#73 - The Longbottoms

Anduin laughed, "Professor McGonagall takes good care of me. It's those Gryffindors and Slytherins who are always causing trouble that often make the professor angry."

"Humph, it must be those damned Slytherins who are stirring up trouble." As he said that, Frank suddenly realized that Anduin seemed to be in Slytherin too, and quickly added, "I mean those Slytherins who are always boasting about pure-blood supremacy. There are still quite a few Slytherins who are well-behaved."

Anduin didn't mind, and said, "I agree with you on that point. A few pure-blood students did give me trouble before, but I took care of them easily."

Frank got excited when he heard that, "Then you can learn a trick from Sirius and James. They have a 'Head-Down Suspension' curse that can hang people upside down. It was so much fun when we were in school."

I'm not that childish. Isn't it better to solve enemies cleanly and neatly? Anduin thought, then thought of something else, and said, "He couldn't wait to teach me that spell before. By the way, is Sirius in some kind of trouble? I can't seem to get in touch with him, and Lily and James too. The owl I sent with letters always can't find the place."

Alice and Frank frowned slightly when they heard Anduin's words and exchanged glances. Alice thought for a while and then said, "Dumbledore believes that Lily and James are currently facing danger, so he has hidden them. It's normal that you can't find them. We can't contact them either."

"As for Sirius," Frank continued, "he is currently in hiding. Many Death Eaters can't find Lily and James, so they want to find him, probably trying to find out where Lily and James are hiding from him. But don't worry, he's not fighting alone."

Anduin nodded, it seemed to be about what he had thought before.

"Alright, it's getting late. You should go to rest quickly. Frank, take Anduin to the guest room, the one at the end of the corridor. I've already cleaned it up in advance. Anduin, you're too kind. I don't think I can finish that ham in a month."

Augusta put away the ham and tidied up the dining room and kitchen before coming to the living room and saying to everyone.

After speaking, she sniffed the air, and then her face turned furious, "Frank, you've been sneaking alcohol again, haven't you? Don't you know you have to go to work tomorrow?"

Frank shrank his head, smiled sheepishly, and then quickly pulled Anduin upstairs.

Alice held Neville and snickered to the side. Augusta was furious and couldn't help but glare at her.

Anduin settled down in the Longbottom's home, which had such a family atmosphere. He still maintained extremely self-disciplined living habits, exercising regularly in the morning and evening, studying runes and practicing Occlumency at night, and spending most of his time during the day helping Augusta with chores.

Augusta was a stern woman, but she was very fond of Anduin, this sensible and self-disciplined young man. Moreover, Anduin was also a good cook. The Longbottom couple were both Aurors in the Ministry of Magic, and they usually left early and returned late every day. Now, during the war, they sometimes had to work overtime patrolling, or deal with urgent tasks, so they were very busy. Therefore, Anduin was also willing to spend time with this lonely old woman.

"Anduin, Frank and Alice are off tomorrow. I'm planning to invite the neighbors over as guests, and use the ham you gave me to entertain them. What do you think? Do you have any good ideas for cooking the ham?"

Augusta was cooking lunch with Anduin. In the two weeks that Anduin had been staying at the Longbottom's house, he showed what good cooking skills were. He made almost every dish different every day, making Augusta almost an assistant now.

"That depends on how many people there are. If there aren't many people, I can make some delicate side dishes, such as 'Boiled Cabbage in Clear Soup', or I can just slice it and serve it with salad." Anduin replied, looking at the excited Augusta.

"I'm planning to invite more people this time. There's the Weasley family who live outside the village. Arthur is Frank's colleague, and his wife Molly is also the sister of the Prewett brothers. You've met those brothers. They have a lot of children. Molly is still pregnant now. It's hard to imagine her having to take care of so many people. There's also the Diggory family who work in the Ministry of Magic, and the Xenophilius Lovegood family who edit 'The Quibbler'. That guy is a bit weird, but it would be bad not to invite them as neighbors." Augusta recited the names while counting on her fingers.

When Anduin heard that there were so many people, he couldn't help but feel a headache, and most of them were children. After thinking about it, he said, "I understand. There are a total of 6 adults and 8 children, right? 2 of the children are infants, and the remaining 6 are under ten years old. One is a pregnant woman."

Anduin pondered the composition of the personnel, then took out a piece of parchment, neatly wrote the menu, and said, "There are pregnant women and children, so you can't make dishes with alcohol. Children generally prefer fried and sweet and sour flavors, so make some braised pork, sweet and sour pork ribs, fried chicken wings, and fried squid rings."

Anduin said as he scribbled on the paper, continuing, "For the ham, I will cut it into small pieces, and add shrimp, scallops, peas, fresh bamboo shoots, and eggs to make a fried rice. This way, the quantity is relatively large, and it can be made into a buffet-style staple food, which is also more convenient. Then, slice some ham and serve it with salad and cheese as a cold dish, and then cut some lean ham and serve it with corn to make a ham and corn chowder. I also have some dried mushrooms here, so I can make a chicken and mushroom stew. You also have some lamb chops in your storage room, so we can use them to make a baked lamb chop with pistachio crumbs."

"I'll also mix some sauces, prepare some cucumbers, kelp, and fungus, and pour them on top to make cold dishes. You can prepare some desserts and bread, in case someone doesn't like rice. That should be enough, right? You can set up long tables in the yard and make it buffet-style, lined up next to each other. They can take whatever they like. This is more suitable for occasions with more children, and it also saves time. What do you think?"

Augusta looked at Anduin in surprise as he wrote and drew, and prepared the menu in no time, as well as the style of the banquet, etc., considering everything very carefully. Originally, she just wanted to hear Anduin's suggestions on cooking ham, but he ended up arranging everything.

"You've considered everything very carefully. Let's do it according to what you said. I'm suddenly very much looking forward to tomorrow's luncheon." What other opinions could Augusta have? Listening to the menu that Anduin read out, her saliva was almost drooling, not to mention the guests.