Another week has passed since they started living at Hogwarts. Though their mother is smart, a naming sense wasn't one of them. At least their name was reasonable.
Their birthday was at the 12th of august, so school is slowly getting ready for the new students to arrive. Sadly enough they still have to wait another year until their school life will officially start.
Having only found two secret passages Helena and Willow weren't satisfied. Knowing their mother, there would at least be 30 secret passages and 40 secrets rooms. How can they give up when they have only found two. Who know if that would be the end. After all the founder love to experiment, so the number might increase with the day.
Feeling a headache coming up, it was time for some sweets. "Helena? Wanna find something to eat?"
"Sure, but do you even know where the kitchen is?" Helena asks, hitting the nail on the head.
"Muuu... Another search it is." Grabbing Helena's hand became a habit since they moved in. Everything here is mysterious and who know what kind of creatures and mean people might be living here. 'I must protect Helena!'.
Walking past de same corridor for the fourth time they gave up. 'Why does every hallway look the same! We just really need to find the entrance of the kitchen, why is it so hard!' Feeling a headache coming up Willow looks pitifully at her sister. "Helena? where should we go?"
"Now you ask me? We have been walking here for almost an hour, but no! You where sure it would be here" Helena says while smiling smugly, as her sister has a rather poor sense of direction in new environments. "Let's ask aunt Helga she loves to cook, so I think she might know where we could find the kitchen".
"But where is out Helga's office? I think it was in one of the two dungeons, but which one?"
"Last time when I was cooking with aunt Helga she said. 'You can find my house behind the barrels' Which barrels was she talking about?" Helena says. She stands still as she seems to be lost in thought. Not wanting to waste her time standing still, Willow bends down and grabs a few spiders that are walking next to a painting. Boredom makes that any creature likable to play with. Seeing the moving painting realization hits her.
Helena still lost in thought hears "Do you know where I can find aunt Helga's office". "Willow, can't you see I'm thinking. Just give me a min..." Before she can reply to her sister another voice seems to interrupt their conversation.
"If you walk back towards the great hall, you can find the staircases when you walk down the corridor. Take the first stairs down and go right. If you walk down the corridor on your right you will find the entrance to Lady Helga's office as well as Hufflepuffs common room." Helena looks perplexed. Why didn't they think of this sooner. They've wasted a week of searching only to find two passages. 'Let's get to know al the paintings and ask them lots of questions'. A smile starts too form on Helena's face that seems rather scary.
Sadly for the man in the painting he missed Helena's smile, otherwise he would have warned the other paintings. "Thank you mister painting!" Willow says while she gave a small bow. Helena smiles back at her little sister, while Willow takes her by the arm. Sadly enough Willow didn't know what kind of horror she had unleashed on the paintings of Hogwarts. And she will never know, for the paintings will never speak of it. Helena would make sure they would keep quiet.
*
Finally finding a stack of barrels, Willow and Helena begin to search. Moving objects, tilting them, speaking to them and touching them. Willow just moves another chair as a scream is heard behind her.
"AHHHH!" "Helena?! What happened?" Willow turns around to witness a basin disappear from thin air, while her sister seems to be wet with some kind of liquid. Willow walks up to her and takes a wiff.
"Helena? Why do you smell like vinegar?" "Don't you even dare to laugh." Helena grits her teeth as she really doesn't know what she did wrong? 'Must be aunts Helga's idea'. Knowing only terror would follow might she laugh, she pinches her arm to make sure she wouldn't make a peep.
"What did you touch? We might be close to another passage!" Willow changes the subject as she sees the look in Helena's eyes turn darker with the second.
Pointing at the painting, Helena takes a step back, whilst she might get hit again. Willow inches forward and tries to touch every barrel on the painting. Earning her a good ten basins of vinegar. Noticing one specific barrel with a delay in punishment, she taps it multiple times. All with a different rhythm and speed. After getting it wrong for many times and many basins of vinegar, the portrait opens.
"Let's go and give aunt Helga a piece of our minds" Helena smiles. Her dress long dry while Willow seems to be swimming in the amount poured on her.
While they walk in the hole, the portrait closes behind them. A large room covered in yellow and brown hues is seen before them. A big hearth with fire warms the room. While it looks cozy, most of the tables and chairs are made out of wood. Giving it a back to nature vibe. They walk around in the room until they see a statue, just like the statue before their room. While you need a password to enter, if you lay your hand on the head, you can leave a message to the occupant.
"Aunt Helga, please come down to your common room, or else we will stain every furniture in the room" Helena says calmly while she motions Willow with her hand to go sit down on an expensive looking couch.