Well...
this is the Hufflepuff Common Room! The picture above the fireplace is of Helga Hufflepuff, who toasts to all of her students (with her infamous cup from book seven!) as they walk by.
Some things from my letter...
- famous Hufflepuffs include: Grogan Stump (one of the most popular Ministers for Magic of all-time), Artemesia Lufkin and Dugald McPhail (two other popular MfMs), Newt Scamander, Bridget Wenlock (thirteenth-century Arithmancer who was the first to discover the magical properties of the number seven), and Hengist of Woodcroft (founded Hogsmeade)
- produced the fewest dark wizards of any house at Hogwarts
- Hufflepuffs get on best with Gryffindors
- the common room entrance is concealed in a stack of large barrels in a nook on the right-hand side of the kitchen corridor (students need to tap the barrel two from the bottom, middle of the second row, to the rhythm of "Helga Hufflepuff" and the lid swings open; and if the wrong lid is tapped or the rhythm of the tapping is wrong, the person is doused in vinegar... Hufflepuff is the only house that has a repelling device for intruders, and the common room as well as dormitories have never been seen by an outsider in over a thousand years)
- the common room itself is round, earthy, and low-ceilinged; it always feels sunny, and its circular windows have a view of rippling grass and dandelions. There's a lot of burnished copper around the place and many plants (brought in by Professor Sprout for decoration) either hang from the ceiling or sit on the windowsills and often dance or talk. Overstuffed sofas and chairs are upholsters in yellow and black.
- the dormitories are reached through round doors in the walls of the common room. Copper lamps cost cast a warm light over the four-posters, all of which are covered in patchwork quilts, and copper bed warmers hang on the walls in case a Hufflepuff has cold feet. The dormitories are protected from storms and wind and therefore Hufflepuffs always sleep comfortably... unlike the students up in Gryffindor and Ravenclaw Towers!
And that's pretty much it... for now. I'm hoping even more information will be released as books two through seven are released on the site! :D