Ancient Wizards Return to Hogwarts...

Chapter 345 Helga's "Secret Chamber"

"Congratulations, Mr. Diggory." Helga handed the golden cup to Cedric.

"Luckily, luckily, those balls were just so easy to control for some reason, I can't figure out why."

Helga's eyes narrowed with laughter: "Easy to control, that's good! It means you have a natural and strong control over magic."

Judging from the time it took him to complete the game, his talent is probably top-tier. I wonder how he compares to the Greengrass sisters of Slytherin and Granger of Ravenclaw.

Thinking about it that way, the three of them actually managed to gather four students, but unfortunately, Godric would probably miss next year's event.

The old viper does have two apprentices; I wonder if he'd be willing to lend one to Godric. Daphne has a lot of Godric's flair, so lending her out would be suitable—Helga only dared to think this to herself; saying it aloud would definitely irritate the old viper's sensitive nerves.

After Cedric completed the game and won the trophy, the crowd gathered in the lounge gradually dispersed. A Quidditch teammate wanted to play with Cedric's trophy, and Cedric handed it to him without hesitation.

In his view, the cup would eventually return to his hands, and if his friend wanted to take it and play with it, so be it, as long as he didn't break or lose it.

Helga stood quietly to one side, watching everything unfold before her. Just as she thought she could approach Cedric to discuss the matter of taking him on as a disciple, the round-faced boy from before appeared before her.

"Is there something you need, child?" Helga asked kindly. She knew the child was introverted, but she didn't mind. On the contrary, she felt that the child had made the right choice coming to Hufflepuff; the school's family-like atmosphere could completely accommodate a child like him.

"Professor, can I play with that box again?" The round-faced boy swallowed nervously. He felt that his request might be a bit excessive, but he was also unwilling to give up just like that—he had actually found his footing just now, but everyone's gaze made him too nervous and he performed poorly.

Helga naturally wouldn't refuse the boy's request.

"No problem, you can keep it for now—if anyone in the academy hasn't tried this little game yet, you can give the box to them. If anyone beats it, come to my office. Even though the cup has been given away, I have plenty of candy." Hufflepuff simply handed the box to the boy for safekeeping, so as not to miss out on a talented little wizard.

"Okay!" the boy readily agreed, carefully took the wooden box from Professor White, and ran to the corner of the lounge with the box in his hands.

"Diggory," Helga called out quickly, seeing Cedric about to leave, "Do you have time to talk to me?"

Cedric naturally wouldn't refuse a professor's invitation, but to his surprise, Professor White didn't lead him to her office, but instead led him towards her dormitory.

Like Slytherin's, Hufflepuff's common room is located underground in the castle. Unlike Slytherin's common room, which is located at the bottom of the Black Lake, Hufflepuff's common room is simply located underground, in the opposite direction from the dungeons.

The entire lounge resembles the nest of a cave-dwelling animal, with an overall funnel shape. The top floor is the common lounge, and the dormitories for each grade are distributed in concentric circles below. A stone staircase spirals down to the bottom, where the dormitories for the seventh graders are located.

Helga then led Cedric to the deepest part of the lounge.

When he reached the end of the stone steps and saw the stone wall not far away, Cedric's stomach was so full of doubt and confusion that it felt like it was about to burst.

This place is deserted, and almost no students would come here to face the wall out of boredom. He really couldn't understand why Professor White would bring him here. Did he have some secret to tell him?

"Take it easy." Helga saw Cedric's confusion, but she didn't want to waste her breath explaining.

She reached out and placed her palm against the wall in front of her. The next second, the seemingly indestructible wall disappeared.

Cedric: ?!

Having lived in Hufflepuff for five years, this was the first time he had ever known that there was a hidden world beyond the end of the stone steps!

"Welcome to Helga's dungeon. Follow me." Hufflepuff glanced back at Cedric, who was already dumbfounded, and gestured for him to follow.

"Okay." Professor White's voice brought Cedric back to reality, and he quickly followed her into the stone wall.

After Cedric crossed the spot where the stone wall had originally been, the stone wall reappeared, restoring the dead end to its original state.

The appearance of the stone wall blocked out the light, plunging the surroundings into darkness, but Helga snapped his fingers and conjured a bright flame, illuminating the environment.

The space behind the stone wall was the same as the outside, still a spiral staircase leading downwards. Cedric followed Professor White down the stairs.

"Professor, what does Helga's dungeon mean?" Cedric asked, unable to suppress his confusion.

"Literally, this is the underground city left behind by Helga Hufflepuff, one of the founders of Hogwarts," Helga replied patiently.

At the moment he passed the test, Cedric had gained her complete approval and was regarded as her student, so it was time for him to know some of the secrets of Hogwarts.

As Hufflepuff walked along the road, he wondered if he would have taken Cedric as his successor if Cedric hadn't shown such a high level of magical control.

After much thought, Helga felt she would probably accept him, since Cedric's excellence was already undeniable.

Upon hearing the name "Helga Hufflepuff," Cedric got goosebumps.

This is actually the remains left behind by Hufflepuff?! This is Hufflepuff, after all!

Cedric felt the air around him become sacred. But then another question arose: How did Professor White know there was an underground city here?

Helga continued, speaking to herself, "When Hogwarts was founded, the four founders each reserved a classroom in the castle for their own use, to nurture the students they desired."

She glanced back at Cedric: "The most famous of them is probably Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets."

"The legendary secret chamber is actually real?!" Cedric exclaimed in surprise, then immediately realized that he was in Hufflepuff's "secret chamber".

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Second update is here, goodnight babies!

The next update will be at midnight.

(End of this chapter)