After the Sorting and the evening’s feast (and the Headmaster’s perplexing warning about the third floor corridor), it was time to find their new home for the rest of the year. They followed the six prefects to the Slytherin Common Room, which had a hidden entrance behind a stone wall, which Hermione thought was very cool. The room was warmed by the crackling fire in an enormous stone fireplace decorated with carved snakes. They settled down on worn black and green leather sofas as Professor Snape, their Head of House, gave a brief speech about the importance of House solidarity, the tradition of keeping the location of the Slytherin Dungeon secret, and the limited office hours he was available for consultation about problems anyone might have. He then swept away with a swirl of billowing black robes, and left the prefects to herd the Firsties into their new accommodations.