The Sudden Appearance of the Class Monitor

Wentworth didn't have time to dwell on his thoughts, quickly competing with Cedric for the meat in the cauldron. It wasn't that Wentworth was stingy; it was just that hot pot tasted much better when you had to fight for every bite!

Just as the two were laughing and feasting, the door to the Hufflepuff common room swung open, and a figure hurried inside in a fluster.

"My heavens, such thick smoke? Is there a fire?!"

Although Cedric occasionally used a few minor spells to disperse the smoke in the room, the steaming hot pot still kept the Hufflepuff common room shrouded in a thick mist, so much so that Wentworth and Cedric couldn't immediately make out who had entered.

"You two, are you drinking potions?!"

The newcomer walked closer and was startled to see Wentworth and Cedric huddled around the cauldron. The pot in front of them was packed with ingredients and bubbling away, and Cedric was even flushed red, sweating profusely.

Only then did Cedric and Wentworth realize that the person was none other than Green, a fifth-year Hufflepuff prefect.

"Cedric, are you alright? Are you feeling unwell? You two are being ridiculous! If you're sick, you should go see Madam Pomfrey. You're still young, how can you just brew potions like this?!"

Seeing Green looking a bit worked up, Cedric and Wentworth exchanged a glance and burst into laughter, leaving Green completely bewildered.

"Prefect, why did you suddenly come back? Have you finished your meal?"

Wentworth pulled over a chair and Cedric gestured for Green to sit down as he asked.

Realizing he had clearly misunderstood the situation, Green sat down and said:

"Don't even ask. Those Weasley twins somehow got their hands on a prank Bludger, and it ended up dirtying my robes. I came back to change. What are you two doing?"

Green looked at the pair in front of him, sniffing the air from time to time, his face full of curiosity.

Wentworth quickly placed a bowl of prepared dipping sauce in front of Green, while Cedric hurriedly fished out some meat slices and vegetables from the cauldron and set them before him.

"Come, come, Senior Green, sharing is caring. Would you like to have a taste?"

Green said with a look of horror:

"You really are eating potions?!"

Cedric quickly explained:

"You've misunderstood, Prefect Green. We're just borrowing the cauldron for a moment. It's brand new; Wentworth just brought it for the start of term and it's never been used."

Wentworth chimed in from the side:

"That's right, Prefect Green. This is a type of food I learned about in the Muggle world called hot pot. The taste is quite excellent."

Hearing their explanation, Green let out a long sigh of relief and said:

"You should have said so earlier! You scared me; I thought you two had gone mad!"

As he spoke, Green didn't hesitate to pick up a slice of meat, dip it in the sauce Wentworth had prepared, and pop it into his mouth.

"Mmm! Delicious! So fragrant! Wentworth, you kid did a great job—the Sorting Hat made the right decision!"

Green said as he ate mouthful after mouthful, not forgetting to drop new ingredients into the cauldron from time to time.

Cedric remarked from the side:

"Prefect Green, I finally understand why you are our Hufflepuff prefect. You know, when I took my first bite, I had to summon a lot of courage just to open my mouth, but you didn't hesitate at all."

Green wanted to say something, but his mouth was so full of meat he nearly choked. After a long moment, he finally managed to say:

"I'm not like those fellows who only take pride in pure blood. My father is a Muggle, but I still love him very much. When I was little, my father often made me all sorts of Muggle food, and I loved them all. That was my childhood."

"However, this thing called hot pot is something I've never seen before. Wentworth, thank you for letting me taste such a delicious meal. If you ever need help with anything in the future, just come find me."

Wentworth quickly expressed his gratitude and said:

"You're too kind, Prefect Green. I'm just glad you like it!"

"Like it? Of course I like it! I've always believed that the magical world's rejection of everything Muggle is a bad thing. At the very least, many of the delicacies from the Muggle world are worth a try, haha!"

"Exactly, I think so too. The pace of development in the Muggle world is far faster than in our magical world, isn't it?"

The three chatted more and more happily, and Green even forgot about changing his clothes. However, in the Great Hall of Hogwarts, at the Hufflepuff table, the few little badgers who had been sitting next to Green were still waiting for him to return.

It must be said that although Hufflepuff was the most populous of the four houses at Hogwarts, it was also the most united. Seeing that Green hadn't returned for a long time, the students beside him began to grow restless.

Consequently, two more students put down their food and headed toward the Hufflepuff common room to see where Green had gone and if he had run into any trouble.

But to the surprise of all the Hufflepuff students, those two students didn't return after heading to the common room either.

You have to understand, the Hufflepuff common room was the closest to the Great Hall among the four houses, and there were no strange staircases on the way, nor did one need to answer any bizarre questions to open the door.

Thus, rumors began to spread along the Hufflepuff table. Soon, every student at the table knew that every student who had returned to the Hufflepuff common room that noon had failed to come back out.

By now, all the Hufflepuff students were unable to sit still.

Some wanted to report it to a professor, but were stopped; after all, they might just have been delayed by something, and reporting it to a professor for such a reason would surely invite ridicule from the other three houses.

So, after a joint discussion among several senior students, everyone decided to return to the Hufflepuff common room together to get to the bottom of it.

And so, in the Great Hall of Hogwarts, the students of the other three houses witnessed a startling scene: the usually honest and even dull Hufflepuffs all stood up in unison and marched toward the exit.

Furthermore, almost all the Hufflepuff students had drawn their wands, making this massive procession look quite menacing.

Along the way, students from the other three houses, seeing such a display from Hufflepuff, all scrambled to clear the path in fear.

Although they were very curious about what had happened to Hufflepuff, no one dared to follow them to find out. However, some students had already run off, clearly to report the matter to the professors.

Soon, all the Hufflepuff students arrived at the entrance to their common room.