The Hufflepuff common room is located in the basement of Hogwarts Castle, with the entrance nestled among a stack of large barrels in the right corner of the kitchen corridor.
The method of entry is simple—just follow the rhythm of Helga Hufflepuff by tapping on the bottom of the second barrel in the second row of the stack, and the lid will rotate open, revealing a passageway that allows entry into the common room.
Unlike the frequently changing passwords and riddles that are updated each time.
Hufflepuff is the only house at Hogwarts that uses a fixed door password. Remember it once, and it will last for seven years, which is quite convenient.
...
"Remember, it's Helga Hufflepuff, and the sequence must not be wrong."
Hufflepuff's prefect, Karen Harris, stood in front of the group of new students, demonstrating the correct tapping sequence at three times the normal speed.
"Well... what if we get it wrong?" a timid little boy in the crowd asked, "I… I'm not very good at remembering things. If I get it wrong, does that mean we can't enter the dormitory?"
"Worse than that!"
Harris walked to the barrels and gave them a couple of random taps, then quickly stepped back.
Almost simultaneously, a stream of vinegar with a strong sour smell poured down, right where he had been standing.
"As you can see," Harris said, waving his wand to clean up the vinegar on the floor, "if you get the tapping sequence wrong, another lid will explode, pouring vinegar all over the intruder.
If you don't want to smell sour for an entire day, remember the correct sequence—it isn't that hard."
After demonstrating the correct sequence two more times, Harris led them through the passage.
At the end of the passage was a simple, round room, which was the Hufflepuff common room.
The ceiling here is much lower compared to the auditorium, probably less than three meters, surrounded by soft sofas in black and yellow colors, with many interesting plant decorations adorning the walls.
Kael looked around with great interest.
Apart from the common ornamental plants, there were quite a few valuable rare plants here. Among the ones he recognized were ruta graveolens, dittany, golden lantern lily, as well as whispering grass and bellflower sunflowers.
Especially the bellflower sunflower in the center of the room, if Kael remembered correctly, its market price was about three hundred Galleons, and it was hard to find.
The golden lantern lily was a little cheaper and was sold in Diagon Alley for just two hundred seventy-nine Galleons.
Using rare plants worth two or three hundred Galleons as decorations, Professor Sprout truly deserved her reputation as a master of Herbal Medicine in the Magic Realm. This is true understated luxury.
Kael resisted the urge to move them all away, relying on ironclad willpower to turn his gaze elsewhere.
Against the wall, there was a large honey-colored wooden mantle with a badger engraved on it, lined with jars and such.
According to Prefect Harris, the jars contained candies and snacks, which young wizards could freely take.
Above the fireplace hung a portrait of Helga Hufflepuff.
She was a cheerful-looking witch holding a Golden Cup.
...
At this time, students from other years in Hufflepuff also started coming in, warmly greeting the newcomers and offering various snacks as gifts.
Kael received plenty too, his robe pockets filled with colorful candies and preserves, enough to last him over a month.
"How's the Hufflepuff common room?"
Cedric came over to Kael and patted his shoulder, saying, "No other house has such a comfortable environment."
"Oh, it's Mr. Digory." Kael brushed off the hand on his shoulder with disdain and remarked, "Aren't you afraid of being misunderstood by Professor Snape at this moment?"
"Don't be like that, Kael. That was just for show to outsiders," Cedric said with a sheepish grin, "Our friendship is unbreakable, I swear."
After hearing Cedric's explanation, Kael felt even more dismissive, quickly moving farther away from Cedric.
But he knew Cedric was joking earlier, so he wasn't really angry.
Though those words were indeed quite irritating.
As if playing to outsiders—does Cedric really believe he's Harry Potter, always drawing Snape's attention?
What is he thinking…
Kael sneered, but couldn't shake the feeling that Cedric's behavior seemed familiar, especially the opportunistic, blame-passing shamelessness—it felt like he'd seen it somewhere before.
Who could it be?
Kael pondered deeply but couldn't think of anyone, eventually giving up.
Probably, possibly, maybe… it was the Weasley Brothers.
...
As more people filled the common room, Harris invited the new students to sit on the sofa, saying they would be briefed on Hogwarts' rules ahead of time at the professor's request, and it would be a chance for everyone to get to know each other.
He and another female prefect then went to the nearby kitchen, bringing back some cookies and several large cups of fresh juice.
This was one of the perks of the Hufflepuff common room being close to the kitchen, a luxury not afforded to the other three houses.
Soon, the table in the common room was piled high with various snacks.
Harris warmly said, "Welcome to Hufflepuff, there aren't many rules at Hogwarts; just remember these few.
Firstly…"
While Harris spoke, Kael glanced around and soon spotted Conna on the outskirts of the crowd, discreetly making his way over.
"I overreacted before," Kael said in a low voice, "I apologize to you."
Conna was visibly startled. Seeing it was Kael, she whispered, "No, it's not necessary. It was partly my fault. I was too naive; I should have guessed you were joking.
How could Hogwarts use… use… that Charm to sort houses?"
Kael shook his head, saying seriously, "It's not the same. A joke is only fun if both people enjoy it. If it frightened you, then I was in the wrong, and I must apologize."
Seeing Kael's serious demeanor, Conna bit her lip and earnestly said, "Then I accept your apology."
With that, she playfully punched Kael.
"Now we're even."
The punch's force was… barely enough to dust off lint.
"Still not quite, hold on."
Kael chuckled, then took out the most intricately wrapped brown candies from his pocket, offering them as recompense, "This is a token for you; accept it and we'll truly be square."
"Alright, okay…"
Conna took a piece of candy, popped it into her mouth in front of Kael, then stretched out her candy-filled hand to Kael, smiling, "I offer you some candy."
"No, no, thanks," Kael shook his head repeatedly, mumbling, "Who on earth eats licorice candy for real? Even a Crup wouldn't eat it."
"Crunch!"