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A flash of lightning across the entire sky gathered at the tip of his right index finger. With his left hand, Charlie tossed the material vial onto the soft grass, drew his wand, and whispered the incantation in his mind: "Tempus Incantatum."
Then he swung the wand with practiced ease. "Wingardium Leviosa—"
The vial on the grass floated upward. Following the motion of his wand, the cap slowly unscrewed itself.
With lightning still crackling at his right fingertips, Charlie used his left hand and wand to guide the energy, directing the thunder into the open bottle.
Strong wind and rain lashed against him like a waterfall. His robes whipped violently around him, but he stood firm in the darkness.
"I can smell it."
Charlie's nostrils flared. In the air, that clean, faintly cold scent slipped into his nose.
It was the scent of spring.
Petals and young leaves swept up by the wind danced past him.
Another bolt of thunder crashed down. He stopped letting his mind wander and focused, quickly catching the fleeting lightning with his right hand.
The lightning came and went in an instant. From the side, it almost looked like the bolt was shooting out from his fingertip rather than striking down from the sky.
This spring thunder was truly extraordinary. It was fundamentally different from ordinary lightning.
The overload thunder Charlie had worked with before sent a sharp, needle-like sensation through his body as its energy flowed through him.
Spring thunder, while it still carried a faint prickling under the tingling, felt more like a deep, soothing massage.
He wasn't sure if his perception was accurate, but he was certain this was nothing like regular lightning.
The wind howled. Charlie gradually lost track of time. Thunder always arrived suddenly and ended just as abruptly, but the natural energy it left behind in the world didn't vanish right away.
It was simply at its densest in the exact moment the lightning first struck.
He didn't know how long had passed before he finally lowered his exhausted right arm, looking at the vial now full of spring thunder essence.
Holding his arm up that long had put a serious strain on his shoulder.
He quickly sealed the cap, then hurried back toward the castle.
He was already freezing. He couldn't stay out here soaking wet any longer.
—
The moment he stepped inside the castle, an indescribable warmth washed over him.
Running from the first floor all the way up to the eighth right now was definitely not a good idea.
He checked the time. Just past nine—
He had been standing out in the rain for over an hour.
Standing in the corridor, he thought for a moment, then turned left. A staircase leading downward soon appeared.
Down in the dungeons, Charlie moved quickly along the corridor until he reached the kitchen doors.
He gave the pear on the fruit painting a quick scratch. As it giggled, he pushed the door open and stepped inside.
"Evening, everyone," Charlie called out with a raised hand and a bright smile.
One of the house-elves tidying up leftovers at a long table spotted him first.
The moment he saw Charlie, his face filled with alarm. He hurried over. "Oh, respected young wizard! What happened to you?"
Charlie rubbed his arms and laughed. "Could you do me a favor and cast a drying charm on my clothes?"
"Of course. It would be my honor." The house-elf nodded rapidly and flicked his fingers. A flash of light shot from his fingertip.
The next second, Charlie felt warmth spread through his entire body. Wisps of white steam began rising from the seams of his robes.
In the blink of an eye, he was enveloped in a cloud of white mist.
"Thanks," Charlie's voice came from within the steam.
"No need to thank me," the house-elf replied. "Is there anything else I can do for you?"
Charlie nodded and waved the mist away. "Is Saro around right now?"
"Yes, he is."
"Could you ask him to come over, please?" Charlie said.
After Charlie finished speaking, the house-elf's footsteps pattered away.
Charlie dispersed the remaining steam and walked over to the Ravenclaw table, sitting down in his usual spot without hesitation.
Everything felt both familiar and strange at the same time—the familiar tables, the unfamiliar surroundings. He looked around curiously.
A moment later, Saro approached. "Mr. Wonka." He bowed respectfully.
Charlie smiled. "Saro, I hope I'm not bothering you by coming so early."
"Not at all," Saro said quickly, shaking his head and half-bowing in his usual anxious way. "More accurately, this is a pleasant surprise."
"You're exaggerating," Charlie said helplessly. "Are you all finished with work for the night? If now isn't a good time for a lesson, I can come back later."
"Of course we can," Saro said at once. He led Charlie deeper into the kitchen.
Charlie had to admit he had underestimated how efficient house-elves were.
The kitchen wasn't nearly as empty and spotless as it had been the night before.
Several house-elves were still working. They moved like conductors of an orchestra. With flicks of their fingers, forks, plates, and spoons lined up and marched themselves into the sinks. When they came back out, they were gleaming clean.
Another house-elf tapped the air lightly, and all the water droplets on the dishes vanished, gathering neatly before disappearing into the cupboards.
Charlie thought that if he had a camera, he would definitely take a picture of this busy, orderly, and strangely lively scene.
"So you're saying that in just a little over an hour since dinner ended, you can get all of this done?" Charlie asked, impressed.
Saro quickly shook his head. "No, Mr. Wonka. Not just a little over an hour.
After the students finish dinner, that's when we have our own dinner. We eat at the long tables outside first, and only after that do we start cleaning."
"Oh, so you're eating—" Charlie awkwardly ran a hand through his hair.
Saro smiled. "Not exactly. We're only eating what's left over."
"But that doesn't mean the food is dirty."
Charlie nodded in understanding. That made sense.
After all, everyone ate family-style. Whatever was left was still clean, and thanks to magic, even food that sat out for a long time in the Great Hall didn't lose its taste or texture.
In a large kitchen like Hogwarts', it was impossible not to have leftovers every day.
Throwing away perfectly good food would be unforgivable.
"Not all the food is clean, though. Those Slytherin brats have no respect for food at all—" Charlie vaguely heard one of the house-elves muttering.
He hadn't misheard. The moment the words left the elf's mouth, that same house-elf dropped to his knees and started banging his head against the floor.
"Stupid! Bad! What are you saying? How could you think something like that?"
As he scolded himself, the dishes he had been controlling wobbled dangerously in the air.
Charlie quickly drew his wand with his left hand and pointed it at the floating tableware. "Wingardium Leviosa—"
His reaction was faster than the house-elves'. By the time he steadied the dishes, everyone else had only just realized what was happening.
Saro turned to Charlie first. "Mr. Wonka, thank you so much."
Then he looked at the house-elf still banging his head on the floor.
"Kaka, what were you saying? You foolish creature."
"You should be ashamed of yourself," another house-elf said.
"If it weren't for this respected young wizard being here, you would have caused a disaster.
You nearly destroyed Hogwarts property."
Charlie quickly raised his hands. "Alright, alright, everyone calm down."
The house-elf called Kaka was already in tears.
Charlie spoke gently. "He just had a thought. There's no need to scold him like that."
"That's enough, everyone. Get back to work. Kaka, take these dishes."
"Yes—right away!" Kaka wiped his tears and nodded rapidly, raising his hands toward the floating plates.
"You all keep working," Charlie said, lowering his wand.
Saro sighed and gave Charlie an apologetic look. "I'm sorry you had to see that, Mr. Wonka."
Charlie waved it off. "Let's just start today's lesson."
Saro nodded and led Charlie over to one of the stoves.
Today's lesson ran long. Charlie was glad he had come at nine. According to his original plan, he would have been in the dorm doing homework between nine and eleven.
Of course, he hadn't expected it to rain and thunder tonight.
Because of the storm, he had gotten soaked and come to the kitchens for help from the house-elves.
That had let him start today's syrup-making lesson earlier than planned.
And he was more than happy about it.
When the clock finally reached 1 a.m., Charlie looked expectantly at the clear glass in his hand. Inside was a thick, reddish-brown liquid.
He pulled out a spoon, scooped up a bit of the syrup, and tasted it. A rich apple flavor bloomed on his tongue.
Finally, he turned to Saro and the other house-elves who had gathered around without him noticing and pushed the glass toward them. "Come try it," he said, smiling.
This was a batch of syrup he had made completely on his own, with no guidance from Saro. He had used winter-stored apples from the pantry.
The house-elves eagerly took turns tasting it. Satisfied smiles appeared on every face.
Listening to their overlapping praise, Charlie gave them a strange smile. "Alright, I don't believe any of you. You'd praise me no matter what."
"Oh, that's not true!"
"We really mean it."
"It's so delicious."
The house-elves hurried to defend themselves. Charlie noticed one of them looking especially nervous and waved a hand with a smile. "It was just a joke. Don't take it seriously. Thank you for the compliment."
He turned to Saro. "Could I get a small bottle? I'd like to take some of this syrup with me to let other people try it."
Saro nodded quickly and brought out a small bottle, helping Charlie pour the syrup into it.
Charlie accepted the bottle of apple syrup and nodded. "That's it for today, Saro. Thank you very much."
"Will you be coming tomorrow, Mr. Wonka?"
"I'm not sure," Charlie said, shaking his head. "If I run into any problems later, I'll come find you again."
"I'll be looking forward to that day," Saro said.
Then he seemed to realize his words sounded like he was wishing for trouble and quickly shook his head again. "I mean—Mr. Wonka, it would be better if you didn't have to come back!"
Charlie couldn't help laughing at the way Saro kept nodding and shaking his head at the same time. "Of course. Even if I don't need help with anything, I can still come visit."
By the time he returned to the dorm, it was already 1:30 in the morning.
Fiona was sprawled on her back across Alice's fur, fast asleep. Anthony and Hector were, of course, already sound asleep in their beds.
Charlie was the only one still awake.
He took out the spring thunder essence and the apple syrup. After a moment of thought, he put the thunder essence away in his drawer and instead took out a bit of Dream Sand.
He had already had a long day. It was better to get some proper rest first.
Spring thunder—he could wait. Even though he really wanted to try it—
If this had been six months ago, Charlie probably would have drunk the spring thunder essence right then and there, desperate to test its effects immediately.
But with more and more things piling up on his plate, he had started to feel like having too much to do actually helped him stay calm.
There was no need to rush into testing it tonight.
Besides, special natural essences like this usually didn't only bring positive effects.
Autumn wind made people feel listless and depressed. Winter snow made people coldly rational but distant.
Spring thunder probably had its own downsides too.
Trying it now wasn't a good idea.
After drinking the Dream Sand, Charlie took off his robes, went to the bathroom to wash up, and then collapsed into bed.
What counted as a good night's sleep?
Charlie thought it was when you closed your eyes and opened them again to find that an entire night had passed, and you didn't feel tired at all. You could sit up without hesitation, look out the window, and stretch lazily in the sunlight.
That was a good sleep. A perfect one, even.
A small amount of Dream Sand could do exactly that.
It was wonderful.
Anthony and Hector pushed open the door and walked in, dragging their feet like they hadn't slept well.
"Oh, you're awake. What time did you get back last night?" Anthony asked.
"A little after one."
"So you really did go learn how to make syrup? Did you actually make anything?" Hector looked at Charlie with clear anticipation.
He had only found out last night that Charlie had gone to the kitchens after noticing he still hadn't returned.
"Of course." Charlie got out of bed and walked over to his desk.
"Since it's already morning, how about I make you both a special drink?"
He took out Sun Dew and the apple syrup. What could be better than starting the day with a mix of the two?
A few minutes later, three glasses of pale golden liquid sat on Charlie's desk.
After Charlie nodded to show the drinks were ready, Anthony eagerly picked up his glass and took a sip.
The rich, sweet aroma of apple combined beautifully with the warm energy of the Sun Dew.
That bright, sweet-and-sour apple flavor bloomed on his tongue, followed by a wave of warmth that spread through his entire body.
Anthony's eyes even half-closed in contentment, as if he were lying under a fruit tree on a sunny afternoon, quietly enjoying the moment.
In an instant, the sleepiness from waking up early completely vanished, replaced by a deep, satisfying warmth.