Midnight Snack After Work

Chapter 39: A Midnight Snack After Work

"Accio Stone..."

A stone the size of a thumb in the dirt twitched like a grasshopper before settling in place.

"Hahahaha! I did it!"

Ron laughed heartily, suddenly feeling no strain in his hands.

Then he saw a stone the size of a fist fly up, only to fall after about three meters.

Neville wiped the sweat from his forehead, a smile appearing on his face.

Charles walked over and said to Ron, "No matter what spell it is, you must concentrate during the casting process. Only with focus and concentration can the spell be sustained."

"You weren't focused at the beginning, you were thinking about other things. You got carried away with a little success and couldn't sustain the spell."

"This is a bad habit. If you can fix it, not only will you learn spells much faster, but I can also recommend you for the Quidditch team."

He could tell that Ron had been under too much pressure his whole life, with his older brothers being so outstanding, so he needed something to prove himself.

Having motivation was good, but this youngest son couldn't achieve single-mindedness and was easily distracted.

On the other hand, Neville, next to him, wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed right now, but he had a stubborn streak. After overcoming his inferiority complex and gaining a little confidence, he could focus on one thing. His progress with the Accio Charm was much faster than Ron's.

As for Seamus, Eleanor, who was watching the fun from the side, asked him if he wanted to join the SAS.

Ron was a bit dejected. He didn't like being lectured, but Charles was an exception because he always provided a surprise at the end of his lectures.

"I can join the house team?" Ron asked, a little excited.

Charles told him, "I noticed your talent. After Seamus made the stone explode, you were able to quickly dodge the flying rocks, and you even pushed Neville so he could dodge too."

"With such dynamic vision and reaction speed, I think you could be an excellent goalkeeper."

"But you're still not focused enough and tend to make mistakes."

Ron grinned foolishly and said, "Haha, is that true? What is dynamic vision?"

Charles replied, "Dynamic vision is the ability to see moving objects. It can be trained. You can ask Harry about it."

"By the way, I heard you're very good at Wizard's Chess?"

Ron immediately replied proudly, "That's for sure. There aren't many people in the Hogwarts Wizard's Chess Club who can beat me."

Charles praised him with a smile. He had seen Ron and Seamus play chess before, and Ron had been particularly serious then. So he said, "Think back to how you thought when you were playing chess. Treat casting spells like playing chess."

Ron frowned and thought for a moment, then quickly said, "Back then, I was just thinking about winning the game, nothing else."

Charles patted his shoulder and said, "Exactly. Whether it's chess, casting spells, or even a Quidditch match, you need to be that focused. Keep working at it with this method, you can do it, I believe in you."

Ron had always been compared to his outstanding brothers since he was young and rarely received affirmation from others. At this moment, he was so excited that his face turned a little red.

Neville was similar. His parents had become incapacitated, and the family tragedy had made his life even more oppressive. He was afraid of doing things poorly, so he was hesitant and ended up failing, falling into a vicious cycle that made him this way.

So Charles told him to try hard, grit his teeth, and make his grandmother happy.

As for Seamus, Charles told him to compete with the grass roots and learn to exert small amounts of power first.

The three youths were sweating in the north wind. Charles walked over to Eleanor and offered her a pack of Fizzing Whizbees.

"Huh?" Eleanor asked, a mix of happiness and surprise. "How did you know I like Fizzing Whizbees?"

Charles mentioned the name of a seventh-year boy from Ravenclaw and said, "He bought them and asked me to give them to you."

Eleanor was very curious about the glowing plants Charles had brought back from the Forbidden Forest. In the past few days, she had often gone with him to the Greenhouse to look at the sprouting branches.

Someone who had figured out that Charles was Eleanor's close friend breathed a sigh of relief. As long as Eleanor wasn't interested in him, that was fine. So a clever person approached Charles for help.

Eleanor said expressionlessly, "You can eat them yourself."

Charles said, "He gave me a pack too."

Eleanor said, "Then eat more. I'm on a diet right now."

Then she changed the subject, "You're so devious. You said you were going to teach friends spells, but you actually had them help you with your work."

Charles put his hands on his hips and retorted, "Did I or did I not teach them the Accio Charm? It's just that the air here is fresh, and Peeves isn't bothering us, so I chose this place."

Eleanor looked at him with a half-smile and asked, "Really?"

Charles shrugged. "I'm not like you, making those boys who pursue you do things without giving them an answer."

Eleanor sighed, looking a bit helpless. "I've rejected them, but what can I do? You're not old enough yet. When you are, and you like a girl, you'll understand."

Charles shook his head and said, "Then why don't you just find a boyfriend? A real one, or even a fake one, just to give them hope. It's easy for things to go wrong if you keep this up. It would be terrible if someone gave you a love potion."

After a few days of interaction, Charles felt that he got along well with this older sister and treated her as a friend.

Eleanor looked at him, even reaching out to pinch his cheek, as if selecting a suitable product at the supermarket. She said with satisfaction, "You're quite handsome too. How about being my boyfriend?"

Charles pushed her hand away and said dejectedly, "Don't joke around. Who would believe that?"

"Hahaha... Ah!"

Ron hopped around holding his foot, interrupting Charles and Eleanor's conversation.

Charles turned to look, speechless.

Ron summoned a stone the size of his head. It was successful at first, but when it flew close to him, he got distracted by excitement, and the stone smashed onto his foot.

Eleanor found Ron's situation both amusing and exasperating. She took a small bottle of potion from her pocket and gave it to Charles, telling him to give it to Ron.

The light blue potion worked wonders. After dropping a bit on and rubbing it in, the swollen redness on his foot immediately subsided. It felt icy cold, though. Ron gasped, "It's so cold, my hands and feet feel like they're going to freeze."

Eleanor said, "Charles, you keep this bottle. Maybe some clumsy person will need it next time."

Charles replied, "Thank you. I'll treat you to something delicious tonight."

Even a landlord would give a worker an egg when asking them to do a job. Ron and the others helping to clear the stones naturally earned a good meal too.

By evening, there were few people left in the common room. Eleanor, Seamus, Ron, and Neville, along with Harry who joined after hearing the news, were chatting by the fireplace, waiting for Charles to return. Hermione, finding their chatter too noisy, went to the other end to read.

After leaving Voldemort, Charles first rode his broomstick to the Forbidden Forest to find fresh ingredients, then got busy in the kitchen.

When he returned to the common room, Harry's cheers were the loudest, making Hermione frown.

Charles placed a soup pot on the long table and lifted the lid. A rich aroma instantly filled the common room.

Eleanor, having seen and tasted it before, asked Charles in surprise, "You cooked this?"

Charles nodded with a smile and began serving the late-night snack to everyone.

The soup in the bowls was slightly white, with finger-sized meatballs as white as snow. A few black mushroom slices floated in the soup.

Eleanor and Ron each received a bowl containing 12 meatballs and 3 mushroom slices.

Harry looked at Charles expectantly, only to realize there was none for him.

Charles asked him, "Why should I give you any?"

Harry immediately replied, "I'll help you write... a subject's holiday homework!"

He then contentedly received a portion.

Charles also served Hermione a bowl and placed it in front of her: "Eat up quickly, it won't taste as good when it gets cold."

Hermione said with a cold expression, "I won't help you with your homework."

Charles replied with a smile, "You're not that idiot Harry."

Harry loved this kind of meatball soup made by Charles's family the most and ate it very quickly, but Ron ate even faster than him!

"This is delicious!" Ron asked Charles after finishing his soup, "How did you make it?"

Charles calmly replied, "Just slice the mushrooms and put them in cold water to boil. Then add the meatballs and cook them. Add some seasoning before serving."

He didn't mention the raw ingredients, fearing it would shock them.

Eleanor savored her portion slowly, eating the slowest. After finishing, she said to Charles, "These mushrooms are Gnomish Walking Mushrooms, aren't they? They can treat leg injuries and sell for 1 Galleon a piece in Diagon Alley. You prepared this specifically for Weasley, didn't you?"

Charles, who was tidying up, replied with a smile, "I just happened to have some. I know they make a very sweet soup."

He had learned this from the Centaur tribe. Even a wild vegetable soup would taste great with a few Gnomish Walking Mushrooms added, so he had asked for some.

As for their medicinal properties, he genuinely didn't know.

Ron was surprised that those few mushroom slices were so expensive. He was even more surprised that Charles had used them for a late-night snack to treat his leg injury, and he was deeply touched.

However, the more touched he was at that moment, the more bewildered he would be later when he found out what the meatballs were made of.