"Good news—lower-year students at Hogwarts aren't allowed to enter Hogsmeade anymore. Only third-years and above can go on Hogsmeade weekends, and only with a form signed by their guardian. And the regulations on alcohol here have gotten much stricter," Rhys shared some good news with his old friend.
"The succeeding headmasters have been capable," Hufflepuff replied, "but these rules only restrain the well-behaved kids. They won't stop the troublemakers."
"They're just like Peeves," Rhys said. "As teachers, we have to learn to accept them."
Let them do as they please—just so long as they don't reduce the student population.
On the way to the castle, Hufflepuff took the chance to observe the shops around Hogsmeade and found that they were no less impressive than those in Diagon Alley—perhaps even more vibrant with daily life.
"The books were right—Britain's only all-wizarding settlement certainly lives up to its name," Hufflepuff remarked. But what she was sighing over wasn't just Hogsmeade's prosperity, but also the profound impact the Statute of Secrecy had had on the wizarding world.
"Do you think… if they had gritted their teeth and never pushed the separation policy between wizards and Muggles, would the magical and non-magical worlds have already merged by now?" she couldn't help but wonder aloud.
Rhys shook his head.
"We didn't personally live through that era, so we can't make decisions on their behalf. I think that since the wizards back then were able to reach a consensus and push the law into effect, it shows that the Statute of Secrecy had its own validity," Rhys said. "What you just said could easily be tweaked into something like: 'What if Godric and the others hadn't overthrown the gods back then—would we still be living in an age ruled by deities, with wizards possibly even reigning over Muggles?'"
The example Rhys gave was so vivid that even Helga was momentarily speechless.
"You've got a point. Come on, let's hurry. I still have to attend the Sorting Ceremony later," Hufflepuff said, realizing the two of them had fallen quite far behind the main group. She quickly picked up her pace.
When they reached the area where the Thestral-drawn carriages were stationed, thankfully one was still there. The two of them hurried over, pulled open the door, and climbed inside.
As soon as the door shut, the carriage lurched forward and began its bumpy ride.
Hufflepuff opened the window and leaned out slightly, enjoying the view along the way.
The cool wind gusted in through the open window, carrying her voice with it.
"Say what you will, Salazar, but I'm actually a little nervous."
"First of all, please call me Rhys. Second, what are you nervous about?"
"Well, it has been a thousand years," Hufflepuff admitted, for once sounding a little unsure of herself. "I'm afraid I might teach the students something outdated… and what I'm good at isn't exactly what you'd call Defense Against the Dark Arts…"
Rhys: "…"
"How about I tell you about your predecessors?" Rhys decided to share the stories of Quirrell and Lockhart, hoping to give his old friend a little confidence boost.
After hearing a few examples, Helga fell silent for a few seconds, then voiced a deep, soul-searching question: With professors like that, could students really learn anything useful?
But after listening to the absurdities of the previous professors, she suddenly felt much more confident. No matter how poorly she did, could she really be worse than a boastful fraud or someone who read directly from the textbook and called it teaching?
As for Lupin—he was a good teacher, but his lessons didn't have much to do with actual Dark Arts either. He mostly taught how to handle magical creatures…
Then Helga recalled her old friend Salazar's perspective on Dark magic, and everything suddenly clicked: there was no such thing as "Defense Against the Dark Arts" in essence. Any magic used to defeat a Dark wizard was Defense Against the Dark Arts. Even if you knocked someone out with a high kick—that too counted.
At that thought, Helga had a sudden epiphany.
Rhys didn't quite understand why his old friend had suddenly become so confident, but he was glad for her nonetheless: Helga, have a little more faith in yourself. You're not just the best professor in the last ten years—probably the best in the last hundred. No exceptions.
"That Albus—do you know much about him?" Now that she'd regained her confidence thanks to Rhys, Hufflepuff shifted the topic to the superior she'd soon be working with.
Rhys silently pulled a Chocolate Frog card out of his pouch and handed it to her.
"He's a Gryffindor, and he holds a great deal of prestige in the modern magical world."
"Didn't expect you to pick up a new hobby in just a few years," Hufflepuff teased as she took the card, poking fun at Salazar's little "interest" while beginning to read the introduction on it.
Headmaster of Hogwarts, defeater of Dark wizards, discoverer of uses for dragon's blood… all of that seemed unimpressive to her. Only the last line caught her eye.
"'Remarkable achievements in the field of alchemy'? What did he do to earn that kind of praise?"
"No idea. But the person mentioned earlier on the card did manage to create the Philosopher's Stone, so maybe Dumbledore found a new use for it?"
"The Philosopher's Stone?" Hufflepuff was genuinely stunned this time. She hadn't expected that someone had actually managed to create that legendary alchemical artifact.
"I got hold of a piece last year. If you want, I'll give you some later—I already gave Rowena half, so you could also ask her first," Rhys said in a tone that could only be described as bragging.
Hufflepuff: "!!!"
"Give me a piece, and I'll forgive you for tricking me into coming here," Hufflepuff said, holding out her palm toward Rhys.
Rhys blinked, then quickly reached into his pouch and dug out a piece of Philosopher's Stone, no larger than a thumbnail, and placed it in Helga's hand.
"A deal's a deal," he said as he closed her fingers around it, as if afraid she might go back on her word.
Hufflepuff found it hard to describe how she felt right now. You could say Salazar was stingy—but he had just given her a piece of Philosopher's Stone. Then again, his behavior didn't quite qualify as generous either...
Forget it. She hadn't really planned on blaming him anyway. Getting a piece of Philosopher's Stone for free? Total win!
Just then, the Thestral-drawn carriage carrying the two of them drew close to the front gates of Hogwarts.
Hufflepuff's expression changed instantly—because even from a distance, she could see that standing on either side of Hogwarts' grand wrought-iron gates were two Dementors!
Helga: !!!
"Why are there dark creatures outside the school?!" Her face twisted in shock.
"They're the guards of the wizard prison…" Rhys said with a grim expression, explaining to Hufflepuff that the Dementors were being used by the Ministry of Magic as wardens.
"So this so-called 'Ministry of Magic' has stationed dark creatures around Hogwarts? Am I understanding that correctly?" A trace of anger had crept into Hufflepuff's voice.
Rhys nodded. He figured that was most likely exactly what was going on.
Hufflepuff took a deep breath, then turned to Rhys. "That Albus Dumbledore… is he really a Gryffindor?"
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