Chapter 40: The Art of Silence in Dark Cuisine
Hagrid set down the wood, dusted off his hands, and glanced at the girl. "This is Hermione?"
"Yeah, she's the one I told you about. We were classmates back in the Muggle world, and now we're classmates here too. Small world."
Hermione introduced herself. "Hermione Granger, first-year Gryffindor."
"Same House as Harry, then?" Hagrid reached out to shake her hand, looking surprised.
"Yes, same House."
Hagrid laughed. "What a coincidence. Next time I invite Harry over, I'll have him bring you along. I really like you, Gryffindor lions."
"You've come to see Little Black again today? Don't worry, he's doing just fine with me." Hagrid pushed open the wooden door, hung his leather jacket on the wall, and walked toward the fireplace that never went out.
"It's roasting in here!" Hermione exclaimed as she entered.
"It's this little guy. I have to keep the fire stoked constantly." Hagrid held up a black salamander on his finger for Hermione to see.
"This is the mutated salamander you mentioned? The one Professor Kettleburn showed us? It's changed so much!" Hermione glanced at Ethan, who nodded.
"Hagrid, has it gotten bigger? It looks bigger than yesterday." Ethan looked at the little black salamander lying lazily in Hagrid's hand, wondering if he was seeing things.
"Has it? I hadn't noticed. This little guy's quite greedy. I have to go to the Forbidden Forest to chop wood morning and evening, or else my whole stockpile will be gone in no time."
"The portable fire bottle I promised you will take about another week. I plan to let it stabilize for a few more days before going to Hogsmeade." To Hagrid, Little Black was still the tiny creature no bigger than his finger. Whether it had grown a few millimeters, he said he couldn't tell at all.
"I'm not in a hurry. I'm happy to leave Little Black in your care."
At Hermione's prompting, Ethan finally explained why he'd come.
"I came here today to practice magic with Hermione near your cottage. We'll probably come every Sunday morning when the weather's nice, and we might stop by to rest for a while. I wanted to check with you first so we wouldn't be imposing."
"Ha ha ha! Of course, I'd love for you to visit!" Hagrid's laughter nearly shook the roof. "It would be even better if you came to chat every week."
Hermione beamed. "That's great! We'll try to come every week."
"Please, sit down. I'll get you something to eat. Would you like some tea?"
"Not right now, Hagrid. Let's go practice first, and come back for tea when we're tired. This is from the Great Hall; eat it while it's hot." Ethan wasn't sure what Hermione thought of those rock-hard Rock Cakes that could double as weapons, so he declined quickly.
"Alright, I'll bring you some later. They're the fresh Rock Cakes I made yesterday," Hagrid said with a hint of regret, while Ethan felt like he'd dodged a bullet.
Ethan, who had initially thought it was an old acquaintance, was startled and seriously considered whether he should make a quick getaway after finishing his practice.
But knowing he would have to return here to practice again, he could only drag his feet with a sorrowful expression, leading the bewildered Hermione to the open space next to the cabin.
"What's wrong? Why the sudden change in expression?" Hermione was puzzled by his drastic shift after such an ordinary remark.
"Have you tried those Rock Cakes?" He didn't answer her question, but asked her instead.
"I would have forgotten all about it if you hadn't mentioned it. Where did you get that? It's hardly food!" Hermione complained.
"It was a dessert Hagrid gave me as a treat. You can only eat it after dipping it in water. Before I figured that out, I didn't dare take more than a bite for fear of breaking my teeth."
"Now Hagrid has a new creation, Hermione: Rock Cakes. Have you heard of them?"
He looked at the girl with despair.
Hermione imagined the scene and fell silent, her face showing the same distress as Ethan's.
The practice began in this silence.
However, the silence induced by Hagrid's dark cuisine ended after about fifteen minutes.
Ethan discovered that a wizard's mood does indeed affect spellcasting effectiveness. During the first fifteen minutes of practice, his gloomy mood made even familiar spells weaker than usual.
Hermione quickly noticed this as well. After exchanging glances, the two of them decided to think of something cheerful to lift their spirits.
Ethan, who quickly came up with a solution, breathed a sigh of relief and composed himself.
He offered Hermione a solution as well: "Don't worry, even if it tastes terrible, it's still food, isn't it? If you really can't eat it, just take it with you. I don't think Hagrid will mind if we have small appetites and can't eat much, right?"
"Won't this hurt Hagrid's feelings?" Hermione worried that they were being inconsiderate.
"You have to choose between something that might hurt Hagrid's feelings and something that will definitely hurt our taste buds," Ethan said, presenting the two options.
Hermione ultimately chose the option that was most favorable to her: "Well, let's try not to hurt his feelings."
Ethan chuckled. "As much as possible. Tsk, tsk."
"I'm ignoring you!" Hermione blushed when her little scheme was exposed, turned around, and practiced with her back to him.
Ethan didn't want to really annoy her, so he stopped teasing her and silently began his training.
He was currently practicing the basic spells from his textbooks, along with common low-level spells he'd gathered from the library and books he'd bought himself. The only advanced spell he'd learned recently was the Impervius Charm, sometimes called the Flame-Freezing Charm.
After working through all the commonly used spells, he planned to tap into his fire magic talent to attempt a fire spell he hadn't yet mastered: Incendio Tria.
This was a fire-based Dark Magic spell recorded in Advanced Spellbook.
He'd previously told Mrs. Pince that he didn't know about other fire spells, but he was actually hiding something.
He knew a thing or two about fire magic, but he had no idea which spells his talent might cause him to accidentally unleash.
The spell was considered advanced dark magic. He'd attempted it countless times without success.
But with his fire talent and his growing confidence, he believed he could master it through practice.
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