Hot Pot

Cedric allowed Wentworth to pull him into the Hufflepuff common room, which was completely empty at this hour.

After all, as a Hufflepuff, one would never miss mealtime, so the vast majority of the little badgers had already headed to the Hogwarts Great Hall to eat.

"What is it? Why so mysterious?"

Once they reached the common room, Cedric couldn't help but ask out of curiosity.

Wentworth didn't answer him directly, but instead said:

"Wait here for me, I'll be right back!"

Without waiting for Cedric to respond, Wentworth ran out of the Hufflepuff common room.

Left alone, Cedric had no choice but to wait where he was, feeling helpless.

Just as Cedric began to suspect that Wentworth might have gotten lost in Hogwarts and was about to go out and look for him, Wentworth finally returned. Not only that, but he was followed by several house-elves carrying a great many things.

"Alright, put this large basin here, place the charcoal inside, thank you very much. You can just set those things to the side."

Cedric stared, dumbfounded, as Wentworth directed the house-elves to set down various items one by one. Only then did he realize that what the house-elves were holding were all ingredients.

"Wentworth, what are you doing?"

Cedric couldn't help but ask.

"Treating you to something to eat! Something you've definitely never had before—I learned it from the Muggles!"

After saying this, Wentworth hurried off to his dormitory again. A moment later, Cedric saw him emerge clutching a cauldron, which he placed atop the charcoal before adding water.

"Could you trouble yourselves to light the charcoal, please?"

Wentworth asked the house-elves, who were standing to the side with wide eyes, observing with curiosity.

One of the house-elves snapped its fingers, and the charcoal burst into a roaring flame.

Wentworth then busied himself, burying his head in his work as he added all sorts of strange things into small bowls, stirring them occasionally.

"Are you... making me a potion?"

Cedric watched the busy Wentworth, unable to stop himself from suspecting as much.

"A potion? No, in the Muggle world, this is called hot pot!"

Wentworth replied without looking up, continuing to drop items that looked like mushrooms into the cauldron one by one.

Soon, the water in the cauldron began to boil. Wentworth finally stopped his work, turned around, and placed four small bowls in front of Cedric.

"This is called hot pot. It's about putting various ingredients into boiling water. Of course, this isn't just ordinary water; I've added a lot of things to it. In the Muggle world, this is usually called the soup base."

"Then, you choose the ingredients you like, cook them in the base, dip them in special sauces, and take a bite—it's pure satisfaction!"

Seeing that Cedric still looked half-confused, Wentworth didn't mind, pointing to the four bowls in front of him:

"I've prepared four different dipping sauces: Sesame Sauce, Chili Sauce, Oil Dip, and Seafood Sauce. Which one do you like?"

Cedric thought for a moment, then pointed to a bright red sauce and said:

"I'll go with the chili one. I like that spicy, burning sensation."

Wentworth curled his lip, handed the Chili Sauce to Cedric, and muttered under his breath:

"Sesame Sauce and hot pot are the perfect match; everything else is heresy!"

Wentworth then pulled a full platter of meat slices from behind him, dropped them into the cauldron, and gave them a gentle stir.

Just then, a Hogwarts house-elf stepped forward and asked:

"Would you two gentlemen like something to drink? How about some Sherry Fruit Soda?"

Wentworth thought for a moment and asked:

"Do you have any Butterbeer?"

Soon, the cauldron, which had quieted down after the meat was added, began to boil again. Wentworth and Cedric quickly fished the meat out and placed it on their plates.

"Cheers!"

The two cheered and took a sip of the fruit drink prepared by the house-elf. As for the Butterbeer, the house-elf had politely declined, citing the Hogwarts rule against students consuming alcohol.

At first, Cedric looked at the meat cooked in the cauldron on his plate with some hesitation.

"Don't worry, this cauldron is brand new; I haven't used it for anything else! Go on, try it. Oh, and remember to help me use a Scouring Charm to clean the cauldron later—I don't know how to cast it yet."

Perhaps because he didn't want to refuse Wentworth's invitation, or perhaps because he couldn't resist the temptation of watching Wentworth tuck in, Cedric closed his eyes, opened his mouth, and finally popped a slice of meat inside.

Immediately, Cedric's eyes widened, shining with delight.

"Hey, hey! Leave some for me!"

Seeing Cedric scoop up all the meat from the cauldron in one go, Wentworth said with feigned dissatisfaction.

"Isn't there more? Put some more in!"

Cedric said, his mouth stuffed with meat, his speech slurred.

Seeing this, Wentworth smiled and brought out more ingredients from behind him.

Cedric watched in surprise as Wentworth picked up a piece of something grey that looked like a dishcloth, dipped it into the boiling cauldron, pulled it out quickly, repeated the motion several times, and only then dipped it in the sauce before putting it into his mouth.

"What is that you're eating? Do you have to perform a ritual for it?"

Wentworth replied with a look of pure satisfaction:

"This is a mysterious ritual I learned from the mystical East—seven ups and eight downs—it makes the ingredients taste much better."

Cedric nodded as if he half-understood, then mimicked Wentworth's movements, picked up a piece, dipped it seven times up and down, and popped it into his mouth.

"Hiss! Is this also something Muggles eat? It's unexpectedly delicious!"

Cedric exclaimed in surprise, his hands moving non-stop as he grabbed another piece and dropped it into the cauldron.

"Don't just eat the meat; have some greens to cut the grease," Wentworth advised from the side.

"If you find it greasy, you eat more greens and give the meat to me. I'm not afraid of a little grease," Cedric said without even looking up.

Hearing Cedric's reply, Wentworth stared at him in shock, never expecting such a shameless remark to come out of Cedric's mouth.

In his past life, Wentworth had always had a question: as the Hogwarts Champion selected for the House Cup, Cedric was the most outstanding student of that era, excluding Harry Potter who was shrouded in protagonist halo—a true academic genius in every sense.

By all accounts, Cedric seemed to fit Ravenclaw better, so why was he sorted into Hufflepuff?

Now, watching Cedric tucking into his meal with such gusto, Wentworth couldn't help but sigh that in Hogwarts, there are only rooms people walk into by mistake, never students sorted into the wrong house.