Chapter 39: Very Fresh, Very Delicious

"Come on, let's take it slow. My mentor is very strict, so bear with me," Tom patiently explained the essence of the Levitation Charm to Ron, who nodded repeatedly. Even Hermione, who was eavesdropping with her ears perked up, had to admit that Tom explained it very thoroughly.

"With this kind of babysitting help, how can someone who can't cast a spell endure?" she thought, while Harry, who was clearly within earshot of Tom's words, successfully made his feather tremble slightly—although it was less than a foot off the table, it still counted as a success.

However, things were not going well for Ron. Even with Tom's technical support, his feather lay on the table like a dead fish, barely trembling. The other young wizards around them cast curious glances, as Tom's voice was not low, and at least five or six of their classmates had successfully cast the Levitation Charm. Ron felt like he was naked and spinning in public, an embarrassing feeling indeed. His entire face turned red, even the roots of his ears.

Tom looked at Ron, deep in thought. He felt that Ron Weasley's talent shouldn't be this terrible. Tom's gaze finally fell on Ron's wand. It was old and worn, with cracks in some places, and even the unicorn hair inside was exposed at the base.

"Try using my wand," Tom said without asking for Ron's opinion, and he handed his wand to him. Ron, blushing, pointed his new wand at the feather and performed the spell according to the instructions. This time, the feather actually floated up!

"You really need to get a new wand," Tom patted Ron on the shoulder sympathetically. He couldn't understand the Weasley family's way of spending money. Wands were the most important possessions for wizards, and yet they seemed to skimp on them. Couldn't Bill and Charlie, who were working and financially independent, at least provide some support? Did they forget about their younger brothers? Were Bill and Charlie's wands self-purchased through part-time work during their school days? The Weasley family had been kind to him when he was younger, and now that he was grown and independent, couldn't they spare a few Galleons to help out? A new wand cost only seven Galleons! Were Mr. and Mrs. Weasley deliberately neglecting their third and fourth sons?

For wizards, wands were like running shoes for long-distance runners. You couldn't possibly run a marathon in a pair of worn-out sneakers, right?

With Tom's help, Ron successfully cast the spell, and Tom completed the task as well.

He looked at the mysterious gift package in the system interface and felt excited. He was about to evolve!

Click, confirm!

[Task reward has been used...

Random organ selected...

Organ selection complete, organ to be strengthened: wisdom tooth]

Tom: ???

Tom: !!!

Hold on a minute! Stop! I don't want to strengthen anything! Stop it!

[Task reward distribution complete, no need for the host to claim rewards, the system will automatically distribute]

Something was fishy! Tom was furious. The system was playing dirty just because he had criticized it a few times. Wisdom teeth were considered an organ? It was true, but out of all the organs in the human body, why wisdom teeth?

Tom's cheeks suddenly stung, and a sweat bead the size of a soybean rolled down his forehead, startling Hermione, who was nearby.

"Are you okay?" she asked, placing a hand on Tom's shoulder with concern.

"My tooth... hurts," Tom replied tearfully.

"Open your mouth, ah..." Hermione had Tom open his mouth, then used her wand for illumination and peered inside. She smiled and said, "It's not a big problem. You've grown a wisdom tooth."

Tom's mood was complex, but he could only accept the reality. This was just a minor incident. After a while, the pain in his tooth had subsided. The next class was Defense Against the Dark Arts, a rather comical subject. Professor Quirrell continued to be incompetent, and Tom had no interest in listening to his lectures anymore. During class, he would open his textbook and study the content on his own. He also tried to listen attentively to Professor Quirrell's classes, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't activate the knowledge theory section called "Dark Arts Defense" in his mind.

Tom made a deduction from this: there might really be no knowledge theory called "Dark Arts Defense" in the system. It couldn't be that the teachers were so terrible, right? He would have to wait until he reached the third or fourth year to find out. Professor Lupin in the third year was excellent, and if he couldn't activate "Dark Arts Defense," it meant it didn't exist in the system. As for Professor Moody in the fourth year, Tom had high hopes for him. Maybe he could help activate the knowledge theory on Dark Arts, considering his own talent was already there. Perhaps he would max it out in just a few days.

Activating these knowledge theories by himself was too difficult. He needed the professors to give him some guidance, as their lectures seemed to be the key factor for activation.

After class, Tom and his friends went to the Great Hall for lunch. By this time, Tom's toothache had mostly subsided. Padma and her sister, however, had sneaked out and were now preparing tea outside the castle. They boiled water from the Ganges River and brewed tea leaves in it for three minutes. Then, they added sugar to a clay pot and poured the strained tea into it. Padma used her wand to stir the tea in the pot, allowing the sugar and tea to blend completely. 

Afterward, Padma took out some milk, heated it until it boiled, and poured it into another clay pot. As the hot milk met the cold air, a thick layer of cream formed on the surface. This was a mixture of cream and butterfat, a result of the high fat content in the fresh milk. It was much thicker than the cream in milk from some commercial dairies, which often diluted their milk with water, resulting in thinner cream.

Finally, Padma mixed the boiled milk with the prepared tea and added a handful of spices. A cup of Indian-style milk tea was ready.

"It's done. Hurry and bring it to Tom," Padma said, and her sister agreed. They brought the freshly brewed tea to Tom.

"It smells so good!" Pavarti said, taking a whiff and showing a blissful expression. "Very fresh, very delicious!"

[ Vote STONES plz ]

(End of Chapter)