Chapter 24: This Stuff Isn’t Even Fit for a Tail-Wagging Dog

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The Hufflepuff common room is located in the basement of Hogwarts Castle, with its entrance tucked away in a corner of the kitchen corridor, among a cluster of large wooden barrels.

Gaining entry is simple: all one has to do is knock on the bottom of the second barrel in the second row, following the rhythm of Helga Hufflepuff's name. The lid will spin open, revealing a passageway that allows you to crawl inside to the common room.

Unlike the frequently changing passwords or the ever-updating riddles, Hufflepuff is the only house at Hogwarts that uses a fixed password for entry. Once you memorize it, you can use it for seven years, making it quite convenient.

…

"Remember, it's Helga Hufflepuff, and the order must be correct," said the Hufflepuff prefect, Karen Harris, standing before the new students. She demonstrated the proper knocking sequence at a third of the usual speed.

"What if I knock it wrong?" a timid boy in the crowd asked. "I... I have a terrible memory. If I mess it up, won't I be locked out of the dormitory?"

"Worse than that!"

Harris walked over to the barrels, casually knocked on one, and then quickly stepped aside.

Almost simultaneously, a cascade of sharply acidic vinegar poured down, splattering right where he had just been standing.

"As you can see," Harris said, waving his wand to clean the vinegar off the floor, "if the knocking sequence is incorrect, the lid of another barrel will burst open and drench the intruder in vinegar.

If you don't want to smell like a salad all day, you need to memorize the correct order. It's not that difficult."

After demonstrating the correct sequence two more times, he led the students through the passageway.

At the end of the tunnel was a simple, circular room—the Hufflepuff common room.

In contrast to the Great Hall, the ceiling here felt quite low, standing at about three meters high. The room was furnished with soft sofas in black and yellow, and the walls were adorned with various interesting plants.

Kyle looked around with keen interest.

In addition to the common ornamental plants, there were surprisingly many valuable rare plants. He recognized several, including rue, white ash, golden hydrangea, as well as wind whisper grass and sunflower bells.

Particularly eye-catching was the pot of sunflower bells placed in the center of the common room. If Kyle remembered correctly, this plant was valued at around three hundred Galleons, but rarely available for purchase.

The golden hydrangea nearby was slightly less expensive and could be found in Diagon Alley for two hundred seventy-nine Galleons.

Using plants worth two or three hundred Galleons as mere decorations was truly a testament to Professor Sprout's reputation as a renowned herbology master in the magical world; this was what true understated luxury looked like.

Suppressing the urge to snatch them all up, Kyle turned his gaze toward the side.

Against the wall stood a large, honey-colored wooden mantelpiece, intricately carved with badger motifs. On top of it rested several jars and similar items.

According to Prefect Harris, the jars contained candies and snacks that the young witches and wizards could help themselves to.

Above the mantel hung a portrait of Helga Hufflepuff.

That was a cheerful witch holding a golden cup, her smile bright and inviting.

…

At that moment, students from other years in Hufflepuff began filtering in, warmly greeting the new arrivals and offering various snacks as a welcome gift.

Kyle received quite a haul, with his robe pockets stuffed full of colorful candies and candied fruits—enough to last him over a month.

"How's the Hufflepuff common room? Not too shabby, right?"

Cedric approached Kyle, clapping him on the shoulder. "Other houses don't have such a cozy environment."

"Oh, it's you, Mr. Diggory," Kyle said, brushing the hand off his shoulder with a look of disdain. "Aren't you worried about being misunderstood by Professor Snape at a time like this?"

"Come on, Kyle, that's all just for show," Cedric replied with an awkward chuckle. "Our friendship is unbreakable, I swear."

After hearing this explanation, Kyle felt even more disdain and quickly shifted a little further away from Cedric. However, he understood that Cedric was just joking, so he wasn't genuinely upset.

Even though that comment had been rather annoying.

What did he mean by "just for show"? Cedric couldn't really think he was Harry Potter, constantly under Snape's watchful eye, could he?

What was he thinking…?

Kyle rolled his eyes, but for some reason, he felt that Cedric's behavior seemed vaguely familiar, especially that shameless style of shifting blame and going with the flow. It reminded him of someone he couldn't quite place.

Who could it be?

Kyle racked his brain but came up empty, eventually deciding to let it go.

Perhaps, maybe... it was the Weasley twins?

…

As more and more people filled the common room, Harris called for the new students to sit on the sofas. He said that, at the professors' request, he would explain the school rules of Hogwarts and also help everyone get to know one another.

He then went to the adjacent kitchen with another female prefect, returning with cookies and several large cups of fresh juice.

This was one of the perks of Hufflepuff's proximity to the kitchen; the other three houses didn't enjoy such benefits.

Soon, the table in the common room was piled high with various snacks.

"Welcome to Hufflepuff! Hogwarts has few rules; as long as you remember the following points, you'll be just fine," Harris said enthusiastically.

While Harris was speaking, Kyle glanced around and quickly spotted Conna on the outskirts of the crowd. He discreetly made his way over to her.

"I was too much before," Kyle said softly. "I apologize."

Conna looked startled. When she raised her head and saw it was Kyle, she whispered back, "No, you don't have to. It's partly my fault for being too dense. I should have guessed you were joking.

Hogwarts wouldn't use… use that spell for sorting."

Kyle shook his head and said seriously, "That's not the same. Jokes are only funny when both parties find them amusing. If I genuinely scared you, then it's my fault, and I need to apologize."

Seeing Kyle's serious expression, Conna bit her lip and looked up at him earnestly. "Then I accept your apology."

With that, she reached out and lightly punched Kyle on the arm.

"Now we're even."

The punch was so weak, it wouldn't even knock off dust.

"Almost even; hold on a sec."

Kyle chuckled and pulled out the most beautifully wrapped brown candies from his pocket, handing them over. "This is for the apology. You have to accept it for us to be even."

"Okay…"

Conna took the candies and popped one into her mouth right in front of Kyle. Then she reached out with her little hand full of candy and smiled, "I'll treat you to some candy."

"No, no, no," Kyle shook his head repeatedly, muttering under his breath, "What kind of proper person eats licorice? Even a tail-wagging dog wouldn't touch this stuff."

"Crunch!"

(End of Chapter)