Whispers and McDonald's

For almost the entire night, Jon had been engaged in a simple yet immensely profound discussion with Helga. The things Jon talked about were completely new to Helga, who possessed great magical skills and deep magical knowledge but lacked understanding of contemporary magical society. When Jon began expressing his opinions, Helga showed great interest, and the two of them lost track of time. As a result, Jon had no energy left the next day when he attended class.

"What's wrong with you?"

As soon as class ended, Jon's three roommates gathered around him with concern.

During the History of Magic class just now, Stephen, Scali, and Flynn formed a circle around Jon, allowing him to doze off unnoticed by the teacher - the ghost professor's class was already quite soporific. After all, they still had Flying Lessons to attend next, and Jon needed some energy.

"It's nothing. I slept late yesterday, but I'm fine now," Jon replied, lacking any conviction, with dark circles under his eyes.

"Why don't we help you skip the next class so you can go back and rest?" Flynn suggested, worried that Jon wouldn't be able to handle flying on a broom in his current state. After all, flying at high altitudes could be quite dangerous.

"No need for that. I don't have any classes in the afternoon, so I'll just go back and rest. By the way, don't go to the Great Hall for lunch. I ordered some food," Jon said.

"Okay."

The three of them followed Jon with skepticism, afraid he might stumble and fall.

Fortunately, that didn't happen. Jon's spirits were relatively good in the wind, and Madam Hooch, the Flying instructor, didn't keep them in the air for too long.

In fact, apart from some students who had already played with broomsticks at home (Jon had only played with toy broomsticks when he was a child), they had just learned to fly and weren't suited to stay in the air for too long.

After class, the four of them went to the Great Hall together, not for lunch but to pick up a package.

Yesterday, Jon had asked his parents in a letter to send him a McDonald's combo meal for six people - considering that his roommates and he were all young lads who could eat quite a bit (he estimated based on his own appetite). As a result, Mrs. Smith had the owls deliver two packages to them, one large and one small, both wrapped in thick parchment paper and protected by preservation and warming charms.

The small one was for Bella. Although Jon hadn't visited Bella in the first three days of school, he still thought of his cousin, so he bought two portions for her while ordering from McDonald's.

After all, they had the means at home.

Not finding Bella in the cafeteria, Jon had to ask a senior student - who was also Bella's classmate and had seen her sitting with Bella the day before yesterday - to bring the food to Bella. According to this senior, Bella had been called to help Professor Flitwick.

"I didn't know my cousin had such magical talent. She was actually called to help Professor Flitwick?" Jon muttered as he carried the large package back to the dormitory, with Stephen, Flynn, and Scali listening attentively behind him but unable to hear clearly.

"Do you think Jon is acting strange?"

Walking a little behind, Flynn quietly said to Stephen, "He's been muttering to himself all day, and I have no idea what he's saying."

"It's probably because he didn't sleep well. When I went to wake him up this morning, I saw his potions book open on the table. He must have been reading all night," Stephen replied, sharing his speculation with Flynn. The image of Jon, a diligent and ambitious student, immediately appeared in their minds.

"Yeah, he's a pure-blood wizard but ended up in Hufflepuff. Even though he appears relaxed, he must be under a lot of pressure!" Scali took two steps back and added.

The three of them nodded in agreement, realizing that they had inadvertently placed Hufflepuff House in a lower position in their conversation. They quickly stopped talking about it, fearing that Jon might overhear them and launch into another lecture. Even though it had only been three days since the start of the school year, they had already gained a deep understanding of Jon's ability to ramble.

They had skipped over so many parts of their speeches that it felt like a one-sided knowledge bombardment! The three of them, who had experienced Jon's morning grumpiness on the first day of class, still couldn't figure out why someone who appeared so calm and studious had so much to say.

However, whether Jon spoke a lot or not wouldn't affect the deliciousness of the McDonald's meal.

The four of them reached an unprecedented consensus on food and quickly finished the entire large package of meals. They threw the empty boxes and soda cans into the trash bin, and Jon, lacking energy, retreated to his small space for a nap. The remaining three continued their castle exploration, which they hadn't finished the day before.

They had the afternoon off, with only an astronomy class in the evening.

After running around all afternoon, Stephen and the others felt tired during the evening class, while Jon, who had been lacking energy in the morning, enthusiastically observed the night sky with Professor Sinistra. The starry sky at Hogwarts was beautiful, and Jon, who had rarely seen stars at night in his entire life, paid considerable attention during astronomy class. This earned him high praise from Professor Sinistra, impressed by his diligence and eagerness to learn.

However, nobody paid too much attention to Jon's performance in astronomy class. After all, astronomy was not a subject worth much focus, as long as they passed it smoothly.

Astronomy class was scheduled after dinner, and Stephen knew Jon hadn't eaten. So, when class ended, he asked Jon if he was hungry.

"If you're hungry, maybe you can go to the kitchen and get something to eat. I can bring some for you as well," Stephen suggested.

"Why don't you guys go yourselves?" Jon replied, feeling quite energetic after his afternoon rest. "It's not curfew time yet. Just go to the kitchen; it's not off-limits or anything."

He didn't want to go to the kitchen himself. The enthusiastic house-elves there treated him like their master, and he still felt uncomfortable after the scene of all the house-elves bowing to him on Sunday. Besides, they were all Hufflepuff students, and anyone could go and get food.

"No, it's not the same," Flynn shook his head. "We don't know where the kitchen is."

"...The kitchen is right behind a fruit portrait near the common room, not far away. Just say you're Hufflepuff students, and the house-elves will warmly welcome you," Jon whispered to his roommates, scanning the surroundings to ensure no one was listening. "But don't mention that you know me. Last time, I said one of you was sick, so don't slip up—just bring me two pies."