Even a Swallow-tailed Dog Wouldn't Eat This Thing

The Hufflepuff common room is located in the underground structure of Hogwarts Castle, with its entrance situated among the pile of large wooden barrels in the corner to the right of the kitchen corridor.

The method of entry is quite simple: one only needs to tap the bottom of the second barrel from the bottom in the second row, following the rhythm of Helga Hufflepuff. The lid will rotate open, revealing a passage one can crawl through to enter the common room.

Unlike the frequently changing passwords and the riddles that are updated every time.

Hufflepuff is also the only house in Hogwarts that uses a fixed opening password; once memorized, it lasts for seven years, which can be considered quite worry-free.

"Remember, it is Helga Hufflepuff, the rhythm must not be wrong."

Hufflepuff prefect Callum Harris stood before the group of first-years, demonstrating the correct tapping sequence at three times the normal speed.

"Um... what happens if we tap it wrong?" a small boy in the crowd asked timidly. "I... my memory has never been very good. If I tap it wrong, does that mean I won't be able to get into the dormitory?"

"Worse than that!"

Harris walked over to the barrels, tapped randomly on one twice, and then quickly dodged backward.

Almost simultaneously, a deluge of vinegar with a pungent, sour odor poured down, landing exactly where he had been standing a moment before.

"As you can see," Harris said, waving his wand to clean the vinegar off the floor, "if the tapping sequence is wrong, the other barrel lid will burst open and douse the intruder in vinegar.

If you don't want to smell like sour vinegar all day, you must memorize the correct rhythm. It really isn't that difficult."

Afterward, Harris demonstrated the correct sequence twice more before leading them into the passage.

At the end of the passage was a simple, large circular room; this was the Hufflepuff common room.

Compared to the Great Hall, the ceiling here felt quite low, probably less than three meters high, and the room was furnished with black and yellow soft sofas, with many interesting decorative plants adorning the surrounding walls.

Kyle looked around with great interest.

In addition to the common ornamental plants, there were quite a few highly valuable, rare plants here; he recognized Rue, Dittany, Golden Silk Hoya, as well as Wind-Whisper Grass and Wind-Bell Sunflower.

Especially that pot of Wind-Bell Sunflower placed in the center of the common room; if Kyle remembered correctly, the market price for this thing should be around three hundred Galleons, and it was a case of having money but no supply.

The Golden Silk Hoya next to it was slightly cheaper and could be bought in Diagon Alley for only two hundred and seventy-nine Galleons.

Using rare plants worth two or three hundred Galleons as decorations—Professor Sprout is truly worthy of being a famous Herbology master in the wizarding world; this is what one calls low-key luxury.

Kyle resisted the urge to move them all away and, relying on his iron-willed determination, turned his head to look to the side.

Against the wall stood a large, honey-colored wooden mantelpiece carved with badgers, on which were placed some jars and similar items.

According to the introduction by prefect Harris, the jars contained snacks like candies, which the young wizards could take at will.

Above the fireplace hung a portrait of Helga Hufflepuff.

It was a witch holding a golden cup, smiling very cheerfully.

At this moment, students from other years in Hufflepuff arrived one after another. They greeted the first-years warmly and brought out various small snacks as welcome gifts.

Kyle also received quite a few; his robe pockets were stuffed with colorful candies and preserved fruits, enough to last him for over a month.

"How about it? The Hufflepuff common room isn't bad, is it?"

Cedric came to Kyle's side and patted him on the shoulder, saying, "The other houses don't have such a comfortable environment."

"So it is Mr. Diggory." Kyle brushed the hand off his shoulder with a look of disgust and said indifferently, "What, are you not afraid of being misunderstood by Professor Snape at this time?"

"Don't be like that, Kyle, that was all for show to outsiders," Cedric said with a sheepish grin. "Our friendship is unbreakable, I swear."

After hearing this explanation, Kyle felt even more disgusted and quickly moved a bit further away from Cedric.

However, he also knew that Cedric was joking before, so he wasn't truly angry.

Even though what he said just now was really asking for a beating.

Talking about doing it for outsiders—Cedric couldn't possibly think he was Harry Potter, capable of garnering Snape's attention at any moment, could he?

What is he thinking...

Kyle curled his lips in disdain, but he didn't know if it was an illusion, he always felt that Cedric's performance just now was a bit familiar, especially that shameless style of trimming his sails to the wind and frantically shifting blame; it seemed he had seen it on someone before.

Who exactly was it?

Kyle racked his brains, but he had no leads and eventually had to give up.

Perhaps, possibly, maybe... it was the Weasley twins.

As more and more people filled the common room, Harris called the first-years to sit on the sofas, saying that at the professor's request, he would tell them about the Hogwarts school rules in advance, and it would also be a chance for everyone to get to know each other.

Afterward, he and another female prefect went to the kitchen next door and brought back some biscuits and several large pitchers of fresh fruit juice.

This was only possible because the Hufflepuff common room was close to the kitchen; the other three houses didn't have such treatment.

Soon, the tables in the common room were piled high with various snacks.

Harris said enthusiastically, "Welcome to Hufflepuff. There aren't many school rules at Hogwarts; as long as everyone can keep the following points in mind, it will be fine.

First of all..."

Taking advantage of the time while Harris was speaking, Kyle looked left and right, soon finding Kanna on the very edge of the crowd, and then moved over there without a sound.

"I went too far before," Kyle said in a low voice. "I apologize to you."

Kanna was clearly startled, but upon looking up and realizing it was Kyle, she whispered, "No, no need. It was partly my fault too; I was too slow. I should have guessed you were joking."

"How could Hogwarts possibly use... use... that kind of spell for Sorting?"

Kyle shook his head, his expression earnest. "It's not the same. A joke is only a joke if both people find it funny. If I truly scared you, then I was definitely in the wrong, so I must apologize."

Seeing Kyle's serious face, Kanna bit her lip, looked up, and said earnestly, "Then I accept your apology."

With that, she reached out and gave Kyle a light punch.

"Now we're even."

How to describe the force of that punch... it would have struggled to even knock dust off a coat.

"Not quite yet, wait a moment."

Kyle smiled, then picked out all the most beautifully wrapped brown candies from his pocket and handed them over. "This is a peace offering. Only when you accept this will we be truly even."

"Mm, okay..."

Kanna took the candies, popped one into her mouth right in front of Kyle, and then held out her small hand, filled with sweets, toward him with a smile. "I'll treat you to a candy."

"No, no thanks." Kyle shook his head repeatedly, muttering under his breath, "What kind of sane person eats Licorice Candy? Even a Swallow-tailed Dog wouldn't touch this stuff."

Crunch!