"Morning, Lucien," Terry said, greeting him reflexively.
But when he saw Lucien step out from behind his bed curtains, fully dressed and even wearing shoes, looking fresh as a daisy, Terry raised an eyebrow. "Lucien, what's going on?"
Lucien let the curtain fall back and said casually, "Just cleared so land and built a house."
"Uh, Lucien, didn't know you were such a codian," Terry replied with a grin.
Lucien wasn't surprised by Terry's reaction. Honestly, sharing a dorm room ant Terry was bound to notice sothing odd about Lucien's bed eventually—it wasn't exactly a standard four-poster but more like a "mini pocket dinsion." So, Lucien didn't bother hiding it. Sure, it was a bit unusual for a first-year to pull off sothing like that, but magic's weird like that, right? Nothing too shocking.
He'd said his piece. Whether Terry believed him was another story.
"By the way, wanna grab breakfast together?" Terry asked. "I've got so Charms questions I'd love to run by you. Oh, and have you noticed the new food in the Great Hall? They've added tons of new stuff for breakfast."
"The flavors are amazing! I heard it's so kind of cuisine—youtiao, tofu pudding, wontons…"
Lucien gave a subtle nod as Terry rattled off the nu. Those house-elves were seriously efficient. Just a few days ago, he'd taught them so recipes, and now they were already serving them in the Great Hall? Impressive.
"Sounds good. Let's go," Lucien said.
The two headed to the Great Hall.
Lucien gently blew on the steaming wonton in his spoon before taking a bite. Not bad. The house-elves had nailed it—thin skins, hearty filling, just like the real deal.
"Lucien? Fancy seeing you here!"
He looked up to see a dark-haired girl sitting across from him and nodded. "Morning, Cho."
Cho had a bowl of wontons in front of her too, along with a steaming cup of soy milk.
"I never thought I'd get a taste of ho here at Hogwarts," she said with a smile.
"You're from the East, right?" Lucien asked. "How's the food? Authentic enough for you?"
Cho swallowed a small wonton and pursed her lips thoughtfully. "Yeah, I moved here from China with my parents when I was little. Honestly, these dishes are spot-on. Delicious. I have no idea how the house-elves decided to start making food."
Lucien smirked inwardly. Probably because a certain soul, tortured by British "cuisine," decided to teach the house-elves so proper cooking skills.
He wondered if Cho knew anything about magic. It sounded fascinating, probably a completely different system of knowledge. "Cho, do you know much about the magic from your holand?"
"Well, I was pretty young, so most of what I know cos from my parents. They're both wizards," she said. " magic is… unique. They don't use wands. Instead, they use things like talismans, potions, flying swords, and whisks…"
Lucien's eyes lit up as she spoke. Waving a wand to cast spells was cool and all, but flying swords? Talismans? Who wouldn't want to be an immortal cultivator?
Those magical tools sounded a bit like alchemy here—enchanting objects with magical effects for quicker, more efficient use. If he could learn about magic, that'd be incredible!
"Oh, and I heard back ho they don't use broomsticks for flying," Cho continued, frowning as she tried to recall sothing. "It's, um… what's it called…"
"Sword flight?" Lucien offered.
"Yes! That's it!" Cho's eyes widened. "How'd you know that?"
Because I've watched too many wuxia dramas and read too many novels. Lucien stirred his wonton soup to cool it down. "I read about it in a book. Sounded like a pretty cool way to fly."
"Wow, you really are a Ravenclaw, aren't you? Always reading," Cho teased. "Speaking of flying, you've already had your flying lesson, right? How was it?"
Lucien thought back. Flying a broomstick hadn't been hard at all—he'd picked it up easily. "It was fun. Flying freely feels amazing."
"Though the school brooms are a bit… ancient. Not exactly fast or nimble."
Cho laughed. "Sounds like you're a natural at flying. Most people don't notice the brooms' limits on their first try. Too bad first-years can't bring their own broomsticks to school."
Probably to stop students from zooming around recklessly. Ravenclaw's dorm was at the top of a tower, perfect for taking off and landing on a broom. Lucien had seen a senior Ravenclaw whisk a girl away on his broom during a stargazing session on the tower roof. But even the fanciest broom probably couldn't compare to soaring through the clouds on Luster , his qilin.
"Lucien, since you're so good at flying, are you going to try out for Quidditch? It's super fun!" Cho said.
Lucien finished his last wonton and asked, "Does Quidditch have to be played on a broomstick?"
"What?" Cho looked puzzled.
He waved it off with a grin. "Just kidding."
His first thought had been playing Quidditch on Luster , but that would be way too flashy. Not to ntion overpowered—Luster cloud-stepping speed and agility, plus its innate Apparition ability? He'd probably win the Quidditch Cup single-handedly.
Wizards mostly relied on broomsticks for flying, though so cultures used things like magic carpets, which had their own limitations. But there was one wizard who'd mastered flight without any tools—Voldemort. He could transform into a wisp of black smoke or a breeze and soar through the air.
Say what you will about his sches, but Tom Riddle's magical talent was undeniable. If he'd focused on researching magic instead of chasing world domination or dodging death, he might've actually achieved immortality. Instead, he stirred up trouble and couldn't even take down a school.
"I'm done eating. You guys enjoy," Lucien said, standing up. "I'm heading back to read."
Terry, mouth full of tofu pudding, waved a fried dough stick at him. Cho waved too, muttering under her breath, "Barely chatted for a minute, and he's already off to study. Such a Ravenclaw…"
"Hey, Cho, you say sothing?" Terry asked, still chewing on his crispy youtiao.
"Uh, nothing. Just said the wontons are great."
"Oh, cool. I'll grab a bowl then."
"…"
As Lucien walked back to the Ravenclaw common room, he ntally reviewed Identifying Dark Magic. He was particularly focused on subtle curses that could affect the mind or soul. No choice—he had a Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson with Professor Quirrell (or rather, Tom) later today.
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