The Magical Food God of Hogwarts

Her voice made Finley turn around abruptly, his weathered gray eyes immediately focusing on Lucas.

He practically sprang from his chair and jumped right in front of Lucas.

"grandfather--"

Finley said nothing, but stretched out his rough, trembling hands, grabbed Lucas's shoulders, and turned him around, feeling him up and down and over as if examining a lamb, to check his physical condition.

"Grandpa, I'm fine. I might have had a minor injury, but the Hogwarts professors saved me and completely healed me." Lucas rolled up his sleeves, showing off his growing muscles. "Look, I can kill a wolf with one punch now!"

With a loud smack, Finley smacked him hard on the head, and the old man's roar echoed throughout the bar.

"Bullshit, you idiot!"

"Who do you think you are? You—"

Finley suddenly couldn't say anything, and pulled Lucas into his arms. The old man's chest was hard and smelled of hay from the sheepfold. His body trembled, and a drop of hot water fell onto Lucas's neck.

Lucas could only reach out his hands and gently pat the old man's broad back.

"I'm alright, Grandpa," Lucas said softly. "I'm back safe and sound, not a hair out of my head."

A full minute passed. Finley shoved Lucas away abruptly, turned around quickly, wiped his face vigorously with the back of his rough hand, and when he turned back, he had reverted to his stubborn and irritable state.

He pulled Lucas towards the door, saying, "Come on, let's go home."

"Mr. McGregor—"

Finley ignored Professor Sprout's calls, but he suddenly stopped because his hand did not pull, and Lucas stopped in his tracks.

Finley slowly turned around, his lips pressed tightly together. He stared intently at Lucas, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down.

"You almost died!" Finley yelled. "Isn't that enough? I won't allow you to take any more risks like this. This world is too dangerous. We're going home right now!"

He glared fiercely at Professor Sprout, whose face was full of tension, and then glanced at Dumbledore, who maintained a constant smile.

"This is all your doing! In just one day! You sent him to fight some dragon or some giant monster!"

“No, Grandpa!” Lucas said immediately. “The dragon came to us of its own accord. Professor Sprout saved us and our flock, didn’t he? And then, I tried to save people myself, which is why I was carried onto the dragon’s back and fell into the Forbidden Forest. In fact, if it weren’t for the Hogwarts professors saving me, I would be dead.”

Upon hearing the word "death," Finley trembled.

"Grandpa, don't you understand? I was born a wizard. And the magical world is hidden all around us. Even if we do nothing, we might get involved one day. Today there's a black dragon falling from the sky, who knows what will happen tomorrow? Maybe a griffin?"

No... that's a minuscule event that's unlikely to happen again... Professor Sprout thought to herself, but she didn't speak. She knew that only Lucas himself could persuade Finley.

"Just as we need hunting rifles to fight off wolves, we need magic to fight off these mysterious calamities!" Lucas said firmly. "I'm going to Hogwarts to learn magic, so that I can protect our farm and protect you!"

Finley glared at him: "I've always been the one protecting you. I'm not old enough to need your protection!"

"Alright, Grandpa, but what if another monster falls from the sky next time? How will you protect me then?"

The old man suddenly swayed and staggered back a step. Lucas quickly stepped forward to support him. Finley tried to push him away, but suddenly lost his strength.

I...I'm old...

"The courage and wisdom Lucas displayed in this incident have deeply impressed us. With proper guidance, he will surely become an excellent wizard," Dumbledore said slowly and sincerely. "Please rest assured, Mr. McGregor, Hogwarts will protect the safety of every student, and such an accident will not happen again."

Finley ignored Dumbledore and looked into Lucas's eyes.

"You really have to go, don't you?"

Lucas nodded, his clear, bright hazel eyes brimming with an uncontainable light.

Finley desperately wanted to keep Lucas under his wing, but he knew that the farm, the world of ordinary people, could no longer contain this fledgling eagle.

Finley sighed. The sigh seemed to drain all the strength from his body, and his back suddenly slumped.

He walked to the table, grabbed the long-cold butterbeer, tilted his head back, and drank it all in one gulp.

"Bang." The cup was slammed heavily onto the table.

Finley turned to look at Dumbledore and Professor Sprout.

"So, when does school start? How much tuition will you charge?"

......

Although Finley kept insisting he was in good health, considering the old man's age, it would be difficult for him to withstand the pulling and stretching of Apparition. Hogwarts sent a carriage to take them, which stopped in the alley behind the tavern.

The carriage was an old-fashioned four-wheeled carriage, full of Victorian style, its black paint gleaming faintly in the dim light. But it wasn't pulled by horses.

At first glance, Lucas seemed to see an empty carriage shaft in front of the carriage, floating in mid-air above the ground. But when he focused his attention, he suddenly saw the air in front of the carriage shaft distort, revealing two skeletal silhouettes.

They have dragon-like heads, with white light shimmering in their empty eye sockets, and huge, bat-like fleshy wings folded behind them like tattered black cloaks.

Finley had clearly seen this too; he stopped abruptly and grabbed Lucas.

Professor Sprout was taken aback: "You can see it? It's not surprising that Mr. McGregor can see it. But how come Lucas..."

"Professor, what is that?" Lucas couldn't help but ask. He could feel a strange, cold, and silent aura emanating from the two monsters' bodies.

"Oh, they are Thestrals. Don't let their appearance fool you; they are actually very gentle and intelligent magical creatures," Professor Sprout said carefully. "Don't worry, get in the carriage; they will take us home safely."

She stood beside the Thestrals, trying to block their menacing heads.

However, the two Thestrals suddenly snorted, turned their heads, and aimed their empty eye sockets at Lucas, flashing white lights.

Finley gripped Lucas's arm tightly, but Lucas stared at them. He had a gut feeling that the Thestrals wouldn't harm him.

Then, to Professor Sprout's astonishment, the two Thestrals lowered their heads slightly and extended them toward Lucas.

"Oh, Merlin!" she exclaimed in surprise. "Although I'm not that knowledgeable about magical creatures, they want you to touch them!"

Lucas involuntarily reached out and touched the Thestral's cold, rough skin.

In that instant, a sense of peace and tranquility filled my heart—a serenity born of experience and a calm acceptance of hardship. Time seemed to stretch on for a long time, yet it also felt like a fleeting moment.

The two Thestrals shook their heads and returned to the front of the chariot.

Lucas paused for a moment, then pulled his grandfather forward and climbed into the carriage, followed by Professor Sprout.

The moment the carriage door closed, the carriage shuddered slightly, accompanied by a slight feeling of weightlessness, and the carriage lifted into the air.