The Magical Food God of Hogwarts

That night, Lucas was indeed awakened several times by the pain, as if shards of glass were piercing through his broken bones. He hissed and gasped for breath, his body trembling with pain.

Mrs. Pomfrey also visited once during this time, but she thought everything was normal and once again criticized him and Ellie's adventure.

However, Ellie was never able to come see him again.

When the sunlight on his pillow woke Lucas from his hazy dream, he opened his eyes, figured out where he was, and recalled everything that had happened the night before. He felt relaxed and reborn.

"Ha!" He suddenly jumped out of bed, hopped barefoot to the ground, and felt his body over and over, finding that every part of him was exactly the same as before he was injured.

"This is amazing magic!" Lucas exclaimed excitedly. Just as he was about to push open the window to see the view outside, the door to the ward was pushed open.

"Mr. McGregor, I remember your concussion should be healed." Mrs. Pomfrey looked at him sternly. "If you don't want to spend another day in the hospital observing your brain, you'd better put your clothes, pants, and socks on before you run around."

"Yes, madam!"

Sunlight streamed in, and the boy with fiery red short hair smiled brightly. To Madam Pomfrey's astonishment, he gave her a big hug: "Thank you for your treatment, Madam Pomfrey! I've never felt so good. You're amazing!"

"Hmph, of course." Mrs. Pomfrey shoved Lucas aside. "Hurry up and get dressed, I don't want to say it a third time!"

But a smile also appeared on her lips.

......

In fact, Lucas's shirt and work pants had long been discarded and worn out, but his personal belongings had been taken out and set aside. He had now changed into a black wizard's robe, which, although old, was clean, had a sun-kissed fragrance, and fit him perfectly.

He was admiring the robe from all angles, completely absorbed in its novelty, when Madam Pomfrey urged, "Alright, you'll have plenty of opportunities to wear it later. Hurry up, Professor Dumbledore is waiting for you."

Lucas quickly straightened the hem of his robe and followed Mrs. Pomfrey out of the school hospital.

The spiral staircase was dimly lit, with only the crackling of torches casting flickering shadows. But as you passed through an archway, the space opened up dramatically, sunlight streaming in from the windows on either side, and a wide corridor stretched straight ahead.

Lucas saw a huge tapestry depicting several medieval wizards riding brooms, chasing a muddy stone with a caption that read, "Quidditch Origins - Swamp Bouncing Game, circa 11th century AD."

Next, they came to a corridor lined with portraits, most of the figures in the frames fast asleep. An old wizard wearing a nightcap was awakened by their footsteps and grumbled irritably, "Who are you? Damn it, I'm getting such a good night's sleep."

As Lucas struggled to pull his eyes away from the moving, talking paintings, he felt a jolt beneath his feet; he had stepped onto a moving staircase.

It moved and landed, gliding through many corridors, and when it stopped at the stairs, it was facing a set of gleaming silver armor.

"Password?" The armor mask trembled, producing a dull sound, but Lucas clearly saw that the armor was empty.

Mrs. Pomfrey didn't even look up: "Get out of here, Perkins! How many times have I told you? You're not the portrait keeper; you have no right to ask for any passwords!"

"Oh well, fine." The armored figure hung its head in dejection and stepped aside.

If time allowed, Lucas could have spent the whole day there, but Mrs. Pomfrey was in such a hurry that he had to jog to keep up, leaving behind those wonderful sights that tantalized his senses.

Wait for me, wait for me to enroll in school... wait for me to enroll in school!

Lucas shouted in his heart as he passed beneath a group of translucent ghosts frolicking and chasing each other in the air.

Finally, two enormous oak doors came into view. Madam Pomfrey tapped them with her wand, and the doors swung open with a bang, releasing a burst of dazzling sunlight and the fresh scent of grass and trees.

They arrived outside the castle, where a wide, slightly sloping lawn stretched out to the edge of the distant Forbidden Forest.

Several people were standing on the lawn.

Professor Dumbledore stood at the front, his long, silvery hair and beard swaying gently in the morning breeze.

Lucas's gaze was drawn to the giant figure beside him. This giant was almost two or three times the height and size of an average person, with long, messy black hair and a thick, tangled beard that covered most of his face, and a pair of beetle-like black eyes that gleamed with eager light.

The giant was leaning over, excitedly speaking to another middle-aged man, his voice booming like thunder: "...Then its flame temperature must be much higher than that of the Welsh Green Dragon, right? They say the Hebrides Black Dragon's flames can melt rocks..."

The middle-aged man was much shorter than the giant, but still taller and more robust than the average person, as solid as a large block of basalt. His face was angular, and his skin was a bronze color from long exposure to wind, frost, and sea salt.

Lucas immediately recognized him because Ellie's striking features were very similar to his, and both of them had golden-brown hair.

He must be Ellie's father!

However, his eye color was different from Ellie's bright purple; it was the deep green common among Scots. Unlike the giant beside him, who was chattering and enthusiastic, he was now calmly looking at the giant with those deep green eyes, occasionally responding with a word or two.

"Albus, I've brought Lucas," Mrs. Pomfrey said briefly, nodding to Lucas before turning to leave. Lucas quickly replied, "Goodbye, Mrs. Pomfrey."

Mrs. Pomfrey paused, then glared at him. "You'd better behave yourself. We don't want to see each other again in the school hospital... try your best."

Standing next to the middle-aged man was Ellie.

She looked listless, like a wilted eggplant. Hearing the voice, she looked up, saw Lucas, forced a smile, and whispered, "Good morning, Lucas."

Lucas immediately noticed that her eyes were red-rimmed, her eyelids were swollen, and there were faint dark circles under her eyes. Her eyes were full of fatigue and frustration.

"Good morning, Ellie." Lucas frowned. "What's wrong?"

Ellie didn't answer, she just shook her head.

"Good morning, Lucas," Dumbledore said with a smile. "You seem to be recovering well. Come, let me introduce you. This is Rubeus Hagrid, the key keeper and gamekeeper of Hogwarts."

He turned to the giant: "Hagrid, I think you can continue your discussion of the arrangement of the black dragon's tail fins in the Hebrides later..."

"Oh, hello Lucas!" Hagrid turned around, extending a large, fan-like hand warmly. Lucas felt as if his hand was enveloped in a warm leather sofa. "I've heard that you rode the black dragon through the storm clouds! All the way to Hogwarts! I'm so envious! How was it? Were its scales as smooth as mirrors, or—"

"Hagrid," Dumbledore interrupted him, "we'll have time to discuss dragons later. This is Mr. Alastair MacFastie, Ellie's father, and the patriarch of Clan MacFastie."

Alastair McFastie looked at Lucas and calmly extended his hand.

"Hello, Mr. McFastie." Lucas shook hands with him. His hand was rough and strong, with large knuckles and calluses. Holding it felt like holding a weathered rock.

Alastair didn't speak, but simply stared silently at Lucas.

The silence carried a weight, making the air on the lawn seem to stagnate in the early morning. This atmosphere made Lucas somewhat uneasy, but he was more concerned about something else.

"Ellie," Lucas pressed, "what's wrong? You look so listless."

Ellie's body trembled. She looked up at her father's tense profile, then quickly lowered her head again, her voice filled with sadness: "N-nothing..."