Chapter 19
Chapter 19
*A Beginner’s Guide to Transfiguration* could hardly be called easy reading.
Compared with spellbooks that plainly listed incantations and casting methods, it was exceedingly obscure.
Reduced to four words, the entire book seemed to say:
*Believe in yourself.*
Was Transfiguration not simply the true art of warping reality?
By the end of the lesson, Suer had only managed to turn his matchstick silver. Even so, he ranked first among both Houses. The other promising students had merely produced minor changes.
Professor McGonagall gave Suer one of her rare smiles and awarded Hufflepuff fifteen points.
After class, on the way to dinner…
“How did you do it, Suer?” Justin demanded miserably.
During the lesson, the young Hufflepuff had unlocked the achievement of ruining seven consecutive matchsticks.
Suer would have liked to explain, but he did not know either. Transfiguration involved only a basic incantation intended to help young wizards grasp the principle and cast successfully. Skilled wizards did not need to speak at all.
“Believe in yourself,” was all Suer could say.
“Believe in myself?”
A question mark appeared over Justin’s head.
Though dissatisfied by Suer’s lack of a specific trick, Justin soon forgot the matter.
Professor McGonagall had given them one month to complete the basic transformation. According to her, no student had yet managed to turn a matchstick fully into a needle within the first month.
The conversation at the Hufflepuff table proved more interesting.
Prefect Gabriel stood in the centre of a crowd of first-years, speaking with great enthusiasm.
“Someone asked whether Hufflepuff is the least intelligent House because it accepts everyone. I must address that rumor.”
“It is false!”
“You have all noticed that our emblem is a badger.”
“What kind of creature is a badger? One that is often underestimated. It remains calm until attacked–but once angered, it will challenge animals many times its own size!”
“And Hufflepuff has produced no fewer outstanding witches and wizards than any other House. Does anyone know Grogan Stump?”
“A former Minister for Magic,” answered a first-year from a wizarding family.
“Correct. One of the Ministry of Magic’s most popular ministers in living memory was a Hufflepuff.”
Several Muggle-born children murmured in admiration.
“The same is true of Ministers Artemisia Lufkin and Donald McPhail. Both came from Hufflepuff.”
“Your first-year book list includes a text for a subject you may choose in third year: Care of Magical Creatures. Its author, Newt Scamander, was also a Hufflepuff.”
“But wasn’t he expelled from Hogwarts?” a child asked.
“That is true,” Gabriel admitted. “It does not alter the fact that the Sorting Hat placed him in Hufflepuff!”
“I heard Mr. Newt Scamander helped Headmaster Dumbledore during the wizarding war,” another child said.
“Correct.” Gabriel nodded firmly. “If any of you have collected Headmaster Dumbledore’s Chocolate Frog card, you will know it says he defeated the Dark Lord Grindelwald.”
“Mr. Scamander assisted Headmaster Dumbledore at that time. Why did the headmaster choose a Hufflepuff? Because we are excellent–and worthy of trust.”
“Many other distinguished witches and wizards came from Hufflepuff. Hengist of Woodcroft was one of the founders of Hogsmeade.”
Gabriel reached his conclusion.
“So many remarkable, brave, and powerful witches and wizards belonged to Hufflepuff. What possible reason could we have not to take pride in joining their House?”
The first-years erupted into thunderous applause, drawing looks from the other three tables.
Seeing the little badgers flushed and bright-eyed, the rest of the school wondered whether someone had fed them stimulants.
Suer applauded quietly too. If Gabriel did not join Hogwarts admissions after graduation, it would be a tragic loss to recruitment. Hogwarts faced worldwide competition for students, after all.
Once their excitement subsided, the first-years began chatting eagerly. Suer’s mind wandered.
He wondered whether Angel had received his letter in faraway London.
“Suer… Suer…”
Justin nudged him and made an elaborate face.
Suer turned and met a pair of enormous eyes beneath a curtain of bushy hair.
Hermione.
He waved. The girl glared at him, turned back around, and continued eating.
Plainly, she was still angry that he had broken their promise.
No serious problem. Suer knew Hermione’s temper. A little coaxing would settle it. When the owls brought letters from home tomorrow morning, he would apologise properly.
That evening, Suer sank deep into a soft common-room sofa and sighed in contentment. For the first time, he understood why some small animals enjoyed burrowing underground.
The Hufflepuff common room was indeed beneath ground level, but its windows looked out across the grass beside the castle. When the sun rose over the horizon, the young badgers were the first in Hogwarts to enjoy its light.
“There can’t be a better common room than Hufflepuff’s.”
Justin had collapsed into a sofa in precisely the same posture. His eyes narrowed blissfully.
“Justin, want to explore the kitchens?” Morn asked, sitting up with a book about Quidditch in his hands.
“The kitchens?” Suer’s interest stirred.
“Wouldn’t we be caught out after curfew?” Justin sounded hesitant.
Morn nodded toward a nearby table. Several plates held pastries that had not appeared at dinner.
They were clearly products of the Hogwarts kitchens.
“Well… do you know how to get inside?” Justin remembered the delicious individual puddings at dinner and licked his lips. Temptation had won.
“Suer, coming?”
Suer raised his eyebrows. The answer was obvious.
The three first-years poked their heads cautiously between the barrels.
The corridor was silent except for the faint crackle of firewood burning in the wall sconces.
“All clear.”
Justin turned and gave a thumbs-up. As a Muggle-born, he had always thought the gesture looked particularly cool in films.
The kitchens were indeed very close to the Hufflepuff common room. After passing only four portraits and landscape paintings, they reached a picture of a bowl of fruit.
“Next…”
Morn reached up and tickled the pear.
The bright yellow fruit squirmed under his finger as though trying to escape, then jumped aside.
A doorway appeared.
Suddenly, faint footsteps sounded behind them.
“No way… Are we truly unlucky enough to be caught on our very first night out?”