Chapter 24: Little Gotham Shock The banquet ended quickly. After Dumbledore explained a few prohibited things and all the teachers and students sang the school song together, the prefects of each college took the freshmen to the lounge. The Hufflepuff Common Room is very secure, being the only house common room with a repellent device to prevent trespassers. The entrance to the lounge was in the corridor on the right hand side near the kitchen, on a pile of large wooden barrels which sat on a dark stone trough. "Everyone, remember the rhythm!" Hufflepuff Prefect, Gabrielle Truman, introduced everyone - "Tap the bottom of the second barrel in the middle of the second row to the rhythm of 'Helga Hufflepuff' and the lid will swing open, revealing the entrance to the lounge. Convenient, isn't it!" No passwords are required, and no questions need to be answered. Bruce gave a high evaluation of this: "It's an interesting way to open the door." He couldn't help but think that if he returned to Gotham and designed a secret base for himself, he would also have to set up a system like this.
For example, the entrance to the secret tunnel is hidden behind a display cabinet in Wayne Manor, and the secret door can only be opened by playing a scale on the piano. "You must not hit the wrong rhythm," Truman stressed again and again, "If you don't hit the right melody, hit the wrong barrel, or hit it the wrong number of times, the lid of the other barrel will burst and you will be covered in vinegar. "So you'd better train yourself in private, otherwise you will smell like vinegar all day long." Truman demonstrated it to everyone at a slow speed and opened the passage door. A group of young wizards followed him into the lounge. The Hufflepuff common room was not luxurious, but it looked very cozy, filled with soft armchairs and various fragrant herbs. There was a portrait hanging on the wall. It was a plump red-haired lady holding a golden cup in her hand and smiling very friendly. This is the founder of Hufflepuff House, the sunny and cheerful great witch Ms. Helga. "Why doesn't this portrait move?" a little wizard asked. "Oh, it's true." Truman frowned. "Last year, this painting was still moving. It seems that the time has really come." The reason why portraits can move is determined by the magical power of the wizard in the painting. The more powerful the wizard, the stronger the intelligence of the portrait will be, and it can even be indistinguishable from a real person. The same is true for Hufflepuff portraits. At least a thousand years ago, the people in the portraits were still able to teach magic to young wizards. But after all, a thousand years have passed. Since a long time ago, Hufflepuff portraits can only repeat simple actions and cannot communicate with others. Now that it is completely motionless, everyone just feels regretful but not surprised. Truman said, "I will report this matter to the dean later. Now, everyone can return to their dormitories in turn." He led the girls through a door first, and then took the boys to the dormitory - their luggage was already there. It was late at night, Bruce was lying on his bed with yellow velvet curtains, and Katum jumped onto his pillow. "Bruce, do you miss Gotham?"
"Don't ask such silly questions." Bruce sat up slightly. He and Katum were communicating through telepathy, so there was no need to worry about disturbing his sleeping roommate. "Today I finally met Dumbledore in person." Bruce recalled the figure with the white beard. "He is just like what is said in the books, unfathomable." "So what do you think?" Katum asked. "I think... he's scary." Bruce pondered for a moment and expressed his concerns, "Everyone says that Dumbledore is one of the most powerful wizards of our time, and he is highly respected and has countless followers. "No one can restrain such a wizard. What if he wants to do something bad? Is there anyone who can stop him?" Katum shrugged: "You really don't want to trust others at all." "It's not that I don't trust others, but my concerns are not groundless." Bruce retorted, "If there is such a person in Gotham, I won't be able to sleep well." Katum asked back: "Then what should we do? Are you going to have a Batman vs. Dumbledore fight?" "That's not necessary." Bruce lowered his head, "But I have to find Dumbledore's weakness so that I can stop him when he does evil in the future." coming. Bruce's natural paranoia makes him unable to tolerate the existence of any invincible person. Katum suspected that if Bruce traveled to the Warhammer world one day, given his suspicious nature, he would probably find a way to pull the Emperor down from the Golden Throne and sit on it himself. "Let me be honest with you. You don't need to worry about Dumbledore." Katum, who has a God's perspective, decides to get Bruce back on track. They didn't come to the Harry Potter world to be saviors, they just traveled to study and become stronger. "Don't worry about him, Dumbledore. He will die on his own." Katum said, "The person you should be most worried about right now is your good fellow countryman, Jason Todd." "What's wrong with him?" Bruce was stunned when he suddenly heard the name. It has been a while since I last heard from him. He was clearly calling for my death, but he never showed up after that. Bruce thought he had given up. "This kid was raised by your future self. He has the same problem as you. He doesn't fight a battle he's not prepared for." Katum explained, “Today I heard the professors talking about him, and it seemed like they were looking for something, maybe to use against the wizarding world. "He's not like you. He doesn't have a principle of not killing. I'm kind of looking forward to it now." Bruce frowned, "What are you looking forward to?" “I hope he can make a big splash and bring a little shock to the wizarding world that has been at peace for so long.” …… Hufflepuffs usually attend classes with Ravenclaws.
On the first day of school, Bruce's schedule was two consecutive Potions classes in the morning, one Herbology class and one History of Magic class in the afternoon. Potions classes were held in an underground classroom. It is colder here than in the main building of the castle. Glass jars are placed along the walls, and the animal specimens soaked in them are shivering. The young wizards of Hufflepuff were given a warning as soon as they arrived at the school. Professor Snape has greasy black hair, a hooked nose, and cold, empty eyes. "You are here to learn the precise science and art of potion making." He started the class by calling the roll and then got into teaching without any greetings. "Since there's no silly waving of wands here, many of you won't believe this is magic." His cold eyes swept across the faces of every student, and the little wizards couldn't help but lower their heads, not daring to look him in the eye. Then, Snape saw Bruce. Unexpectedly, Bruce remained sitting upright, with his head held high, looking into Snape's eyes without fear. Snape frowned slightly, and continued to speak - "I don't expect you to truly appreciate the beauty of the simmering crucible with white smoke and bursts of fragrance. You will not truly understand the magical power of the liquid flowing into people's veins, which makes people's hearts and minds excited and confused... "I can teach you how to improve your reputation, brew glory, and even prevent death— "But there is one condition: you are not the kind of idiots I often meet!" After saying this, his eyes were gloomy and he stared at Bruce, the ungrateful student. (End of this chapter)