Chapter 80. Excited Little Badger
At the door of the Hufflepuff common room, Duncan knocked on the bottom of the barrel in the rhythm of "Helga Hufflepuff."
As the lid twisted open, a clamour burst out, like countless parrots chattering away inside.
"Did you hear that sound?
Is the door opening?"
"Is Duncan back?"
"Nonsense, who else would still be outside except Duncan?"
"Oi, why are you lot still standing there?
Go and have a look!"
Duncan paused at the voices from inside.
The Hufflepuff common room had never been this lively before.
He hurried along the passage and climbed in.
Before he could straighten up, two sturdy arms reached out from the side and helped him to his feet.
"Welcome our hero, Duncan Scamander!"
One student shouted, then—bang!—a floating firework burst.
Pretty streamers drifted down from above, and some of them landed on Duncan's chest, weaving themselves into a brightly coloured flower.
Off to the side, someone even lit fireworks.
Bang—bang—two soft reports, and pale red globes shot up to the ceiling and blossomed, filling the air above the common room like fireflies in flight, or specks of starlight in the night.
Hanging in the centre was the name "Duncan Scamander," bobbing up and down in time with everyone's applause.
"What are you all doing?" Duncan asked, bewildered.
"After Fred and the others came back, they told everyone what happened in the forest."
A loud-voiced student said this, and his words set off the room's enthusiasm all over again; the common room instantly grew noisy.
"We all know now that you drove off the Acromantulas in the forest and protected those poor Slytherin students!"
"How did you do it, Duncan?"
A lower-year student, wand waving, squeezed up to Duncan's ear and shouted, excited,
"One spell wiped out a whole swathe of giant spiders!
I heard even Professor Kettleburn was stunned!"
"Professor Dumbledore even praised you as Hogwarts' finest student!"
"Right, where did you go afterwards?
Did you run into any terrifying monsters?
Tell me, quick."
The Hufflepuff students spoke over one another, brimming with heat and excitement, as if none of them could run out of things to say.
In recent years, Hufflepuff's performance at school had not been very outstanding—one could even call it mediocre.
If not for Gryffindor students' zeal for breaking school rules, their House might have been at the bottom of the House Cup for years.
Some Slytherins even declared that Hufflepuff was a redundant House that ought not to exist.
Most of the students Sorted into it, they said, were the ones other Houses did not want, not suited to learning magic at all.
If Hufflepuff did not take in all kinds of students, they would surely be kicked out of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
So when Duncan's deeds reached their ears, a powerful emotion rose in every heart.
It was as if all the pent-up feelings inside suddenly erupted.
Joyous smiles spread across every face.
They could hardly wait to tell every student in every House about Duncan's deeds, and then add: "See? Duncan Scamander, a first-year in Hufflepuff—he defeated the fearsome Acromantulas in the forest with a single spell, protected the Slytherins, and assisted the Professors in their investigation.
Our House is no worse than yours.
We Hufflepuffs are just as excellent!"
But their emotions ran a bit too hot, and what each person said turned into a sort of contest to see who could paint Duncan as even more brilliant, growing more and more exaggerated.
In the blink of an eye, Duncan went from the "excellent student" in Dumbledore's mouth to the "greatest student in the history of Hogwarts."
Buoyed along by everyone's praise, Duncan felt a little light-headed, as if he could now punch Dumbledore with one fist and stomp on Lord Voldemort with one foot.
At this rate, they would soon be dressing him in imperial yellow and sending him to seize Dumbledore's Headmaster's position.
Duncan quickly calmed everyone down, rubbing his stomach with a smile.
"Could you let me have something to eat?
I haven't eaten yet, and my stomach's been crying for ages asking me when I can start dinner!"
Laughter rippled through the room.
The crowd in front of Duncan hurried to make way, revealing the delicious food set out on the table.
"This is what we asked the House-Elves to prepare specially for you," a student beside the table said with a smile.
Because many Hufflepuffs came from Muggle families, and because their common room was close to the kitchens, people often slipped down for a snack.
So Hufflepuffs were familiar with House-Elves and treated them more kindly than other students did.
"Thank you so much!" Duncan said, and without ceremony walked over, picked up a pie, and popped it into his mouth.
"Did you go by the Great Hall when you got back?" one student asked, his face alight with excitement.
"Do you know which House is leading the points right now?
Us!
Because of Duncan's outstanding performance in the forest, Professor Kettleburn awarded him fifty points, letting us overtake the other three Houses!"
"Brilliant—long live Professor Kettleburn!"
The Hufflepuffs cheered.
In an instant, Professor Kettleburn became everyone's favourite teacher.
"Oi, oi, everyone quiet down a bit.
I've got something I want to discuss with you."
A senior student clambered up to stand on the table, waving hard to get attention.
The noise in the room gradually faded.
Duncan, gnawing on a chicken leg, looked over in curiosity.
"What do you say we go for the House Cup this year?" the student continued.
"Duncan's already given us a huge advantage.
Our chances are great this year.
If we don't give it our all for this, I'm not going to be satisfied!"
They looked at one another, eyes blazing, a surge of passion and drive rising like never before.
"Why not?
We're in the lead now, so we can stay in the lead to the end!"
"It's just points—what's so hard about that?
It's not like we can't answer the Professors' questions!"
"Yeah, I only didn't bother to raise my hand before.
Next week I'll show you what a scoring machine looks like!"
"Where's Zacharias?
Can you lot win the Quidditch Cup this year?
Don't you drag us down at the finish!"
Everyone started looking for the Hufflepuff Quidditch captain, Zacharias Smith.
"Don't worry.
We'll do our utmost to win!"
A blond boy rose from the soft sofa, pumping his fist and speaking with swagger.
"Even if we die, we'll die on the Quidditch pitch!
What do you say, team?"
"That's right—if we die, we die on the Quidditch pitch!"
Cedric had been sitting opposite Duncan, sipping juice at his leisure.
When he heard Zacharias's words, he quickly chimed in at the top of his voice.
Cedric glanced at the players squaring their shoulders, the corner of his mouth quirking up.
Suddenly, he felt this season might just be promising!
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