Hagrid, who has giant blood, eats rock cakes like they're biscuits.
Chen Yu, with his Carnivore passive skill strengthening his teeth, didn't find rock cakes hard to chew, but they felt dry and difficult to swallow.
Hermione, Ron, and Harry stared at Chen Yu with resentful little eyes, unsure whether to eat or not eat the rock cakes in their hands.
Eating them was hard on their teeth, but not eating them would be disrespectful to Hagrid.
They could only pretend to take a few bites of the rock cakes.
It was all just for grinding their teeth.
Seeing his companions tormented by the rock cakes, Chen Yu asked Hagrid for a large pot, stating he would demonstrate his culinary skills to make the rock cakes more delicious.
After simmering a pot of meat broth with the rock-hard frozen ham Hagrid brought, he put the rock cakes into the pot to cook.
Think of it as meat-soaked flatbread.
The rock cakes became palatable after fully absorbing the savory flavors from the broth.
The rich aroma of the meat combined with the soft and chewy texture of the rock cakes after being soaked; with just a little salt as seasoning, it was countless times more delicious than gnawing on dry rock cakes.
It's a pity he didn't sneak some chili peppers from the kitchen; if he had sprinkled on some chopped green onions, cilantro, and drizzled chili oil into the soup, the savory aroma could have been elevated another notch.
But just having meat-soaked flatbread was too meager, so Chen Yu took out several bottles of butterbeer and some leftover snacks from his Serenitea Pot and placed them on the wooden table to share with everyone.
"Chen Yu, aren't you an orphan? First hotpot, then lamb skewers, and now this delicious meat-soaked flatbread—how do you know so many delicious recipes?"
Ron, while drinking the broth from his wooden bowl and chewing a chocolate frog, posed a soul-searching question to Chen Yu.
Chen Yu looked at Ron's sweet-and-savory eating style and fell into deep thought.
He couldn't exactly tell his three companions the truth: that he was from another world and could only transmigrate to this one by wearing a gaming helmet, could he?
Looking at their curious eyes, Chen Yu concocted another lie: "Do you know about bloodline magic? It's an ancient magic; if an ancestor was a very powerful wizard, he might be able to pass on abilities through his bloodline to his descendants."
Hermione's eyes lit up, and she replied, "I read about it in a book on wizarding bloodlines. The book speculates that Professor Dumbledore's family ancestors might have signed some kind of contract with a phoenix, which was then passed down through the bloodline. That's why the wizarding world has the rumor, 'When the Dumbledore family is in need, a phoenix will appear.'"
"Also, Salazar Slytherin, the founder of Slytherin, was one of the earliest documented Parselmouths. Rumor has it that his descendants have a certain chance of inheriting the Parseltongue talent."
Harry, looking confused, asked Hermione, "What is Parseltongue?"
"It's being able to understand what snakes say, talk to them, and even make them obey commands."
"The book says it's a very rare ability, usually only inherited genetically, and the author believes that wizards who can speak Parseltongue generally become Dark Wizards."
Harry was stunned by Hermione's words. He remembered talking to a snake at the zoo before coming to Hogwarts.
He had also made the glass in front of Dudley disappear, causing Dudley to fall into the enclosure.
Could he be a Parselmouth?
Harry felt a little doubtful about his life; Parseltongue was associated with Dark Wizards, so how could he be a Dark Wizard?
Hermione must be mistaken, or the book's information was outdated.
Professor Snape always said in Potion Class that everything in his class took precedence; if it differed from the textbook, then the textbook was outdated.
Harry nervously picked up his wooden bowl, blocking his companions' view. He didn't want them to know he had once spoken to a snake, nor did he want anyone to know he might be associated with Dark Wizards. He quickly changed the subject and said to Chen Yu, "So what does this have to do with the bloodline magic you mentioned?"
Chen Yu pointed to his head and said, "When I experienced the magical outburst, many pieces of information flashed in my mind. Not just information about Eastern delicacies. I think one of my great ancestors must have passed down some secret knowledge through bloodline magic, which is why I know so many recipes for Eastern delicacies."
"But why food?" Ron scratched his head, puzzled. "Wouldn't it be better to inherit something else?"
"Of course there's other stuff. What do you think my magical items are for?"
Chen Yu again pointed to his brain and said, "Deep in my consciousness, there's a mysterious space connected to it. This space contains countless spell knowledge and magical items, but these things all require passing a certain mental trial to obtain."
"Otherwise, how do you think I suddenly pull out other magical items at school? I don't have owls delivering packages, and I don't have any wizard friends outside I know."
Hagrid, listening to Chen Yu and Ron's conversation, stroked his big beard and sighed, "Professor Dumbledore told me that Eastern wizarding culture is completely different from ours. I heard they place great importance on the inheritance of wizards, so it's not surprising that they could develop such amazing magic."
He then warned his companions, "Don't speak of this. Chen Yu is telling you because he considers you friends. If this gets out, it will cause him a lot of trouble."
As soon as Hagrid finished speaking, Ron began to envy, "Magic and knowledge that can be inherited? Why didn't any great ancestor in our family pass down the curriculum knowledge for all seven years of Hogwarts through bloodline? Then I wouldn't have to worry about homework every day!"
Hearing Ron's unreliable remark, Hermione rolled her eyes at him, indicating that Ron was dreaming.
After finishing the meat-soaked flatbread and snacks, each person took a bottle of butterbeer and gathered around the brazier to chat.
The firelight illuminated their faces, and they soon talked about Harry's flying broom losing control during the Quidditch match.
"It was Professor Snape!" Ron said with certainty. "I even saw it through the telescope! Professor Snape kept staring at Harry and muttering. What else could it be but putting a spell on Harry?"
Hagrid clearly didn't believe Ron and countered, saying he didn't think Professor Snape would do such a thing.
Hermione continued Ron's story, "While everyone was watching Harry, I secretly snuck to Professor Snape's seat and used a little trick to interrupt his chanting. Immediately, Harry's flying broom was fine."
"Merlin's beard!" Hagrid looked at Hermione and said in surprise, "You were the one who set Professor Snape on fire? He must have been furious."
"Hermione, you're so brave, truly a Gryffindor student. All right, I won't tell him."
"But you must be mistaken. Professor Dumbledore trusts Professor Snape very much. It definitely wasn't Professor Snape! He wouldn't harm Harry! I guarantee it!"
Seeing Hagrid's disbelief, Harry began to recount how Professor Snape wanted to steal the mysterious item under the trapdoor guarded by the three-headed dog. He told Hagrid everything he had seen and guessed, hoping to change Hagrid's mind.
"Impossible, absolutely impossible!" Hagrid continued to shake his head, not disbelieving Harry's words, but feeling there must be a misunderstanding. "You simply don't understand, Professor Snape is a Hogwarts professor; he would never steal that thing."
"What thing?"
Harry quickly asked.
"It's—!" Hagrid grew agitated and replied gruffly, "Don't ask! It's a school secret, not something you should be concerned about!"
"Then why did Professor Snape try to kill Harry! Falling from such a height, Harry would surely have died!" Hermione asked loudly.
What happened today made Hermione directly believe that Professor Snape was a bad person who wanted to kill Harry.
Hagrid, not good with words, became even more agitated by Hermione's question. He yelled at Hermione, his voice deafening.
"I'm telling you, you're wrong! He would harm anyone but Harry! He has his own reasons!"
After shouting, Hagrid looked down at the Little Wizards trembling from his outburst.
Hagrid's eyes showed guilt: "I'm sorry, my voice was a bit loud just now. Listen to me, you are meddling in something very dangerous. You should forget about Fluffy, forget about what it's guarding. This concerns the agreement between Professor Dumbledore and Nicolas Flamel..."
"Nicolas Flamel?"
Harry's eyes lit up.
Hagrid angrily slapped himself, furious with himself.
He had accidentally leaked such important information to Harry.
Chen Yu took a sip of the sweet butterbeer, considering whether to tell Harry about Nicolas Flamel.
Anyway, it wouldn't have much of an impact.