Hearing Daphne's evaluation of Professor Lockhart, Hermione suddenly looked up, staring intently at her.
Hermione had prepared many counterarguments, but Daphne spoke first, shutting her down with a single sentence.
"He's lying. The story in his book Wanderings with Werewolves is made up, or at least it's not something he personally experienced—because that's not how the human restoration spell works." Before Hermione could argue, Daphne shared the knowledge about the spell that Rhys had taught her.
"Maybe his understanding of the spell is just really deep..." Hermione tried to defend.
"Impossible. Even Rowena Ravenclaw and Helga Hufflepuff, who invented the spell, couldn't do it—I have letters from them to prove it. Their first attempts at casting the spell lasted at most five years," Rhys spoke up in support of Daphne.
"And besides, he just talked and talked without saying anything useful," Daphne pointed out sharply.
Hermione recalled their earlier conversation and realized it was true. Whenever Rhys tried to steer the discussion towards more technical details, Lockhart would find a way to change the subject. Caught up in her admiration for him, she hadn't noticed.
Now, Hermione began to feel uneasy. Desperately trying to defend Lockhart, like a drowning person grasping at straws, she said, "It can't be. He—I mean, Professor Lockhart—he's written so many books!"
"Writing books doesn't mean he actually experienced those things. He could have made them up, or maybe he just heard the stories from somewhere else."
Rhys's words left Hermione silent, and she became increasingly doubtful: could it be that Professor Lockhart was really just a fraud with an empty reputation?
"You can't judge a book by its cover. Let's wait until he teaches a few classes, then we'll know the truth," Rhys said in an almost despairing tone.
In truth, he no longer had any expectations for Lockhart.
The atmosphere in the compartment grew heavy until the arrival of the trolley full of food. The assortment of snacks lifted everyone's spirits a little.
"So, besides sweets, do you have any real food? Even a sandwich would do," Rhys asked after buying a pile of snacks, feeling like something was missing.
He craved something more substantial.
"Of course, dear." the kind-looking trolley witch handed him a box of ham and egg sandwiches, fulfilling his request.
However, one box of sandwiches wasn't enough to satisfy Rhys's appetite. Just then, a river came into view outside the train window, and Rhys suddenly remembered a food magic spell that Helga Hufflepuff had taught him.
He immediately decided to give it a try.
"Let me show you something impressive."
The moment Rhys said this, the three young witches in the compartment immediately abandoned their chocolate frogs, sandwiches, and other snacks, eagerly watching him with bright eyes.
They knew full well that Rhys was about to perform a remarkable spell.
"This spell, according to legend, was invented by one of the founders of Hogwarts, Helga Hufflepuff. At the time, they were in a hurry to travel, and Hufflepuff, who was in charge of cooking for everyone, couldn't bear to see her friends eat dry bread with cheese and salted meat day after day. She wanted to make them some fresh fish."
"But it was winter at the time, and the river was frozen over, with no place to fish. So she invented this spell, which allowed her to fish even while sitting in the warmth of the carriage," Rhys explained, adding a bit of embellishment to Helga's story for the younger ones.
In reality, the true historical account was that the four founders were trapped in a mountain cabin during a snowstorm.
They had agreed to take turns going out to find food, but when it was Hufflepuff's turn, she didn't want to venture into the blizzard.
Yet, she couldn't break the agreement out of pride.
So, in her desperation, she developed a spell that allowed her to connect a wooden basin inside the cabin to the river outside through spatial magic, letting her fish from the river without leaving the shelter.
This not only solved thrir food problem at the time but also allowed her to stay indoors.
"Another story from those letters?" Daphne asked, laughing at her own question.
"Yes, I have a huge collection of letters."
Daphne made a clicking sound with her tongue, and an amusing thought popped into her mind: why not seek out Rowena Ravenclaw to verify the truth of this story? After all, she was just down in the dungeons at Hogwarts.
Rhys conjured a wooden basin from thin air, using the Freshwater Charm to fill it with water. After the basin was full, he casually conjured a fishing rod, casting the hook into the water.
A magical thing happened.
As soon as the hook hit the water, it disappeared, as though it had truly plunged into a river.
The young witches widened their eyes in unison.
Within less than a minute, Rhys gave his fishing rod a little twitch, and out came a fish about the length of a finger.
"I've had this type of fish before!" Hermione quickly recognized the species, speaking excitedly. "When it's deep-fried until crispy, even the bones become crunchy and taste amazing."
She sighed afterward, adding, "Too bad we don't have the right equipment for that here."
"If it's just about dehydrating the fish, that shouldn't be too hard," Rhys mused, an idea forming in his mind.
Following the same method, in no time, Rhys had fished out about a dozen more from the magical basin.
With a flick of his wand, the scales and innards of the fish were cleaned out in an instant. At the same time, the moisture in the fish seemed to "agitate" under his spell. Before long, the fish were transformed into dried, crispy snacks.
"Feel free to try them. They're not quite fried fish, but they should be crunchy enough."
Hermione took one, carefully chewing it.
The once fresh fish had been processed by Rhys into something as crisp as a cracker. Even the bones could be easily chewed. Despite having no seasoning, the dried fish had a unique and pleasant taste.
"The taste is really good, and the spell is amazing!" Hermione exclaimed.
"Heh" Rhys nodded, pleased with himself.
During the rest of the journey, they quickly finished off the snacks and sandwiches they had bought earlier, and enjoyed a fresh fish feast. Some were dried, while others were roasted over a fire.
The delicious fish added a bright spot to an otherwise monotonous trip.
As night began to fall and the sky outside the train windows grew darker, they finally arrived at Hogwarts.
When the train slowly pulled into the platform, a nervous expression appeared on Astoria's face.
"What's wrong?" Daphne noticed her sister's change in mood and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
"I'm worried… What if I get sorted into Gryffindor?" Astoria said, her voice growing more anxious as she spoke, a bead of sweat forming on her forehead.
Neither her father, her sister, nor even the doctor who treated her had been willing to reveal any details about the Sorting, leaving her feeling uncertain and uneasy.
"Hehe~ Little Astoria, if you're really scared, just keep silently repeating my name during the Sorting. I'm sure your wish will come true," Rhys said, shaking his head with a smile at Astoria's worry.
This girl—how could she possibly end up in another house?
'Though, should I test the Trace on her?'
———
12 Advance Chapters—Patreon.com/HornyFBI