Faced with Klon's invitation to bathe together, the other roommates all eagerly agreed.
"I'll pass. I have too much stuff to sort through."
Not to mention that mountain of books and the suitcase Adam had carried in, he had previously sent six more trunks of luggage to Hogwarts through the owl post.
With so much stuff, even basic sorting would take quite a bit of effort.
"Sorting it out shouldn't be urgent, right? Take out what you'll need for class first, and we can help you with the rest over the weekend when there aren't any lessons."
"Yeah, yeah. If you don't wash up, you'll even dirty your bed, and then you'll have to wash the sheets and blankets too."
"That's not really a problem."
Adam smiled and slipped a hand inside his robe, though he was actually summoning his wand directly into his palm. He pointed it at himself.
"Scourgify!"
As his roommates watched a gust of wind sweep over Adam and leave him spotless, they could not help glancing at the mountain of books beside him.
All right, he clearly had not bought all those books for nothing.
"While this spell isn't as comfortable as a hot bath, it really does save time... Want to give it a try?"
Adam looked eagerly at the four of them.
"No, no, no. I still want a hot bath."
After Klon said that, Bernard and Eugene nodded as well. Uther, however, stroked his chin and thought it over for a while before deciding to take a hot bath too.
"Then we'll go test the bathwater for you first~"
After his roommates closed the dormitory door, Adam looked at the top of his luggage, where a letter tied with a bow rested.
Opening the envelope, Adam ignored the flowery wording. Dumbledore was inviting him to the Headmaster's Office on the Seventh Floor tomorrow afternoon for tea, and had included the password with the letter—Coconut Ice.
Remembering the taste of that snack, Adam could not help licking his lips.
It had to be said that desserts in the Wizarding World were quite good.
After putting away the letter, Adam did not immediately start sorting his luggage. Instead, he took Suppi and Kero out of his pocket. They had eaten some during the feast as well.
"You two need a bath too. Scourgify, or the Bubble Card?"
The Bubble Card's magic could create pink bubbles with cleansing properties, capable of washing people or objects spotlessly clean.
After Suppi had told him not to let his imagination be limited, Adam had thought this card might be able to develop the fruit power of a certain Navy chief strategist. However, Adam clearly was not yet skilled enough to modify the magic of the Clow Cards, so for now, the Bubble Card was not much different from Scourgify aside from its method of cleaning.
As for using the Bubble Card on something Scourgify could solve, that was a bit wasteful. Although Adam could still only use one Clow Card per day, it was already evening, so using today's chance here would not be a problem.
"Let's use Scourgify instead~"
Kero raised a paw and waved it.
"Let's save today's use for the Sweet Card~"
Suppi nodded along with him.
"You really can't stop thinking about the Sweet Card, can you?"
Clearly, this was not the first time. Adam helplessly reached out and ruffled Kero's head.
"Then you can bathe after you finish eating."
Taking a large bag of compressed cotton from his suitcase, Adam pulled out a small piece and fluffed it up. A corner no bigger than his thumb turned into a pillow-sized bundle. Then he stretched out both hands and summoned the Sealing Wand and the Sweet Card.
"Release the seal!"
The Sweet Card's fairy-like spirit, no bigger than Adam's palm, emerged from the card and flew a circle around him.
"Turn this cotton into candy."
After hearing Adam's words, the Sweet Card spirit flew above the cotton and scattered sparkling powder from her tiny wand. The cotton touched by the powder immediately gave off the scent of white sugar.
That was the Sweet Card's ability. She could make food taste sweeter, or turn any object into food without changing its shape.
This seemed to violate the rule that the Transfiguration Charm could not create food, but this magic was actually alchemy rather than transfiguration. There was a similar spell in the wizarding magic system, though it was not a Transfiguration Charm, but Aguamenti—the water created by this spell could be drunk and could quench thirst.
At the same time, strictly speaking, the Sweet Card's transformed cotton was not food, but a magical item.
Although it looked like candy, smelled like candy, felt like candy, and tasted like candy, all of those were magical effects of the item. It was still not candy—so eating it would not cause cavities or any other effects that sugar might cause.
More importantly, because the Sweet Card did not create candy itself, but instead created a magical item that possessed every flavor characteristic Adam associated with it, the desserts it could make were not limited by whether Adam knew how they were made, but by whether he knew what they tasted like.
Thanks to this, Adam was able to enjoy the long-missed nectar of shut-ins once more—a healthy version, at that, one that would not go flat over time.
Using Aguamenti to make a cup of water, then having the Sweet Card turn it into a cup of cola, Adam took a sip before looking at Kero and Suppi, who could now plunge their whole bodies into the candy because they would be bathing soon.
"Eat slowly. I'm going to sort my luggage."
"Mhm, mhm, mhm~"
Kero took a moment to wave and show that he understood. Suppi... Suppi, who got completely carried away whenever he ate sweets, was already beyond saving.
"Engorgio—"
"Reducio—"
"Wingardium Leviosa—"
When Adam's roommates returned from washing up, they were utterly stunned by the transformed dormitory.
Eugene opened the door and froze in the doorway. Uther shoved him a few times before squeezing past him into the dormitory, only to make the exact same expression beside Eugene.
OoO
"What are you doing blocking the door? I didn't dry myself very well, and it's freezing outside!"
Klon, who was not quite tall enough, could not squeeze in and could only stamp his feet outside.
"What happened? Let me see—k-wow!"
Bernard stared at the scene before him in shock.
The dormitory was still the same dormitory, but across from the original four-poster beds, the empty space now held three rows of ceiling-high wooden cabinets, five small sofas, a brass floor heater, and a full-length Mirror... Especially around Adam's four-poster bed, everything had been completely transformed!
Adam was sitting on one of the small sofas, with two little kittens playing on his lap. When he saw them return, he looked at them nervously.
"Sorry, I made some fairly major changes. I was just too tired tonight, so this is only a temporary arrangement to get everything out. If you don't like it, I'll find somewhere else for the things taking up the common space over the weekend."
"No—I don't dislike it at all!"
Klon, who had finally squeezed into the dormitory, let out a cry of surprise. He walked up to one of the little sofas and pressed it with his hand, the soft, comfortable feel making his heart itch.
"Can I sit on it?"
"Of course. I prepared five of them!"
With the Twin Card in hand, Adam only needed one of anything to copy countless identical versions.
After Klon sat down, his body, relaxed from the hot bath, sank straight into the sofa, making him sigh in delight.
"I love this thing so much. It's even softer than a Puffskein-fur cushion—can I play Wizard's Chess sitting here?"
"Of course."
Adam gestured toward the round table that had already been in the dormitory, which he had now placed in the middle of the five sofas.
"Though I don't know how to play Wizard's Chess, so you might need to find someone else to play with."
"I can teach you!"
Before you continue