The days at Hogwarts

"Perfect for an open-air barbecue." Loren rolled up his sleeves and picked up his wand.

First, he used Transfiguration to prop up the barbecue rack and fixed the marinated lamb on the grill. Loren held the handle next to him and turned it a few times. The linked rack drove the lamb to rotate on the grill effortlessly.

Loren clapped his hands in satisfaction, "Full marks for Transfiguration, and full marks for Mechanical Design as well."

After igniting the charcoal under the grill, Loren waited for a while, waiting for the lamb to heat up for a while before starting to brush it with oil while turning it.

The tedious and monotonous work lasted less than 5 minutes, and then Loren waved his magic wand, directing the brush to apply oil and the mutton to turn by itself. The surface of the mutton gradually turned golden yellow, exuding a charming meaty aroma.

Loren frowned, "So what's the use of this grill? Why don't I just use a levitation spell to make the lamb fly by itself?"

With a series of sighs of "bad idea, bad idea", the sun gradually set in the west, and the golden afterglow sprinkled on the golden skin of the mutton. The fat of the mutton itself melted under the scorching flames, and the taste of the marinade gradually penetrated into the mutton, and the tempting aroma gradually became stronger.

Bates, who was standing by the side, swallowed his saliva continuously. "It's almost done. I think it's time to eat."

Loren cut off a piece of the roast with his knife and handed it over.

Bates ignored the scalding temperature and swallowed it down in two or three mouthfuls, then waited eagerly for the next piece.

Without any compliments, Loren felt a little like Hermione, who was always generous in praising the food, and such diners were most welcomed by the chef.

"It's almost done once I sprinkle the seasoning on it," he said.

Looking at the flames rising in front of him, Loren couldn't help but wonder if Hermione would like the ice cream he ate during the day, or if she would like his barbecue...

Chapter 140 An unexpected encounter

"Go next door and call Hermione and the others. The delicious food can't wait too long." After tasting a piece, Bates couldn't wait any longer. He squeezed Loren's seat and grabbed the seasoning to sprinkle on the barbecue.

Loren stared at Bates with wide eyes, "Next door, Hermione?"

"Haven't you noticed? Our new home is right next to the Grangers'. We are neighbors." Bates turned his back to Loren and smiled triumphantly.

"I arrived in London a day in advance and it took me some time to buy this house. I asked Mr. and Mrs. Granger about the things to pay attention to when moving in. I already had property insurance, which saved me a lot of money..."

Loren didn't hear Bates's mumbling at all. He ran out without looking back with strange joy.

Bates turned around and saw only Loren's back. He grinned and cursed, "You little bastard."

At the Granger house next door.

There were brisk, rhythmic footsteps, followed by the sound of a key being inserted into the door lock, the sound of the lock cylinder turning, and the door opened.

Hermione, who was sitting on the sofa, regained her spirit in her eyes and walked over quickly:

"Mom and Dad, you're back!"

Seeing their empty hands, Hermione was a little confused. Usually, they would buy dinner and prepare dishes for tomorrow when they returned home.

"Shall we go out for dinner tonight?" Hermione asked.

Wendell and Monica smiled at each other, "No, the Bates bought a house next door to us, we're going to their house tonight to celebrate."

"Us, next door?" Hermione's eyes and mouth opened wide.

"Yeah, didn't Loren tell you that we will be neighbors from now on, the one on the right. Bates is really rich..." Wendell was still chattering.

Hermione opened the door and ran towards the house next door.

The evening breeze swept across the little girl's face, blowing up her long brown hair. Her tiny figure danced in the glow of the setting sun, just like a shining heart.

Loren was also running in the direction of Hermione's house, his eyes full of joy.

Hermione could see the thin layer of sweat on Loren's forehead, and the same smile on his face as hers. It was that smile that filled both of their hearts.

The two figures running fast stopped when they were about to collide. They stared into each other's eyes, refusing to move away, with an uncontrollable smile on their lips.

Loren kept panting, met Hermione's gaze, and said with a smile: "My family invites you to come and be our guests."

"Yeah!" Hermione blushed and nodded heavily.

……

The afterglow of the setting sun faded into the deep blue night. In the backyard of a villa in Hampstead Gardens on the outskirts of the city, a group of people gathered around a charcoal fire, trying their best to deal with a large plate of roast lamb in front of them.

The mutton skin is roasted to a crispy aroma, and the fat and sauce form a brown crispy crust, which is covered with powder of spices such as cumin and cardamom. Onions, carrots, and potatoes are dotted on the side, with an attractive oil color.

Loren was careful when dividing the meat, and gave four of the eight ribs to Hermione. He put his and Hermione's two plates together, cut them into slices, and poked a piece of tenderloin with a knife and put it to Hermione's mouth.

The aroma of spices, meat and fat made her mouth salivate. Hermione took a bite and chewed it, her eyes sparkling.

The tenderloin with clear texture falls apart in your mouth, and the wonderful gravy and meaty aroma fill your entire mouth, with the salty and fresh taste of cumin and sauce.

"Hmm!" Hermione nodded as she ate, and praised after swallowing the meat, "Delicious, tender and juicy, with a great blend of spices and flavors."

That's it, this is what a good gourmet is like. Loren felt infinite satisfaction in his heart.

At first, Wendell tried to imitate Loren in cutting the meat with a knife and tasting it piece by piece. But he was soon led astray by Bates and started to hold the lamb leg and tear it with his teeth, chewing it and swallowing it in big mouthfuls.

Monica reminded him, "Eating like that is bad for your gums."

Wendell paused while chewing the mutton, then said seriously, "Protecting teeth is for better eating. Now, it's time for them to come into play."

After saying that, he concentrated on the lamb leg in his hand, eating until his mouth was full of oil.

Monica looked at the seasoning powder and oil on his lips, then looked at Bates who was also chewing the lamb leg, his beard was clean. She sighed and cut the lamb with a knife to taste it in small bites.

Wendell satisfied his hungry stomach and slowed down his eating. He exclaimed, "We should try roasted lamb next time we go camping. It's delicious."

"You said we should go camping on the water next time. We can't roast lamb on the boat." Monica broke his fantasy.

It’s so hard to choose.

Wendell looked at the roasted lamb in his hand, thought about the fun of fishing, and came to a difficult decision.

"Is camping fun?" Bates on the side couldn't help but ask curiously.

Wendell nodded, "It's fun, being able to get close to nature and enjoy the wild."

"I have a small house on a mountain pasture, and I would like to invite you to visit me if you have the chance."

"Pasture? Are there animals? Isn't the mountain beautiful? Can I touch the clouds with my hands?"

Loren and Hermione stayed in the corner, listening to the adults gossiping, their stomachs full but still wanting to eat more.

Hermione picked up the last piece of tenderloin, felt the pressure on her belly, and put it down with regret: "I can't eat it anymore."

Loren held back his laughter and said, "If you can't eat anymore, eat tomorrow. Your stomach is more important."

Before leaving, Hermione still made some space in her stomach and belly and ate the last piece of meat with difficulty.

……

【

Dear Headmaster Dumbledore:

Hey, it's me, Loren, the top student at Hogwarts that you're proud of.

I hope you have a happy summer vacation, enough to dispel the depression in your life. You know, the Patronus Charm needs enough happy memories to be released. My Patronus still shows no signs of solidifying. Maybe I am still young and don’t have enough happy memories.

Just yesterday, my grandfather Bates finally came back from his long journey, and the Granger family adopted me. While sharing this good news with you, I sincerely invite you to visit my new home, which is next to the Granger family, at 118 Hampstead Gardens in the suburbs of London.

At the same time, there is a piece of news that is not sure whether it is good or bad. My grandfather once met your favorite next Defense Against the Dark Arts professor and spent some time with him. If Lockhart can successfully survive the next school year, "Wandering with Werewolves" may launch a new sequel. Of course, that is not the point. Although I did not notice any discomfort in Grandpa Bates, I still hope that the headmaster can check whether Grandpa Bates has lost his memory.

Say hello to Hagrid for me, and ask him quietly if he can get me the unicorn horn.

Sincerely,

】

Loren stopped writing, waited for the ink to dry, put the letter into a beautifully printed envelope, and handed it to Hanhan who was waiting beside him.

He touched the head of the little spectacled owl and said, "Go quickly, I'll treat you to some white mice when you come back."

"Coo!" The owl spread its wings and disappeared into the vast night.

Chapter 141 Legilimency

"Loren, wake up!"

"Hermione is here to play with you!" Bates's old but powerful voice came from downstairs.

Loren, who had stayed up late writing a letter to Dumbledore, was still asleep and his mind was a mess. He got out of the thin summer quilt he had bought yesterday, opened his eyes with difficulty and glanced at the alarm clock on the table. It was exactly 7:30.

"What the hell is Hermione doing? Even the Grangers should have just gotten up at this time." Loren muttered, closing his eyes and fumbling to change his clothes.

When Lauren came downstairs, Bates was using a small comb to comb her hair, and from time to time she could hear the sound of mousse spray. Hermione sat on the sofa waiting for him.

"Morning, Hermione." Loren yawned and sat down next to Hermione, waiting for his brain to start up.

Hermione pulled out a study schedule from her pocket. "We must hurry up and study. Yesterday, I actually opened the materials I brought back from school for the first time. This is terrible."

According to the previous progress, she should go through these books within a week after returning home, then mark the key points to memorize, and recite them while practicing magic.

Before Loren could respond, Hermione continued, "The plan I made is that we will learn three key spells during the summer vacation: the Freezing Spell, the Expansion Spell, and the Universal Breaking Spell. We talked about this before."

"Wait, wait." Loren's head hurt after hearing these words. "Did you forget that we still have to practice the Patronus Charm and three more memory spells?"

"No, these spells are also included in my schedule." Hermione pointed to the table for him, "Don't worry, study according to my schedule."

Who is the anxious person... Loren looked at the densely packed schedule and felt that he might have low blood sugar since he had just woken up, and his vision was black.

"I'm going out to handle some property transactions." Bates walked out of the cloakroom, with a slicked-back hair and a brand new linen suit. He looked energetic and elegant despite his age.

He didn't talk to Loren, but instead earnestly told Hermione, "Please help me take good care of this boy, keep an eye on him, and don't let him do anything naughty."

Loren couldn't help it and protested, "You're making her sound like my parent."

Bates ignored him and turned to go out. "You can cook for yourself. I put some change in the drawer at the door. Just spend it."

boom!

The door was closed from the outside.

"He's becoming less and less reliable," Loren complained.

"Grandpa Bates is a very interesting man." Hermione said with a smile.

Loren took the opportunity to change the subject, and his brain started up as he put on his slippers and went to wash up.

After a while, Hermione remembered the topic just now, holding the schedule in her hand, and stood at the door of the bathroom and muttered: "It is important to preview the content of next semester. We also need to squeeze out time to review the content of last school year."

"Mmmmm, Mmmmm..." Loren's mouth was filled with orange-flavored toothpaste foam and he couldn't speak clearly.

But Hermione understood, and she retorted, "Summer vacation, you can't stop studying during the summer vacation."

Loren spit out foam, took a mouthful of water and gurgled it in his throat, then spit it out, put the toothbrush and cup neatly in place, and walked past Hermione: "Impossible, it's impossible for me to memorize a big book like you, don't even think about it."

Hermione followed Loren's steps and kept giving advice: "Reciting repeatedly will deepen your memory and make the spells more fluent when you cast them."

"That makes sense, but I won't recite it."

Loren opened the refrigerator door, took out the leftover roast lamb from last night and went to the kitchen, "Did you have breakfast? I'm going to make some pasta."

"No, I've eaten." Hermione shook her head. She chirped like a little swallow beside her. "If you practice spells, you can memorize them quickly. Why don't you try it?"

Loren lit the fire, poured the mutton into the pot to heat it up, and added some water and sauce. The aroma of the meat mixed with spices and fat once again emanated from the roasted meat. The hot steam brought the fragrance, and the dry and hard meat absorbed the soup and became tender. He heated the roasted mutton into a pot of sauce.

A pot of water was boiling on another gas stove. When Loren threw in the pasta, he looked at Hermione, whose speech speed was gradually slowing down, and added one more serving.

Loren used two small wooden sticks to pick up the pasta that had been boiled for 8 minutes and put it into two plates. He poured the lamb and soup on them and stirred them a few times. The pasta was covered with gravy and dyed an attractive color.

Loren put a fork on the smaller portion and handed it to Hermione, who looked on in amazement.

"Go on." Loren said aloud.

Hermione blinked, but couldn't resist the temptation and took the plate of noodles.

Hermione rolled up a small ball of noodles with a fork and put it in her mouth. The gravy, with the taste of spices and sauces, adhered to the noodles. After being refrigerated overnight, the lamb became more flavorful and the aroma more restrained.

Loren picked up a large piece of it with chopsticks, slurped it into his mouth, and ate it very happily. After satisfying his craving, he began to tease Hermione, imitating Hermione's tone and saying, "No, I've eaten it."

Hermione felt a little embarrassed. She knew Loren. The more shy and angry he was, the more excited he became. She cleared her throat and asked another question: "Why do you use this kind of tableware?"

"It's convenient to eat noodles, so I learned it."

"Amazing! Looks like it's hard to control."

……

With the sound of noodles being sucked into her mouth, Hermione was full again. She secretly made up her mind, "Hermione Granger, you can't go on like this."

When Loren came back from washing the dishes, he saw Hermione with a bulging belly and a determined look on her face. He couldn't help but repeat it in a more exaggerated tone: "No need~ I've eaten~"