Just Another Day A Pottermore Fanfic River Taylor trudged along the corridors that led to the Hufflepuff

common room, tired from a long stint of working in the library. Her head felt like it was stuffed full of cotton wool History of Magic Essays would do that to you and her bag strap rubbed painfully against her shoulder. Ahead of her at the end of the corridor was the still-life painting of a fruit bowl that led to the kitchens, but instead she turned right, through a heavy oak door with a wrought iron handle. It let the way into a spacious basement room that looked to all intents and purposes like a wine cellar. Most people thought it was; it even had the piles of barrels to complete the look, although many students had been confused, upon tapping one of the barrels with their wand in an attempt to open it, to have vinegar squirted at them instead of wine. There was a rumour going around the other Houses that this had been Dumbledores secret store of mead from when he was younger, but hed stopped drinking it or in some versions, forced to give it up by McGonagall and the alcohol had turned sour over the years. Compared to that, the idea that the entrance to a spacious magical common room was concealed behind the barrels was downright logical. RT (as she was known to her friends) took out her wand and tapped a specific barrel in the rhythm that theyd all been taught on their first night at Hogwarts. In response, the barrels lid sank inward and the barrel widened to reveal a long passageway panelled with wood on all four sides. RT reflected that whoever had charmed the Hufflepuff common rooms entrance (presumably Helga Hufflepuff herself) and whoever had charmed the brick wall which led to Diagon Alley must have shared notes, because the two entryways operated in a very similar fashion. The ceiling was just high enough to allow Hufflepuffs to walk upright along the passage, albeit with a stoop. RT wasnt the tallest of Hufflepuffs, so the resulting back-ache from walking along the passage several times a day was minimal, but shed seen some of the taller fifth- and sixth-year students give up and resort to crawling instead. She ruefully reflected on how as a first-year she hadnt even needed to bend her head. As RT neared the end of the passageway and another, identical, oak door which led to the common room proper, she could hear shrieks of laughter and soft thumps coming from behind it. She grinned and straightened slightly, the tension easing from her body. It sounded like another pillow fight was underway. Sure enough, as she pushed open the door and stepped through it, a yellow pillow went whizzing in front of her face, almost close enough to knock her glasses off. RT laughed and set her bag down by the door, looking around for faces she recognised. There was Crow, whacking Barb enthusiastically with a black pillow, and there were Crumb and Bloom, trading blows; she also spotted Badger Bat, Sparrow, Anne and Imp, dodging out of the way of flying pillows or using their wands to redirect them at someone else. She saw Zash pop up from behind the blanket fort and hurl a cushion in their direction before swiftly ducking back out of sight. Other Hufflepuffs who didnt want to take part had cast Shield Charms to protect themselves from airborne missiles. The floor was carpeted with feathers and the sad remains of burst pillows. The strange names that the Puffs used to refer to one another were not real names of course, but house nicknames. RT had heard the other houses used them as well, but shed not really bothered to investigate this much. She doubted, though, whether other houses nicknames had quite the same

level of eccentric creativity as the ones in Hufflepuff. RT was a particular expert on Hufflepuff nicknames as she was keeping an enchanted notebook upstairs which had every single nickname of every Puff shed ever met listed inside. She was currently working on a tricky spell which would allow a reader to find the name of whichever student they had in mind, but for now it was just a list. And a long one at that. Not every Hufflepuff had a nickname, but the majority did; they made things more fun and interesting. Some came up with their nicknames or were given them as soon as they arrived at Hogwarts, whereas others took months or even years to adopt one. Either way, RT was always there to write down the new identity. RT stretched, watching the pillow fight progress with a devious smile on her face. None of the combatants had noticed her yet. She grabbed a yellow and black embroidered cushion that was lying nearby, lobbing it at Crow. Incoming! she yelled. Crow looked up in time to be smacked in the face by the unusually well-aimed cushion. She took hold of it and grinned dangerously. RT, hi! Badger hugs! she cried and ran at RT, tackling her to the ground and setting upon her with the cushion. Ouch! Protego! RT cried under Crows assault. The Shield Charm pushed Crow back for a few moments before it dissipated, giving RT time to sit up and catch her breath. Her defensive charms werent very strong yet, but she was getting more practice with each pillow fight. Times up! Crow declared and brought the cushion down on RTs head. She rolled away to avoid being hit again; Crow lobbed the cushion after her. Wingardium Leviosa! The cushion stopped and rose a few feet to float motionless in mid-air. Smiling triumphantly, RT got up but shed forgotten to watch her back. Pillow attack!! Badger Bat shouted as he pummelled RT from behind with a pillow. RT whirled around and pointed her wand at the pillow. Diffindo! The pillow split open; unperturbed, Badger Bat simply emptied the feathers all over RTs head.

A little while later, the pillow fight had subsided, with most of the burst pillows magically repaired and the scattered feathers Vanished from the floor. The Puffs settled down to do homework or practice spells. RT had finished all her immediately outstanding work in the library, but she sank down on a pile of cushions and pillows to read over the chapter on Hinkypunks in their Defence Against the Dark Arts textbook. Honey the Transfigured pet badger wandered around underfoot, nosing at things and occasionally submitting to being picked up for a cuddle. Presently, RT heard a familiar voice call across the common room. Teapot coming through! RT looked up with a smile, shutting her book as the motherly figure of Mrs. W bustled through the room, carrying a tray laden with a large teapot and several teacups, all adorned with the Hufflepuff crest. Moon Light Lily, could you help me with this teapot, dear? Thank you.

Mrs. Ws tea was legendary. Her pot would pour out any flavour of tea you had in mind, and always tasted exquisite. RT had never known anyone who could brew magic tea as well as Mrs. W. A single kind of tea, maybe, but magic tea was really tricky; often it would pour out the wrong kind, or more than one kind mixed together, or just tasted watery and vague and not like anything you would particularly want to drink. Rumour had it that Madam Puddifoots had been trying to recruit Mrs. W for some time, but RT had never heard anything from the lady herself about whether or not this was true. The tea was set down on a low, circular tea table, and RT joined the small cluster of people waiting for their turn to pour out a cupful. Tess was busy duplicating teacups with the Geminio charm so that everyone would have enough. Once the crowd had cleared a little, RT took hold of the pot and concentrated hard on jasmine tea as she poured. Out it poured, fragrant and of a delicate golden colour. RT retreated to her cushion nest and blew on her tea, steam fogging up her glasses.