A Little China Breakfast Shock

"These cabinets greatly improve the original space utilization."

Bernard walked up to a row of standing cabinets and looked them over. Adam's books, after being shrunk, only densely filled one layer, while each row of standing cabinets in front of him had two columns of six layers of space.

So Bernard turned to Adam:

"Perhaps I could use some of the space?"

"Everyone gets a column, and there's one more for communal items—I can't think of any examples right now, but it's good to have just in case."

"Seeing the mirror reminded me that I need it, otherwise it's not convenient to do my makeup."

This was Uther. Adam realized only after Uther spoke that he had been wearing makeup earlier. It turned out that the dark circles around his eyes were actually smoky eyeshadow…

"It looks very cozy."

Eugene sat down on the sofa, blinked at the soft cushions under his feet:

"It's like someone has lived here for a long time… it feels like home."

So, after a vote, the five people sitting on the small sofa unanimously agreed to keep Adam's modifications to the dormitory.

Compared to the common area, Adam's four-poster bed and its surroundings were the most heavily modified, but that was Adam's private area, and the others were curious but didn't ask.

Everyone was a little tired after experiencing so many things today. They felt sleepy after sitting on the sofa for a short while, so they went to bed, and the first night at Hogwarts passed just like that…

"Ugh—ugh… ugh!!! Ah~"

Stretching, Klon smacked his lips a few times, sat up in bed, and twitched his nose.

It smells so good…

"You're awake."

Klon turned his head and rubbed his eyes, only to see Adam and Eugene sitting on the small sofa. In front of them on the round table was a stove and… a cauldron?

"Breakfast at Hogwarts is in the Great Hall. Uther and the others have already gone. Or would you like to try the Century Egg and Chicken Congee and Tea Egg I made, like Eugene?"

As Adam spoke, he rolled the Tea Egg in his hand on the table, smoothly peeled off the shell, and stuffed it into his mouth.

"...What is that stuff?"

Klon grabbed a handful of his messy hair, got out of bed, and walked to the cauldron. He discovered a pot of soup bubbling inside, with rice, shredded meat, and some dark things.

"Breakfast from China. Hogwarts' breakfast has jam bread, pickled fish, eggs, bacon, cornflakes… it's a bit too greasy for me."

Bacon and eggs for breakfast are fine once in a while, but Adam really couldn't get used to eating it all the time. It just so happened that his grandparents came over before and made breakfast for several days in a row… He couldn't refuse the old folks' kindness, alas.

Adam swallowed half a Tea Egg and continued:

"So I asked the House-elfs for some ingredients, and I brought some myself. But the casserole is for making soup, so this is my first time trying to cook congee and Tea Eggs in a cauldron… Hmm, the tea at Hogwarts isn't as good as what I brought. I'll use my own next time."

Seeing that the heat was about right, Adam pointed his wand and extinguished the flame, ladling out a small bowl and handing it to Eugene:

"Be careful, it's hot. Try it and see if you like it."

"Thank you."

Eugene took the bowl and nodded to Adam.

"...There's soup too?"

Klon rubbed his face. He basically had bacon toast and roasted potatoes for breakfast at home, nothing so complicated.

But in reality, Adam hadn't even started on the really complicated stuff yet.

"Yeah, it should be ready to drink around this afternoon. We don't have classes this afternoon, so I'll let you try my mother's personally taught Yam and Tuckahoe Pigeon Soup."

Klon: "..."

He didn't understand, but it sounded impressive.

Filled with curiosity about the foreign breakfast, Klon washed up and sat down to try a bowl of that… congee. It tasted great, very different from what he usually ate for breakfast.

"Drinking a bowl of hot congee in the morning warms up the whole body."

Adam drank two bowls, but there wasn't enough left for Eugene and Klon to share. Fortunately, there were still plenty of Tea Eggs, and Klon ate three in one go.

If Adam hadn't stopped him, he would have eaten the remaining two that were meant for Kero and Suppi.

"Adam really lives up to his family running a restaurant~"

On the way to class, Klon realized he seemed to have eaten a little too much.

"I'm glad you like it. I should be cooking often, especially breakfast."

As a chef, it was indeed very rewarding to have his food praised.

"Can you make fish?"

Eugene turned his head, his eyes shining with anticipation.

"Hmm… fish is a bit troublesome to prepare, but I'll consider it, provided there's fresh fish at Hogwarts."

The British didn't know how to prepare fresh fish at all. With things like Stargazy Pie and fish boiled with eggs, the authentic recipes involved stuffing the fish with its entrails directly inside. One could imagine the taste…

So Adam doubted whether Hogwarts stored fresh fish?

He'd find an opportunity to ask the House-elfs. Anyway, he brought spices to remove the fishy smell. If there really was fish, he could get a few.

Oh, right...

"Just a heads-up, the fish I make might be a little different from what you're used to... it'll have a lot of small bones."

Hopefully Eugene can learn to pick out fish bones, otherwise he's going to have a rough time eating Adam's fish.

Hufflepuff's first class of the year was Herbology with Professor Sprout, a witch with gray hair who always looked at her students with a kind gaze.

It's worth mentioning that in addition to being the Herbology professor, Professor Sprout was also the head of Hufflepuff House.

After a brief greeting, welcoming everyone to Herbology, Professor Sprout began her lesson. As an introductory class, she explained a harmless yet powerful herb: Moly.

It's a very practical herb, able to help wounds heal quickly even without being made into a potion. Essence of Murtlap is the most common topical medicine used by wizards.

After a lesson of theoretical knowledge, Professor Sprout had everyone get hands-on in the second class, harvesting the Moly that had matured over the recent holiday.

Adam, wearing gardening gloves, deftly processed his section of Moly. Then, he paused when he looked at Eugene next to him:

"What are you... doing?"

Eugene didn't answer right away. Instead, he carefully supported a Moly leaf with his hand, then used scissors to cut the stem, letting the leaf fall into his palm before turning to reply:

"Harvesting Moly."

Adam carefully recalled the lecture he'd just heard. Professor Sprout didn't seem to have said anything about such a meticulous harvesting process... anyone who didn't know better would think Eugene was picking some precious treasure.

"Why are you being so... complicated? It should be more efficient to pick it by hand."

Eugene lowered his head and, from the bottom of his harvest, pulled out a few Moly leaves and held them out to Adam.

Adam looked closely. The leaves were tattered, with bits of the main stem still attached to the junction of the branch and leaf, looking like they'd been through some kind of inhuman torment.

"I'm a little too strong, and I can't control it well."

Eugene finished speaking, reached out to pick up another Moly leaf, and then released it. Adam clearly saw a visible fingerprint on the leaf, with Moly sap squeezed out. And he was sure that Eugene hadn't used any force.

Damn, dude, are you... a troll cub?

Seeing the somewhat dejected look on Eugene's face, Adam swallowed the retort that was on the tip of his tongue and patted him on the shoulder reassuringly:

"It's okay, I'm sure there will be magical plants that are suitable for you."

Like Devil's Snare, the Whomping Willow, or maybe working with Bubotuber Pus would be a good fit for him.