"Did you find dinner strange today?"
"I wouldn't call it strange. More like magical... The taste hasn't changed, but after eating it, my whole body feels warm."
"Yes, yes, exactly!"
"Did any of you feel anything else? It seems like my magic has become a little more active..."
"That's right! That's exactly what I was about to say. I helped out in the Hospital Wing at noon and used up quite a bit of magic, but after eating a few sausages, that drained feeling was noticeably better..."
"It's strange. The same thing happened around Hogwarts today. A lot of damaged places repaired themselves without us doing anything."
"Could Hogwarts really have come alive? Is that why so many magical things have been happening?"
Similar conversations continued throughout the banquet.
Originally, because of the urgent battle preparations, all of Hogwarts had been like gears wound tight, unable to stop for even a moment. Anxious and tense, everyone's minds and bodies were equally exhausted, every nerve stretched taut.
However, because of Hogwarts' miraculous phenomena that afternoon, combined with this dinner that restored magic and nourished the mind, everyone's condition had improved considerably. Even with a great battle imminent, quite a few people still had the leisure to chat and laugh.
"So this is the magic that food can contain?" Professor McGonagall tasted a bowl of creamy soup, her expression one of surprise.
She had not sat at the teachers' table. Instead, she was on the indoor balcony on the second floor, accessible from the side hall.
Sean, beside her, pushed over a steak seared brown on both sides. "Try this, Professor. I've tested it. Among foods, meat can carry more magic."
Professor McGonagall cut off a piece of steak and tasted it. Her surprise deepened. "It really is so. The difference