Metamorphmagus Celebration Party

After the school song, which sounded like a cacophony of demons, had finished, the opening feast finally came to an end. The students formed into groups and left the Great Hall. A tall girl with pink hair led the Hufflepuff group down through the hall, eventually arriving at a secluded corner where a pile of large wooden barrels sat on a dark stone trough.

"Hmm?"

Avada was surprised to discover that the red radiance—the structure of life force—within that girl was far more complex than that of the others, and its connection to her mental power was much tighter. Based on Avada's years of studying magic and observing magical structures, the extra components in her life force seemed to serve the purpose of... transformation?

"Pay attention, first-years," she reminded them in a crisp voice. "This is the entrance to our Hufflepuff common room. If you want to enter, you must tap the bottom of the second barrel from the bottom in the middle of the second row, following the rhythm of 'Helga Hufflepuff'. Like this..."

As she spoke, she reached out and tapped the barrel seven times in a rhythmic tap-tap-tap. The lid immediately rotated open, revealing a passage leading to the basement.

"If someone tries to enter without following the correct rhythm, taps the wrong barrel, or taps the wrong number of times, the lid of another barrel will open and douse the intruder in vinegar," the tall girl warned.

Avada's eyes lit up at this: "Then, if we want to cook and are missing ingredients, can we use this trick to collect that vinegar?"

He was an expert at making dumplings!

"Self-taught, aren't you!"

The tall girl gave a cheerful laugh: "Congratulations, you've discovered the main source of vinegar for Hufflepuff picnics and tea parties!"

"Though the type of vinegar you get this way is random," Cedric added from the side. "Sometimes it's apple cider vinegar, sometimes balsamic, coconut vinegar, white vinegar..."

"Two years ago, someone even got a whole barrel of balsamic vinegar. The entire Hufflepuff house went wild, and the next three picnics were all luxury Italian feasts. Even the Slytherins were drawn over to mooch off us!"

Avada: ...

"However, this also means the vinegar isn't always satisfactory, so if you get a type you don't want, you can provide it to the house-elves in the kitchen or store it away for later use."

Gabriel Truman said this as he led the way into the passage: "Hurry back to the common room, everyone; don't forget there's another feast tonight!"

"Another feast?"

Avada and the other first-years asked in surprise, but they were met only with a mysterious smile. Helpless, they had no choice but to follow the crowd into the Hufflepuff common room.

It was a cozy, circular room with a low ceiling. Through the round windows, one could see swaying grass and dandelions outside, suggesting it would be quite sunny during the day. The room was decorated with polished copper accents and lush plants, either hanging from the ceiling or sitting on the windowsills.

In the center of the wall stood a large, honey-colored wooden mantelpiece carved with the image of a badger. Above the fireplace hung a portrait of the house founder, Helga Hufflepuff, and soft sofas and armchairs in shades of yellow and black were scattered around the hearth.

Before Avada could take a closer look at the common room, his thoughts were interrupted by an excited voice:

"Hufflepuffs, rejoice!"

A young man with brownish-yellow curly hair and a face full of freckles leaped in front of the fireplace, his booming voice startling Avada. He raised his arms with elegant flair and recited in a tone as dramatic as a sonnet:

"A new Auror has finally been born after a four-year vacancy! She is the big sister of Hufflepuff, a prefect in all but name, the ever-changing Metamorphmagus who hates having her full name spoken aloud..."

"Ni... Tonks!"

Under the threatening glare of the tall girl—Tonks herself—he shivered, forcibly cutting off the words that were about to spill out, and then continued as if nothing had happened:

"Over the past summer, she finally passed the Auror Office's assessment and became an Auror trainee, the first Hufflepuff Auror in twenty years. As long as she earns five N.E.W.T. certificates this year, her path to becoming a full Auror will be clear!"

"Ha, 'Newt' certificates!"

Someone in the crowd laughed: "Maybe you can just have your grandfather issue the certificates to her directly, Rolf!"

"That's Rolf Scamander, a fourth-year," Cedric whispered to Avada, suppressing a laugh. "He's the grandson of the famous magizoologist Newt Scamander, and since his grandfather's name is the same as the acronym for the final exams, everyone likes to tease him about it."

"Maybe you could also send him a fire salamander; he's been researching those lately."

Amidst the laughter, Rolf Scamander waved his hand dismissively, as was his custom, and stepped back to yield the center stage to the true protagonist, Tonks.

"Let me explain the situation," she said cheerfully, her hair turning a vibrant crimson. "For the first half of this year, I'll be undergoing six months of training at the Auror Office, so I won't be able to see you all, and the remedial Defense Against the Dark Arts lessons will likely have to stop. I hope the new professor this year can teach you well!"

"After Christmas, I'll return to attend the second semester and prepare for the N.E.W.T. exams. But that's mostly just a formality..."

She gave a shy, sheepish grin and paused before adding: "Besides, the Auror Office recruited me for my Metamorphmagus talent, which doesn't have much to do with exam scores."

A wave of good-natured laughter rippled through the common room.

"But don't worry about me being a slouch; you all know my level of defensive magic," she continued, her expression turning wistful:

"And with the Dark Lord dead for ten years, more and more remnants of the Death Eaters are being caught. The British magical world is becoming safer, and there will be less and less need for Aurors. Perhaps in a few years, all the Aurors will be out of a job because the dark wizards will have been wiped out, and the magical world will be completely at peace!"

"Yeah, I really hope that day comes."

Rolf sighed from the side, then waved his wand, causing a large mug of Butterbeer to appear in front of everyone: "Keep it quiet; I contacted the house-elves to sneak this in. If Professor Sprout finds out, she'll have me in detention for sure."

"To peace!" Tonks raised her mug.

"To peace!"

The Hufflepuffs below downed their Butterbeer in one go, and the first-years followed suit, not entirely sure why but feeling the sentiment—it tasted pretty good.

"By the way, a little secret."

Tonks turned her hair the same yellowish-brown as the Butterbeer and lowered her voice mysteriously: "According to people at the Auror Office, that savior who defeated the Dark Lord as a baby, Harry Potter, will be coming to Hogwarts next year."

"I'm quite sad I won't be able to see him in person, so you all will have to admire his presence for me."

She tossed her hair and raised her mug, which had been refilled at some point, once again: "To Harry Potter!"

"To Harry Potter!"

The Hufflepuffs happily drank another large mug of Butterbeer.

"Alright, that's enough for today; the first-years haven't even found their dorms yet." Tonks wiped the corner of her mouth with a bright smile: "Tomorrow I head to the Ministry of Magic to begin my Auror trainee program. I wish you all a safe and smooth new school year, and I hope the first-years can integrate into Hufflepuff and feel the joy and warmth of our house."

"I also wish you success in passing your tests and safety in your future career!"

Rolf smiled, raised his cup, and shouted, "To Tonks!"

The Hufflepuffs raised their cups in unison: "To Tonks!"

After the third Butterbeer was downed, the small party held in the common room came to an end. The older students bid a reluctant farewell to Tonks before returning to their dormitories, while Cedric, Truman, and the others took charge of guiding the first-years, showing Avada and the others the various facilities, handing out their first-semester schedules, and leading them to their respective dorms.

After two consecutive feasts, they were exhausted and had no desire to speak further; one by one, they changed into their pajamas and collapsed into sleep.

Note: The two exams at Hogwarts, OWLs means "owls," and NEWTs means "newts."