Fred Weasley had been in the Hufflepuff common room for nearly an hour when a second-year asked him whether he’d brought any more biscuits.
“Depends,” Fred said, looking up from the notebook balanced on his knee.
“Have you finished that essay?”
The second-year glanced at the unfinished Herbology essay beside him.
“Almost.”
Fred looked at the parchment.
“You’ve barely started.”
“I’ve got the books I need.”
“Good for you.” Fred passed him the biscuit packet.
“Take a couple and leave some for everyone else.”
The boy helped himself and returned to the sofa, where another second-year immediately reached for a biscuit.
Fred went back to his notebook without giving them another thought.
By now, he and George were familiar visitors to the Hufflepuff common room.
Some students stopped by their table to see what they were making, while others carried on with their own work, occasionally accepting a snack or offering an opinion on whichever invention Adrian and Cedric were helping the twins develop.
Today, George had spread the latest makeup-pad design across the long table near the fireplace.
Adrian was comparing the drawing with a fresh piece of fabric, while Cedric examined the list of ingredients they’d copied from the cosmetic tins.
They weren’t testing anything in the common room; Adrian had already packed the powders away.
George wanted to settle the shape of the compartments before they went back to the classroom.
“If we move the seam any farther,” Adrian said, holding the fabric against the drawing, “the whole thing’s going to fold in the wrong place.”
“Then we change the shape instead,” George replied.
He turned his notebook towards Adrian and sketched a shorter curve.
“That leaves room for the second compartment.”
Cedric looked over the drawing.
“It’ll be easier to clean, too.
There won’t be such a narrow bit for the powder to collect in.”
Fred leaned over George’s shoulder.
“Can we make the two settings look different?
People ought to know which one they’re buying.”
“They’re buying the whole pad,” George said.
“Not if we make two versions.”
Adrian was about to ask why anyone needed two versions of a pad that hadn’t worked reliably yet when the entrance opened.
Professor Sprout stepped inside carrying a folder of Herbology notes.
She’d come to remind several older students about a change to their practical assessment, and her gaze initially went towards the tables near the windows.
Then she noticed the red hair above the back of the sofa.
“Fred Weasley?”
Fred turned.
For a moment, he seemed to be deciding whether standing up would help.
“Evening, Professor.”
Sprout’s eyes moved to George, who had set his quill down beside the drawing.
She looked around the room.
A fourth-year near the fireplace was reading, two younger students were sharing biscuits, and nobody appeared especially surprised to find the Gryffindor twins among them.
“George Weasley.
Would one of you care to explain what you’re doing in the Hufflepuff common room?”
“We’re working with Adrian and Cedric,” George said.
“I can see that.” Sprout approached the table, her expression growing more puzzled as she took in the notebooks and the half-finished fabric.
“How did you get in?”
“I let them in, Professor,” Adrian said.
“They wait outside until one of us comes down.”
Cedric nodded.
“Sometimes I let them in, too.”
Sprout looked from one boy to the other.
“And how long has this been happening?”
Adrian considered the question.
They’d met in several places around the castle, and he couldn’t remember exactly when the twins had first joined them down here.
It had begun with an afternoon of schoolwork and become an ordinary part of their routine.
“A few months,” he admitted.
Fred picked up the open biscuit packet and closed it.
Sprout looked towards the other students.
“You’ve all known they’ve been visiting?”
Several nodded.
The fourth-year by the fireplace lowered her book.
“They’re usually here with Adrian and Cedric, Professor.
They don’t come down on their own.”
“They helped me with my Charms essay last week,” another student added.
“George did,” Fred said.
“I provided encouragement.”
“And biscuits,” the second-year called from the sofa.
Sprout glanced at the packet in Fred’s hand.
“I see you’ve made yourselves popular.”
“We try,” Fred said.
George gave him a warning look, but a fifth-year sitting near the window had already joined the conversation.
“They’ve promised us first chance at some of the new things they’re making, too.”
Sprout turned back to the twins.
“Have they?”
“Once we’ve got them working,” George said.
Fred tucked the biscuits into his bag.
“We’re not taking anybody’s money yet.”
George hesitated, then opened his notebook to a page headed Priority Customers.
Sprout accepted it and read through the names.
Adrian leaned sideways to see how long the list was.
He’d known that the twins were talking to potential customers, but he hadn’t realised how many of those conversations had happened in his common room.
“You’ve promised rather a lot of students priority,” Sprout observed.
“Different products,” George explained.
“Not everybody wants the same thing.”
“That’s reassuring.” She returned the notebook, though her expression suggested it was nothing of the sort.
“Now, Fred and George, I want you to collect your belongings.
You won’t be staying here this evening.”
Fred opened his mouth, then closed it when George began gathering their papers.
Adrian set the fabric aside and stood.
“Professor, they haven’t done anything wrong while they’ve been here.”
“I haven’t accused them of misbehaving, Adrian.
This is a common room for Hufflepuff students, not a place where visitors from other Houses may come and go as they please.”
“They don’t come and go whenever they want.
We invite them.”
“And the other Hufflepuffs haven’t agreed to that arrangement merely because you have.”
Adrian glanced around the room.
Most of the students had returned to their work, although a few were still listening.
He’d never heard anyone complain about the twins, but Sprout had a point: silence wasn’t the same as permission.
Cedric put the ingredient list into Adrian’s notebook.
“We could work somewhere else in the evenings, Professor.
We’ve only been using the table.”
“That’s something we’ll discuss.” Sprout looked towards the fireplace, where the fourth-year had closed her book again.
“I know some of you enjoy having visitors.
Others may prefer to keep this room for yourselves, and no one should feel obliged to say so in front of their friends.”
The fourth-year nodded.
“I don’t mind Fred and George being here, Professor.
I just wouldn’t want people coming in late when everyone’s getting ready for bed.”
“Quite right,” Sprout said.
“And that’s why arrangements about guests can’t be left to individual students.”
Adrian could understand not wanting strangers around at night.
He wouldn’t have liked finding somebody he didn’t know wandering through the dormitory, either.
But Fred and George were neither strangers nor wandering around unsupervised, and he still couldn’t see why their House badges settled the question before anyone considered how they behaved.
“Could we have a rule for guests, then?” he asked.
“They could come in when somebody invites them, stay in the common room and leave when people need privacy.”
Sprout regarded him for a moment.
“We’ll discuss the matter elsewhere.
For now, the boys are leaving, and I don’t want anyone else inviting visitors in until I’ve looked into this properly.”
Adrian nodded and reached for his bag.
Fred and George had finished packing their things, though Fred paused when the second-year on the sofa held up the biscuit packet.
“Can I keep these?”
“Yeah, go ahead,” Fred said.
“We’ve got more upstairs.”
The boy thanked him and passed the packet to his friend.
Fred joined George at the entrance, where Adrian and Cedric were waiting with the notebook and the unfinished pad.
Several Hufflepuffs called goodbye as the four boys followed Sprout into the corridor.
She waited until everyone was outside before closing the common-room door behind her.
The corridor was quiet except for the distant clatter of dishes from the kitchens.
Sprout led the boys away from the concealed entrance so they wouldn’t block anyone trying to get in or out, then turned to face them.
“Fred, George, I’ll speak to Professor McGonagall about your visits.
In the meantime, you are not to enter the Hufflepuff common room again without permission from a member of staff.”
“Yes, Professor,” George said.
Fred nodded as well, although he looked rather less pleased.
“And the promises you’ve made to my students?”
“They’re still on our customer list,” George said carefully.
“We weren’t asking them to pay for letting us in.”
“Perhaps not, but you’ve been offering them reasons to overlook an arrangement you knew existed.
You can speak to them about your inventions elsewhere.
I’d prefer not to discover that half my House has been promised a lifetime supply of practical jokes.”
“Only priority on the first few,” Fred said.
“Fred.”
“Sorry, Professor.”
Sprout turned to Adrian and Cedric.
“I understand that you enjoy working with your friends.
There’s nothing wrong with that.
But you can’t decide who may enter a shared living space simply because you happen to live there.”
“I get that,” Adrian said.
“I should’ve asked everybody before I started bringing them down.”
“It would have been a start.”
Cedric shifted his bag higher on his shoulder.
“We could use the old reading room we found near the fourth-floor staircase.
It has tables, and I don’t think anyone else uses it much.”
“The one reached by the moving staircase?” Sprout asked.
“Yes, Professor.”
“I’ll find out whether it’s available.
Adrian nodded, but he was still thinking about the common room.
He’d been sorted into Hufflepuff because of qualities the Hat saw in him, not because every Hufflepuff shared the same personality.
Fred and George belonged to Gryffindor, but that hadn’t prevented them from becoming two of his closest friends.
His father had been a Slytherin, and Adrian knew better than to judge him by the behaviour of other students who’d worn the same colours.
“Professor, can I ask one more thing?”
Sprout adjusted the folder beneath her arm.
“Go on.”
“If Fred and George were Hufflepuffs, they could sit down there whenever they wanted, right?”
“Of course.
It would be their common room.”
“Even if they were awful to everybody?”
“Any student who mistreats their classmates will answer for it, Adrian.
Belonging to Hufflepuff doesn’t excuse bad behaviour.”
“Exactly.” He glanced at the twins, then back at Sprout.
“So why can’t we judge a guest by how they act instead of which House they’re in?
If somebody’s a good friend, why should their House make them less welcome?”
Sprout folded her arms.
“Because a resident’s right to use the common room isn’t the same as a guest’s invitation to visit it.
You trust Fred and George, and a good many of your classmates seem to enjoy their company.
That doesn’t mean every Hufflepuff must be comfortable with them being there.”
“I know.
I’m not saying anybody should have to let in someone they don’t trust.” Adrian shifted his notebook against his chest.
“I just don’t like that the decision’s already made before anybody gets to know them.”
Cedric looked towards him.
He’d heard Adrian complain about House rivalries before, usually after somebody had made an unpleasant remark about Slytherins or Gryffindors as though every student in either House behaved alike.
This was the first time he’d seen Adrian challenge a school rule because of it.
Sprout’s expression softened a little, although she remained firm.
“You’re free to choose your friends, Adrian, and I’m glad you’ve made some outside your House.
But you mustn’t forget that other students have a say in what happens in their home.
Some may not wish to object openly, particularly if they think their classmates will be disappointed in them.”
Adrian thought of the fourth-year who’d spoken up about evening visits.
She hadn’t asked for the twins to be banned, only for some privacy at the end of the day.
He hadn’t considered how awkward it might have been for her to raise the subject while everyone else was enjoying themselves.
“Okay,” he said.
“That part makes sense.
We should’ve talked about it first.”
Sprout nodded.
“I’m pleased you understand.”
“But I still think we should be able to have guests.”
“I gathered as much.” Her mouth twitched.
“And I’ll think about what you’ve said.
For the present, however, the existing arrangement stands.”
“Understood, Professor.”
She looked at the four boys for a moment, then indicated the stairs.
“Off you go.
And I’d advise you to finish your homework before making any further business arrangements.”
Fred waited until she was walking away before leaning towards George.
“She didn’t say we had to cancel the customer list.”
“She said we couldn’t use it to get into the common room,” George replied.
“That’s a different thing.”
Cedric started up the stairs, shaking his head.
Adrian followed with the notebook tucked beneath his arm, while the twins fell into step behind them.
They reached the entrance hall before Fred spoke again.
“Well, I suppose we’re looking for somewhere else to work.”
“There’s the library,” Cedric said.
George glanced at Adrian’s bag.
“Not with the powders.
Madam Pince won’t be pleased if we get pink dust on one of her tables.”
“We aren’t using the powders yet,” Adrian reminded him.
“We’re just finishing the design.”
“And after that?” Fred asked.
“We can’t keep moving everything around the castle whenever we want to test it.”
Adrian considered the unused classroom where he’d worked on the cushioning enchantment.
Flitwick had allowed him to borrow it for controlled experiments, and it had enough space for the practice head without risking anyone’s books or belongings.
“I can ask Professor Flitwick whether we can use that classroom again,” he said.
“We’d have to clean up when we’re done, but it’s better than trying to test anything in the common room.”
Cedric nodded.
“And we can ask about the reading room once Sprout’s checked whether it’s available.”
Fred looked back towards the stairs leading down to the kitchens.
“Shame about the common room.
Comfortable chairs, friendly people, biscuits on demand.”
“You brought the biscuits,” George said.
“Which is why there were biscuits on demand.”
Adrian laughed as they headed towards the Charms corridor.
He’d miss having the twins join them downstairs, but he could live with meeting somewhere else while Sprout looked into the matter.
He hadn’t changed his mind about House labels, and he hadn’t expected her to change a school rule just because he’d asked a few questions.
For now, they still had a makeup pad to finish, a classroom to borrow and homework waiting in four different schoolbags.