Unexpected (A Harry Potter Fanfiction)

Chapter 4

4.

After the feast in the Great Hall, it was time for us to be led to our common rooms. The Hufflepuff prefects got all us first years together and then proceeded to lead us out of the Great Hall and down to the common room. The Hufflepuff’s was a ground floor room, next to the kitchens. I knew by now Ron would be heading up to the Gryffindor tower, and it felt strange us being at two different ends of the castle.

When we arrived outside of the entrance to the common room, we were greeted by a large pile of barrels. The prefect explained to us that in order to get in to the room, we must tap the barrel two from the bottom, middle of the second row to the rhythm of ‘Helga Hufflepuff’. For any non-Hufflepuffs who tried to enter our common room, he told us that by getting the rhythm or barrel wrong, the trespasser would be doused in vinegar. This revelation received quite a few giggles from many of the first years.

The prefect then demonstrated what happens when you do, in fact, get the passcode right. The barrel in question opened up to reveal a large sloping passageway which seemed to lead upwards. We were led through the passage and up into the Hufflepuff common room. It was beautiful. We were on the ground floor, so the windows looked out onto the wide grass areas. You could see all the plants and creatures running past the windows. The sun shone through, casting the room with a yellowy glow. The room itself was decorated in the Hufflepuff colours of yellow and black, and there were various plants dotted around on the windowsills. The whole place had an air of homeliness to it, which was very comforting.

Around the sides of the room were desks where students could do their homework and there were big armchairs and sofas dotted around the room, where students had already gathered to spend time with their friends. The prefect pointed out two arched doorways, at the other end of the common room.

“Those doors lead up to you dormitories. Girls on the right, boys on the left. Make yourselves at home”. He offered a smile before departing and leaving us to explore.

I followed some of the other girls up to our dormitory to secure the best beds. It was an average sized room, with five beds lining the curved walls. Each bed was covered in a bright, patchwork quilt and had a small bedside table beside it, plus space under and in front of each bed where people’s trunks had already been gathered. I chose a bed that sat next to the window, where you could see out onto the Hogwarts grounds, and beyond to the black lake. I rearranged my things around the bed and let Jinx out so she could explore her new home too. While we all sorted out our things, myself and the other girls got to know each other as we’d be spending presumably a lot of time together over the next seven years. I especially got friendly with a girl called Jade. Like me, she’d grown up in a small family, with only one younger sister. Unlike me though, she had straight dark hair, which just reached her shoulders. We both seemed very similar in personalities; I guess that’s why we were both sorted into the same house.

Although it was only my first evening in Hogwarts, I really felt like I would fit in here and I was so excited for the coming years.