After Madam Hooch returned, flying lessons still had to continue.
Without Harry, Malfoy’s arrogance grew even more.
He showed off various flying stunts to Gryffindor.
But Madam Hooch wouldn't tolerate Malfoy; she informed him that if he performed any more dangerous maneuvers during her flying lesson, she would speak with the Head of Slytherin, suspend his flying lessons for a semester, and revoke his future possibility of joining the Quidditch team.
Hearing Madam Hooch's punishment for Malfoy, Chen Yu also gave up the idea of trying to stand on his broom and fly it during flying lessons.
Chen Yu wasn't very interested in Quidditch, but being suspended from flying lessons for a semester would be a bit difficult.
On the Gryffindor side, with Neville as a clear example, everyone was much more careful when flying.
No one flew more than two meters high, so even if they accidentally fell onto the grass, they would be fine.
No one wanted to fall from a high altitude and become a laughingstock for the Slytherin students.
After dinner, in the Gryffindor common room, Chen Yu saw Harry and Neville.
Harry told his friends that he hadn't been punished by Professor McGonagall; instead, he had joined the Gryffindor Quidditch team as a Seeker, and Professor McGonagall had even called Gryffindor Quidditch Captain Oliver Wood out of class specifically to meet him.
“Impossible!” Ron exclaimed, disbelieving, after hearing Harry. “You can only apply to join the House Quidditch team in your second year! If you really joined the Gryffindor Quidditch team as a Seeker, you must be the youngest player on the team in many years.”
Harry smiled and replied, “Wood told me I’m the youngest player to join a House Quidditch team in a century.”
Clearly, Harry was very happy that he could join the Gryffindor Quidditch team.
“Merlin’s beard, that’s so cool!” Ron said to Harry, his face full of longing and envy. “I really want Malfoy to know this, to deflate his arrogant attitude. You don’t know how incredibly arrogant Malfoy was in flying class after Professor McGonagall took you away!”
Harry quickly stopped Ron: “Please don’t tell anyone, especially Malfoy. Wood wants to keep it a secret!”
“Is the Quidditch team still short of people? I mean, like Beaters or Keepers? I think my flying skills are pretty good too.”
Ron looked at Harry expectantly, hoping to hear some good news from him.
“Ron, don’t make it difficult for Harry. If it weren’t for Professor McGonagall’s special permission, Wood wouldn’t have made an exception…”
Chen Yu patted Ron’s head, telling him not to dream of impossible things, then took a pie from his backpack and tossed it to Harry.
Harry took the pie and took a big bite: “Thanks! I was a bit busy this afternoon; Wood kept explaining Quidditch knowledge to me. By the time I got back to the Great Hall, dinner was already over. I’m starving now.”
“There are always House-elves on duty in the Great Hall, you just can’t see them. They usually work while invisible. Next time you miss dinner, you can speak to those moving rags or brooms,” Chen Yu said, sitting on the sofa, pulling out a spell book, and reading as he spoke. “You can also go to the Hogwarts kitchens; with your fame, those House-elves would be happy to prepare dinner for you.”
At this moment, Neville also walked in, his face dejected as he took the Remembrall Ron handed him. He said to everyone, “Thank goodness, I thought the Remembrall Grandma gave me was lost again!”
Chen Yu cleared his throat and said, “To celebrate the birth of Hogwarts’ youngest Seeker in a century, how about we go to the kitchen for a feast?”
“A feast?”
Harry, Ron, and Neville were full of questions.
“It means to eat a big meal,” Chen Yu explained. “The ingredients I asked the House-elves in the kitchen to prepare are mostly ready these past two days. I originally planned to have hotpot today to taste it, but after careful consideration, hotpot is really only fun when many people eat it together.”
“Hotpot?”
Ron heard this term for the first time and scratched his head. He only cared about one thing: “Is it delicious?”
“So delicious you’ll swallow your tongue!”
“Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go quickly before curfew!”
Ron immediately stood up, trying to pull Chen Yu up as well.
“It’s so late, where are you all going?”
A familiar female voice came from behind; it was Miss Hermione.
“Better late than never. To celebrate Harry becoming a Seeker, Hermione, we’re going to eat hotpot. Do you want to come?”
Chen Yu gentleman extended an invitation to Hermione.
“Hotpot?” Hearing the word hotpot, Hermione’s eyes lit up, and she even ignored the news of Harry becoming a Seeker. She quickly said, “’Hotpot’ from oriental cuisine? My parents and I once ate hotpot in London’s Chinatown, and the taste was wonderful. My mother tried to replicate that deliciousness with a recipe after we got home, but she never succeeded…”
“So, are you coming?”
“Of course!”
Seeing Hermione agree, Chen Yu turned to Ron and said, “Ron, go call Seamus. This is a dormitory gathering, ask him if he wants to come.”
Then he said to everyone, “We need cauldrons. Who among you can contribute a cauldron?”
After Ron called Seamus, Harry, Ron, Neville, Seamus, and the others, each clutching their cauldrons under their arms, marched grandly towards the Hogwarts kitchens.
When they arrived at the kitchen.
Chen Yu and the others reached the entrance of the Hogwarts Great Hall, found a painting of a bowl of fruit, and gently tickled one of the pears in the painting. It immediately transformed into a green doorknob.
Pulling the doorknob, they entered the Hogwarts kitchens.
It was their first time entering the Hogwarts kitchens, and Harry and the others were very curious.
The Hogwarts kitchens were also a large room with a high ceiling, very spacious, and seemed to be as large as the Hogwarts Great Hall.
Four long tables were placed directly opposite the door in the kitchen, and many shining copper pots and basins were stacked along the stone walls. At the other end of the room was a large fireplace with a roaring fire.
Over a hundred House-elves were constantly busy throughout the kitchen. They all wore the same uniform: a tea towel printed with the Hogwarts crest, which they wrapped around themselves like robes.
A House-elf suddenly appeared before them, bowed, and with a fawning smile said, “Good evening, Little Wizards, may I help you?”
This House-elf had never seen Harry and the others before and didn't recognize them.
Chen Yu stepped forward and said, “Good evening, is Dora here?”
Seeing Chen Yu, the pixies’ eyes lit up. He immediately vanished from in front of Chen Yu, then reappeared, pulling another pixie—Dora.
“Dora, are all the ingredients I asked you to prepare ready?”
Dora looked at Chen Yu with wide eyes, placing her hand over her heart: “Of course, esteemed Mr. Chen Yu! We will, of course, execute your orders meticulously!”
“Good, bring all the prepared ingredients then!”
“Yes, sir!”
Dora disappeared with another pixie.
Chen Yu gestured for his roommates and Hermione to sit down.
Ron curiously asked, “Hey, Chen Yu, these House-elves seem to respect you a lot.”
Chen Yu had everyone take out their cauldrons, cleaned them with a Cleaning Charm, and told Ron, “I just taught them some oriental specialty dishes. Before I knew it, they became like this.”
Then he said to Harry, “Harry, if they knew your name, they would also show you great respect. During Lord Voldemort’s heyday, many wizards and House-elves were persecuted. After Lord Voldemort disappeared, the difficult situation of the pixies greatly improved, and these House-elves are very grateful to you.”
Harry touched the scar on his forehead and murmured, “Is that so… But I don’t remember…”