The Roses of Hogwarts | Cedric Diggory [1]

Chapter Six: Welcome Home

"Welcome to the Hufflepuff Common Room!"

When Oriane heard that she'd be staying in the dungeons of Hogwarts, she felt a pit grow in her stomach. Dungeons had a reputation for being cold, wet, and nothing like home at all. The pit grew even more when she realized that the entrance to the common room lay behind a pile of barrels next to the kitchens.

But when the prefects led her and the first years into the room, any doubt she had vanished completely. It was a breathtaking room, with plants and greenery draping over every inch of the room. A warm fire roared in the fireplace on the far back wall, where several yellow and bronze sofas sat nearby so one could warm themselves on a cold day.

Crescent shaped windows sat atop the walls near the ceilings. It was too dark to make out anything through the glass, yet there was still a bright, sunny aura to the room. Several round doors were lined up around the room. Other older students were going in and out of these rooms as they pleased, all glancing at the first years as they did so.

"As you can see, we've got plenty of seating for everyone," one of the prefects announced, motioning around the room. "Feel free to use this space to your liking. Many students use it to study, play games, or as a quiet place to rest. Our headmaster, Professor Sprout, will bring plants in here every now and then. Do take care to help water them with the cans by the entrance."

"Your dorms will be through one of these doors that surrounds the common room," Cedric spoke up. "There's more on the second floor as well. You'll find your names on the plaques on the doors. That will be your room for your entire time attending Hogwarts, so I recommend being kind to your roommates."

Each of the students began to whisper and glance between themselves. Hurried comments of how they hoped they would be roomed with so-and-so, or how they hoped they weren't roomed with another student. Oriane, frankly, was glad that she knew she wouldn't be rooming with any of the younger first years around her.

"Tomorrow morning, us prefects will be here in the common room handing out your schedules," Cedric continued. "I recommend that you all find your rooms, settle in, and get a good night's rest. Classes start tomorrow, bright and early, and breakfast will be at seven thirty!"

The students began to scatter around like cockroaches. Each of them went door to door, squinting at the plaques and hoping to find their names on one of them. It was rather difficult and took a long time for Oriane to find her own name, as each room had four students. Four names she would have to read through before coming to the conclusion she wasn't in that room, and would move along, repeating the process all over again.

Eventually, Oriane found her room on the second floor of the common room. The view from above was even better than on ground level. Beautiful wooden banisters protected the students from falling, and torches beautifully lit the floor. As she was higher up, she could make out the very faint figure of grass waving in the breeze just outside the windows.

She turned her attention back to the plaque, re-reading her name as if she was afraid she read it wrong. Of course, Oriane's name wasn't the only name assigned to the room. There were three other girls with names she didn't recognize. Emerald O'Connor, Charlotte Hawthorne, and Calista White. Her own name was at the very bottom, which seemed fitting for how late she was joining them. .

Faint laughter could be heard from inside the room, and Oriane suddenly found herself apprehensive. These girls had known each other for the last two years, and she was about to walk in there and ruin it all for them. But she couldn't exactly sleep in the common room, and all her items were in that room.

Mustering as much bravery as she could, Oriane set aside her anxieties and opened the door. She did so slowly, almost as if afraid to hit someone. Once she fully opened the door, she was greeted by a beautiful dorm room. Tall, four poster beds were adorned with yellow bedding, and bronze canopies. In the center of the room stood a small fireplace to warm the room during winter, and the same half moon windows that lined the top of the common room did the same in the dorm.