After the Sorting Hat's ear-splitting musical entrance, Professor McGonagall walked to the stool beside it with a parchment in hand:
"When I call your names, come up, put on the hat, and sit on the stool. The Sorting Hat will assign you to your House."
"Hannah Abbott!"
Starting with the future owner of the Leaky Cauldron, one future pillar of Britain's Wizarding World after another stepped forward and was assigned to their respective Houses. The gears of fate began to turn.
The future Minister for Magic, future Aurors, future aristocrats, a future Herbology professor...
"Adam Reed!"
Adam snapped back to his senses at the sound of his name. He stepped forward, picked up the Sorting Hat and put it on, then sat on the stool.
"Hmm... a natural Occlumens? This is my first time seeing one..."
The Sorting Hat muttered.
Because of the protective magic, it could not even speak with Adam in his mind and could only speak aloud in a low voice.
"An Occlumens? What is that?"
Adam asked quietly as well.
"Ah, that would take a long time to explain. While I don't mind answering a new student's questions, I'm afraid the professors won't be willing to give me that much time... Ahem, I can only say that I may not be able to give you a good recommendation."
Under Professor McGonagall's gaze, the Sorting Hat cleared its throat.
"So, which House would you like to go to? Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Slytherin—pick whichever one you like~"
"Hufflepuff."
Adam answered without hesitation.
I love good food, I love flowers and plants, I love magical creatures, I love Hufflepuff!
"Very well~ Since you've made your choice..."
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
Hufflepuff was the largest House, and every new Hufflepuff student received the most enthusiastic applause from the entire hall.
Amid the applause, Adam walked over to the Hufflepuff table and sat beside the previous new student.
"Welcome to Hufflepuff!"
The students around him greeted him warmly, and he responded to each of them.
Hufflepuff lacked Slytherin's ambition, Gryffindor's drive, and Ravenclaw's cleverness, but it was the warmest and friendliest House.
They did what they ought to do, remained true to nature, and were honest and passionate.
When making friends with Hufflepuffs, you basically never had to worry about them stabbing you in the back. Of the four Houses, Hufflepuff had the most students and the fewest Dark wizards, making them worthy of your trust.
After Dumbledore's speech, the feast began. Adam picked up a glass of pumpkin juice and took a sip, then speared a roasted sausage.
Mmm~ The casing was crisp, while the meat inside was tender and juicy. The seasoning was excellent too; black pepper, rosemary, and lemon juice perfectly balanced the greasiness of the meat.
Other than the fact that the meat still retained a slight gamy smell despite being marinated, Adam thought it could be served as a restaurant's signature dish.
Adam sampled the food while listening to the people around him chat.
"My parents are both Muggles. When we first got the letter, they were furious and thought it was a prank..."
"My parents were both Hufflepuffs. I'm writing to tell them the good news tonight!"
"Wow, this yorkshire pudding smells amazing!"
Catching the keyword, Adam looked at the yorkshire pudding on the table, picked one up, and took a small bite.
Bleurgh—
Adam stared blankly as he set down the yorkshire pudding and took a sip of pumpkin juice to settle his stomach.
The yorkshire pudding had soaked up the juices of roasted beef. In addition to its own bread-and-butter aroma, it carried an overpowering gamy smell. For a moment, he seemed to see a cow that had died with its eyes open doing a pole dance on the Bridge of No Return...
Why?! The roasted sausage just now had tasted perfectly normal!
Adam placed the remaining half of the yorkshire pudding on his plate and gave the student who had said it smelled wonderful a complicated look.
Poor kid. What had happened to his taste buds?
"Urgh—"
Just then, the student opposite Adam covered his mouth and let out a muffled groan. He silently set aside what he was holding. On closer inspection, it was a yorkshire pudding with a bite taken out of it.
Adam met his eyes.
"Hello, could you recommend some dishes that you think taste normal?"
The other boy sounded pitiful, and his English carried an accent Adam could not quite identify.
Adam glanced down at his plate. Yorkshire pudding, beef stew, roast beef, roasted lamb chops...
Good grief, this unlucky kid had stepped on every landmine there was.
"If you like meat, this roasted sausage is alright. The chicken leg should be good too... Mm, it is good, though it's a little dry."
Adam took a bite of chicken leg and gave his assessment.
"In short, stay away from all meat products that haven't been marinated..."
"Thank you!"
The other boy speared a sausage and bit directly into it without even cutting it first, nearly bursting into tears.
He looked both funny and pitiful.
"The fries taste good too. You can give them a try. If they're too greasy, drink some pumpkin juice."
"Mhm, mhm, mhm!"
After burying his head in the sausage for a while and then gulping down an entire glass of pumpkin juice, the other boy finally looked up at Adam.
"Thank you. What's your name?"
Although every new student's name had just been called during the Sorting, clearly no one had been in the mood to remember the names of their classmates while they were so excited.
"Adam Reed. Just call me Adam."
"Adam... I'll remember that!"
The other boy nodded.
"What about you? What's your name?"
"Uther Ramesses."
"...Ramesses?"
That unusual surname made Adam glance at him again.
"What? Ramesses, as in Pharaoh Ramesses II?"
The students nearby asked the question that had been on Adam's mind.
"Yes, that's right. But that was a very, very long time ago. There haven't been any Pharaohs for ages."
Uther shrugged.
Having nearly finished eating, Adam simply joined the discussion.
"Then shouldn't you be attending a magical school in Egypt? Why did you come to Hogwarts?"
"Um, I only found out I was coming to school in Britain after receiving Hogwarts' letter. My mother said it might be because I was born in Britain—she's a magizoologist, and she met my father while researching Sphinxes in Egypt."
"Sphinxes?! That sounds incredible!"
The new student who had said his parents were both Muggles exclaimed.
"My parents are much more ordinary. They met in court—they were the lawyers representing the plaintiff and defendant."
Lawyers. If he built a good relationship with them, running the restaurant might become much more convenient later.
"My parents met at a dragon reserve. They were coworkers."
"My parents also met through work. My father transferred from the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes to become an Auror just to pursue my mother."
"My parents met at Hogwarts. They hope I'll find my other half while I'm at school too."
Hiss... Who would have thought Hufflepuff also had so many hidden talents?
Hufflepuff friendships were trustworthy. If he built good relationships now, they might come in handy someday.
With that thought, Adam joined the conversation as well.
"My parents are Muggles too. Our family runs restaurants."
"Oh! Really? I thought I was the only one whose parents were Muggles."
The new student's eyes lit up, and he offered his hand.
"My name is Bernard Lancelot. I heard you say your name was Adam?"
"That's right. You and your family are welcome at our restaurants anytime. It's on me."
Adam gave him the names of Mr. Reed and Madam Li's restaurant and inn.
"Those are owned by your family? There's one not far from my house! I really like your beef bourguignon—it doesn't have even a hint of gaminess!"
Bernard's eyes widened. He had thought Adam's family ran some small husband-and-wife restaurant, but it turned out to be that two-story French restaurant near his home!
"Adam, can we go to your restaurants too?"
The other young wizards around them could not help feeling tempted as well. They had no particular impression of Adam's restaurants; they had mainly heard about the beef stew without any gamy taste.
They were used to it, but that did not mean they liked the gamy smell in beef!
"Of course, everyone can come. But students who have always lived in the Wizarding World should preferably dine in private rooms. Otherwise, some unusual habits and expressions might draw Muggles' attention."
"No problem!" xN
When it came to enthusiasm for good food, Hufflepuffs were absolutely serious.
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