!!!
Damn...
In that moment, Rhys seemed to see a blazing sun rising over the distant American continent. He immediately fell in love with this fierce, uniquely fragrant spirit.
He recalled seeing a cocktail called "Tequila Sunrise" in the encyclopedia Hermione had given him.
Rhys's gaze swept across the long table, and fortunately, all the ingredients were there. He immediately got to work.
First, he poured tequila into the goblet. Then, with a simple freezing spell, the entire cup dropped to a low temperature, and the liquor turned into jelly-like chunks.
Next, Rhys added a generous amount of orange juice. With the help of a stirring charm, the orange juice and tequila mixed thoroughly.
Finally, Rhys picked up a pomegranate from the fruit basket. With a snap of his fingers, the seeds separated themselves from the fruit.
He took out a small cauldron, conjured a burst of magical flame, and used it to press and reduce the pomegranate seeds into a spoonful of steaming, bright red pomegranate syrup.
Scooping up the steaming pomegranate syrup, Rhys lightly tapped the bottom of the goblet with the spoon. In an instant, the syrup transferred itself to the base of the glass.
The near-boiling syrup met the chilled, almost frozen liquid with a violent clash, and visually, it truly looked like a rising sun breaking through darkness and illuminating the sky.
Rhys recalled the encyclopedia's description of the Tequila Sunrise: on the Mexican plains dotted with cacti, a vivid red sun rises, bathing the land in brilliant light.
He really liked that feeling.
He took a delicate sip of the magical version of the Tequila Sunrise he'd made. The fresh fruit fragrance blended with the fiery heat unique to tequila, and the richness of the flavor was so vivid it felt as if a sun were rising inside his mouth.
The aftertaste lingered endlessly.
The young witches and wizards around him had long since been stunned by his performance. They were drinking the same thing, right? But somehow, he could turn it into such a spectacle? And it looked so beautiful!
"Can I have a glass?" Daphne was the first to break the silence and "place an order" with Rhys. Instantly, every student nearby perked up their ears, and even across the table, quite a few professors looked tempted.
The eager gazes made Rhys extremely satisfied. Without hesitation, he flicked his wand, clearing a wide space on the table, then lined up more than a dozen goblets in a row.
With smooth, practiced motions, he made twelve glasses of his interpretation of the Tequila Sunrise in one go.
When he finished, he snapped his fingers, and flames lit up on the surface of all twelve cocktails. The fire burned off the alcohol in the liquid while leaving the flavor behind.
Rhys handed out the alcohol-free cocktails to the young witches and wizards whose eyes were practically burning with excitement, watching happily as they tasted the drinks he had crafted.
Helga, who had been observing the entire process, learned how to make the cocktail almost instantly and immediately replicated a glass.
Rhys: (►__◄) staaare~
Helga: (^///^) ehehe!
Helga's cocktail had more tequila added, and instead of pomegranate syrup, she used ruby-red port wine. Compared to Rhys's original version, it was obvious that the professors preferred this stronger variation.
After two glasses of Professor White's specially mixed cocktails, the flame in Professor Trelawney's heart was thoroughly ignited by the liquor. Holding a glass full of brandy, she edged closer to Helga. She was so nervous that she didn't even notice the drink sloshing onto the front of her robes.
"Professor White…" Trelawney began. But at the moment she tried to speak, a wave of nervousness hit her—her mouth went dry. She quickly took a huge gulp of brandy to "replenish her courage."
"May I ask… could you tell me about my ancestor? The Seer you once met." Her eyes brimmed with anticipation. Earlier, Trelawney had mentally prepared a careful script, but after several drinks, she had forgotten all of it and simply spoke from the heart.
Once her name was called, Helga listened attentively to this descendant of a great Seer. Learning that Trelawney wished to know about her ancestor, she naturally didn't refuse.
"Of course, there's no problem. But I need to clarify something first—the one who encountered the Seer wasn't me. It was the four founders of Hogwarts back in their time. This story was actually quite well-known in our era, so I simply borrowed it that day. I didn't expect that now… no one seems to have heard of this legend at all."
Upon learning that it was a tale involving the four founders, all the professors present immediately perked up their ears. Even Dumbledore quietly set down his wineglass and his knife and fork.
A "retelling" from Professor White about the founders—this had to be taken seriously.
Seeing that her colleagues were clearly interested, Helga straightened her posture and switched into bedtime-story mode.
[Once upon a time, four young witches and wizards set out on a journey together. They came from barren marshes, from quiet riverbanks, from wide open valleys, and from filthy swamps.]
Rhys: ???
He lifted his head and looked at Helga—Are you seriously inserting personal jabs into a legendary tale right in front of me?!
Helga gave him a mischievous smile—in harmless moments like these, teasing Salazar was just too much fun, especially seeing him get all worked up.
[They were traveling along a narrow, secluded path, and the sky was already nearing dusk—]
Dumbledore lifted his head, glancing at Professor White.
Isn't the beginning of this story… borrowed from somewhere?
[They finally reached a remote little village just before the sky turned completely dark. At the center of the village there seemed to be a bonfire celebration.
But when they approached, they discovered it was not a celebration, nor was it a witch trial—it was a group of Norman invaders who had crossed the sea!
They had slaughtered all the villagers, leaving only a single impoverished woman behind. The brutal Norman pirates had tied her to a cross and were preparing to throw her into the roaring flames!
The righteous Gryffindor could not bear to witness such a tragedy. Ignoring Slytherin's attempts to stop him, he decided to save the woman. With the help of his longsword and the others' staffs, the four of them finally rescued her.
After they brought the woman away from danger, she told the young wizards that she was a seer who could see future events—and that it was this very identity that had allowed her to survive the Norman massacre.]
Helga stopped here, not continuing immediately.
She glanced around and found that almost everyone had stopped eating, listening intently to her story. Only then did she nod in satisfaction.
After taking a big swig of her cocktail to moisten her throat, she lowered her voice and said, "That woman who survived against all odds was Professor Trelawney's ancestor—the Great Seer Trelawney, Pythia Trelawney!"
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12 Chaps ahead at Patreon.com/HornyFBI