Perhaps life had been too peaceful since he enrolled, to the point that Adam had forgotten he was in the safest school in the world.
"A troll—in the dungeons—I thought you ought to know—"
With a thud, Professor Quirrell collapsed to the floor. The entire Great Hall fell silent for a few seconds before erupting into ear-splitting screams.
Adam had been enjoying a sweet, rich slice of pumpkin pie. Seeing this, he set down his fork and fell silent.
"A troll?! Why would something like that appear in Hogwarts?"
Klon cried out.
Just then, several loud bangs drew everyone's attention.
"Silence!"
Professor Dumbledore sent several fireworks soaring from his wand, then cast a Sonorus Charm. Once everyone was looking at him, he immediately said:
"Prefects, lead the students back to their dormitories at once!"
"It was only a troll. Shouldn't any professor be able to deal with it easily? Why cancel the Halloween feast over this?"
On the way back, Bernard said disappointedly.
"The troll itself isn't the problem. The question is why it appeared inside Hogwarts. That isn't a species capable of concealing itself and sneaking in unnoticed. Someone must have brought it in."
Uther analyzed calmly,
"Someone definitely intended to use it to do something shady."
"That person is absolutely hateful! I'd been looking forward to tonight's feast for an entire month, and I only got one bite of that pumpkin pie!"
Klon covered his face and complained:
"I hope we can get the rest of the pumpkin pie from the House-elves when we pass the kitchen... Come to think of it, the food in the Great Hall will probably be cleared away, right?"
However, to Klon's disappointment, Bruce stopped him from leaving the group, even though the kitchen was entirely on the way back to the dormitories—Klon was far from the only little badger with the same idea.
"Sorry, everyone. An incident has occurred at the school, and Professor Dumbledore has entrusted me with making sure none of you leave my sight. Please don't make things difficult for me, all right?"
Bruce pressed his hands together, his words earnest.
The little badgers who had been stopped could not blame him for it. They could only follow the group back to the common room in disappointment.
After what had just happened, no one could settle down in their dormitories. Everyone gathered in the common room to discuss what exactly had happened. A troll suddenly appearing inside Hogwarts was clearly abnormal, and all sorts of theories were proposed, growing more terrifying by the minute.
Someone even suggested that perhaps The Dark Lord had planned the conspiracy. Adam could not help glancing at him... The guy had guessed surprisingly well.
Although the theory about The Dark Lord was dismissed because it sounded too far-fetched, the common room was still filled with unease amid all the speculation. The professors' earlier reactions, along with the hunger gradually setting in after the feast had been interrupted, only made that feeling more contagious.
"I say... since Hogwarts' feast was canceled, why can't we Hufflepuffs have our own Halloween feast?"
Adam stepped forward at that moment.
"But... didn't they say we can't go to the kitchen...?"
An older girl who had previously wanted to go to the kitchen but had been stopped looked at Bruce and Vivian. Without question, she received the same answer: no.
"Yes, we can't go to the kitchen—but to celebrate Halloween, I happened to prepare some food... Mostly candy, biscuits, and desserts like pumpkin pie, but it should at least fill everyone's growling stomachs."
As Adam spoke, he looked at Bruce.
"If that's allowed, of course."
"Of course!"
Bruce rubbed his own growling little belly.
"I'm sure the professors won't mind if we hold a small feast of our own in the common room!"
"That's wonderful—what are you waiting for?"
A starving Hufflepuff said, his eyes shining.
"Hurry up and bring out the food! My wallet is ready!"
The other Hufflepuffs chimed in as well. At a time like this, the food Adam had prepared was practically a lifeline.
"Don't rush. We need to make a few preparations first."
Under everyone's eager gazes, Adam took out his wand and walked toward the round table in the center of the common room.
"Come on, ladies and gentlemen around the round table, please move aside and make some room so I can make the table a little bigger—"
"Leave it to me!"
Vivian waved her wand. The flowerpots on the table flew onto the shelves at either side, while the whole table abruptly grew taller and its surface expanded several times over.
"Thanks, Vivian. This should do it. I'll go get the food now—"
Adam hurried toward the dormitories.
While waiting for Adam to return, the other excited little badgers did not sit idle either. One after another, they pulled out their wands and gave the common room a major makeover. Sofas were moved aside, lampshades were turned into pumpkin heads, Halloween decorations appeared on the walls, and more.
Adam did not let everyone's efforts go to waste. By the time they were done, the entire common room was already filled with the rich, sweet scent of pumpkin.
Under everyone's longing stares, Adam finally returned. Behind him floated pumpkin heads filled with candy and golden-baked Pumpkin Pies, following in his footsteps. There were also pumpkin-shaped cookies, bundles of pumpkin juice...
All kinds of pumpkin products and pumpkin-related foods, familiar and unfamiliar alike, lined up and descended onto the tables. Even after the tables were filled, plenty still floated in the air.
"Put them over here."
Cedric turned a sofa against the wall into another table. Several older students who were skilled at the Transfiguration Charm followed suit, transforming temporarily unused items nearby into tables. Adam readily directed the food to settle on them.
"Adam, hurry up and name the price! I can't wait to dig in!"
The Hufflepuff speaking had already picked up an entire plate of pumpkin cakes. These little pumpkin-shaped treats gave off a rich pumpkin fragrance; they were practically tempting him on purpose!
"This time, it's a buffet—no limits on variety or quantity. Five Silver Sickles per person, and then you can enjoy everything here to your heart's content."
This had happened too suddenly. The candy and all the food Adam had conjured afterward had been transformed from Sweet Cards. Aside from the labor of casting the spells, the cost was completely zero. They were classmates, so he would only charge a token amount.
As soon as Adam finished speaking, everyone took a few seconds to understand what a buffet meant. Then the common room erupted in cheers:
"Long live Adam—!"
What could five Silver Sickles buy?
Even a single cup of Butterbeer cost two Silver Sickles!
Adam placed his satchel in the corner as a cash box, telling everyone to simply put their money inside before helping themselves. After a brief process of returning to their dormitories for money and lining up to pay, the little badgers charged one after another toward the round table laden with food.
The first to rush forward was the older student who had just picked up an entire plate. He dashed to the table, grabbed a pumpkin-shaped pumpkin cake, and tossed it into his mouth. The next moment, his entire face was filled with a blissful smile.
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