One Piece of Candy Set Off a Chain Reaction

The searing heat had yet to fade when Ron caught sight of Cedric heading upstairs with a plate.

He hurriedly called out.

"Mr. Cecil."

Cedric turned. Harry Potter, Hagrid, and Ron stood by the counter.

After a moment's thought, he walked back.

"What is it?"

"Mr. Cecil, I'll make sure they don't disturb your sleep again. Please, have mercy and don't make another dish like that, all right?"

Ron sounded like he was begging for his life.

"What, didn't you enjoy today's meal?"

Cedric wore a faint smile.

A chill ran down Ron's spine at the sight of it.

"It's not that we didn't enjoy it. It was delicious, really. Your cooking's beyond reproach. It's just..."

He pointed at his still-swollen lips.

"It was too spicy. I don't think my body can take it."

"That won't do, Ron. Chilies are good for you. You'll have to learn to handle them."

Cedric looked perfectly serious.

Ron shuddered.

"No. Please don't make us learn."

What would happen if they actually did?

Half the pub's regulars had gone to St. Mungo's today, clutching their backsides.

If they kept eating like this, St. Mungo's might have to open a whole proctology ward.

Cedric burst out laughing.

"I'm joking. I was just experimenting with that dish. But you lot really can't handle spice. That level was just right for me."

It seemed they had learned their lesson. The Pixian Red-Oil Doubanjiang and dried chilies he had sent Ron to buy hadn't gone to waste.

Done talking to Ron, Cedric turned to Hagrid and Harry.

He glanced at Hagrid's bear-paw-sized hand, then at his own, and abandoned any thought of a handshake.

He held out his hand to Harry instead.

"Hello. I'm Allen Cecil."

After introducing himself, he added,

"You're the famous Harry Potter, aren't you?"

Harry froze for a moment, then quickly took his hand and shook it twice.

"Hello. Er, yes, I'm Harry Potter... You've heard of me too?"

The man before him was dressed so smartly, a world apart from Harry's patched robes.

Even someone like him had heard of Harry?

After several days of shopping, Harry had got a feel for prices in the Wizarding World, and his admiration for Cedric had climbed another notch.

Even if Cedric charged a Galleon per dish, Harry's current savings...

Would probably keep him fed for centuries.

Oh. Then that was fine.

Harry came to a realization.

Apparently, he was rather well-off in the Wizarding World himself.

"Sure. They talk about you every day. Lately, your name comes up every few sentences in this pub. I've heard so much about you my ears are worn out."

Cedric withdrew his hand.

"But I'm not sure how much of it is true."

Harry's voice dropped.

"You're not the only one. I'm not sure myself."

Hagrid bristled.

"Everything they say about Harry is true!"

His beard seemed to flare with his anger. He looked ready to swallow Cedric whole.

"He's a hero!"

"If those stories haven't been exaggerated, then all I can say is the wizards back then were pretty useless."

Cedric swiftly held out a tuft of Dragon's Beard Candy and popped it straight into Hagrid's wide-open mouth.

"Have something sweet. Cool down."

Hagrid had no time to react before the candy blocked his mouth.

Mostly, though, he had opened it so wide in his anger that the little tuft of candy was like a bean dropped down a well.

The sugar strands melted on his tongue in an instant, and the fury on his face vanished as though doused with water.

His expression shifted from rage to a blank stare, then to bliss, faster than the pages of a book could turn.

"Merlin's beard, has Mr. Cecil's cooking improved again?"

Ron stared, wide-eyed.

"One dish can put out someone's anger? It can calm a man in a towering rage in an instant and leave him smiling? How delicious must it be?"

Harry was stunned too.

After watching Hagrid's expression change before his eyes, he turned to Cedric.

His gaze was full of admiration.

The most popular cook in Diagon Alley truly lived up to his reputation.

"All right, enough. Stop talking me up."

Ron's praise made Cedric's scalp prickle.

"I'm just a cook. What I make is food. It doesn't have miraculous powers."

"Your food can boost magic. Isn't that even more incredible?"

Ron wasn't buying his modesty.

"You've managed something much harder than this. Calming someone down must be easy for you."

The flattery left Cedric at a loss for words. It took him a while to recover.

"I told you, it wasn't my doing. I just mixed a little Draught of Euphoria into the sweet. Not much."

"Draught of Euphoria?"

"You made it into a sweet?"

Ron's eyes nearly popped out. His face might as well have been a flashing sign that read "I want some."

Ron's stare made Cedric's skin crawl, so he broke off a piece from the sample he had saved for Hooch and handed it over.

Then, since Harry was standing beside them swallowing hard, Cedric broke off a piece for him too.

They both put the candy in their mouths and froze.

It melted on the tongue, yet somehow had an indescribable chewiness.

Harry had never tasted anything this good in his life, so his reaction was understandable.

But Ron had eaten plenty of sweets, and he could swear he had never tasted a texture this wonderful.

Better still, whether it was his imagination or not, even Ron's backside felt much better. Most of the burning pain had faded.

With that texture and that soothing feeling, it would be perfect with afternoon tea.

Ron was full of regret.

Why had he chewed it so quickly?

If only he could hold a cup of tea now and let its rich flavor mingle with the lingering sweetness in his mouth...

How wonderful that would be.