Percy's Little Cooking Lesson

The Great Hall now appears exceptionally magnificent and imposing.

Not only were there a dozen Christmas trees covered in silver frost, and thick ribbons of mistletoe and holly crisscrossing the ceiling, but there was also enchanted snow, warm and dry, gently falling from the ceiling.

Dumbledore led them in singing several of his favorite Christmas carols, Hagrid's voice grew louder and louder as he downed glass after glass of eggnog.

Percy at the Gryffindor table didn't notice that Fred had cast a spell, changing the word "idiot" on his Prefect Badge, and kept asking everyone what they were laughing at.

Draco, sitting at the Slytherin table, was whispering sweet nothings to Pansy beside him. Crabbe and Goyle, standing next to him, wore the same expressions as Ron, one hand on their forehead and the other munching on food to distract themselves.

At the Hufflepuff table, Dudley and Cedric, surrounded by the Hufflepuff crowd, were gulping down Pumpkin Juice.

As for the Ravenclaw table, there's not much to say. Ginny was nestled in his arms, feeding Harry his third Christmas pudding.

The students around them were already used to it.

However, there was one thing they found strange: why weren't Ginny and Harry going back for Christmas, since they were supposed to get engaged?

"Harry! It's all because of you that I have to spend Christmas at Hogwarts," Ron complained, barely managing to pull Ginny out of Harry.

"Yes, we were supposed to get engaged on Christmas, but then—" Ginny couldn't help but show a resentful expression.

"Voldemort, they've all gone to deal with Voldemort."

"Look, Draco and the others are no different," Harry chuckled.

"And what's this in front of us?" Ginny tossed her hair, shifted her position on Harry, and pointed to Dumbledore on the stage.

You know, people like her father, Lucius Malfoy, and even Lupin Sirius are too busy to celebrate Christmas.

"Perhaps he was disguised as Polyjuice Potion by some other idle Member of the Order of the Phoenix." Harry rubbed his messy hair.

Harry himself didn't believe that.

Harry has been very busy lately— Quidditch, dealing with classmates who are curious about weddings, and training in his dreams.

However, Harry did try to find out more about the dream directly, especially about the mysterious Voldemort's inside man.

It's important to understand that none of the Death Eaters want to follow Voldemort anymore. After all, Dumbledore has a more rational and handsome Voldemort on his side, and with Dumbledore's current power, joining the Death Eaters now would be tantamount to joining Germany in 1945.

That mysterious inside man must be a die-hard Pure-blood supremacist, or simply someone who has a grudge against the Order of the Phoenix.

Harry and his team spent almost all their energy searching for suspected inside agents.

Dumbledore, after receiving the letter, Mr. Weasley and his companions were busy again, even skipping Christmas.

How could Dumbledore himself have the time?

He clearly has more things to do.

"I think that's Dumbledore. Only Dumbledore could eat that stuff with such relish." Ron pointed to a plate in front of Dumbledore containing a bunch of dark, trembling cockroach-like things.

"Well, maybe he's worried that Voldemort will break into Hogwarts," Harry explained.

"Okay, let's not talk about these annoying things anymore. I'd rather learn how to make Treacle Tart — Harry's favorite dessert," Ginny said.

She took out a piece of parchment with a moving little figure on it, placing some black dots into a circle labeled an oven.

"Let me see... syrup, lemon juice, and preferably lemon zest, add them... mix them together and bake them in the oven. It's best to eat them while they're hot, dipped in milk and egg mixture," Ginny muttered to herself.

"I've never seen you want to cook before, and where did this thing come from?" Ron stared at Harry enviously.

"Susan of Hufflepuff, niece of the current Minister for Magic, Madam Bones." Percy strode over, a badge bearing the word "Fool" gleaming on his chest.

"How did you know?" Ron asked, barely suppressing a laugh.

"I've seen it. I'm Gryffindor, and a responsible Prefect. I'm not like you, always staying in the common room." Percy then showed off his medals from a different angle.

"Okay, but I still prefer mince pies." Ron smacked his lips.

"I like it too. Mrs. Weasley's mince pies are delicious."

"But I'm curious why his name has meat in it, yet he is—" Harry interjected.

"Yes, I know that."

"What are you looking at? Do I know it's strange?"

"I studied this before you were born—because I was interested."

"But as I grew older, I discovered a cause more worthy of my life's work." Percy proudly puffed out his chest.

"Minister for Magic?" Ron guessed.

Percy glared at Ron fiercely.

However, Harry felt that Ron was definitely right.

Percy cleared his throat with feigned nonchalance. "Then I'll continue— Ginny, you don't need to remember this. You can always go back and ask your mother. After all, it's still seven years until your official wedding!" ("Seven years!" Ginny exclaimed.)

"It's seven years, Ginny. Don't even think about waiting five years until Harry graduates to get married." Percy looked at Ginny seriously.

"A mince pie is a Christmas pastry made by chopping up dried fruits such as raisins and apples, and adding sugar, spicy seasoning, and the tough fat from sheep's kidneys." ("And the meat?" Ron picked up a mince pie and took a bite.)

"This is a food from the Muggle world that entered the magical world along with Christmas."

"Muggle don't have magic and can't preserve it for long, so they've reduced the meat content by adding dried fruit and spices to it."

"So much so that nowadays the mince pie only contains dried fruit and spices," Percy said, shaking his head.

"I think you have the potential to Hufflepuff, Percy," Ron couldn't help but exclaim.

"Indeed, the Sorting Hat once asked me whether I wanted to go to Hufflepuff or Gryffindor."

"But clearly, Hufflepuff's inability to get into the Ministry of Magic is of no help to me," Percy remarked.

Ryan, who was standing nearby, was bored and listening to gossip about the whole of Hogwarts and even Hogsmeade because Luna and Hermione had gone back to celebrate Christmas. Ryan curled his lip.

Percy undoubtedly made the same mistake as most people in the wizarding world—underestimating Hufflepuff.

In Ryan's opinion, Hufflepuff the most likely candidate if he really wants to become Minister for Magic.

It's worth noting that three-quarters of the employees in the Ministry of Magic come from Hufflepuff.

This is not because Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, or Slytherin are incompetent.

The main reason is that the other three colleges don't have that many people.

Hufflepuff is the house with the largest number of students.