"Then I'll put them in," Luna said, wearing gloves, and holding up the baking tray with the biscuits they had made, she placed it inside the oven.
Dylan nodded, observing Luna's movements from the side. The oven seemed to be a normal one – at least, it appeared that way. Luna knelt down and placed the baking tray inside the oven. The oven didn't have many functions and was a rather old model.
"Speaking of which, did ovens even exist during Hufflepuff's time?" Dylan honestly didn't know about this; the books he usually read didn't cover such matters.
Luna turned a knob. As she turned it to the second setting, a faint whirring sound of gears turning came from inside the oven.
"That should do it," Luna stood up again and stepped back to Dylan's side. "We won't have to wait long. Last time I baked a cake, this oven seemed to have a magical effect and could cook food very quickly."
Dylan nodded, remaining silent, and focused his gaze on the inside of the oven. At this moment, the oven began to operate. Dylan could clearly sense strands of runic light spreading along some patterns on the oven's body. Those patterns represented the alchemical skill used in creating this oven.
Soon, the runic light gathered at the top of the oven, forming a pulsating flame that enveloped the baking tray. However, the flame didn't directly touch the tray; it surrounded it, baking the biscuit dough with heat and magic.
"This kind of fire..." Dylan had mastered Fiendfyre and Goblindefyre. He had much experience with flames but had never seen this particular type. Yet, Dylan felt that this flame was somewhat familiar – familiar in its power.
"Fire of Cooking?" Dylan blinked. He suddenly realised that the flame within this oven seemed to have a certain connection to the Cooking Charm he himself had mastered. This naturally led Dylan to the idea that this type of flame seemed to be specifically created for cooking.
Dylan's interest was instantly piqued. "Combining a spell with fire?" This was actually quite similar to Goblindefyre in principle. After all, Goblindefyre was both a flame and a spell. Therefore, this Fire of Cooking must also be generated through some kind of spell or runes.
"If cooking can be combined with fire... couldn't other spells also be applied to an object in the same way?"
Thinking about it carefully, wasn't this just like alchemical arrays? Carving the power of a spell into an array and then unleashing its magical effect.
"So... fire is actually an array?" This analogy made Dylan instantly understand many things. He thought of the jade stones he had previously made for the Weasley twins, as well as the protective gear he had crafted for his parents earlier – wasn't that also the application of spells and arrays?
"Thinking about it, Goblindefyre was born the same way." Using magic as a base, magical power as lines, and condensing flames while also condensing arrays!
Just then, Luna suddenly pointed at the oven and said, "Look, they're changing."
Dylan snapped back to attention and looked again. Through the rectangular observation window, Dylan saw bubbles starting to appear on the surface of the biscuits he and Luna had made.
The biscuit in the upper left corner, its flat surface bubbled up with pearl-like white granules, which then quickly connected into a network under the heat of the flame. In the blink of an eye, it formed a semi-transparent crystalline structure – it looked a bit like frozen honey bubbles.
A biscuit on the right side inexplicably oozed a pale purple liquid, twisting into mushroom-shaped protrusions on the biscuit. Dylan even saw these liquid formations, like real mushrooms, constantly emitting tiny glowing spots from their gills. It felt like fungi releasing spores.
Dylan stared at the changes in these biscuits. The row of biscuits in the middle had several cracks. Silky silver fluff emerged from the cracks. This fluff didn't look repulsive; instead, it looked very delicious, like it was sprinkled with a layer of sugar.
"Each one is different?" Dylan blinked, resting his chin in his hand, watching this secret Hufflepuff oven. It seemed that perhaps more than just those flames were at work in the oven. Or perhaps, those flames had other functions that he hadn't discovered yet.
"Gathering multiple spells onto a single alchemical creation is not an easy task," Dylan narrowed his eyes slightly. Not to mention, this was a strange method.
"It's truly odd, I don't feel the power of a Transfiguration Charm, so why are these biscuits undergoing such strange changes?" Dylan's heart was itching. He really wanted to just conveniently move this oven back into his own world. If he could extract the flames directly from it and make some minor adjustments, perhaps he could create a culinary flame that didn't even require physical ingredients to cook food itself.
"Isn't that just creating a house-elf for yourself?" Dylan thought of some experiments he had been conducting earlier, and the excitement in his heart grew stronger. He hadn't expected that a broken Hufflepuff oven could give him so many fresh ideas! He couldn't even imagine how many more surprises were waiting for him to unearth throughout the rest of Hogwarts!
"Did Gryffindor only leave behind a broken sword? There should be other inheritances, right? And Slytherin, did he just leave a rotten snake? Impossible, impossible..." Dylan kept thinking inwardly.
Luna, meanwhile, quietly watched the oven, waiting for the biscuits to finish baking. For a moment, both of them fell silent, yet neither felt awkward.
Time ticked by. They sat on the bench opposite the oven. Luna counted the faint humming sounds as the oven operated, occasionally reaching up to brush away strands of hair falling in front of her face – the tips still had a little flour stuck to them.
A faint sweet scent hung in the air, mixed with the heat radiating from the oven. This made the corner they were in especially quiet. Neither of them spoke. Dylan gradually gathered his thoughts, listening to his own breathing. He suddenly noticed that Luna's shoulders were gently swaying, as if moving to a rhythm only she could hear. The oven's glow reflected on her cheeks, casting shadows of her eyelashes onto her pale face, which trembled slightly with the firelight.
Indeed, just as Luna had said, the oven was magical, and thus the biscuits were quickly baked.
"Ding!"
With a clear chime from the oven, Luna slowly reached out and grasped the handle of the oven door. She paused for a moment, then turned to look at Dylan. Warm, golden firelight spilled from the gap in the oven door, outlining Luna's soft jawline. Her pale gold hair shone brightly. The flour still clinging to her hair, when illuminated by the oven light, looked like scattered fragments of moonlight.
Luna's eyes curved slightly at the corners, and a very faint smile lifted her lips. At this moment, her entire being was bathed in soft light, radiating an indescribable sense of clarity.
Dylan stared, a little dazed. This girl, how could she look so much like an angel? Was this the beauty of backlight? It seemed he should take photos like this next time. Dylan's fingertips unconsciously rubbed together.
Luna's face was tilted, her eyes reflecting the dancing firelight like two small pools of melted amber. The faint freckles on the bridge of her nose were clearly visible in the light. Far from affecting Luna's appearance, they added a touch of purity and simplicity. In this moment, Dylan felt as if she were a painting woven into the warm light of the oven, possessing an ethereal lightness. It wasn't a stunning beauty, but rather a comforting one. Like the first tender buds appearing on branches as the snow melts in early spring. It was hard to say what was special about it, yet it was inexplicably moving.
"What are you looking at?" Luna tilted her head, her voice drifting over softly.
Dylan jumped, giving a little shake, blinking his eyes, then shook his head casually: "Nothing, I just think you look very beautiful."
Luna: ('-'\*) "Do... I look good?"
Dylan nodded seriously: "Yes."
"You, look good." Dylan pointed at Luna, then gave a thumbs up.
After a moment, Luna pursed her lips, and a gentle curve suddenly lifted the corners of her mouth. "Thank you. Besides my family, you're the first person to compliment me like that."
"You're welcome. I'm just stating a fact," Dylan replied dryly. His usual eloquence seemed to have completely deserted him at this moment.
"The biscuits are ready," Luna's voice was as light as a feather. She opened the oven door. Instantly, a gust of hot air carrying the scent of caramel wafted out. Luna's gaze swept over the oddly shaped biscuits on the baking tray, then she reached up to brush away the hair that had been blown around by the heat. The tips of her ears were a very faint pink.
"Which one... do you want to try first?"
Dylan also realised he had been staring for too long. It was truly a sin. His Adam's apple bobbed, and Dylan coughed softly. "Any is fine." He flicked his wand, removing the baking tray from the oven to avoid burning Luna. He placed it on the table behind him. Luna left the oven door ajar to let out the heat and turned to walk over as well.
Sitting back down beside Dylan, Luna poked a biscuit with her fingertip. It had a crisp edge and several round granular bumps on the surface. "This looks a lot like a biscuit with peas growing on it."
Dylan turned his head, his peripheral vision unconsciously glancing at Luna. Her hair hung down, obscuring half of her face. Dylan suddenly found that her expression was strangely endearingly serious, as focused at that moment as a rare beetle.
"Yes, let's try this one first then." Dylan picked up the biscuit and took a bite. The sweetness of caramel mixed with a hint of cool mint spread on his tongue. Thanks to the secret oven, the round granules that had appeared on the biscuit's surface were very crispy to eat. Especially after Dylan swallowed the biscuit, he suddenly noticed that the magical power within him seemed to have fluctuated.
"Hmm?" Dylan was startled, raising his eyebrows to look at Luna, but she was tilting her head and examining a biscuit with transparent tendrils growing on it, not noticing him.
Dylan stared at the biscuit in his hand for a moment, then tossed the remaining half directly into his mouth.
Again. A strange feeling emerged. Apart from the sweetness of caramel, the cool bitterness of mint and pine needles spread in his throat. At the same time, the feeling of lightness he had experienced running in the corridor that morning suddenly flashed through his mind – it wasn't physical energy, but a kind of clarity on a mental level. Like a mirror washed clean by clear water. Even the sound of dripping water from a distance was exceptionally clear.
Dylan closed his eyes, sensing the magical power flowing slowly within him. He found that the magical power was flowing even more smoothly than usual.
"This..." Dylan opened his eyes, looking in surprise at the plate of freshly baked biscuits in front of him.
"What's wrong?" Luna turned her head, looking at Dylan's strange expression, and couldn't help but feel puzzled.
"Didn't you say you made a cake with this oven last time? Did you eat the cake in the end?"
Luna nodded, "I ate a little, and I shared the rest with everyone."
Dylan pursed his lips slightly. "When you ate the cake, did you feel anything different? I mean, on a physical and mental level."
Luna tilted her head. "Different? Not really. I just thought the cake was delicious. After one bite, I just wanted to eat a little more." She suddenly smiled. "But after all, this is the Hufflepuff kitchen, and I used their utensils, so I should share the food I make with everyone."
Dylan was silent for a moment, then nodded.
"Did you find something?"
"Yes, just now when I ate that biscuit, I felt my mind was soothed, and even my magical power fluctuated a bit, flowing more smoothly."
"Oh? Does this biscuit have such an effect?" Luna also picked up a biscuit with white frost on the surface, examined it for a moment in front of her eyes, then put it in her mouth and gently bit down. Instantly, a cool sweetness spread in her mouth. Afterward, Luna felt her temples warm slightly. A blurred spell she had seen before suddenly became clear in her mind.
Luna opened her eyes in surprise. "It's true!"
Dylan turned his head, staring at the oven in the corner that looked ordinary, even a bit old. "It really isn't an ordinary oven."
Luna's eyelashes fluttered. "When I discovered it, it had just become visible after being invisible."
Dylan narrowed his eyes. "If that's the case, there's another possibility... Perhaps it just Apparated here?"
"Apparated?" Luna looked at him. "Do you mean Disapparition?"
"I'm not sure. I sensed a lot of alchemical runes on this oven. Even if it's Disapparition, it's not incomprehensible."
"This..." Luna paused. "But this is the Hufflepuff oven. If it had always been here, it's impossible that no one would have discovered it, right?"
Dylan nodded. "It seems we need to ask some others." At this moment, the urge to spirit this secret oven away to his own world suddenly became more urgent.
"I'll take a part of the biscuits; you can have the rest." Dylan divided the biscuits on the baking tray into two portions. Luna nodded and didn't refuse.
After cleaning the baking tray with magic, Dylan turned around and looked at the secret oven.
"Hufflepuff's treasure... could it be this thing?" Luna, seeing Dylan's interest in the oven, couldn't help but ask, "Do you want to take it?"
"Uh? What?"