"First-year students! This way, please!"
Following Link's voice, a group of very shy Hufflepuff first-years walked timidly through the passageway between the Hufflepuff table and the wall.
Each of them tried their best to shrink back, not daring to stand out, looking weak and bashful.
Cedric and the others didn't rush to leave either; instead, they stood not far away, watching.
They all felt that Link suddenly taking over the task of guiding the new students must have some deeper meaning.
Link, however, didn't care about the onlookers. He led the Hufflepuff first-years through the noisy crowd, out of the Great Hall, down a winding corridor, and finally stopped before the entrance to the Hufflepuff common room.
The entrance to the Hufflepuff common room was on the same corridor as the Hogwarts kitchens.
There, a huge still-life painting hung over the kitchen entrance, and deeper inside was the entrance to the common room, a stack of wooden barrels placed in a dim stone recess.
For the older students, this wasn't any kind of secret. But to the first-years, this corridor looked like nothing more than a dead end lined with barrels and a hanging painting, there seemed to be no passageway at all.
Many of the first-years looked puzzled and began whispering among themselves, though none dared to openly ask Link or the two prefects beside him.
They couldn't help it.
The pressure this clearly important person, Link, gave off was simply too great.
Seeing this, Link smiled lightly and stepped toward the kitchen entrance to explain, "Now, before anything else, I want to introduce you to the Hogwarts kitchen. This is where the house-elves work. The delicious food you just enjoyed at the feast was all the result of their hard work."
"As for what a house-elf is, well, I believe many of you from wizarding families already know. But even so, I still want to formally tell you again."
Link's expression turned serious. "The house-elves are our Hufflepuff neighbors. They are hardworking members of the entire Hogwarts staff, not slaves!"
"I don't care how you treated house-elves before, but starting today, if anyone dares to insult or order around the house-elves in the kitchen, you will face the most severe punishment imaginable! For example... expulsion!"
Link's stern warning made every first-year standing before him turn pale, some even trembling from fright.
Only after seeing this did Link nod in satisfaction. He reached out and scratched the pear in the painting of the still-life. A green handle immediately appeared.
Link pulled the handle, and the painting swung open like a great door. A rush of warm air mixed with the scent of food and cleaning detergent washed over them.
Several Muggle-born wizards were stunned by the sight, craning their necks to peek inside.
At that moment, a house-elf wearing a pillowcase embroidered with the Hogwarts crest came running out of the kitchen.
He stopped abruptly, nearly tripping over himself, and then bowed to Link, panting heavily.
"Oh! Mr. Flamel! What brings you here? Is there something Old Hanger can do for you?"
The house-elf who called himself Old Hanger startled quite a few of the new students, but Link didn't mind at all. Smiling, he said, "Nothing in particular. I just wanted to thank you all, the food tonight was absolutely wonderful! And, of course, I also wanted to introduce you to our new Hufflepuff students."
"Oh! Oh! What an… what an honor! Old Hanger is really… really…" The house-elf Old Hanger was so moved he began wiping his tears, but his big eyes watered so much that his little arms and legs couldn't keep up.
"A new group of little Hufflepuffs! If Lady Hufflepuff could see this, she would be so happy!"
After calming down, Old Hanger forced a smile and said to the first-years, "Honored young Hufflepuffs, if you ever need anything, just call for Old Hanger! No matter what it is, Old Hanger and his colleagues will help! This is how we repay Lady Hufflepuff's kindness!"
Link turned to look at the new students.
Having just been sternly warned by Link, and now seeing him glance their way, the first-years immediately reacted, bowing and giving thanks in a flurry so clumsy it made Old Hanger start crying all over again.
After a brief chat with Old Hanger and the other house-elves, and after receiving a generous pile of snacks for the night, Link finally closed the kitchen door.
"What kind house-elves they are!"
Many of the first-years spoke from the heart, the contrast was too great. Who would have thought that such strange-looking creatures could be so warm and enthusiastic?
A smaller number of first-years from wizarding families, however, looked conflicted and uneasy. They weren't necessarily from wealthy families that owned house-elves, but they still felt as if their worldview had been shaken.
After all, weren't house-elves supposed to be slaves?
Whenever they thought of this, those first-years would instinctively glance at Link, then lower their heads quickly again, not daring to say a word.
At that moment, Link walked toward the stack of barrels and said to the first-years again, "Next, I'll show you the entrance to the Hufflepuff common room. Like the other three Houses, our entrance also has a password system."
As he spoke, he pulled out his wand and tapped one of the barrels. "To open the entrance, you need to tap a specific rhythm on the second barrel from the bottom, in the middle of the second row, like this."
Thump! Thump! Thump!
With a rhythmic knocking sound, the barrel lid suddenly opened, revealing a sloping earthen passageway.
The Hufflepuff first-years stared wide-eyed, speechless.
It wasn't that the scene itself was so astonishing, it was that Link had knocked too quickly, and most of them hadn't remembered the pattern at all.
"You've all learned it by now, right?" Link said with a smile. "You should, because if you tap the wrong sequence…"
He didn't finish the sentence, but the first-years' imaginations went wild with all sorts of deadly traps, and their faces turned ashen.
A few braver ones wanted to ask what would really happen, but Link didn't give them the chance, he simply waved for them to follow and crawled into the barrel passage.
The first-years looked at each other helplessly, their faces pale, and finally had no choice but to follow.
Meanwhile, the older students watching from behind were clearly amused.
What happens if you tap the wrong rhythm?
The answer, another barrel lid will pop open and drench the intruder from head to toe in vinegar.
That old vinegar could make your teeth ache for days, and its strong, pungent smell would linger for a full week.
They knew this all too well, since nearly every one of them had been soaked before. It was practically a rite of passage (or a prank) for new Hufflepuffs.
Once Link led the first-years through the earthen tunnel and into the round common room, their tense nerves finally began to relax.
The entire room was decorated in lively black-and-yellow tones, like bumblebees, with honey-colored wooden tables and round doors.
Lush plants and flowers made the space feel even cozier.
Link let the first-years look around for a while, then stood in front of the fireplace carved with dancing badgers, just below the portrait of Lady Helga Hufflepuff, and spoke to everyone, "First of all, let me welcome you once again to Hufflepuff."
"I know that before coming here, many of you have probably heard unpleasant rumors about our House. But let me tell you, Hufflepuff is in no way inferior to any other House!"
"Look at Slytherin. They call themselves noble, but now they're declining! They scheme against each other and know nothing of unity!"
"Then look at Gryffindor! The courage they're so proud of often turns into recklessness in daily life! Since the founding of Hogwarts, they've always been the ones giving the professors the biggest headaches!"
"And as for Ravenclaw, ha! 'Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure.' That's Lady Ravenclaw's motto, and they've truly lived by it. But the smarter a person is, the more they seek shortcuts when facing difficulties!"
"Their cleverness lets them breeze through challenges with ease. That makes them proud, and it also teaches them to avoid danger, to always look for the easy way out!"
"But what they don't realize is that in this world, not everything has a shortcut!"
"To achieve great things, intelligence alone is not enough!"
"Perseverance, self-reliance, unity, and fearlessness in the face of hardship, these are what matter most!"
"And these, these are exactly what we Hufflepuffs are built upon!"
"Because of these traits, our Hufflepuff alumni outnumber those of all the other three Houses combined! They're everywhere, in every field, and they've achieved greatness!"
"When you face difficulties out there in the world, you can always turn to those around you for help!"
"Because that waiter, that shopkeeper, that Ministry official standing before you, there's a very good chance they're from Hufflepuff!"
"And as loyal, united Hufflepuffs, we will never abandon our own!"
"So I'll say it again, Hufflepuff is in no way inferior to any other House!"
"Do not feel sorry for yourselves. Being sorted into Hufflepuff is not your shame, it's your luck!"
"We are not the fools they say we are. On the contrary, we are steadfast badgers! We are united weasels! We are strong, unstoppable wolverines! We are fearless honey badgers who will charge forward even if the world stands against us! We, are Hufflepuff!"
Link's hoarse voice echoed through the round common room.
Everyone standing before him stared in awe, until at last, thunderous applause and cheers broke out.
"We are Hufflepuff!"
"We are the invincible Hufflepuff!"
"Even if thousands stand in our way, we press on!"
———
"That was incredible, Link!" Cedric stepped forward.
His eyes were red, his body trembling with emotion, but still he shouted, his voice shaking, "Everyone, don't ever pity yourselves! We are who we are, we are Hufflepuff! We don't need to compare ourselves to anyone!"
The older students went wild.
No one understood better than they did the pain of being looked down upon for being a Hufflepuff.
For years, Slytherin had despised them. Ravenclaw had ignored them.
As for Gryffindor, true, Gryffindors were friendlier and more sympathetic. But often, that sympathy hurt even more than outright contempt.
Many of the older students had long grown used to pretending not to care.
But after hearing Link's speech today, the fire that had gone out in their hearts was blazing once again.
'Yes, how are we any worse than them?'
'Do they not see what their own Houses have become?'
'The most perfect student at Hogwarts (Cedric) is one of ours. The strongest student at Hogwarts (Link) is one of ours too!'
'So who are they to look down on us!?'
The older students' eyes turned red one by one. The first-years didn't fully understand, but their emotions were soon swept up by the excitement around them.
Seeing the fiery crowd, Link nodded in satisfaction.
He had never believed Hufflepuff was a weak House.
As he'd said before, the so-called "fools" of Hufflepuff, after graduating, relied on their perseverance, unity, and sheer numbers to occupy the vast majority of wizarding Britain.
It was an enormous power, but one that didn't yet realize its own strength.
Link thought it was time to use his position as a Hufflepuff to harness that power.
To fight Voldemort, yes, but also to lift Hufflepuff's pride.
To show the world their strength.
Of course, that would come later.
Right now, the flame he had lit in Hufflepuff's heart was about to burn bright, and its first targets would be the other three Houses.
The excited crowd began a new wave of celebration. The "midnight snacks" they'd received from the house-elves became their best reward, and everyone gathered around Link and Cedric, cheering and shouting.
Amid the warmth and laughter, under Cedric's playful tugging, a genuine smile appeared on Link's face too.
Then suddenly, he felt something and looked up toward the wall behind him.
There, in the large portrait, Lady Helga Hufflepuff was quietly watching her beloved students, those she had given everything for.
And perhaps it was just his imagination, but under the flickering firelight, Link could almost swear she was smiling at him, smiling with pride and joy.
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