"These cabinets greatly improved the use of the available space."
Bernard walked over to inspect a row of tall cabinets. Once Adam's books had been shrunk, they densely filled only a single shelf, while every cabinet before him had two columns with six shelves each.
Bernard turned to Adam.
"Could I perhaps use some of that space?"
"Everyone gets one column, and there's another for communal items—though I can't think of any examples right now, it's still good to have."
"Seeing the Mirror reminded me that I need one. Otherwise, putting on makeup would be inconvenient."
That was Uther. Only after he said it did Adam realize he had been wearing makeup. The dark circles around his eyes had not been dark circles at all, but smoky eye makeup...
"It feels very cozy."
Eugene sat down on the sofa and blinked at the soft rug beneath his feet.
"It feels like someone has lived here for a long time... It feels like home."
After a vote, the five people on the little sofa unanimously agreed to keep Adam's changes to the dormitory.
Compared to the common area, Adam's four-poster bed and its surroundings had undergone the greatest changes. However, that was Adam's private space, and though the others were curious, none of them asked about it.
Everyone had gone through a lot that day and was rather tired. They did not sit on the sofa for long before sleepiness overcame them, so they each went to bed. Their first night at Hogwarts passed just like that...
"Mmm—mm... mmm!!! Ahh~"
After stretching, Klon smacked his lips a few times and sat up in bed, his nose twitching.
Smells so good...
"You're awake."
Klon turned his head and rubbed his eyes, only then noticing Adam and Eugene sitting on the little sofa. On the round table before them sat a brazier and... a cauldron?
"Breakfast at Hogwarts is served in the Great Hall. Uther and the others have already gone. Or, like Eugene, would you like to try the Century Egg and Chicken Congee and tea eggs I made?"
As Adam spoke, he rolled the tea egg in his hand across the table, smoothly peeled off the shell, and popped it into his mouth.
"...What is that?"
Klon scratched at his nest-like hair, got out of bed, and walked over to the cauldron. Inside, a pot of soup was bubbling away, with rice, shredded meat, and some blackish stuff floating in it.
"A Chinese breakfast. Hogwarts serves jam and bread, pickled fish, eggs, bacon, cornflakes... It's a little too greasy for me."
A breakfast of bacon and fried eggs was nice once in a while, but Adam truly could not get used to eating it all the time. His grandparents had happened to visit earlier and made breakfast for several days in a row... He could not exactly refuse their kindness. Sigh.
Adam swallowed half a tea egg and continued.
"So I asked the house-elves for some ingredients, and I brought some myself. The clay pot is busy simmering soup, though, so this is my first time trying to make congee and tea eggs in a cauldron... Mm, Hogwarts's tea leaves aren't as good as the ones I brought. I'll use my own next time."
Seeing that it was about done, Adam tapped the fire with his wand and extinguished it. He ladled out a small bowl and handed it to Eugene.
"Careful, it's hot. Try it first and see if it suits your taste."
"Thank you."
Eugene accepted the bowl and nodded at Adam.
"...There's soup too?"
Klon rubbed his face. At home, his breakfast usually consisted of bacon, toast, and baked potatoes. When had he ever eaten anything this elaborate?
In reality, Adam had not even started making the truly elaborate stuff yet.
"Yeah, it should be ready by the afternoon. We don't have classes this afternoon anyway, so I'll let you try the Yam and Tuckahoe Pigeon Soup my mother personally taught me to make."
Klon: "..."
He could not understand it, but it sounded impressive.
Curious about this foreign breakfast, Klon washed up and sat down for a bowl of that... congee. It tasted excellent, completely different from the breakfasts he usually ate.
"A bowl of piping-hot congee in the morning warms up your whole body."
Adam drank two bowls. The remainder was a little insufficient for Eugene and Klon to split, but fortunately there were still plenty of tea eggs. Klon ate three in one go.
If Adam had not stopped him, he would have eaten the last two Adam had saved for Kero and Suppi as well.
"Adam really does come from a family that runs a restaurant~"
On the way to class, Klon realized that he seemed to have eaten a little too much.
"I'm glad you like it. I'll probably cook often, especially breakfast."
As a cook, receiving praise for food he had made was indeed quite fulfilling.
"Can you make fish?"
Eugene turned around, anticipation gleaming in his eyes.
"Um... Fish is a little troublesome to prepare, but I'll consider it, provided Hogwarts has fresh fish."
British people simply did not know how to prepare fresh fish. Things like Stargazy pie and fish boiled with eggs used fish stuffed straight in with their guts still inside in their authentic recipes. One could imagine the flavor...
So Adam wondered whether Hogwarts even kept fresh fish in storage.
He could find an opportunity to ask the house-elves. He had brought spices to remove the fishy smell anyway, so if there really were any, he could make a few.
Oh, right...
"Just so you know in advance, the fish I make might be different from what you've eaten before... It'll have lots of little bones."
Hopefully Eugene could learn to pick out fish bones, or he would suffer terribly eating Adam's fish.
Hufflepuff's first class of the term was Professor Sprout's Herbology class. She was a gray-haired witch who always looked upon her students with great kindness.
It was worth mentioning that, besides being the Herbology professor, Professor Sprout was also Hufflepuff's Head of House.
After briefly greeting everyone and welcoming them to Herbology, Professor Sprout began her lesson. As an introductory class to Herbology, she explained a harmless yet powerful magical herb: Murtlap.
It was an extremely practical herb. It could help wounds heal quickly even without being brewed into a potion, and Essence of Murtlap was one of the most commonly used remedies for external injuries among wizards.
After one class of theory, Professor Sprout had everyone get hands-on in the second class, harvesting the Murtlap that had matured over the holiday that had just ended.
Wearing gardening gloves, Adam swiftly finished handling the patch of Murtlap assigned to him. Then, when he looked at Eugene beside him, he froze.
"What are you doing...?"
Eugene did not answer immediately. Instead, he carefully held one hand beneath a Murtlap leaf, then used scissors to cut its stem and let the leaf fall into his palm before turning to answer.
"Harvesting Murtlap."
Adam carefully recalled the lesson they had just heard. Professor Sprout did not seem to have said that the harvesting process needed to be so meticulous... Anyone who did not know better would think Eugene was plucking some precious, delicate plant.
"Why are you making it so... complicated? Wouldn't picking them by hand be more efficient?"
Eugene lowered his head, dug out several Murtlap leaves from the bottom of his harvest, and handed them to Adam.
Adam took a closer look. Those leaves were tattered, and at the junction of the stems and leaves, bits of bark from the main branch were still attached. They looked as though they had suffered some inhuman torment.
"My strength is a little too great, and I can't control it very well."
After saying that, Eugene picked up another Murtlap leaf and released it. Adam clearly saw a distinct fingerprint appear on the leaf, with even the Murtlap juice squeezed out. He was certain Eugene had not used any strength just then.
Damn, man... are you a troll hatchling?
Seeing Eugene's somewhat dejected expression, Adam swallowed the jab at the tip of his tongue and patted his shoulder comfortingly.
"It's okay. I'm sure there are magical plants better suited for you."
Things like Devil's Snare or the Whomping Willow, for example. Or work involving Bubotuber Pus would probably suit him quite well too.
Before you continue