On Saturday morning, in the Forbidden Forest, Roy, Cedric, and the others held brooms as they swept up the fallen leaves the strong wind had blown down the night before from the clearing in front of the cabin.
Quite a few decorative magical plants had been planted around the secret base. To avoid accidentally pulling them up by the roots, they had no choice but to give up on magic and clean the place the old-fashioned way.
Cedric quickly noticed that Roy seemed distracted. He gripped his broom and swept the small pile of leaves in front of him back and forth.
At his pace today, he would never finish sweeping the whole clearing even in a day. In the end, Cedric and the others worked together to gather the golden leaves into several large piles, revealing the smooth stone path beneath.
After they finished cleaning, Connor and Gabriel sat down at the outdoor dining table to play chess. Roy, usually so lively, did not say a word. He silently returned to the cabin and started tinkering with his assortment of messy research materials.
Cedric followed him inside and saw Roy sitting at his desk, fiddling with something over a spread-out, unfamiliar blueprint. He stepped forward and asked with concern in his voice.
"What's wrong? You don't seem to be in a very good mood today."
Cedric took a bottle of Coke from the freezer beside them and tossed it to Roy, then grabbed one for himself. Roy had ordered this Muggle drink, and its sweet taste had long since gotten Cedric hooked.
Roy caught the drink, twisted off the cap, and took a gulp of the icy soda.
"I'm fine. Oh, could you get me the Kelpie tooth from the shelf in the bedroom?"
Cedric went into the bedroom