The Magical Food God of Hogwarts

Chapter 60 Roaring Letter

The letter landed with a "thud" on the pile of letters and gifts. It was bright red, like a burning flame, with wisps of smoke rising from its edges.

"Oh, Merlin's beard!" Tom's expression changed behind the bar. "Lucas, someone sent you a howling letter!"

"A roaring message?" Lucas was puzzled, but he noticed that even the owl that delivered the message knew it wasn't a good thing, and turned and ran away without even taking the snack.

"Quick! Open it!" Hannah urged impatiently, almost jumping up and down. "If you don't open it right now, it'll explode and shout out the contents of the letter a hundred times louder! The whole of Diagon Alley will hear it!"

"There's such magic?" Lucas reached out and pinched the corner of the envelope.

The moment his fingertips touched the envelope, the letter seemed to come alive, automatically popping open the seal, folding a few times, and turning into an angry mouth.

A clear, crisp girl's voice rang out, making the glasses on the bar rattle and the bar windows shake.

"Lucas McGregor!!!"

Lucas's ears went numb from the shock, but he immediately recognized the voice and his face changed instantly as he cried out in alarm.

Oh dear, I completely forgot—

With her magnificent purple eyes that resemble those of a black dragon, Ellie Jane McFastie is a fiery and energetic young woman!

"You untrustworthy bastard! You promised you'd reply to me!"

"Eleven letters! I wrote you eleven letters in total!"

"I borrowed my father's fastest scops owl just to write you a letter, and what did you get in return? Not even a scrap of parchment in reply!"

Pepper, who was dozing on the windowsill, was startled by the scream and fell straight down. She flapped her wings and scrambled to regain her balance, uttering a string of long-suppressed profanities, but they were all drowned out by the roar of the roaring letter.

The red envelope transformed into a giant mouth that opened and closed wildly in mid-air, as if trying to bite off Lucas's nose.

"I worried about you every day, wondering if you were in danger again since you weren't replying to my letters. And then what happened? I saw you in a newspaper that was two weeks past its expiration date! You were living comfortably in the Leaky Cauldron! A young hero bravely fighting a dark wizard! How impressive! But you just wouldn't reply!"

"And—your gentle childhood friend, your beautiful senior, right! You're having a wonderful time there, completely forgetting that there's a friend back in the Hebrides waiting anxiously for your reply, huh?"

Lucas broke out in a cold sweat and couldn't help but defend himself.

"Ellie, I just got home and came straight to Diagon Alley. I had no idea you'd sent me eleven letters..."

"Ha! Fucking scumbag!" Pepper laughed heartily, never one to miss a good laugh. "Why haven't you ever mentioned Miss Ellie? Looks like the allure of women has made you forget everything, hasn't it?"

Of course, Ellie couldn't hear anything; only her angry roar echoed: "You just wait! I'll be back for you soon! If you don't give me a satisfactory explanation, watch out—"

Ellie's furious screams suddenly stopped.

The voice inside the red envelope suddenly changed, becoming a male voice with a thick Scottish accent and a cheerful tone.

It's Hamish McFastie.

"Don't mind it, young Lucas." Hamish's voice carried a hint of glee, as if he were enjoying the drama. "Ellie doesn't know how to cast the Howl Letter spell; she asked me to record it."

The envelope twisted in mid-air, as if it had put on a mocking expression.

"You have no idea how worried she was during this time. She sent letter after letter, but didn't get a single reply. She thought you were in some kind of danger. She waited for owls on the beach every day and even checked the dragons on the island, afraid that one of them had invaded the Muggle world and kidnapped you. If her dad hadn't stopped her, she would have gone to your house long ago."

"Fortunately, we finally saw the Daily Prophet. This newspaper has to cross the sea and pass through several thunderstorm areas to get here, so its timeliness is really bad, and not many people on the island read the newspaper. It wasn't until today, August 10th, that we found this report and learned that you are now living in the Leaky Cauldron."

"When she saw the first report, she was extremely nervous about your battle with the dark wizard. After seeing the photos and confirming that you were not missing any limbs, she was proud of you... I'm so tired of hearing about Lucas like this and Lucas like that."

"Ah, if only we hadn't stumbled upon a second edition!" Hamish laughed heartily. "That special report about your female confidantes really surprised us. You should have seen Ellie's expression, tsk tsk tsk, these young people nowadays..."

Suddenly, Ellie's furious shout came from inside the envelope: "Uncle Hamish, delete this part! Just include my part!"

"Haha, okay, I'll definitely delete it." Hamish's cheerful voice came through, but it was clear he hadn't deleted it at all.

With his last laugh, the red letter burst into flames with a "poof," turning into a pile of ashes in an instant.

The bar fell silent.

"Um..." Hannah finally took her hands off her ears, fiddling with her blonde braids, her light green eyes looking at Lucas. "Who is this Miss Ellie who sent you the howling letter? It sounds like you've known each other for a long time?"

Before Lucas could answer, Pepper had already taken flight, looking down at Hannah with her wings arrogantly tucked into her waistband, cawing wickedly.

"Who is it? Little Golden Retriever, can't you tell? This is 'The Main Chick' making a room check call!"

It then turned to look at Lucas, making a series of clicking sounds: "Wow, Lucas. Eleven letters unanswered, leaving Miss Ellie stranded on the island, while he's here all lovey-dovey with his seniors and juniors..."

"Ugh! You scumbag! A complete and utter scumbag! According to the rules of Brooklyn, a guy like you would be stuffed into a gasoline drum and thrown into the Hudson River!"

"Shut your beak, Pepper." Lucas grabbed a Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Bean from the table and flicked it at the little raven's head. "Ellie and I are best friends, it's pure friendship, you know? And so are Hannah and Tonks! Skeeter is completely making things up, don't mention that sensationalist report again!"

"Gah! You're getting angry! You scumbag who deserves to be fucked!" Pepper nimbly dodged the Flavored Bean, flapped her wings and flew to the chandelier, continuing to laugh loudly.

"Just you wait. When Ellie gets here, I'm going to tell her about your messy private life!"

With a bang, everyone turned around at the same time. The bar door was pushed open, and a figure came into view.