

After a while, the new students gradually went to their dormitories to rest. They had worked hard all day and were exhausted.

At night, Maca leaned against his bed and opened his textbook to read again. His roommates had already fallen asleep, but he wasn't very tired. In the past two months, he had basically adapted to normal sleep schedules, but today he could not fall asleep easily. His mind kept repeating everything he had seen today. Although he appeared calm, it did not mean that his heart was also at ease. Although he read the book word by word, he hardly remembered anything and only fell asleep quietly wearing his outer cloak in the middle of the night.