Chương 71: Exchange of Interests
Molly was in the Burrow's kitchen, performing a display of domestic magic that left her children speechless at the sheer amount of food she was preparing, with pots and pans soaring in elegant, oil-slicked trajectories.
It was twice as much as usual!
No, not usual at all. Although the ingredients were the same, Molly was using more elaborate and complex recipes than the ones she typically used for daily meals.
She even used the good spices!
And those were reserved only for occasions like Christmas dinner…
"Isn't this a bit much?" Ron asked from the couch, keeping his eyes on the floating food.
In his hands was a book titled The Magic of the Potato and the Path to Your Stomach.
It was an unexpected gift from his parents on a day that didn't require one, like his birthday or Christmas, so he decided to at least give it a try. To his surprise, he liked it.
It even had pictures! Fewer words to read.
"Your mother is a bit excited," Arthur commented as he, after his wife's "gentle" reminder, set about arranging the dining room so the guests would have enough space to sit and eat. "We haven't had visitors like this since Harry was picked up by you lot last year, and before that… was it three years ago with the Lovegoods?"
At least at home. Arthur still had to attend some Ministry dinners on occasion, but he preferred eating with his family. Fewer restrictions.
Fred and George entered from outside and placed a shovel by the door.
"A flight of garden gnomes has taken off beyond the fence!"
"And all the garden holes have been filled!"
"With soil!"
"Which we carefully stepped on!"
"Well done, boys," Arthur nodded in satisfaction as he finished rearranging the dining room. "Come on, help set the table. They shouldn't be long now."
"They're here!" Ginny's voice rang out from upstairs, likely from her vantage point at her window.
"Merlin's beard!" Arthur quickly checked if he looked presentable, then glanced at the twins, covered in dirt, and with a flick of his wand, they were clean.
"Finally!" Ron placed a bookmark in his book and set it aside. "I'm starving."
"I knew starting to cook two hours early was the right move…" Molly murmured as she carefully levitated the dishes to the table. "Ron Weasley! If you so much as lay a finger on that food before everyone's seated at the table, I'll put you on a month-long diet of boiled radish porridge!"
Ron silently retracted his greedy hand and waited patiently.
A large figure crossed the threshold, holding a basket of onion bread.
"Hagrid!" Arthur greeted him enthusiastically. "Come in, come in! How have you been?" he asked with interest. "It's been ages since we last saw you!"
"Hello, Arthur," Hagrid handed him the basket. "I'm well, you know, busy with Hogwarts."
Arthur carried the basket of onion bread with trembling legs to the kitchen and quickly sliced some pieces to place on the table so everyone could have a taste.
He was inwardly relieved to find there were no rock cakes lurking at the bottom of the basket.
"Thanks, Hagrid, they smell wonderful!" Molly caught the scent of freshly baked bread and nodded happily.
"Then I hope you've got room for a little more on the table," Barnaby appeared behind his father, holding another basket, while his other hand was entwined with Tonks's.
"Oh, you didn't have to, dear," Molly hurriedly took the basket and peered inside. "What is it?" she asked, puzzled by the unfamiliar contents.
Fred and George's ears perked up at that, exchanging excited looks. If their mother didn't know what it was…
Perhaps it was one of Barnaby's "specialties" they could only enjoy at Hogwarts!
"They're bacon leaves," Barnaby explained. "It's a plant whose leaves grow as strips of bacon. They're very tasty and only need a quick turn on the grill to prepare."
"A bacon plant?" Molly was a bit bewildered, but she didn't doubt Barnaby would bring something strange, so she quickly went to the kitchen to grill them up.
"Hello, Tonks!" the twins greeted in unison. "Barnaby."
"Gred, Forge," Tonks teased with a smile. "I hope you two didn't set up a prank for today…"
The twins looked offended.
You think we'd dare with that boyfriend of yours around?
All right, they were tempted, but after seeing how excited their mother was about this meal, they knew ruining it would earn them the punishment of their lives.
A punishment that would delay their research on more joke products.
They were definitely not scared of Barnaby's revenge, not at all.
Ginny came downstairs, all dressed up, and soon they were all seated at the table, their mouths watering from the delicious aroma of the dishes. Arthur cast Engorgio on a chair for Hagrid, while the rest settled into their seats and began trying the various dishes.
"It really does taste like bacon!" Ron thought as he bit into a grilled bacon leaf. "But why does it taste so meaty if it's a plant?" he wondered, confused as his understanding of food was completely shaken.
"Mrs. Weasley, everything is delicious," Barnaby said politely.
"Oh, it's just a little something I whipped up," Molly waved off the compliment. "Let me thank you on Ginny's behalf once again for helping her learn such a complex charm. It was quite the surprise!"
The rest of the Weasleys turned toward her, confused, their mouths full of food.
"What's Mum talking about?" they silently asked each other.
"Barnaby taught Ginny how to cast the Patronus Charm," Molly summarized with pride.
And as if to back up the news, Ginny pulled out her wand and cast a Patronus that flowed like a river around the table.
"Really?!" Arthur jumped with joy. "Most adult witches and wizards can't even use it properly!"
By Morgana's breasts, many Aurors don't even know how to use it!
"Ginny is a talented witch; we didn't have to work too hard on it," this time it was Barnaby who downplayed it.
Ron stared at the Patronus, confused. Is casting a stream of lights really that difficult?
Though it did give him a very pleasant feeling.
Fred and George, knowing more, were both surprised (and proud) that their little sister could cast this charm, even better than they could.
Arthur took a sip of pumpkin juice to calm himself, and after hearing Barnaby, his gaze unconsciously drifted to Tonks, who was happily savoring another of Molly's dishes.
He couldn't help but use the cup to hide a sigh.
Naturally, he had heard about Tonks's resignation shortly after she received her certified Auror title—the fastest on record, which took everyone by surprise. While he had considered trying to persuade Tonks to return to the Ministry, Arthur decided it wasn't a good topic for the dinner table and dismissed it.
He had a pretty good idea of the reason for her resignation, and if it weren't for the fact that his family depended on his job, he would like to follow suit to have time to delve into Muggle objects and how they worked.
"By the way, are you planning to attend the Quidditch World Cup?" Arthur brought up to steer his thoughts elsewhere. "We're going with Harry and the Diggorys."
"I'd love to, but I won't be able to," Hagrid lamented as he wiped some sauce from his lips with a napkin. "I'll be very busy because of… the school! Yes, Hogwarts has a lot of work this year." Hagrid was grateful for the discreet elbow nudge his son gave him. Otherwise, he might have accidentally revealed the surprise of the Triwizard Tournament.
He really should talk less and eat more, so that's what he did.
"We're going," Tonks said excitedly, hugging her boyfriend's neck. "Barnaby got us double VVIP box tickets!!"
"Really?!" the Weasleys asked in unison, even Molly couldn't help raising her voice.
You see, Arthur worked at the Ministry of Magic and had gone to great lengths to use his contacts to secure quality tickets for his family, which were prohibitively expensive.
What's more, even Minister Fudge and other foreign diplomats could only sit in the ordinary VIP box!
VVIP boxes could only be obtained from the organizers under very special circumstances—money and fame were useless.
"How did you manage that?" Ginny couldn't contain her curiosity. A single one of those tickets on the resale market could fetch enough Galleons to make a pile taller than her.
"I traded for them," Barnaby admitted simply; it wasn't a secret, after all.
By the time he wanted to buy tickets for the event at the last minute, they had been sold out for months, so he visited various people until he reached Ollivander, who happened to have two of that level sent for free by the organizers, thanks to the generous advertising quotas his family had paid over many years and their loyalty.
But Ollivander didn't want to go. At his age, too much excitement and being close to so many excitable people who frequented fights every half hour wasn't a pleasant experience; he preferred to stay in his workshop making new wands.
So, when he learned of Barnaby's interest (very surprised, since he knew he wasn't enthusiastic about the sport), he proposed trading the tickets for some "exclusive" materials for new wand combinations.
It was a tough trade. Ollivander was like a shark who smelled blood and didn't hesitate to take a big bite, even with how much he liked Barnaby.
But thinking of his goal, Barnaby didn't hesitate and made the deal.
Although Ollivander could forget about his annual supply for the next five years!
When the Weasleys, Hagrid, and Tonks heard his story, they couldn't help but stare at him, speechless, trying to convey their emotions.
Did he trade the best Quidditch World Cup tickets for a handful of questionable materials?
He secretly drank a bottle of Felix Felicis that day, didn't he?
If Barnaby knew what they were thinking, he would stand up from the table, outraged.
Excuse me, my materials are top-notch!
Do you think it's easy to get the optic nerve of a Beholder's Eye?
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