bookbashuk Chapter 106 The Forbidden Forest is My Home
Chapter 106 The Forbidden Forest is My Home
Chapter 106 The Forbidden Forest is My Home
Lucas slipped away.
Professor Quirrell's eyes were practically spitting out green light just now; it was absolutely terrifying. He also shouted something, something like Wakanda or something.
If the door hadn't slammed shut at the last moment, Lucas felt Professor Quirrell would have pounced on him and strangled him.
Lucas jogged down the stairs, the nosy portraits along the way asking, "Hey kid, what just happened? You seem to have really angered a professor."
Lucas sighed. "Oh, it's alright. What man doesn't care about saving face?"
It seems I've touched a nerve with Professor Quirrell, which is why he's so furious. Now there's no need to ask anymore; just prepare the medicinal diet for him, and that won't hurt.
Once his kidney deficiency is cured, he will definitely thank me.
Looking out the window at the castle, Lucas saw the sun already moving westward, classmates playing and laughing on the lawn, and couples strolling along the Black Lake.
How come it's already afternoon? I haven't eaten a single bite of food since I was discharged from the hospital this morning.
Thinking about it this way, I suddenly felt incredibly hungry.
Just then, an owl swept past the window, its wings cutting through the edge of light and shadow, and disappeared in the direction of the tower in an instant.
Lucas paused.
Pepper...
He suddenly realized he'd forgotten about Pepper again. He'd let it play by itself during Monday's Potions class, then he'd passed out, and now it was Saturday—was it still out there partying in the Forbidden Forest?
Lucas quickened his pace, temporarily leaving the fragrant kitchen behind, and headed straight for his dormitory.
The bottom of the barrel is struck with the cheerful rhythm of "Helga Hufflepuff," the round door opens, and the fragrance of earth and plants wafts out.
Hufflepuff's dormitory is half-buried underground, with its roof rising above the lawn outside. Sunlight streams in through the many round glass windows on the roof and top of the walls, making the entire common room very bright.
The ceiling was covered with plant vines, and in the corners, on the windowsills, and beside the shelves, pots and clumps of plants were particularly excited in the bright sunlight, their branches, leaves, flowers and fruits rustling.
Several older students were observing a potted plant, seemingly completing a herbalism report. Above the warm fireplace, Hufflepuff's portrait saw Lucas climbing in and smiled slightly.
"Welcome back, child. Where have you been these past few days?"
Around the fireplace, several students sat on a sofa covered with yellow and black cushions, arguing about a wizard's chess set on the coffee table. One of the chess pieces on the board was shouting, "Send it! Send it! It doesn't matter if it dies! Do you even know how to play chess?!"
They heard the voice of the portrait, turned around, and waved to Lucas.
"Hey McGregor! You're out of the hospital? How's it going?"
These are several fourth-grade students. Hannah and the others are not here, and we don't know where they went.
"I have fully recovered, thank you for your concern." Lucas nodded politely.
"You're amazing," another student said. "I heard you immobilized Cerberus with a full-body binding spell."
Truly remarkable, a true rising star.
Lucas waved his hand: "It was just good luck. That 'star' thing is just nonsense in the newspapers. Don't take it seriously. Don't say that."
"You're too modest, McGregor. You're only a freshman, and you've already accomplished so much. We Hufflepuffs have finally produced a genius!"
The upperclassman who spoke was very sincere and happy for Hufflepuff, but another student corrected him, saying, "Lucas is great, but Diggory in the third year is also very excellent. I dare say he will definitely become a prefect."
"McGregor is far more famous than Diggory; at least the Daily Prophet hasn't published a single article about Diggory, has it?"
Why are you arguing with me? Lucas quickly said that Cedric was a good comrade and that he was still young and should learn from him. Then he hurried upstairs and opened his door.
Ernie wasn't in the room. All the furniture and items were neatly arranged, and the carpet was spotless, clearly indicating that the house-elves had done a good job cleaning.
Lucas immediately spotted Pepper dozing off on the brass frame beside his bed.
It buried its head under its wings, its once tight and smooth black feathers now disheveled as if ravaged by a storm, a few downy feathers drifting to the edge of the shelf, swirling gently in the breeze as Lucas opened the door.
It looks like it was kneaded into a ball, then unfolded, and then kneaded into a ball again.
"Pepper!" Lucas exclaimed in surprise, "Who beat you up?"
The raven slowly pulled its head out from under its wing, lazily opening a crack to reveal its small eyes, which had become much dimmer than before.
"Good morning, dog. Nice to see you."
Pepper's voice was like sandpaper scraping sheet metal: "Lucas, you're discharged. I visited you once before, but you were sleeping like a log, so I came back."
"Pepper, what happened to you?" Lucas frowned. "Did you get caught in the middle of a hot girl's house by her husband and get beaten up?"
Pepper slowly stretched her wings and yawned: "Damn, you're really joking. Actually..."
It glanced around cheekily, then lowered its voice: "Bro, I got fucked."
"Huh?" Lucas's mouth dropped open.
"Got fucked." Pepper sighed dejectedly. "While you were gone, those three hotties brought two more girlfriends. Five, a whole five! I struggled fiercely, but I couldn't fight them all, and in the end, I was humiliated. Even an iron rod can be ground to a needle..."
"My reputation has spread throughout the Forbidden Forest." Pepper closed her eyes, slumped down, and said, "Bro, I haven't slept for three days."
Lucas fell silent.
"You mean," he said slowly, organizing his thoughts, "that I was in a coma for five days in the school hospital, while you were in the Forbidden Forest, having illicit relationships with five female ravens? One a day on average?"
"No, no, no," Pepper corrected him. "It's cultural exchange. I'm an American raven, and the British ravens are very curious about me. I'm just fulfilling my duty as a cultural ambassador."
"A cultural ambassador? So, your hoarse voice is from talking?"
"It's from singing," Pepper hummed. "Those ladies loved to hear me sing 'God Bless America,' even though they couldn't understand the lyrics, the tune and the feeling were enough to touch any heart."
"Really?"
"Of course, you British have been damned for ages. Haven't you heard the saying, 'When the British awoke from their slumber and saw the setting sun over their empire, a new sun was already rising on the other side of the Atlantic in America.' God bless America!"
"So, as an ambassador of American culture, you're very popular in the Forbidden Forest?"
"Hmm," Pepper puffed out her chest. "Everyone loves Americans."
"I'm not bragging, but my network of connections extends throughout the Forbidden Forest. I know everything that's going on there. But I'll have to go less often in the future, otherwise my body won't be able to handle it."
Seeing Lucas's incredulous expression, it shouted, "I fucking saw the centaurs, giant spiders, and werewolf cubs in the Forbidden Forest! I even spat on the unicorn's head! That stupid horse thinks it's so tough just because it has a hook on its head, trying to kick me? Hey! Dumbfounded, I can fly!"
"You saw centaurs?" Lucas immediately became interested. "Do you know where their tribe is?"
Pepper nodded proudly: "Of course I saw them. There were hundreds of horses there, I'm not blind!"
Lucas was overjoyed; Pepper had finally done something decent!
Was Fizelen hesitant about finding Thea because, in the eyes of the centaurs, he was someone without a destiny path, without a destiny star, and who did not exist in this world?
Although he eventually agreed, Lucas felt there were many difficulties and obstacles involved, as it required Hagrid to relay the message and schedule an appointment for them to make arrangements and respond.
But now, Pepper has directly discovered the location of the centaur tribe!
It can directly help me find Thea and deliver messages for me!
It seems Pepper wasn't exaggerating; his cultural diplomacy really worked. And if it truly becomes familiar with the ravens in the Forbidden Forest, then there's no need to worry about intelligence within the forest. The Forbidden Forest is home to many rare and magical animals and plants, all of which will be essential ingredients for its future magical culinary journey.
"Fantastic, Pepper!" Lucas picked it up. "You've done a great job! Don't worry, I'll stew bull penis for you every day from now on. Just do your best!"
Lucas pushed open the kitchen door at Hogwarts, and a warm, fragrant breeze carrying the aroma of food wafted out.
A huge hall with extremely high ceilings appeared before my eyes, with four long tables in the center, cups, plates, spoons and forks, walls full of kitchen utensils, a row of sinks, rows of cooking counters and stoves, and hundreds of house-elves moving around, turning this most magical kitchen in the UK into a precisely operating and vibrant food factory.
Even seeing it for the second time, Lucas couldn't help but be stunned again, and Pepper on his shoulder was also dumbfounded, uttering several swear words.
Upon seeing a student enter, the nearby elves all stopped what they were doing, and the moment they recognized Lucas, they exclaimed, "It's the esteemed Mr. McGregor!"
The little elves gathered around joyfully, and one of them rushed toward Lucas at an astonishing speed, then stopped at Lucas's feet, looked up at him, his big eyes filled with tears, and his two big ears trembling with excitement.
"Good heavens, is Lance dreaming?! Mr. McGregor has been discharged from the hospital!"
Lanchi clutched the hem of the tea towel draped over his body. "Lanchi has been going to see Mr. McGregor every day, but he's been sleeping soundly! Lanchi is very worried about Mr. McGregor and doesn't know when you'll wake up! Lanchi was planning to go see him after making dinner, but you've woken up now!"
The little elves were very excited and chattered excitedly around Lucas.
"We heard Mr. McGregor defeated a Cerberus! That's amazing!"
"Mr. McGregor made a delicious soup, but the reckless Gryffindors stole it!"
"Gryffindor was also punished; they were cursed by the Kitchen Spirit and fainted for ruining the food!"
Huh? What is the spirit of the kitchen?
Lucas, both amused and exasperated, crouched down to align his line of sight with the elves.
"Thank you, Lanqi. Thank you all. I received the desserts you made. Thank you so much for your concern."
Oh—the little elves suddenly burst into sobs, and large tears streamed down Lanchi's face.
"My God... Mr. McGregor... actually thanked us! So noble, practically a saint..."
""
"Mrs. Hufflepuff would be very pleased to see Mr. McGregor. No one in the world is more suitable to be the heir of Hufflepuff than Mr. McGregor."
"Mr. McGregor, when will you teach us how to cook and introduce new recipes? We can't wait!"
""
In an atmosphere of harmony, the only discordant element was Pepper.
It leaned close to Lucas's ear and whispered, "When did these guys go crazy?"
Lucas ignored it and smiled at the elves: "Although I'd love to hurry, for a formal kitchen overhaul, I need Professor Dumbledore's authorization first."
"Can you get me something to eat now? Then I want to experiment with my ideas, could you give me a work surface and a stove?"
"Of course!" Lanchi stood tall and straight, like a loyal soldier, then took a deep breath. "Dear Mr. McGregor! The dishes for dinner are mostly ready. You can have a taste. We have roast beef, roast chicken, roast pork chops, and roast lamb—"
'
"Hey, Lanchi, no need to recite the menu." Lucas pointed. "Is that the freshly baked pork kidney pie? Give me two pieces. And there's cranberry juice, right? Give me two glasses of that too."
Golden and crispy ham and kidney pie was presented to Lucas. This is a classic British dish, which is made by baking tender chunks of ham and kidneys in a puff pastry with rich gravy.
With a crisp snap, the kidney pie is gently opened, steaming hot and bursting with a savory aroma. The unique texture and slightly sweet flavor of the kidney perfectly complement the richness of the pork, and when paired with sweet and sour cranberry juice, it's refreshing and helps to cut through the richness.
Lucas ordered two portions, the other one naturally being for Pepper. Beef kidneys—these are strong, perfect for Pepper right now.
"Respected Mr. Lucas, how many points will you be this time?" Lanchi asked, while several other elves looked at Lucas expectantly.
"Pepper, what do you think?" Lucas asked Pepper in return.
Pepper let out a satisfied burp: "Not bad. But to be honest, the filling has thyme and bay leaves, and I feel like it's missing something. If it could be changed to... um, to—"
"
"If you replace it with cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg, its flavor will be more complex and pronounced." Lucas wiped his mouth. "Pepper, your training needs to begin immediately."
The same problem applies to this meal. The cooking techniques in Hogwarts Kitchen are perfect, but due to the limitations of history, culture, and tradition, the recipe itself has shortcomings.
Lance stared at Pepper, his eyes wide with surprise: "No wonder she's Mr. McGregor's pet! Not only is she a smooth talker, but she's also an expert in food tasting! She identified the spices in just one piece!"
Pepper snorted smugly, "Kid, don't fucking yell at me. From now on, you'll call me Mr. Pepper!"
Lucas patted it, then wrote down a modified recipe for the Angry Kidney Pie and handed it to the little elves whose eyes were shining.
"Now, I'd like to borrow a corner to practice my cooking magic, is that alright?"
"I noticed that Tsukasa prepared shiko (Japanese glutinous rice balls) as an ingredient today? Please bring me a few."
Pepper asked curiously, "What, Lucas, do you want to do this?"
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