The atmosphere at Hogwarts was generally quite relaxed, especially during mealtimes. Amidst the laughter and chatter, the lively Welcome Feast finally drew to a close.
After Maca had polished off a few items from the second round of desserts, the plates on the table were magically cleared, looking as spotless as when they first appeared.
At that moment, Professor Dumbledore stood up again, and the Great Hall immediately fell silent.
"Well, now that everyone has eaten their fill, I believe I should say a few more words. At the start of the term, I want to bring a few important points to everyone's attention." Dumbledore paused, his gaze sweeping over the Weasley Twins at the Gryffindor table. "First-year students, please note that the forest on the school grounds is strictly off-limits to all students. Our older students should also remember this."
"Furthermore, Mr. Filch, the caretaker, has asked me to remind you all not to perform magic in the corridors during class breaks."
"Quidditch team tryouts will be held in the second week of this term. Anyone wishing to join the house teams should contact Madam Hooch."
"Finally, I must tell you that anyone who does not wish to meet an unpleasant end should not enter the corridor on the right side of the fourth floor."
Hearing this, a few people chuckled, apparently thinking it was another of Dumbledore's jokes. But the vast majority didn't laugh; Professor Dumbledore never joked about danger.
Maca thought to himself that this was probably related to the Philosopher's Stone. As for the specific arrangements, he didn't remember those details. Besides, what did it have to do with him? Compared to those game levels that were probably designed to either guard against Voldemort or train Harry, he was clearly more interested in the Philosopher's Stone itself.
Of course, he basically couldn't even think about it. He didn't want to be crushed by Dumbledore with just a flick of his pinky.
In general, Maca didn't want to participate in the events of this school year. He thought he had too little time to study, and it wasn't nearly enough! It would be good enough if he didn't cause any trouble for those three little lions.
"Now, before you all go to bed, let's sing the school song!" Dumbledore said loudly, and almost all the teachers' faces stiffened.
Dumbledore flicked his wand lightly, and a long, golden ribbon floated out, twisting and coiling like a snake in the air above the high tables, forming lines of words.
"Choose your favorite tune," Dumbledore said. "Ready, sing!"
All the teachers and students, well, most of them, began to sing loudly. Maca opened his mouth, but found he couldn't do such an embarrassing thing. He could only move his lips like a fool, mixing in with the messy singing and trying to get away with it.
When Dumbledore announced that it was time for bed, Maca finally breathed a sigh of relief. But when he thought about having to go through this six more times, he felt his eyes well up a bit.
"Alright, let's go! First-year students, follow me, I'll lead the way." The senior who had been chatting with Maca suddenly stood up, a gentle smile on his face, and said in a clear voice.
Was that Cedric? Maca only remembered his first name, not even his last, but he vaguely remembered the outstanding, justice-oriented, and handsome prefect.
"But he doesn't seem as handsome as I imagined," Maca muttered to himself, only loud enough for him to hear.
"What's wrong? Little Maca, what are you looking at?" The senior Charlotte walked over to him and said softly, "That's Senior Darren Chris. He's in his sixth year this year, and he's been the male prefect for Hufflepuff since last year."
"Uh," Maca was taken aback; this seemed to differ from his memory. "... I was wondering who Senior Cedric was? I heard about him before I enrolled, and he seems like a very nice person."
Charlotte nodded as if she'd suddenly understood, and then smiled, "Cedric, huh? Indeed. If it were two years from now, he would definitely be a popular candidate for prefect."
Maca looked in the direction Charlotte pointed, and a handsome, good-looking young man immediately came into view. Cedric had been sitting at the other end of the long table just now, so no wonder Maca hadn't noticed him.
Oh, so that's how it is. There's a year restriction on prefect appointments, and Cedric isn't a Hufflepuff prefect yet!
"Then... what about the girl prefect?" Maca asked, looking at Darren's lone figure ahead.
"Oh, that's me!" Charlotte said with a grin, patting Maca on the shoulder. Then she whispered, "I'm not used to leading others, so I usually leave things to Darren. He seems to enjoy it."
Maca shook his head helplessly at the pretty senior beside him, who was always so casual.
The new Hufflepuff students followed the amiable senior Darren through the side corridor on the first floor, then straight down to the basement located directly beneath Hogwarts.
"That's Hogwarts' kitchen over there. If you get hungry at night, you can go there to get something to eat. The house-elves will be very happy to see you." Charlotte said, pointing with her chin as they passed a still-life painting of fruit. "Just tickle the pear on the painting, sometimes it will laugh along, it's cute."
The entrance to the Hufflepuff common room was not far away, but looking at the almost entire wall of iron-hooped wooden barrels, Maca was a little stunned.
"As you can see, this is a pile of messy wooden barrels," Darren said with a smile. "And the entrance to our Hufflepuff common room is among these barrels."
"Of course, I don't want anyone to open the lids and climb in. Ernie, the barrel you picked is too small." Darren stopped Ernie from attempting to climb into a dubious wooden barrel and continued, "Please pay attention, the entrance to the Hufflepuff common room is the only one in Hogwarts that has magic to repel intruders."
"The way to open it is simple. Just take out your wand and tap the bottom lids of the two large barrels in the middle of the second row in the rhythm of 'Helga Hufflepuff,' and the lids will automatically rotate open."
As Darren spoke, he pulled out his wand and tapped the bottom lids of a couple of barrels several times. Immediately, the two lids each rotated open in different directions. Then, the entire barrel stack began to move, and an irregular doorway immediately appeared before the eyes of the new students.
Darren looked at everyone's commotion and amazement, a somewhat proud smile on his face. He waited a moment before continuing.
"However, there's one thing you must pay attention to! The entrance to our Hufflepuff common room is the only one in Hogwarts that has magic to repel intruders. If you tap the wrong lid, or if the rhythm of your tapping is incorrect, the illegal intruder will be doused with magic-infused vinegar from the barrels above."
Speaking of which, Darren shrugged and said, "Believe me, you definitely won't want to try that feeling. The smell of that vinegar is hard to wash off, and you can smell that teeth-aching sourness from two hundred meters away."
Ernie shivered immediately upon hearing this, and immediately felt a great sense of gratitude towards senior Darren for stopping his "self-detonation" just now.
"Senior Charlotte, if others find out about this method, wouldn't it be useless?" Maca asked with a little doubt.
"This is one of Hufflepuff's biggest secrets, and no one wants to give it away," Charlotte said, spreading her hands. "Hufflepuff's common room and dormitories have never been seen by outsiders in over a thousand years. We know how to hide – how to protect ourselves, just like our house emblem."
Maca looked up, gazing at the house emblem on the common room wall. The badger on it was emitting a faint glow, appearing low-key and composed.
"Hufflepuff, Just, Loyal, Patient, True," Maca mused, reading the words on the plaque beneath the emblem, the confusion from the Sorting Ceremony returning to his face. "Would I reveal the way to get in here if it were necessary?"
He wasn't sure of the answer to that question himself.
Hufflepuff's common room was a round room with a low ceiling and a faint scent of earth.
Magic had been cast here; it was always sunny during the day and dotted with glowing lights at night.
Through the round windows, you could see swaying grass and dandelions. There were many polished copper ornaments, and many plants—some hanging from the ceiling, others placed on the windowsills. Professor Pomona Sprout, the head of the Herbology class, always brought the most interesting specimens to decorate this not-so-large but cozy room.
Everyone here sat or stood, relaxed and casual, as if they were in their own homes. Hufflepuff was the largest house at Hogwarts, but it was also the most united internally; it had hardly changed in a thousand years, which surprised the other houses.
After a while, the new students went to their dorms to rest. They were all exhausted after a long day.
That night, Maca leaned against his bed and opened his textbook again to read. His roommates were already asleep, but he wasn't very tired.
In the past two months, he had basically adapted to a normal sleep schedule, but tonight he couldn't sleep. His mind kept replaying everything he had seen today. Although he appeared very calm, it didn't mean his heart was at ease.
Even though he was holding a book and reading it line by line, he didn't remember much. It wasn't until late at night that he fell asleep quietly, still wearing his robe.
....
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