Hogwarts: I am Snape

Chapter 52 Miper's Gift

This was the first time Snape had ever gone this far.

When he got home that night, he frantically stuffed everything he thought he might need into the little bag that Pandora had given him as a Christmas present.

After taking some unfinished Pandora experiments from the Room of Requirement and leaving her a note, Snape prepared to go to the kitchen to get some food.

He walked back down the corridor to the first floor and went up the marble staircase into the foyer below.

Once you reach the bottom of the stairs, the door on the left leads to the Hufflepuff common room.

Snape pushed open the door and entered a wide, bright stone corridor, illuminated by the low-hanging torches.

This place is completely different from the dark, gloomy, and sunless underground passages of Slytherin.

The stone gallery is decorated with delightful pictures depicting various delicious foods, and even the torches are cleverly carved with badger patterns.

At the end of the stone corridor, there were some wooden barrels crammed into a corner. That was the entrance to the Hufflepuff common room.

However, Snape had no intention of going in. He had heard that many people had tried to sneak in but ended up getting their heads doused with vinegar because they knocked on the wrong bucket.

According to the school's history, no non-Hufflepuff has set foot inside for nearly a thousand years.

"Oh, we're here," Snape muttered to himself, stopping in front of a painting. The painting depicted a huge silver bowl filled with fruit.

He stretched out his index finger and gently scratched the large, bright green pear in the painting.

The pear wriggled and chuckled, instantly transforming into a green doorknob.

Snape reached out, grabbed the handle, opened the door, and went inside.

Before me was a large room with a high ceiling, as big as the auditorium above. Along the stone walls were piles of gleaming copper pots and basins. At the other end of the room was a large brick fireplace, inside which a fire was burning brightly.

The moment he stepped inside, the once bustling kitchen fell silent.

A group of house-elves, some stirring the soup in the pot and others kneading dough, stopped what they were doing and stared at Snape with their tennis ball-sized eyes.

Before Snape could even get a good look around, a small creature dropped its large iron pot with a clatter and ran towards him from the center of the room.

“Good evening, sir!” A house-elf wrapped in a tea towel bearing the Hogwarts emblem bowed to him, curtsied, and said in a high-pitched, shrill voice, “Is there anything Meeper can do for you?”

Snape was taken aback by her enthusiasm, took a small step back, and after regaining his composure, said, "Uh... I'd like some food, preferably something that keeps well."

“Yes, sir!” Miper shrieked, her bat-like ears flapping rapidly. “We can prepare anything for you, sir, anything at all! Sir, please have a seat! Miper will prepare your meal right away!”

Mipert spoke, carefully pulling on the hem of Snape's robe and leading him to a table, gesturing for him to sit down.

There are four long wooden tables here, exactly the same as the tables in the four colleges in the auditorium above.

Snape thought to himself that the house-elves must have prepared a delicious feast here and then used their special magic to teleport the food to the corresponding tables in the Great Hall.

The house-elves around him were all dressed in the same uniforms, all with smiles on their faces, constantly curtsying to Snape.

"Sir, would you like a cup of tea?" another house-elf asked in a high-pitched voice, trying to drown out the noise of food preparation around them.

“Uh—okay, fine,” Snape said.

No sooner had he spoken than six house-elves came running up from behind him, carrying a large silver tray with a steaming teapot, an empty cup, a jug of milk, and a large plate of biscuits on it. “Thank you!” Snape stood up and bowed slightly in thanks.

Unexpectedly, the house-elves were so moved that their eyes reddened and tears streamed down their faces. They looked at Snape with teary eyes and said, "Oh, sir! You don't have to say that!"

They covered their mouths, bowed deeply, and retreated.

Snape sat back in his chair, picked up a book from the side, and decided to find something to do while waiting.

This is a cookbook for house-elves, its pages slightly yellowed. It's filled with creative recipes from Hogwarts students and teachers, some even named by Helga Hufflepuff, the founder of Hufflepuff.

After a while, Miper led a group of elves, carrying several large wooden boxes, and came over.

"Sir, there are lots of cream cakes and pies inside, as well as dried beef, roast suckling pig, pork chops, lamb chops, and sausages. Miper has treated them with fairy magic, so they'll keep for a long time, sir!"

"Thank you so much!" Snape said to the elves, putting several wooden boxes into his bag.

Seeing him easily put all the large wooden boxes inside, Miper suddenly screamed again.

Snape was startled—he saw Mipert strode over to the baking area, bend down, and pick up several bottles of wine.

“Sir, this is some wine I made! Would you like some?” Mippe looked at Snape expectantly.

"Oh, thank you so much, Miper. I'm so sorry."

Snape said this, but he simply reached out and took the bottles of wine that the house-elf handed him, and stuffed them into his wallet.

The elves kept bowing and curtsying, ushering Snape to the door and saying goodnight to him, welcoming him to come again sometime.

Snape was about to open the door when Dobby suddenly popped into his mind, and he asked, "Do you know Dobby? He's a house-elf too."

“Dobby!” Mippe blinked her huge brown eyes and exclaimed in a high-pitched voice, “Sir, do you know Dobby?”

“I think so,” Snape said hesitantly, though Dobby certainly didn’t recognize him now.

“Mipper knows Dobby too, sir!” the elf said cheerfully. “Mipper used to serve the Flint family, and he often saw Dobby back then!”

“But Mippe hasn’t seen Dobby in ages.” Mippe’s big ears immediately drooped. “Mippe made a mistake and was kicked out of the Flint family. Mippe is a bad elf!”

“Mipper broke Mr. Flint’s vase!” she said, about to bang her head against the wooden table. “Mipper is free, bad Mipper! Bad Mipper!”

Snape quickly grabbed her and said urgently, "I command you not to hurt yourself! As a student of Hogwarts, you must listen to me. Sit down, Mipee!"

Miper sobbed softly and obediently sat down on the stool, tears streaming down her face.

“Thank you, sir! No wizard other than Dumbledore has ever made Mipee sit down…”

"Alright, Mipert, take care of yourself." Snape gently patted the house-elf's shoulder. "My name is Severus Snape. You can come find me if you need anything. It's getting late, I have to go. I'll bring Dobby over for you to meet sometime. Goodnight!"

“Good night, sir!” Miper said, her voice choked with emotion.

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(End of this chapter)