"I don't like Slytherin either. He wanted to use me to hold those stinky potions."
"I prefer Ravenclaw. She always praised my beauty whenever she used me to pour tea."
"Of course, my favourite is Hufflepuff. She created me and gave me a lovely name, Potty."
The teapot was so talkative that even the table couldn't stand it anymore.
"Shut up, Teapot!"
"You should shut up! Call me Potty!"
Never had there been something so absurd as a teapot arguing with a table.
The two girls were at a loss.
John said, "This place was left behind by Hufflepuff. I think some mechanism was triggered and brought them to life."
"I don't know. It never happened before when I came here," Hannah said hurriedly, shaking her head.
The cupboard was still furious.
"Cooks, hurry up!"
With John present, Daphne no longer panicked and asked, "What should we do?"
"Do as they say." John shrugged. "I'm a little hungry anyway. Hopefully, there'll be something filling."
"Of course there will be. This is the greatest kitchen." The teapot never missed an opportunity to praise the kitchen.
"As long as you name the ingredients, they'll appear here," the teapot said to the two girls. "You'd better hurry. Big Cupboard has a bad temper. Whenever it's angry, it likes smashing things."
"Let's cook, Hannah." Daphne knew that listening to John was always the right choice.
Pulling along the pale-faced Hannah, the two girls went to the cooking area.
"Aprons!"
Like a strict head chef, Big Cupboard roared, "Put on your aprons, cooks!"
The two hurriedly put on the aprons placed there.
"Keep everything clean!" Big Cupboard continued to nag. "Every ingredient must be clean, and your hands must be clean too."
Hannah felt like crying. Her nerves were not particularly strong.
Having such a strict head chef watching and scolding them from behind made her flustered.
"What should we make?" Daphne whispered.
Hannah's mind went blank, and she stammered without being able to answer.
Daphne became anxious as well.
Subconsciously, she turned to look for John. Seeing this, John thought for a moment.
"Quick, simple, filling."
He was lowering the difficulty for Daphne.
After thinking for a while, Daphne fixed her eyes on the potatoes and had an idea.
She brought over the potatoes and said to Hannah, "Let's peel them and make mashed potatoes."
Hannah had originally intended to teach Daphne, but somehow she ended up being the one taught instead.
The two picked up small knives and began peeling the potatoes, causing John to shake his head helplessly.
They're witches. They could just use magic.
Watching a large chunk of potato being cut away along with the peel, John could hardly bear to look.
"This isn't the Chamber."
His system had given no notification, which meant this was not Hufflepuff's Chamber either.
However, the Chamber should be somewhere inside.
And his arrival had triggered some mechanism that brought these objects to life.
"What are the conditions for entering the Chamber?" John looked around.
Ravenclaw's Chamber had been hidden behind a painting, but there were no paintings here.
His fingers brushed across the words carved into the table, causing the long table to burst into laughter.
"Forgive me, honoured guest, but that tickles terribly."
The table laughed so hard that it shook the teapot and cups.
"Potty, why do you call me an honoured guest?" John asked.
Potty answered respectfully, "I can sense the aura of the four founders upon you."
"Oh?"
John thought of the things he carried with him, as well as the fact that he had been studying Ravenclaw's book not long ago.
It was probably because he had come into contact with relics of the four founders, leaving their aura on him.
"Do many people come here?"
John glanced at the two girls, who were busy fumbling about.
Wait.
What was Daphne adding to the steamed potatoes?
Was that... durian?
No! What are you planning to do with that piece of ginger?
A bead of cold sweat formed on John's forehead.
After thinking for a moment, Potty said, "Sometimes a young wizard comes in, but they only come looking for something to eat."
"The most recent one was quite good. She fills her cooking with love."
Potty cleared its spout and said in a solemn tone,
"Hufflepuff once said that the secret to delicious food lies in infusing it with emotion."
"The anger of fried fish, the gentleness of bread-making, the warmth of stew, the innocence of apple pie. Each one requires a different kind of extraordinary magic infused with care."
"This theory wasn't passed down," John said in surprise. "Hufflepuff must have encountered something."
"Indeed. She was the greatest witch," Potty said, pleased by John's respect for Hufflepuff. "After Slytherin left, she could never create such delicious food again."
"She cooked for her friends, and after Slytherin's departure, they rarely came to this place."
"Hogwarts gained a new kitchen, and no one ever came here to eat again."
At this point, Potty's spout drooped, and all the objects were saddened.
Potty's favourite sight had always been the four founders happily talking together about the future.
Even though Gryffindor was careless and Slytherin sometimes brought potions that ruined the flavour.
That kitchen, filled with emotion, had been the greatest.
Even after arguments, they would still sit down together and enjoy a delicious cod dinner.
"Once they were gone, we lost our purpose as well," Potty said.
"New witches and wizards will discover you in the future," John said as the food was being served. "Just like the four founders once did, they'll bring their friends to this magical place."
"You're right!" Potty's spout curled upward happily.
Just then, an aroma drifted over.
John sighed.
"John, this dish is called Thunder Blast!"
Looking at the bits of ginger stuck to Daphne's face where she had accidentally touched it, John only wanted to know who had invented such a thing.
Mashed potatoes mixed with mashed ginger, with some durian added for extra thickness, all topped with what appeared to be ketchup.
John wanted to say something, but stopped himself.
Even Hannah stared suspiciously at the dish called "Thunder Blast." One bite of that, and you'd be clearing mines in your mouth.
"No, why are you using me to hold that? Take it away, I can't stand it anymore!"
The plate let out a mournful cry.
John picked up a spoon and scooped up a mouthful.
Potty screamed, "You're not actually going to eat that, are you?"
John tapped the table with his finger and said calmly, "Filling your stomach is life's greatest joy."
The table burst into laughter.
"Stop touching me, that tickles too much."
John put the dish known as "Thunder Blast" into his mouth, and his eyes widened.
He could feel magic flowing through his body. The magic contained in this bite was no weaker than the previous dish.
He looked up at Daphne, whose face still had mashed ginger on it. The emotions she had poured into the dish had transformed into magic.
A second bite.
John continued stuffing Thunder Blast into his mouth. Apart from the strange lumps and sticky texture, the dish did have its strengths.
For example, the ketchup was genuine ketchup.
Yes, those were all its strengths.
Soon, the entire plate had been wiped clean. John calmly wiped his mouth with a handkerchief.
At that moment, he noticed that one of the strange locks on the back of Big Cupboard, the irritable head chef, had opened.
There were four locks on Big Cupboard in total.
Now, only three remained.
John stared at it for a moment before saying to Daphne, "I hope there are more dishes."
Daphne froze for a moment, then her face lit up with delight.
"You like it?"
"Er... I just want to eat more," John replied. Unable to lie, he could only come up with a more tactful reason.
After all, he had no sense of taste.
But Daphne was overjoyed and jumped up and down while hugging Hannah.
The irritable head chef, Big Cupboard, flew into a rage and hurled two bowls out.
"The honoured guest is ordering more dishes! Get moving!"
Dodging the tableware Big Cupboard was throwing, the two girls ran back to the cooking area.
Finishing Thunder Blast had given Daphne tremendous confidence.
Like a seasoned chef, she began directing Hannah to prepare various ingredients.
And Hannah diligently followed along.
They seemed to have forgotten who was supposed to be teaching whom tonight.
Potty looked at John with admiration and said, "You actually finished it."
"It's no big deal." John shrugged.
His gaze remained fixed on Big Cupboard's back.
There were four locks there. He wondered what would happen once all of them had been opened.
Potty was completely awestruck by John. It fawningly poured more hot tea into his empty cup.
The other utensils in the kitchen clattered and banged together, performing a musical accompaniment.
Soon, the second dish arrived.
It was a serving of Typhoon Shelter Fried Noodles.
Yes, there was an actual breeze.
John stared thoughtfully at the strands of noodles floating in the air above the plate.
Why did cooking come with special effects?
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