The days of hanging out at Hogwarts

Every weekend during the holidays, the girl would go back to her hometown in the countryside and tell the owner of the idle tavern next door about the latest news in the city, exchanging some magical and interesting stories that were both true and false from the old man's mouth.

One is an old man who uses white lies to coax others to study hard, and the other is a girl who abandons the bustling city and returns to the countryside during the holidays. For the two of them, who have been together for more than ten years, they are no different from their biological grandparents, except that they are one step behind. It's just an insignificant blood relationship.

If the two little wizards Loren and Hermione hadn't exposed the old man's lie by mistake, the lie would have been exposed two years later. Could it be that old Dodd would really close the tavern and run to Alice by then? Can't find a place to hide?

How could he give it up?

The same is true for Alice. Although her dream of being a wizard is completely shattered, she knows very well that what is more important than those illusory magics is the companionship of a certain liar old wizard for more than ten years.

When I heard that I had beef brisket stewed with potatoes for lunch, it was the stewed beef brisket with potatoes made by the old liar. Tears flowed out of the corners of my mouth, and I left with Loren and Hermione half-pushed.

It was just that she had just cried in front of the old liar and was brought back to the tavern by the two of them. The girl couldn't help but feel a little hot.

It's almost 12 o'clock when the potatoes and beef brisket are stewed and become fragrant.

The way wizards cook is always simpler and easier than that of Muggles. In the most tedious and complicated preparation stage, wizards can just wave their wands and use the cleaning spell to wash the ingredients cleanly, and the cutting spells will cut the brisket neatly. Shape into small, uniform pieces and it takes just a few minutes to complete.

Old Dodd has carefully studied the recipe of this dish and absorbed the essence of various recipes. He is not a fundamentalist who advocates the original taste of ingredients, nor is he a post-modernist who pursues complex, diverse and layered flavors. He wants both...

Every step is very particular. Beef brisket is cut into pieces and blanched in water to remove the blood foam. Before stewing, stir-fry with ginger slices. Cut potatoes into irregular small pieces. Stir-fry with cinnamon, bay leaves and other spices to stimulate the aroma. Add refined salt, black pepper and so on. Pepper, soybean paste and other sauces are finally mixed together and simmered for an hour.

The fresh beef brisket has a rich aroma, and the butter floats on the surface, which is clear and attractive. The smell of several spices is distinct, and the fragrance penetrates into the head along the nose. The potatoes were grown by old Dodd himself, and they definitely didn't use magic. They were of different sizes and crooked in shape. When stewed, they softened their shape and absorbed the flavor of beef.

Loren chewed the soft beef brisket, the meat slit was full of soup, and there were the rustling chopped potatoes. For a while, he felt that potatoes were not so unacceptable.

Hermione prefers potatoes, especially potatoes that have been crushed and soaked in soup. They are soft, chewy and salty.

Alice took one bite of beef brisket and one bite of potato, her lips were shiny. In order to eat more, she had to make room for the grievance in her stomach.

After drinking and eating, Old Dodd smacked his lips and tasted the whiskey. He watched Alice timidly packing up the dishes and washing them. The big stone in her heart finally settled. She relaxed her brows and asked Loren with a smile:

"Loren, Hermione, you have just graduated. Do you know what is happening at Hogwarts recently?"

"What do you want to know, Mr. Dodd?"

"I read in the newspaper that Professor Dumbledore was dismissed from the Wizengamot because he publicly made false statements in an attempt to incite panic and cause unrest?"

"This matter is very complicated. The newspapers only reported part of the redacted facts. I think you already know part of Crouch's complicated matters... There was turmoil on the night of the Quidditch World Cup final, and the Death Eater Barty Crouch Jr. Rauch took advantage of the chaos to escape, teamed up with the mysterious man to attack Mad-Eye Moody, and lurked into Hogwarts. After a year of planning, he finally completed the mysterious man's resurrection ceremony on the night of the finals of the tournament."

Loren considered the answer carefully: "Dumbledore issued a public warning, but Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic, was greedy for power and the current stability, and refused to believe the fact that the mysterious man was back, so he slandered Principal Dumbledore and dismissed him. His many offices."

"Voldemort..."

Old Dodd nodded, his expression thoughtful.

Hearing him calmly address the mysterious man by his name, Hermione asked with some surprise: "Mr. Dodd, aren't you afraid of the Dark Lord?"

"There is nothing to be afraid of. I am already seventy years old this year. My parents passed away a long time ago. I have no children and no property worth pursuing. I am hiding in a remote village at the foot of a mountain. Will Death Eaters come here on a special trip? Are you causing trouble for me?"

Old Dodd drank the remaining wine at the bottom of the glass and said with a smile: "And there is Professor Dumbledore. Last time he was able to defeat Voldemort and bring him down. Will there be any surprises this time? Maybe it will be faster. I can’t help, but I choose to believe him.”

"Mr. Dodd, you are wiser than the Minister of Magic."

"I just lived a few more decades..."

Old Dodd glanced at the kitchen, stood up and walked towards the kitchen with the empty wine glass, "You guys chat, I will go to the kitchen to talk to Alice, the child is still making trouble..."

Loren and Hermione didn't want to chat, so they sat side by side on the smooth marble steps at the door, stretched out their legs, and looked up at the white patch of snow on the top of the distant mountain, which was the snow that never melted all year round.

The sky is pure blue, with a few scattered white clouds lying low, as if you can reach out and touch them when you climb up the mountainside. You imagine they feel as soft as cotton.

Some people feel that their necks are tired after watching, and decide to use a more effortless way to see the scenery. They lazily lean their heads to the side and find the most comfortable position.

The scent of Hermione filled his nose, light and clear. A few strands of naughty hair hung on his side face, itching, but he was too lazy to raise his hand to brush them away. In less than five minutes, his eyelids began to fight, and he couldn't open them after blinking.

"Don't sleep here." Hermione shook her shoulders and reminded softly, "If you sleep too much now, you will have insomnia at night."

"It doesn't matter, it just happens that I don't want to sleep at night."

"?"

...

The half-blood giant Rubeus Hagrid sat cross-legged in the cave, chewing the freshly picked herbs and applying them on the bruises on his cheeks. He was in pain, but when he saw the giant who was full and gradually sleeping next to him, he couldn't help but smile happily.

Grawp was much more obedient today. He just threw a few hooks and didn't pick up his legs and throw him out of the cave.

He must have recognized his brother.

Maybe it was also because of the barbecue seasoning.

Anyway, things are going in a good direction...

It's a pity that Beauxbatons is about to start school, and Olym is in a hurry to go back to deal with school affairs, so he has left. Now he is left alone, and no one shares this joy.

Hagrid rubbed his sore chest and happily imagined a bright future.

I don't know who Dumbledore will arrange to pick him up. Just wait until he returns to Hogwarts. Grawp will like it there...