It had been a long time since Marcel had done nothing but play for a whole day.
He took Luna wandering all over Hogsmeade, buying her lots of interesting little trinkets. Most of them were cheap, but they were bursting with the creativity of their makers.
"Hungry? It's nearly lunchtime," Marcel asked, suddenly turning his head as they walked.
"Hmm—" Luna tilted her head and thought for a moment. "Alright."
"Then I'll take you to a special place."
Marcel led Luna around a few corners, walking through small, flagstone-paved alleys. At first, the alley seemed to get narrower as they went, but after a few more steps, they found that the surroundings gradually opened up again.
Before long, the two turned another corner at the deepest end of the alley, and the view suddenly opened up.
In front of them, a not-too-large domed cottage sat in the middle of a wooden fence, surrounded by various fruit trees, tall and short, looking lush and green.
Under the eaves of the domed cottage stood a high pole, on which a sign hung diagonally, with the words "The Snow Witch" written in flowing script.
"Few people know about this shop, and it's not often open... I only found out about it from someone else's recommendation," Marcel said, looking at the cottage. "They say the food here is excellent, but they don't accept Galleons, only various magical ingredients."
"It's very special." Luna's eyes were shining, and she seemed very interested in this shop.
"Let's go! Let's go in and have a look."
The two walked along the path between the fences towards the main door. The surroundings were quiet, with no one around, a stark contrast to the lively scene on the main street of Hogsmeade.
"Ding-a-ling"
Marcel reached out and flicked the small bell hanging at the door.
"Is someone there?" A light female voice came from inside. "If it's not an owl or something playing tricks, then please come in!"
Marcel glanced at Luna, then turned the doorknob and pushed open the closed wooden door, which made a strange creaking sound.
The inside of the cottage was very peculiar.
It looked unexpectedly spacious, making it clear at a glance that the space inside had been magically expanded.
The walls were hung with all sorts of strange things: portraits, animal bones, and even huge bottles filled with unknown smoke—they emitted lights of different colors, and occasionally interesting scenery from all over the world could be seen inside.
In the open space in the middle, there were only a few round wooden tables, separated by a long distance, making it feel exceptionally spacious.
If you looked up, you could see a magical ceiling similar to the Great Hall at Hogwarts, but instead of a starry sky, it showed a blue sky and large patches of white clouds like cotton candy.
At the very back was a long bar counter. The entire wall behind it was a wine rack filled with bottles and wooden barrels, with only a doorway left in the middle. Looking inside, one could see what was probably the kitchen area.
Just as Marcel and Luna were looking around, a person suddenly walked out of the doorway behind the bar.
"Welcome to The Snow Witch, two little wizards."
It was a young witch wearing a light-colored robe and a pointed wizard hat. She smiled and welcomed Marcel and Luna, gesturing for them to sit down.
"You only need to pay with magical ingredients—no matter what they are, you can exchange them for delicious food," said the young witch. "I can provide the ingredients for the food, or you can bring your own."
"So, what would you like?" She curtsied politely at the end and asked softly.
"Hmm... let's use this!"
Marcel thought for a moment, then took out a large pile of ingredients from his waist—there was meat, as well as various plants and fungi. They were all well-preserved in containers and looked very fresh.
"As for the magical ingredients for payment... take a look at what you need?" Marcel asked. "It would be best if I have it."
Because he usually needed to conduct all sorts of messy research, Marcel always had ample preparations of magical ingredients, which indirectly proved that this guy indeed had more and more money.
"This is—" The young witch had a very sharp eye. She immediately spotted the huge piece of pink and tender meat Marcel had taken out.
"This is the meat from the belly of a basilisk. The snake should be about a thousand years old," Marcel explained. "Well, maybe the meat is a bit tough, I don't know if—"
"Yes! Of course!" The young witch immediately showed a surprised expression and said happily, "I knew it! I felt it, there is a strong magical residue inside, it must be the meat of a powerful creature!"
"If there is another piece, it will be enough to pay for this meal," she suddenly looked at Marcel and asked with an expectant look, "Is there any more?"
"Yes, of course..." Marcel took out another piece and placed it next to the pile of ingredients. "You know, among the materials on its body, meat is the most abundant—I couldn't fit it all at the time."
"Oh—" The young witch immediately showed a look of regret. "That's such a waste."
She pulled out her wand from her waist and tapped it. All the ingredients floated in the air and followed her footsteps into the kitchen.
"It should be a good lunch. The person who recommended this place to me said that the best meal he ever had was here."
The person who recommended this place to Marcel was his partner—the bandaged wizard Tyrande.
"That shouldn't be wrong." Luna raised her neck, looked at the clouds above her head, and said dreamily, "Appropriate friends can always bring you appropriate surprises."
"That guy... is actually not bad," Marcel thought for a moment and nodded in agreement.
At least, as a partner, Tyrande had a qualified spirit of contract. The accounts between him and Tyrande had always been detailed and complete, and not a single bronze Knut had ever been missing from the payment due to Marcel.
The preparation of the food seemed to take a lot of effort. After a long time, when Marcel felt a little hungry, the young witch used magic to control large and small dinner plates to come over.
"You can start with any plate, but I recommend starting with appetizers and appetizers soup," she bowed slightly and retreated again. "I included some drinks—children are not allowed to drink alcohol!"
"Sorry," Marcel shrugged and took out a large wine bottle from his waist and placed it on the table. "I brought my own."
"Is this wine?" Luna asked curiously. "Daddy never lets me drink alcohol—in fact, he doesn't drink much either because it's too expensive."
"Just kidding, this contains my own blend of Ice Flame Fruit juice. Special make, the only bottle in the world."
As he spoke, he tapped the bottle mouth with his wand, and the oak cork immediately popped out automatically. Suddenly, a pale blue flame shot out from the bottle mouth, accompanied by a trace of cold air.
The surrounding temperature seemed to have dropped a little, making people feel as if they had returned to the icy and snowy world outside.
Marcel took two goblets and poured two full glasses of juice.
It was an azure blue juice with snowflakes floating in it, and wisps of blue-white flames floating on the rim of the cup, looking exceptionally beautiful.
"Ice Flame Fruit is very rare now. I also found them on a small island in the center of the Mediterranean," Marcel said. "I have saved the seeds, and there will be more and more of them in the future... but the growth cycle of Ice Flame Fruit is very long, and it will take at least two years for the next batch to come out."
"Does it have any effects?" Luna blinked and asked.
Before Marcel could speak, the young witch who had been standing not far away rushed to say: "It just makes you more resistant to cold, the key is its taste! Its taste!"
She looked excited, as if she had no resistance to delicious things.
"Have a glass too, how about it?" Marcel invited.
"Oh—really?" She said excitedly, "I mean, really?"
This Ice Flame Fruit juice was personally blended by Marcel after researching the material. Some other materials were added to it, making the refreshing cold and sweet and sour taste of the juice softer.
With this delicious meal, the relationship between the three became much better. They chatted while eating, enjoying the food and appreciating each other's stories, looking very harmonious.
In the conversation, Marcel also learned some specific information about this young witch.
Her name was "Celine," and she was said to have no surname. She was an orphan taken in by the owner of this "Snow Witch" restaurant.
When she was young, she often traveled with the owner all over the world, looking for various delicacies and materials.
Then they would come back a few times a year and stay for a while, during which time "The Snow Witch" would open for business.
Undoubtedly, such a life was indeed very wonderful, and Luna seemed very interested. She asked Celine a lot of questions, of course, most of them were news and rumors about the magical creatures she cared about.
In the end, when Marcel and Luna were ready to leave, Celine proposed an interesting idea.
"If you have any good stuff in the future, or want to eat something delicious, remember to contact me!" she said. "I'll probably be staying here for a few years—there are some things I have to do that need to be completed properly."
"Of course, if there are suitable ingredients, I will come over," Marcel turned back and said. "Your cooking is indeed very good, and the food is delicious."
"I think so too," Luna nodded seriously.
They left the place and soon returned to the main road of Hogsmeade. And the time was already past two o'clock in the afternoon.
"Go to one last place, and then it's time to return to school," Marcel said.