"Morning, Leo."
Terry greeted him automatically, then did a double-take. Leo was fully dressed, even wearing shoes, casually emerging from behind his bed curtains as if he'd just walked in from outside.
"Leo, what's going on?"
Leo let the curtain fall back into place. "Just cleared some land and built a house."
Terry blinked. "Right. You're funny this morning."
Leo wasn't surprised by Terry's skepticism. Honestly, living in the same dormitory with his bed transformed into a "small paradise," Terry would notice something unusual eventually.
So Leo didn't plan to hide it. Although this kind of operation was rare for a first-year wizard, it was magic—nothing was truly strange. He'd already said it—whether Terry believed him was another matter.
"By the way, want to grab breakfast together? I've got some Charms questions to ask you. Speaking of which, the dining hall added loads of new items starting yesterday. Just breakfast alone has way more variety."
"The taste is fantastic. I heard it's Asian cuisine—things like fried dough sticks, tofu pudding, dumplings..."
Leo listened to Terry listing the menu, barely nodding. Those house-elves' efficiency was impressive. He'd only taught them Chinese recipes a few days ago, and they'd already added them to the dining hall menu?
"Sure, let's go together."
The two made their way to the Great Hall.
"Mmm..." Leo gently blew on the steam rising from the dumpling's surface before spooning it into his mouth.
Actually, those little elves' craftsmanship was quite good. The taste was well-executed—thin skin, generous filling.
"Leo? Good morning."
Glancing at the black-haired girl sitting across from him, Leo nodded. "Good morning, Cho."
In front of Cho sat a bowl of dumplings and a cup of steaming soy milk.
"I didn't expect that coming to Hogwarts, I could still taste flavors from home."
"Cho, you're from Asia originally, right? How is it—do you find these dishes authentic?"
Hearing Leo's question, Cho swallowed a small dumpling and smiled. "Yes, I moved here from overseas with my parents when I was young. Honestly, these dishes are very authentic and delicious. I don't know how those little elves thought of making this cuisine."
Probably because a certain soul tortured by bland British food instilled wonderful culinary knowledge into the house-elves.
Leo wondered if Cho understood Asian magic—it should be quite fascinating, probably a unique knowledge system entirely.
"Cho, do you know anything about magic from back home?"
"Well, I was still young then—I mostly heard from my parents, and they're both wizards. The magic there is very different. People don't use wands; they use things called talismans, elixirs, enchanted swords, ritual implements..."
Listening to Cho's explanation, Leo's eyes brightened with interest. Waving a wand to release magic was certainly fascinating, but those were enchanted swords and talismans—who wouldn't want to explore that?
Were those magical artifacts similar to alchemy here, inscribing magical effects on instruments for more convenient and quick activation? If only he could learn that magical knowledge—that would be extraordinary!
"Oh, I heard that back home they don't use flying broomsticks either, but rather... um, what's it called..." Cho pinched her hair tips in frustration, momentarily forgetting.
"Sword flying?"
"Yes! That's it! Leo, how did you know?"
From reading novels and watching shows—who hadn't seen those stories growing up?
Leo stirred the dumpling soup to cool it faster. "I read some books that mentioned this magical flying method."
"I see. You really are a Ravenclaw—you've read so many books. Speaking of which, you've already had flying class, right? How did it feel?"
Cho's question made Leo recall. Controlling a broomstick to fly really wasn't difficult for him—he'd picked it up very easily.
"Not bad. The feeling of free flight is great, though the school's brooms are a bit old—the speed and agility both feel limited."
Hearing Leo's complaint, Cho chuckled. "Seems you're naturally good at flying—discovering those brooms' limitations on your first try. Too bad first-years can't bring flying broomsticks to school."
Probably to prevent students from flying around recklessly. Ravenclaw's dormitory was at the top of a tower, the kind where you could directly take off and land on a broomstick. Last time when stargazing on the rooftop, he'd personally watched a Ravenclaw upperclassman take a student and fly off.
Moreover, no matter how high-end flying broomsticks were, flying on them was probably limited. How could it compare to riding a Qilin soaring through clouds?
"Leo, since you've learned to ride a broom, want to try out for Quidditch later? It's really exciting!"
After finishing the last dumpling, Leo asked an unusual question. "Quidditch—do you have to play it on a broomstick?"
"What?"
Seeing the girl's puzzled expression, Leo waved it off. "Nothing, just kidding."
Leo's first reaction really was to ride Aurelius to play, but thinking again, that would not only be too flashy—the key was it would be completely overpowered. Not to mention the Qilin's cloud-treading flight speed and agility—if he also used its innate Apparition, they could just hand him the trophy directly.
Wizards' flight basically relied on broomsticks. Other regions used things like magic carpets, but these all had significant limitations.
However, one wizard had developed exclusive flying magic: Voldemort. He could transform himself into black smoke or wind without relying on external objects, traveling through the air.
Never mind the schemes—Tom's talent in magic was genuinely exceptional. If he hadn't bothered with conquering the world or ruling Britain and focused on researching magic, he might have achieved the immortality he wanted. But instead he had to cause trouble. Never mind seeking eternal life—in the end he couldn't even take down one school.
"I'm finished eating. You two take your time. I'll head back to study."
Terry swallowed the tofu pudding in his mouth and waved the fried dough stick in his hand.
Cho also waved goodbye, not expecting Leo to eat so quickly, muttering quietly, "We barely talked. He really loves studying..."
"Senior, what did you say?"
Terry looked up at Cho, still holding the golden crispy fried dough.
"Nothing. I said the dumplings are delicious."
"Oh, then I'll go order a bowl to try."
While walking toward the Ravenclaw common room, Leo reviewed knowledge points from "Identification of Dark Magic," especially those curses with concealed methods, dark magic that could affect mind and soul.
He couldn't help it—today he had to go to Tom—no, Professor Quirrell—for Defense Against the Dark Arts tutoring.