After Finishing the Work, There Was a Late-Night Snack

Chapter 39: After Finishing the Work, There Was a Late-Night Snack

"Stone, fly to me..."

A thumb-sized pebble in the dirt hopped like a grasshopper, then stopped dead.

"Hahahaha! I did it!"

Ron laughed happily, and suddenly his arm no longer felt sore.

Then he saw a fist-sized stone fly into the air before dropping after more than three meters.

Neville wiped the sweat from his forehead and smiled.

Charles walked over to Ron and said, "No matter what spell you're casting, you have to concentrate during the process. Only by focusing completely can you keep the spell going."

"You couldn't concentrate from the start. You were thinking about something else, and the moment you achieved a little success, you got carried away. That's why you couldn't keep the spell going."

"That's a very bad habit. If you can fix it, you won't just learn spells much faster—I can even recommend you for the Quidditch team."

He had more or less figured it out. Ron had been under far too much pressure all these years. His older brothers were all outstanding, so he needed something to prove himself.

Motivation was a good thing, but this Sixth Brother couldn't keep his mind free of distractions and was prone to losing focus.

Neville, on the other hand, was standing nearby. The boy's mind wasn't working very well at the moment, but he had a certain foolish stubbornness. Once he overcame his inferiority complex and built up a little confidence, he could focus on one thing. His progress with the Accio Charm was considerably faster than Ron's.

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

Ron was a little depressed. He didn't like being lectured, but Charles was an exception, because the man could always give people a pleasant surprise at the end of his lectures.

"I can join the house team?" Ron asked excitedly.

Charles said to him, "I noticed that you have good talent. When Seamus made the stone explode just now, you quickly dodged the flying fragments, and you even pushed Neville aside so he could dodge too."

"With that kind of dynamic vision and reaction speed, I think you could become an excellent goalkeeper."

"But you still aren't focused enough, and you're prone to making mistakes."

Ron grinned foolishly. "Hahaha, is that true? What's dynamic vision?"

Charles answered, "Dynamic vision is the ability to see moving objects. It can be trained. Just ask Harry."

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

Ron immediately answered proudly, "Of course I am. Even in the Hogwarts Wizard's Chess Club, there aren't many people who can beat me."

Charles smiled and praised him a few times. He had seen Ron playing chess with Seamus and the others, and Ron had been especially serious then. So he said, "Think back to how you were thinking while playing chess, and treat casting a spell like playing chess."

Ron frowned and thought for a moment before quickly saying, "At the time, I was only thinking about winning the game. I wasn't thinking about anything else."

Charles patted him on the shoulder. "Exactly. Whether it's playing chess, casting spells, or even playing a Quidditch match, you have to focus like that. Keep working with this method. You can do it. I believe in you."

Ron had been compared to his excellent brothers since he was little and rarely received anyone's affirmation. His face flushed with excitement.

Neville was much the same. His parents had both been reduced to idiots, and the family tragedy had made his life even more oppressive. He was afraid of doing things badly, so he acted timidly and cautiously, only to fail in the end. After falling into that vicious cycle again and again, he had become the way he was.

So Charles told him to work harder, grit his teeth, and make his grandmother happy.

As for Seamus, Charles told him to compete with the grass roots and learn to use a low amount of power first.

The three boys sweated in the northern wind. Charles walked over to Eleanor and took out a packet of Fizzing Whizbees for her.

"Huh?" Eleanor was surprised and delighted. "How did you know I liked Fizzing Whizbees?"

Charles mentioned the name of a seventh-year Ravenclaw boy, then 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. Recently, she had often gone with him to the greenhouse to look at the budding shoots.

Once certain interested parties found out that Charles was a good friend of Eleanor's younger sister, they breathed a sigh of relief. As long as Eleanor wasn't interested in that sort of thing, everything was fine. Thus, some clever people had approached Charles for help.

Eleanor said expressionlessly, "Take them and eat them yourself."

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

"Then eat more. I'm dieting," Eleanor replied.

She then changed the subject. "You're really awful. You said you were going to teach your friends spells, but in reality, you brought them here to help you work."

Charles put his hands on his hips and said indignantly, "You tell me—did I or did I not teach them the Accio Charm? It's just that the air is fresh here and Peeves won't bother us, so I chose this place."

Eleanor looked at him with a half-smile. "Really?"

Charles shrugged. "Unlike you, I don't make the boys who pursue you do things for you without giving them an answer."

Eleanor sighed and said helplessly, "I've rejected them all, but what good does that do? You're not old enough yet. Once you're older and have a girl you like, you'll understand."

Charles shook his head. "Then you might as well find a boyfriend. A real one would be best, but a fake one would do too. Make them give up. If this keeps going, something could easily happen. It would be disastrous if someone slipped you a Love Potion."

After spending several days together, Charles felt that he got along well with this older sister figure, and he had started treating her as a friend.

Eleanor looked at him, then reached out and pinched his cheek, as if she had found a suitable product at the supermarket. Satisfied, she said, "I think you're pretty handsome too. How about becoming my boyfriend?"

Charles pushed her hand away and said gloomily, "Stop fooling around. Who would believe that?"

"Haha... ah!"

Ron jumped around wildly while clutching his foot, interrupting Charles and Eleanor's conversation.

Charles turned to look and was speechless.

Ron had summoned a stone as large as a human head. It had gone very well at first, but when it flew close to him, he became excited and lost focus again. The stone slammed straight into the top of his foot.

Eleanor couldn't help laughing and crying at the sight of Ron. She took a small bottle of potion from her pocket and gave it to Charles, asking him to take it to Ron.

The pale blue potion worked very well. After a drop was applied and rubbed in, the swelling and redness on Ron's foot quickly disappeared. It did look somewhat chilling, though. Ron hissed, "It's so cold. My hands and feet feel like they're freezing."

Eleanor said, "Charles, you can keep this bottle. Some careless person might need it next time."

"Thanks. I'll treat you to something good tonight," Charles said.

A landlord gave his long-term laborers an egg with their meal, after all. Since Ron and the others had helped clear away the stones, they naturally deserved a good meal too.

By evening, there were only a few people left in the Common Room. Eleanor, Seamus, Ron, Neville, and Harry, who had joined after hearing the news, chatted in front of the fireplace while waiting for Charles to return. Hermione found their conversation too noisy and went to read at the other end of the room.

After leaving Voldemort's place, Charles first rode his broomstick to the Forbidden Forest to find fresh ingredients, then went to the kitchen and got busy.

When he returned to the Common Room, Harry cheered the loudest, making Hermione frown.

Charles placed a soup pot on the long table and lifted the lid. A fragrant aroma instantly filled the Common Room.

Eleanor had already seen and tasted it before, so she asked Charles in surprise, "You made this?"

Charles smiled and nodded before starting to serve everyone their late-night snack.

The soup in the bowls was slightly white. Snow-white meatballs the size of fingers floated inside, along with several black mushrooms.

Eleanor, Ron, and the others each received a bowl containing twelve meatballs and three mushroom slices.

Harry stared at Charles longingly, only to discover that there was no portion for him.

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

"I'll do the writing for... one of your holiday subjects!" Harry immediately replied.

He then received a portion and was perfectly satisfied.

Charles also ladled out a serving for Hermione and placed it in front of her. "Eat it while it's hot. It won't taste as good once it cools."

Hermione said coldly, "I'm not going to do your homework for you."

Charles smiled. "You're not that idiot Harry."

Harry loved the meatball soup made at Charles's home. He ate quickly, but Ron ate even faster!

"It's delicious!" After finishing the soup, Ron asked Charles, "How did you make this?"

Charles answered calmly, "I sliced the mushrooms and put them into cold water, then brought it to a boil. After that, I added the meatballs and cooked them through, adding some seasoning before serving."

He didn't mention the ingredients, afraid he might scare them.

Eleanor savored it slowly, eating the most leisurely of them all. After finishing, she said to Charles, "These mushrooms are Gnomish Walking Mushrooms, right? They can treat leg injuries. A portion this size can sell for one Galleon in Diagon Alley. Did you prepare this especially for Weasley?"

Charles was cleaning up as he answered with a smile. "I just happened to have some. I knew they would make the soup taste sweet and fresh."

He had learned this from the Centaurs' tribe. Even wild-vegetable soup tasted delicious with a few Gnomish Walking Mushrooms added, so he had brought some back.

As for their medicinal effects, he genuinely hadn't known.

Ron hadn't expected those few mushroom slices to be so expensive, much less that Charles had used them to make him a late-night snack and treat his injured leg. He was deeply moved.

The more moved he was now, the more bewildered he would be later when he learned what the meatballs had been made from.