The Magical Food God of Hogwarts

Chapter 10 Wilderness Expert

Upon hearing this, Ellie reluctantly returned the lighter to him, then leaned closer to examine the crisscrossing wounds on Lucas's body by the light. Her high eyebrows furrowed tightly: "The shirt and the wounds are all stuck together. You can't take it off directly, or you'll tear open the freshly healed wounds. You have to soak it in water first."

Lucas nodded: "Then I'll go to the creek..."

But Ellie grabbed him.

"No, washing your wound directly with the stream will make you sick; you might get a fever. We don't know how much longer we'll be in the forest, so we have to be careful." Her tone became serious. "Without clean hot water, it's better to leave it as it is."

"Can wizards conjure hot water?" Lucas asked, then suddenly remembered, "Oh, you lost your wand. Speaking of which, does that mean you can't cast spells without a wand?"

"Powerful wizards can cast spells without a wand, or even silently." Ellie rummaged through her cloak and trouser pockets. "Unfortunately, I'm just starting out. I've never heard of a spell that can directly produce hot water; at most, it can only heat the water."

"We need to find something to boil water." But all she could find was a small leather bag, no bigger than the palm of her hand.

Lucas's eyes lit up: "Is this one of those magical leather bags that's been enchanted and can hold lots of things?"

"No, the Unseen Extension Charm can't be used casually; it requires approval from the Ministry of Magic," Ellie complained, her tone exactly like that of the wizard named Hamish. "I think the Ministry of Magic is meddling way too much."

Lucas pondered for a moment, his gaze falling on the dragon-skin cloak Ellie was wearing: "Ellie, we can use your cloak as a pot and hang it up to boil water!"

He paused, then suddenly remembered, "Uh, no, you're not wearing anything underneath, are you?"

Ellie's eyes flashed with murderous intent: "Don't even think about it! Even thinking about it is a sin!"

Seeing Lucas covered in blood and smiling awkwardly, Ellie lowered her fist and muttered, "Of course I'm wearing underwear... Turn around and don't look or think about it."

Lucas raised his hands and turned around, only to hear Ellie say behind him, "You're quite clever to think of using a cloak as a pot, Lucas, but that's not enough. Dragonhide cloaks are excellent at preventing fire; even after a day of ordinary flames, the water inside will still be ice-cold. But don't worry, I have a way."

Under Ellie's direction, Lucas used stones he had brought from the stream to build a simple stove around the campfire. He then took the dragon skin cloak to the stream and carefully washed it clean. He scooped up a large basket of water and used sturdy vines to tie the four corners of the cloak to a makeshift wooden frame, creating a simple hanging pot.

"You heat the stone until it's red-hot, then put it in the water—" Ellie said.

"Yeah, the hot stone method! How come I didn't think of that!" Lucas couldn't help but exclaim in admiration, "Ellie, you're a true wilderness expert!"

Ellie proudly raised her head: "The McFastie family is born to live in the wilderness; we learn this from the moment we can walk!"

She stared at Lucas, her violet eyes gleaming in the firelight. "You're not bad either, a freshman at Hogwarts. You're eleven too, right? But you're much stronger than any of the crying little boys I've ever met."

scoff-

The moment the stone hit the water, it made a loud noise, steam rose up, and the water inside the cloak churned and bubbled.

As the water cooled down, Lucas was about to start cooking himself when he heard Ellie say in an unyielding tone, "Don't move, let the experts do it."

So Lucas sat obediently, while Ellie behind him folded a large leaf into a simple cup, scooped up warm water, and slowly poured it over Lucas, soaking all the strips of cloth tied to his wounds, and then carefully, bit by bit, peeled them off.

Although she only used her left hand, her movements were steady and deliberate, showing great care and patience, a stark contrast to her previous energetic and impulsive manner.

Some blood seeped out, but Ellie ignored it for the time being. Only after she had completely removed the tattered shirt did she continue to wash away the dirt from his wound with warm water.

Meanwhile, she tore the shirt into strips and threw them back into the water, then put them back in to boil with hot stones, and then dried them over a fire.

On a sweltering summer night, it wasn't cold at all by the fire. Lucas, shirtless, with his back to the busy Ellie, listened to the crackling of the firewood and suddenly felt incredibly at ease.

"Here, you can do the rest yourself." Ellie's fist came from behind and out from the side of his face, clutching a dry strip of cloth.

"I only have one hand, so you'll have to bandage your own wound," Ellie said.

Lucas nodded his thanks. He first applied the bandages to some of the deeper wounds, but he couldn't quite find the right spot on his back. So Ellie reached out again to help him adjust the position of the makeshift bandages.

The shadows of the trees were heavy, the firelight flickered, and the girl's fingertips gently traced her back. In the distance, an unknown bird uttered a long, melodious cry.

"It's a little itchy," Lucas laughed.

Ellie clicked her tongue in displeasure: "Don't move... What's so funny?"

"Because I think this world is so interesting. It's wonderful..." Lucas murmured softly.

"Oh no, here we go again." Ellie sighed. "You must have hit your head. You should get it treated when you get to Hogwarts. I've heard Hogwarts has everything, so it must have a school hospital."

"Ellie, you're the same age as me," Lucas said. "But Mr. Hamish said that your McFastie family still maintains traditional family education. Are you really not going to Hogwarts?"

Ellie paused for a moment: "Actually, I really want to go to Hogwarts. There aren't many children in the family, and they're all of different ages. My uncles and aunts are also quite perplexing in their parenting, and sometimes their methods even differ."

She lowered her hand, filled with longing: "I've heard that Hogwarts has four houses and hundreds of students; it must be so lively! Professor Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts, is the greatest wizard of our time..."

"Then why not apply to go to Hogwarts?" Lucas asked curiously.

"A family tradition," Ellie said dejectedly. "I heard it's a privilege our family acquired centuries ago, exempting us from the Ministry of Magic's educational laws. Honestly, we don't listen to what we should, and we have to listen to what we shouldn't..."

Lucas didn't continue the topic. After bandaging her wound, Ellie took off her cloak, washed it clean by the stream, and boiled water in it again.

"Okay, have some water first."

Only then did Lucas realize his mouth was dry and his throat was parched. The two of them used leaf cups to skim the surface dust from the water and sipped the hot water.

Having relieved their thirst, both of their stomachs growled almost simultaneously, and Ellie suddenly remembered her leather pouch.

"Aha!"

She pulled a sharp silver-handled knife, several large pieces of dark, dried venison, and two dry, hard round loaves of bread from her bag.

Here's tonight's dinner. Hopefully, we'll be out of the forest by tomorrow.

Ellie handed half of the food to Lucas from behind, and was about to pick up a piece of venison jerky to put in her mouth when she heard Lucas laugh.

"Wait, don't rush. Let me make our dinner a little tastier."

Under Ellie's blank stare, Lucas began to pull things out of the pocket of his tattered work pants as if by magic: a salt shaker, a black and white pepper shaker, a small bag of spices, and a large block of butter wrapped tightly in parchment paper.

"Don't look at me like that," Lucas said, arranging his prized spices on the stone. "I'm a chef, so it's perfectly reasonable for me to bring these, isn't it?"

"A chef?" Ellie stared wide-eyed.

"Yes, a chef who is about to become a wizard."