This was the first time Snape had ever traveled so far from home.
That night, after returning to his quarters, he began frantically stuffing everything he thought might come in handy into the small bag that Pandora had given him as a Christmas present.
After sneaking a few of Pandora's half-finished experimental products from the Room of Requirement and leaving her a note, Snape decided to go down to the kitchens to get some food.
He walked along the corridor, descended to the first floor, and entered the entrance hall through the marble staircase.
At the foot of the stairs, there was a door to the left, leading to the Hufflepuff common room.
Snape pushed the door open and stepped into a wide, brightly lit stone corridor illuminated by low-hanging torches.
The atmosphere here was entirely different from the dim, sinister, windowless passageways of the Slytherin dungeons.
The stone corridor was decorated with cheerful paintings, all depicting delicious foods of every kind. Even the torches were cleverly carved with patterns of badgers.
At the far end of the corridor were several wooden barrels piled in the corner, that was the entrance to the Hufflepuff common room.
But Snape had no intention of going in. He had heard that quite a few people had tried to sneak inside before, only to be doused in vinegar for tapping the wrong barrel.
According to the school's history, it had been nearly a thousand years since anyone outside of Hufflepuff had set foot inside.
"Oh, here it is," Snape muttered quietly, stopping in front of a painting. The picture showed a large silver bowl filled with fruit.
He extended his finger and lightly tickled a large green pear in the painting.
The pear squirmed and giggled, then turned into a large green door handle in the blink of an eye.
Snape grabbed the handle, pulled the door open, and stepped inside.
Before him was a vast, high-ceilinged room, roughly the same size as the Great Hall above. Along the stone walls were stacks of gleaming copper pots and pans. At the far end stood a massive brick fireplace, with flames roaring brightly inside.
The moment Snape stepped in, the bustling kitchen fell silent.
A group of house-elves, some stirring thick soup in cauldrons and others kneading dough, froze mid-motion, all turning their wide, tennis-ball-sized eyes toward Snape.
Before he could take a proper look around, a small creature dropped a heavy iron pot with a loud clang and dashed toward him from the center of the room.
"Good evening, sir!" squeaked a house-elf wrapped in a tea towel printed with the Hogwarts crest. She gave a deep curtsey and said in a shrill, piercing voice, "What can Mipper do for you, sir?"
Snape was startled by her enthusiasm and instinctively took a step back before composing himself enough to say, "Er... I'd like some food. Something that can keep for a while, preferably."
"Yes, sir!" Mipper squeaked, her bat-like ears flapping rapidly. "We can prepare anything for you, sir, anything at all! Please sit, sir! Mipper will have your food ready right away!"
As she spoke, Mipper carefully tugged at the hem of Snape's robes, leading him to a table and gesturing for him to sit.
There were four long wooden tables here, identical to those in the Great Hall above, one for each House.
Snape thought to himself that the house-elves must prepare the delicious meals here and then send them to the Great Hall tables using their own brand of magic.
All around him, the house-elves wore matching uniforms, their faces full of eager smiles as they bowed repeatedly to him.
"Would sir like a cup of tea?" another house-elf shouted in a high-pitched voice, raising it to be heard above the clatter of kitchen work.
"Er, yes, all right," Snape replied.
No sooner had he spoken than six house-elves hurried up behind him, carrying a large silver tray. On it were a steaming teapot, an empty cup, a jug of milk, and a large plate of biscuits.
"Thank you!" Snape stood up and inclined his head slightly in gratitude.
To his surprise, the house-elves' eyes welled with tears of emotion. They looked up at him with glistening eyes.
"Oh, sir! You don't need to say that!"
Covering their mouths, they bowed low and scurried away.
Snape sat back down and absentmindedly picked up a nearby book to pass the time while waiting.
It was a House-Elf Cookbook, its pages slightly yellowed. It contained creative recipes contributed by Hogwarts' staff and students, some even named personally by Helga Hufflepuff herself.
A while later, Mipper returned, leading a group of house-elves carrying several large wooden boxes.
"Sir, these have lots of cream cakes and pies, as well as dried beef, roast suckling pig, pork chops, lamb chops, and sausages. Mipper used elf magic on them, they'll last a long time, sir!"
"Thank you so much!" Snape said, placing the boxes into his bag.
As he easily fit all the large boxes inside, Mipper suddenly let out a sharp squeal.
Snape jumped in alarm, only to see Mipper scamper toward the baking area on her short legs, bend down, and pick up several bottles.
"Sir, this is wine I made myself! Would you like some?" Mipper asked, looking up at Snape with eager anticipation.
"Oh, well, thank you, Mipper. That's really too kind."
Though he said this, Snape immediately reached out and took the bottles from her, slipping them into his bag without hesitation.
The house-elves bowed and curtsied again and again, escorting Snape to the door and bidding him goodnight, warmly inviting him to visit again anytime.
As Snape reached for the door handle, a sudden image of Dobby flashed through his mind, and he asked, "Do you know Dobby? He's a house-elf too."
"Dobby!" Mipper squealed, her large brown eyes lighting up. "Sir, you know Dobby?"
"I think so," Snape said hesitantly. Though, he thought, Dobby certainly wouldn't know him now.
"Mipper knows Dobby too, sir!" the elf said brightly. "Mipper used to serve the Flint family, Mipper saw Dobby all the time back then!"
"But Mipper hasn't seen Dobby for a long time," she added sadly, her large ears drooping at once. "Mipper made a mistake and was thrown out of the Flint house. Mipper is a bad elf!"
"Mipper broke Mr. Flint's vase!" she wailed, and before Snape could stop her, she raised her head to smash it against the wooden table. "Mipper was freed! Bad Mipper! Bad Mipper!"
Snape quickly grabbed her in his arms and said urgently, "I order you not to hurt yourself! As a student of Hogwarts, you have to obey me. Sit down, Mipper!"
Mipper hiccupped and sobbed softly, then obediently sat down on the stool, tears streaming down her cheeks.
"Thank you, sir! Other than Dumbledore, no wizard has ever told Mipper to sit down before..."
"All right, Mipper. Take care of yourself," Snape said gently, patting her shoulder. "My name is Severus Snape. You can come to me if you need anything. It's getting late, I must go. I'll try to bring Dobby by sometime so you can see him again. Good night!"
"Good night, sir!" Mipper said, her voice trembling with emotion.