"That's how it is. To a child carrying butter home, that block of butter is the whole world. But to us adults, it's just a block of butter."
As the campfire rose, William explained this to Adams while sitting on the picnic blanket.
"That's quite a curious thought. No wonder the fifth-years don't talk bad about you during exams. But is Aphra really okay?"
Adams pointed to the little girl sitting next to them, her robe now clean, nibbling on chocolate like a squirrel.
"She's fine. By the way, you don't actually want to see her get a scolding, do you?"
"Ridiculous!" Adams quickly denied it and took out his own set of utensils.
The ingredients for lunch were a mishmash of things; lost rabbits, hazelnuts and pine nuts hidden by squirrels, mushrooms picked from the forest, and a variety of edible magical herbs and wild vegetables Adams had gathered. All of these were piled together, forming the main ingredients for their meal.
After that, it was all Adams' work. With one hand on the stove and the other on his wand, he busied himself, completely ignoring his two teammates who knew nothing about food-related magic.
"Uncle Singed, Uncle Trickster, can I go play over there?" Aphra finished her chocolate and became active again.
Why does she still call me Uncle Trickster?
William couldn't help but roll his eyes in a hidden manner. But Singed, showing great patience, responded, "Sure, but stretch out your hand first. I need to make a mark. If you hide again, I won't be able to find you."
"Okay, Aphra will being good."
***
When it was time to eat, William and the others were shocked to see a small muddy monkey rushing toward them.
"Aphra came back obediently!"
She shouted energetically; if not for this shout, William would have had to draw his wand for self-defense.
In less than half an hour, her originally bright red robe was now almost unrecognizable. Her once clean face was now covered in mud stains, and her straight hair had become a tangled mess, mixed with grass seeds. If it weren't for her unchanged voice, William would have had a hard time believing that this was the same little girl who had just said she was going to run off and play.
Where's that cute little girl we brought? Which family does this little muddy monkey belong to? William fell into deep doubt.
Gulp!
Singed, who was nearby, made a very obvious swallowing sound. "Professor Taylor is going to ask me for a duel."
Though a bit exaggerated, it was understandable. If someone took a clean child out and brought back a little muddy monkey, anyone would be ready to duel.
"Let's see if there's a way to fix this."
William sympathetically patted his shoulder. The two of them got up, grabbed their wands, and held Aphra.
Finally, when Adams' food was ready, the two barely managed to return the little girl to her previous appearance. William finally understood how serious his magical shortcomings were; he couldn't handle more delicate tasks.
Luckily, Aphra was cooperative enough. Maybe after having enough fun, the little one finally remembered she was supposed to get a scolding. But even so, when they sat down to eat, they felt that today's meal was at least twice as delicious; purely from exhaustion.
"Uncle Trickster, you're not going to leave me out of the fun, are you?" On the way back, the alert little girl, worried about getting a scolding, carefully asked.
Change how you address me first.
"No, it won't happen. Don't worry."
William rubbed her head, casually picking off some leaves that hadn't been cleaned out. Though he was a bit tired today, having a little girl like her in the staff room was quite amusing.
Once they were out of the forest, William and the others quickly helped Aphra clean off the mud and water she had gotten on the way back. They finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"I have to drop off the rabbits with Hagrid. There's no place to keep them in the castle. You two can take Aphra back."
"Singed, you take Aphra back. I need to talk to Hagrid. The seventh-year freshmen need to see how herbs grow in the wild; that requires Hagrid to prepare a safe area for me."
Adams found his excuse, and Singed wore a look of resigned defeat as he took Aphra back. Though William and the others had tried hard, it was clear that three men couldn't easily fix a girl's braids, and magic wouldn't work for that either.
"May Merlin bless him."
"I agree."
The two nodded in agreement and watched as Singed's sorrowful figure grew smaller, walking farther away toward the castle. They then made their way toward Hagrid's hut.
***
"How was lunch today?"
"It was amazing! I almost want to learn how to cook like that; does every Hufflepuff have such superb culinary skills?"
"Not exactly. I'm better with herbs, so I like to add my personal touch. It turned out pretty well."
"You're too modest—Wait, what's that over there?"
William suddenly pointed ahead. Not far from Hagrid's hut, a flash of red was quietly moving forward.
Could you people with noticeable hair colors please be more careful when sneaking around?
Before he could finish complaining, Adams' angry voice rang out. "That's theft! Over there is Hagrid's chicken coop! Those are one of the few live chickens in Hogwarts! Damn it—if this is a Hufflepuff, I'll have that bastard locked up until Christmas!"
Before William could even process the meaning of those words, Adams had already stormed off in anger.
"Stop right there! Hufflepuff loses thirty points!"
The figure ahead seemed to want to escape but was knocked unconscious by a spell from the furious Adams. Adams rushed over quickly, then stood there, staring in confusion.
"Hmm?"
Curious, William also jogged over with the rabbits in hand. Just then, the door to Hagrid's hut opened, and Hagrid, looking bewildered, walked out with his dog, Fang.
"What happened, Professor Adams? Ah, William, looks like you've had a good haul." He greeted William, who was holding the rabbits, before turning his attention to Adams. "Oh, Professor, what's going on? Hey, isn't that Ginny?"
William finally caught up, and at that moment, Adams released the little girl he had restrained. She looked at everyone nervously, a fearful expression on her face.
"Gryffindor?"
Adams looked relieved at first, but his expression quickly turned serious.
"So what were you doing near Hagrid's hut?"
"I... I... I wanted to take a look at the Forbidden Forest, but I was afraid Hagrid would see me, so I wanted to check if he was around. Fred and the others said it would be easy to sneak in if Hagrid wasn't there."
The moment Fred's name was mentioned, William immediately recalled where he had seen the girl before; on the train, she and another Gryffindor had asked for his help.
She must be the sister of those twins.
Thinking that, William took a step back.
For the sake of his reputation, he thought it would be better to keep his distance.
This has nothing to do with me. I hope the students don't spread any weird rumors. I'm not targeting the Weasley family, and I'm not involved in this detention!
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