Chapter 25: Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans
Chapter 25: Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans
Without asking any further questions, Fred looked down at the shopping list.
As a small village, Hogsmeade couldn't compare to Diagon Alley, the commercial center of the British wizarding world, in terms of the number of shops. But even so, it had all the essential stores, such as clothing shops, quill shops, magic equipment stores, a post office, pubs, and tea houses. Of course, the most popular among students was undoubtedly the candy store, which boasted a long list of treats that far exceeded the combined total of all the other categories.
Fred glanced at what the others wanted to buy and asked, "Can he carry all these things?"
"In the Hufflepuff common room, Cedric specifically said—" Theo smiled, "—Don't worry about whether or not I can carry them. There's always the Floating Charm! Other third-year students said they'd help too. They won't let Cedric do all the work by himself."
Michael leaned on the table and sighed weakly, "Oh, why don't we Ravenclaws have such enthusiastic seniors? All they do is give us sideways glances and say, 'Don't worry, you'll get your chance in two years.' Or, 'It's for your own safety!' Not a single one of them offered to bring us some candy! Sigh, another day where I wish I were in Hufflepuff!"
Theo and Ryan exchanged a proud smile.
Hermione and Neville, meanwhile, couldn't help but think of Percy Weasley, the Gryffindor prefect—"As a prefect, you must listen to me!" "Do you want to get points deducted from your house?" "First-years shouldn't be thinking about sneaking out. Filch will check everyone, and he won't let anyone who's not supposed to be there slip through! Of course, I'll help keep an eye on you troublemakers, too."
Or the Weasley twins in their third year—"Of course, no problem! Dungbombs or Puking Pastilles?—Now that's thinking! You'll give Filch a nice surprise! Only fifteen Sickles!—I swear, it's only five Knuts more expensive than in Hogsmeade!"
However, just before they could get their hands on the money, Percy discovered their proxy shopping business, and most importantly, that the majority of the twins' purchases were prank products that would make Filch scream. So, the brothers were chased all around the common room by their older brother.
Although Hermione and Neville were worlds apart in terms of academic performance, they were both, to some extent, "outsiders" in Gryffindor. They swallowed their complaints about the Weasleys but couldn't help feeling envious of the Hufflepuff atmosphere.
"Michael," said Fred with a smile, "Don't be envious of Hufflepuff just yet because they have a senior who's willing to take care of the younger students. When we're in our third year, will you be willing to help buy various candies for the little witches and wizards of Ravenclaw?"
"Are you kidding me?" Michael replied without hesitation, "That's so troublesome! I don't want to spend my hard-earned weekends fulfilling shopping lists!"
"So, as I said," Fred continued in a flat tone, selecting some items that the others hadn't chosen much of so that they could trade later, "We are self-reliant Ravenclaws."
He wondered if Cedric would be startled by the long lists from Theo and Ryan.
...
"Actually, I think you're a lot like Cedric, Fred."
After class that day, Theo stayed back and said to Fred, "Even though we've never really talked about it, the reason our SSC group came together is entirely because of you, Fred. You always selflessly guide us in practicing spells and are willing to share your hard-earned notes. I've never seen another Ravenclaw do that."
Fred was a bit surprised and didn't know how to respond as he looked at Theo.
"Michael and Hermione are so smart, and they hang out with us because of you. As for me, Ryan, and Neville, our grades were initially nothing to boast about, and we were even at the bottom of the class in some subjects. But with your help, we've started to earn some points for our house recently.
Professor Flitwick has praised us several times, and last time in Herbology class, Neville even dared to answer a question, and Professor Sprout awarded him a point."
Theo concluded, "Weed, you may be a Ravenclaw, but you're certainly not self-centered or aloof. You've helped us a lot, and I just wanted to let you know that."
For a long while after Theo left, Weed felt a surge of indescribable emotions within him.
He packed up his things and left the umbrella shed, only to see Miss Claudia strolling amidst the bushes in her portrait, a hint of worry clouding her brow, her demeanor reminiscent of Lin Xixiang from his memory.
As the door to the umbrella shed closed, Weed muttered to himself, "How could it be that we all gathered because of me? That Theo, he didn't forget, did he—that it was he who requested this classroom from Professor Sprout in the first place?"
As always, Miss Claudia remained silent. She never conversed with the students, nor did she visit other portraits like some of the others. She perpetually stayed in this empty lawn, much like a Muggle painting if not for her occasional strolls.
...
As expected, Cedric kept his word. Weed and the others received everything on their lists, and Cedric didn't charge them an extra Knut.
"Oh my, I'm floating!" Hermione exclaimed. The brown-haired girl had only taken a sip of her drink when she slowly began to levitate from the ground. Weed quickly reached out to grab her, preventing her from floating too high and injuring herself.
It took a while for the drink's magic to wear off, and Hermione slowly descended to the ground. She huffed, "They should really put a consumption warning on the packaging!"
"How fun, Hermione!" Michael exclaimed.
Hermione glared at him, her cheeks flushed. "But I'm wearing a skirt!"
Michael fell silent, lowering his head. "Sorry—you're absolutely right."
"Watch this!" Theo shouted. "I'm going to eat this Black Pepper Imp!"
Everyone watched him expectantly.
Theo popped the candy into his mouth and chewed a few times before his expression suddenly changed. The next second, he started spewing fire from his nose!
The group burst into laughter.
Michael grabbed a handful of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans and distributed them to everyone enthusiastically. "Come on, let's try these beans! Let's see who gets the worst flavor!"
He took the lead and popped one into his mouth. "Not bad, it's carrot-flavored."
Ryan ate one and made a bitter face. "Yuck—earwax."
Weed was curious. "How do you know what earwax tastes like?"
Ryan froze, looking at the sky and then the ground, before nonchalantly turning to Theo. "Your turn."
Theo grinned as he ate his bean. "Mmm—it's honeydew melon! Lucky me!"
Hermione also ate one. "Beef-flavored. Not too bad."
Neville, on the other hand, eyed the yellow bean in his hand warily, mumbling, "It's not always going to be me, is it?" With his eyes closed, he swallowed the bean, then stuck out his tongue and started babbling incoherently, "Water, water, water!"
"Did you get sand?" Michael asked curiously, handing him a glass of water.
Neville, his eyes now watery, gulped down the water. "It was super spicy chili pepper."
Everyone turned to Weed.
Weed looked at the beans with disdain. He had never tried this wizarding specialty before because he had heard that Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans even included a vomit flavor—what kind of prank was that from the manufacturer?
However, everyone was waiting for him, and after some mental preparation, Weed finally tossed the bean into his mouth.
"What does it taste like?" his friends asked eagerly.
Weed breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. "It tastes like snow."
(End of Chapter)
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