Chapter 55: Chapter -54 Hagrid's cooking, it's not that bad.
Chapter -54.
"Have a cookie, Harry." When Dudley spotted Harry in the afternoon, he was 'ton ton ton'-ing as he tilted his head back to sip the red tea from the teapot, then casually offered Harry a cookie.
"Thanks!" Harry accepted the treat and started nibbling on it.
Dudley then asked Hermione, "Do you want one, Hermione?"
"I've already eaten," she replied, shaking her head and feigning indifference, although her eyes occasionally wandered to the cookie. She suspected this cookie didn't originate from the Hogwarts kitchen.
"It's pretty good! Did you bake these, Big-D?" After finishing his cookie and feeling a bit unsatisfied, Harry went for another one from Dudley.
"You know I'm not good at baking sweets. These are from a Slytherin upperclassman," Dudley said as he snagged another cookie for himself.
Neither the red tea nor the cookies was made by Pansy; she had enlisted some talented seniors to prepare snacks for Dudley.
Though Dudley spoke without much thought, Hermione was intrigued. "Dudley, do you really enjoy cookies?"
"Not really. I just like to munch on something when I'm bored." After finishing the last cookie, Dudley smiled contentedly as he heard the system prompt for experience +2.
Hogwarts doesn't serve baguettes, or at least, the ones they have aren't chewy enough, which Dudley finds quite frustrating.
Life without a chewy snack can be pretty tough.
The three of them left the castle and walked across a field until they spotted a small wooden house at the edge of the Forbidden Forest; it was Hagrid's place, with a crossbow and a pair of rubber boots hanging by the front door.
As long as they stayed clear of the Forbidden Forest, little wizards were free to roam around Hogwarts. Harry knocked on the wooden door, and they heard a bit of rustling followed by low barking from within. Then Hagrid's deep voice called out, "Back off, Fang, back off!"
With a slight tremor of the ground, the wooden door opened a crack to reveal Hagrid's bearded face.
He beamed at the sight of Harry, Dudley, and Hermione. "I thought you might not come! I'm so glad you made it!" Although Hagrid often struggled with words, it was evident he was genuinely happy.
As long as certain topics were avoided, chatting with Hagrid was easy. He quickly invited them inside.
From the outside, it looked like a cozy little cabin, but the inside was surprisingly spacious, clearly enchanted with an expansion charm; otherwise, someone of Hagrid's size would have trouble moving around comfortably.
"This was set up by Professor Dumbledore; not too shabby, huh?" Hagrid said sheepishly.
Walking into the cabin felt like stepping into a giant's home, as nearly all the furniture was two or three times bigger than what wizards usually had.
Dudley, despite his size, felt like a kid on a large stool, while Harry and Hermione dangled their feet from their seats.
Even with the magic charm in place, the cabin was still a single room. Hams and wild chickens dangled from the ceiling, a copper kettle bubbled water over a fire, and a large bed with patchwork bedding occupied one corner.
Nearby, an intimidating-looking dog lay down, but he was really a coward—Hagrid's pet, Fang.
The fierce-looking creature lifted his head to glance at the newcomers, seemingly unconcerned, before settling back down to snooze.
"This is Hermione," Harry introduced her to Hagrid.
"Hello! Hello!" Hagrid replied, bustling about as he poured boiling water into a large teapot and placed some rock-shaped cookies—about the size of small basins—onto the plates.
They were aptly named rock cakes, and true to their name, they weren't exactly easy to eat.
Seeing Hagrid's enthusiasm, Hermione and Harry felt guilty about turning down the offer and picked one up to taste, each assuming they were just oversized cookies.
"Very hard."
With a single bite, both felt like they might lose a molar.
It was more like chewing on stones than actual cookies.
Harry discreetly put his rock cake back down, and Hermione tried to do the same, but Hagrid was quick to notice.
"Not to your liking?"
Hagrid looked at Hermione with puppy-dog eyes; after all, these rock cakes were his best offering for guests.
"I think…"
Hermione felt bad but didn't want to hurt Hagrid's feelings.
"Crunch, crunch, crunch."
Suddenly, an ear-splitting grinding noise filled the cabin, like someone sharpening a knife or sawing wood.
Hermione turned in shock to see Dudley chewing, nearly halfway through his rock cake.
This...
At that moment, Hermione couldn't help but feel astonished.
Her father's remarks about Dudley's teeth rang in her mind.
Those weren't just teeth; they were practically industrial machines.
She realized that what she thought was an exaggeration wasn't far from the truth.
"This cookie is really good; I like it a lot," Dudley declared, finishing a piece and adding, "You've got a knack for cooking, Hagrid."
Eureka! I've found my new chew toy—rock cake!
"Really? That makes me so happy! I thought my cooking was a bit lacking."
Hagrid beamed like a child at the compliment.
Then his eyes fell on Hermione's rock cake, hoping for more praise.
"Well, I'm on a diet; Dudley here loves to eat them," she suddenly lied, quickly taking a bite herself but unable to get through it. In the end, she only left a shallow imprint of her teeth before handing it off to Dudley.
That was definitely not something she could handle.
Look at me, so clever.
Dudley wasted no time, accepting the rock cake and devouring it.
"I really enjoy the taste."
Whether he meant the food or something else remained a mystery.
Hermione's face turned bright red as those thoughts crossed her mind.
This was just meant to be a simple visit, and they all happily shared their experiences from Hogwarts. As it neared dinner time, they bid Hagrid farewell. Just before leaving, Dudley even asked Hagrid for a generous bag of rock cakes, which he considered his treasured chew treats.
Hagrid was overjoyed by their compliments about his cooking but felt a bit wistful about his living conditions, wishing he could offer them something better. He reluctantly said goodbye to the trio.
Is Hagrid poor?
Not in Dudley's eyes; perhaps he was the richest person in all of Hogwarts.
Despite the modest appearance of Hagrid's home, many of the unassuming items were incredibly valuable.
For instance, Fang's dog bed was made from unicorn hair, which alone could fetch thousands of galleons.
If everything were sold, it might well add up to tens of thousands of galleons. Dudley even contemplated asking Hagrid for something to sell to fund his potion-making supplies.
Tl/N: If you want to read more [upto Ten chapters] while supporting me, you can join me on patreon.com/EmptyThoughts ;Thanks.
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Upcoming chapters :-
55. The real use of spoon.
56. The five oaths of Malfoy.
57. Lilly used to say something similar.
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