When everyone had stuffed themselves, McGonagall once again tapped her glass for silence. Once no one was talking, she stood up and said, "I have a few announcements before you go to your dorms. Firstly, Quidditch tryouts and first year flying lessons will begin during the 3rd week. Secondly, our Caretaker, Mr. Argus Filch, would like to remind you that magic is not to be used in the school corridors, especially the Hall of Heroes. Now, first years, follow your prefects to your dorms."
Blaine got up with the rest of the Hufflepuff table, to follow a pair of older students. The students led the first years down a bunch of corridors that led to a picture of a bowl of fruit. Before they got to the picture, the prefects stopped in front of a bunch of barrels. Blaine was puzzled, but before he could ask why they were there, the girl spoke. "See these barrels?", she asked. "Our common room entrance is concealed in here. To get in, tap the barrel two from the bottom, in the middle of the second row, to the rhythm of these words- Helga Hufflepuff. It's easy to remember, which is good, because if you tap the wrong barrel or use the wrong rhythm, you'll get doused in vinegar." She stopped talking, then tapped the barrel in question, and the top swung open to reveal a passageway that people would have to crawl through. She went in, and the rest of the first years followed.
Cooper had never been in another House's common room, so Blaine was as surprised by the Hufflepuff common room as the other first years. It was low, round, and earthy, and filled with interesting-looking plants. There were some sofas and chairs, upholstered in black and yellow, spread around the room, and 7 doors on the far side of the room, each marked with a number from 1 to 7. The girl started talking again. "Your dorms are numbered by year, so you all will be going to the dorm marked with a one. From there, girls room is on the left, boys is on the right, and bathrooms with stalls and showers are in the middle. You'll be sharing those with your yearmates, not just your roommates."
Blaine wandered over to one of the chairs and sat down, and was pleasantly surprised at how comfortable it was. He really wished Kurt was here, but he reassured himself with the thought that he'd see Kurt tomorrow at breakfast. He sat there for a while, before he realized that he was really tired. He walked over to the door marked 1 and went in, and turned right into the dorm. It was very nice, with five four-poster beds covered with patchwork quilts. His trunk was sitting on one of the beds, so he went over and unpacked, before getting into his pajamas and going to sleep.
Kurt and the rest of the Slytherin first years followed a pair of older students through the corridors, which seemed to be heading downwards. After a few twists and turns, the prefects finally stopped in front of an unremarkable section of wall, and the boy prefect spoke. "Our common room entrance is concealed here in front of us, so you'll have to remember where it is if you want to get in. We have a password that will open the door, which will change every 2 weeks. If you want a schedule for the passwords, ask me or Lydia here, and we'll give you one, but make sure you don't lose it." Turning around, he said, "Salazar," and a section of the wall swung open.
The Slytherin common room was very big. There were green and black sofas and armchairs around tables in the center and clustered around the fireplace. Above and to the sides of the fireplace were windows, which Kurt realized were under the lake, because no moon or stars were visible through them. On the far sides of the room were two doors, one marked "Boys" and the other marked "Girls". Kurt immediately went to the door marked "Boys", which opened to a room with seven doors numbered 1 through 7. He went through the door marked 1, and saw 4 green four-poster beds with silver-embroidered green sheets. His stuff was on the bed on the far left, and he quickly unpacked and hurried to the bathroom to do his moisturizing routine.
When he came back, there was a dark-haired boy in the room, unpacking his stuff on the bed next to Kurt's. "Hello," said Kurt, and the boy looked up with a surprised expression on his face. Kurt walked over, and extending his hand, said, "My name's Kurt Hummel. What's yours?" The boy shook Kurt's hand, and said, "Loki Laufey."
"Well hi, Loki," said Kurt, smiling. Sitting down on his bed, he asked, "Do you like it here so far?"
Loki's face lit up. "Yes," he said emphatically. "No one here's treating me like a fre-" His face suddenly closed off.
Kurt's curiosity was piqued. "Treating you like a what?", he asked.
"A, um, freak," Loki replied. "I still think people will call me that."
:Why would they call you a freak?", asked Kurt.
"I don't know," said Loki. "They just do."
"Well, I'll make sure no one here calls you a freak," said Kurt determinedly.
Loki smiled, and Kurt felt a little shiver run down his spine at the hint of menace in that smile. "I like you, Kurt Hummel. Would you like to be my best friend?"
Kurt worried his lip for a little bit, before replying, "I already have a best friend, but you can be my other best friend."
Loki had looked angry at the beginning of the sentence, but appeared to be mollified by the second half. "So who's your best friend?", he asked.
"Blaine. He's in Hufflepuff. Hey, do you want to meet him tomorrow? I'm gonna eat breakfast with him."
"Sure," Loki replied, and Kurt and Loki started talking about other stuff after that, before they finally went to sleep.
Quinn and the rest of the first-year Ravenclaws followed their prefects up staircase after staircase after staircase, the movements of which shocked the first-years. After a whole lot of climbing, they finally arrived at a door with a bronze knocker shaped like an eagle, and the boy prefect spoke. "This is the entrance to the Ravenclaw dorm. Unlike the other dorms, which have set passwords we don't. To get in, rap on the door, and the knocker will ask you a question. Once someone gets it right, the door will open. For example-" he knocked on the door with the knocker, and a voice said, "No sooner spoken than broken. What am I?" Both of the prefects looked puzzled, then one of the first year boys asked, "Is it silence?"
"That is correct", the voice replied, and the door swung open.
Quinn turned to look at the boy who had spoken. He had short black hair, a large nose, and a cute-looking face. He caught her looking and winked, and Quinn blushed and turned away, then walked through the door into the common room.
After surveying the room, Quinn decided that she liked what she saw. There were tall windows between the bookshelves lining the room, and two staircases on the far side of the room, one marked "boys", the other marked "girls". There were blue couches and chairs scattered around the room, with most by the crackling fireplace on the right. There were polished desks and tables on the left side of the room.
Quinn sat for a while by the fireplace, looking out of a window onto the lake, just thinking. After she caught herself yawning, she went to the staircase marked "girls", and entered a door with a 1 over it. The room had four beds covered in blue sheets, and Quinn's luggage was sitting on the bed to the right. Without further ado, Quinn unpacked and got into her pajamas, and fell asleep to the sound of the wind whistling around her.