The Last Day Before School Started

Dumbledore stood, spread his arms, and beamed at the students. His voice rang out. "Welcome! Welcome, everyone, to Hogwarts! Before the feast begins, I have just one thing to say!"

"Let the feast begin!"

He sat back down, still beaming, and everyone applauded enthusiastically.

Soon, the tables in the Great Hall were suddenly laden with all kinds of food: roast beef, pork chops, lamb chops, sausages, steaks... as well as all kinds of potatoes and plenty of sauces.

Having transmigrated several years ago, Evita felt she had truly adapted to Britain. Although she didn't think any of the food besides the meat tasted good, she often considered cooking something for herself. But even though she had learned cooking magic very well, the food she made never tasted quite right.

She picked out a few things, put them on her plate, and began to eat in earnest.

"That looks very nice," the Fat Friar said. "But the children don't much like peppermint humbugs, though some students say they taste very good."

"Would you like to try one?" Evita held up the peppermint humbug in her hand. She didn't like the taste.

"No, thank you," the Fat Friar replied. "We ghosts can't taste those flavors."

He floated away, and Evita continued eating.

Once everyone had eaten their fill, many desserts and ice creams appeared on the tables.

The Hufflepuff students continued chatting enthusiastically with one another, the conversation shifting from their families to the subjects they would study, and then to the House Cup.

"We rarely win the House Cup," said a girl who had just come over and sat down beside Evita. A badge bearing the letter P was pinned to her robes, marking her as a Prefect. "I'm a fifth-year Prefect."

"But don't be discouraged. That doesn't mean we're a terrible house." The Prefect smiled slightly. "We're the most loyal and trustworthy, and we have plenty of outstanding witches and wizards too."

She winked. "And our house has the most students, yet the fewest dark wizards of all the houses. You could even say we haven't had any."

"I know." Evita smiled. "Hufflepuff is my favorite house. Maybe I should have been in Hufflepuff in my last life."

The Prefect smiled and nodded, paying no mind to her new schoolmate's words. "A very warm welcome to you."

"Thank you." Evita smiled in reply. When she felt she had eaten enough, she gradually set down her cutlery and looked toward the High Table, where the professors were talking animatedly.

Once everyone had finished their meal, Dumbledore stood again. "Before the new school year begins, I have a few notices for you all."

"First-years, take note: the forest near the castle is forbidden to all students. Of course, older students should also bear this in mind."

His piercing blue eyes turned toward Evita, then quickly moved away.

"Mr. Filch, the caretaker, has asked me to remind you not to use magic in the corridors or wander about at night."

"Well then!" Dumbledore raised a hand. "Once we've sung the school song, everyone may return to their dormitories!"

The school song, a jumble of different tunes, came to an end, and the Prefects of each house led the new students to their dormitories.

The entrance to the Hufflepuff Common Room was hidden among a pile of large barrels in the right-hand corner of the kitchen corridor. The students followed the Prefects through a winding route to the entrance and watched one of the male Prefects tap the bottom lid of the two middle barrels in the second row to the rhythm of Helga Hufflepuff's name. The lid rotated open of its own accord.

Another Prefect immediately explained, "We're the only house at Hogwarts with a spell to repel intruders. If someone taps the wrong lid or gets the rhythm wrong, the trespasser will be drenched in vinegar."

The students laughed and entered the common room one after another.

It was a round, low-ceilinged room with a faint, earthy fragrance. According to the Prefects, sunlight filled it during the day, and swaying grass and dandelions could be seen through the round windows.

Shiny, polished copper ornaments hung in many places around the common room, and there were many plants, some hanging from the ceiling and others placed on the windowsills. Professor Pomona Sprout, their Head of House, had brought them to decorate the place.

The Prefects opened the round doors in the walls leading to the dormitories. Copper lamps cast warm light over the four-poster beds, all the quilts were patchwork, and copper bed warmers hung on the walls.

"Go and find your dormitories," one Prefect said. "Girls, go that way. The boys' dormitories are to my right."

"We can sleep in comfort. The dormitories will shelter us from storms, so we'll never know what it's like for those people in the towers who are always being disturbed," another sixth-year Prefect joked. "Follow me, girls. I'll take you to your dormitories."

Evita found her dormitory, and to her delight, because of the number of students, she had the entire room to herself.

After carefully closing the door, Evita walked over to the pile of luggage that had already been brought in. She turned the button on her suitcase to the right and took out the package James had given her. A letter lay on top.

"Dear Evita, we're sure these will be an invaluable help to you during your time at Hogwarts."

"Professor Dumbledore once borrowed the cloak, but we got it back. As for the parchment, we had a hard time getting it back. That was quite a thrilling adventure."

"Please say to the parchment, 'I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.' When you're finished using it, say, 'Mischief Managed.' We're sure you'll make good use of it."

"Love, Lily, Prongs, Padfoot, and Moony."

Evita draped the cloak over herself and found that she had been cleverly rendered invisible. She took it off, pointed her wand at the parchment, and whispered, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

Ink lines began to spread, revealing a map of Hogwarts, complete with secret passages and instructions for opening them.

Most surprisingly, the map also showed the location of everyone at Hogwarts, with countless tiny dots moving about across it.

There were also a few messages that appeared and vanished one after another.

"Prongs: How about an exciting night out? It's cool, isn't it?"

"Lily: Generally speaking, you won't lose points as long as you don't get caught. Still, I'd rather you only did it when you had 'no other choice.'"

"Moony: Mr. Filch is dedicated to catching every student who breaks school rules. Remember to be careful."

"Padfoot: Ha, I'm guessing your favorite place will be the Forbidden Forest. You can let your little cuties out for some fresh air."

Evita: "..."

On her very first day at school, she had learned how to break the rules without losing points—this was wonderful.