"It's said that the thinnest books in the world are American history and British cookbooks. It turns out that this is not entirely a joke!"
Looking at the six dishes on the table — aside from the fish and chips, all of them were French — Carl couldn't help but complain in his heart.
"Hmm, this tastes really good."
After tasting all six dishes, his eyes lit up.
To be honest, the food made by a house-elf using cooking magic could easily be the best meal if it were put on a table in the ordinary human world.
A great chef typically needs rich experience, extraordinary talent with knife skills, control of heat, and careful handling of ingredients. But cooking magic can bring all these elements to perfection through pure magical power. As long as you know the recipe, the meal is guaranteed to turn out well — and with a bit more effort, it's not hard to become a master chef.
Just like Wanda. Although she tried hard to learn cooking, the taste of her food remained average.
"Perhaps I can memorize more principles and knowledge of cooking magic, then write it into a book and give it to Wanda."
Most wizards in the Marvel world do not possess their own magic; instead, they borrow power from dimensional entities and slowly pay it back. The wizards of Kamar-Taj, for example, draw their power from Vishanti, and their Supreme Sorcerer, the Ancient One, borrowed power from numerous sources — although the Ancient One was much more proficient and often avoided paying back what she borrowed.
The power in Wanda's body is chaos magic, which comes from Chthon, the Elder God of Chaos and Black Magic, and it's one of the most ancient and powerful forces in magic.
For now, because she hadn't been stimulated by the Mind Stone, Wanda hadn't fully awakened chaos magic and couldn't use it at will. However, as long as she mastered the corresponding magic, she'd be able to release its power in a more controlled and sophisticated form.
This was a huge advantage. After being stimulated by the Mind Stone, Wanda — not understanding magic — could only release chaos energy in its raw form and was prone to losing control.
But if she first mastered magic knowledge and techniques, then when her chaos magic fully awakened, she'd quickly learn to control it.
This would greatly enhance Wanda's ability to protect herself — and her cooking skills — while satisfying her own desires.
"Barry, go to Flourish and Blotts and buy all the textbooks from first to seventh grade, and any other magic books we don't already have at home."
After lunch, Carl handed a handful of gold Galleons to Barry.
Tom Foley hadn't studied hard at Hogwarts; he was just a young wizard with some talent in herbs, not a scholar who mastered numerous magic books and techniques.
But now, after his rebirth, Carl's memory was much sharper, and nearly everything he saw stayed in his mind. During these past months, while mastering all the magic Tom already knew, Carl also tried to memorize all the books and knowledge available in the magical world.
Writing something down doesn't immediately make it a part of you, but it lets you learn it more thoroughly later, even after you leave this world.
Furthermore, many magical principles connect to each other — the more you learn, the faster you can learn subsequent magic.
If your foundation is weak, then even if you find advanced magic later, it will be hard to learn.
Although Barry didn't quite know what her master was up to, as a loyal house-elf, she didn't question it. After collecting the Galleons, she Disapparated.
A moment later, she reappeared with a pile of books — then kept Disapparating and reappearing with more.
She made this journey seven or eight times in total. Finally, the pile of books was complete.
With Tom's memories and numerous magic books, Carl took his wand and went up to his bedroom on the second floor to pursue his magical studies.
A month later, Carl sat on the sofa, facing a broken cup, and chanted a spell with great concentration:
"Restored to its original state!"
The cup, which had previously been shattered into several pieces, seemed to reverse in time and become whole once more — as if it had never been broken.
"I've finally mastered these basic spells!"
During these thirty days, aside from sleeping and using the restroom, he spent nearly all his time memorizing magic books and repeatedly practicing the most fundamental charms.
From the introductory Illumination Charm, Levitation Charm, and Unlocking Charm in first grade, to the more challenging Repair Charm, Cutting Charm, and Transfiguration — all were now within his control.
The shop remained closed during this period. The house-elf Barry took care of all the cooking and cleaning.
The results were remarkable. He could successfully cast most of the basic spells, especially those Tom already knew from memory.
However, some advanced and dangerous magic — Apparition, Oblivion, False Memory, and the more lethal dark curse — were meant to be learned by wizards seventeen and older.
He hadn't mastered them yet.
For two main reasons. First, Tom Foley hadn't mastered many powerful charms, and Carl was trying to learn them directly from books without much guidance, which made his progress slow. Second, magic itself was profoundly complex. Even with Tom's memories, it was hard to absorb it quickly.
But Carl already had a plan.
Magic, ninjutsu, and martial arts all have something in common: reading about them isn't enough; you need to practice. If you practice more, your ability will grow much faster.
"Barry, come here!"
At his call, the tiny house-elf immediately Disapparated from the first floor and appeared in front of him.
"Master, what do you need?"
"Pack up. We're going to live in the main house for a while."
Carl decided it was time to move.
The Foley family had a large manor in the suburbs of London. It fell into disrepair after Tom Foley was left as the last wizard in his generation.
Tom opened a small herbal shop in Diagon Alley and lived there instead. Living in the large, isolated manor seemed unnecessary — and painful, as it reminded him of his deceased relatives.
"Yes, Master!"
Barry nodded, and with a few gestures, the clothes in the wardrobe, the magic books on the table, and numerous knickknacks flew into a large trunk, neatly folding and organizing themselves.
Carl grabbed the trunk, then took Barry's hand.
"Take me back to the main manor!"
With a rush of fairy magic, the two Disapparated in an instant and reappeared in front of a sprawling manor in the southern suburbs of London.
"Some things are hard to do in Diagon Alley… but here, we shouldn't have those problems."