Half an hour had passed, and Allen's urge to hit someone hadn't calmed down under the host's hospitality, it had only grown stronger.
Was it the host being unfriendly?
Was the decor imperfect?
Was it the low-class food?
No, none of that. Today's meal was the specialty, kaiseki cuisine.
Everything was high-class, yet by this point, only a few dishes had been served. Allen was starving.
And while endless conversations about art and aesthetics flowed around him, Allen remained hungry. Judging by the looks of the remaining few, they were feeling it too.
Finally, after enduring the torturous wait, Allen felt his patience had been refined, not because the food was bad or the tea ceremony insincere, but because the wait between courses had been far too long.
By the time they finished eating, stars were already sparkling in the sky. Imagine how long this meal had taken.
"Uh, Allen, does anyone else feel hungrier after eating?" Marshall, being a little on the chubby side, was always the first to feel hunger.
Nods all around.
"I kinda miss Hogwarts' dining hall, at this moment, if we asked the house-elves, they'd give us a ton of food."
"Agreed!"
"Seconded!"
"I'm starving!"
••┈┈┈┈┈༓┈┈┈┈┈•••
"Why don't we just get some food ourselves?" Shaen suggested.
"Where would we get it? We don't know the school kitchens, and even if we did, whether there are friendly house-elves is another question."
"Then we could hunt some wild game, I spotted some snakes nearby, maybe roast them."
"No way. The notice just came from the professor. Going against it would be disrespectful."
"This doesn't work, that doesn't work, what do we do then?"
After a long debate, all eyes fell on Allen, the guy who always seems to have snacks ready.
"Don't even think about it, I might eat alone, but if all of you join in, it'll vanish instantly. Who takes responsibility for the curse? Not me. Step forward if you dare, and I'll pull it out."
"Heh heh, Allen, we're joking. We won't touch the girls' snacks." Marshall stepped forward, placing himself in front of the group.
Yes, in front, because everyone else had taken a step back.
"Actually, I meant catching snakes, so I'm volunteering. Anyone opposed?"
Hunger finally overcame fear, and of course, a bit of skillful daring.
Hufflepuff-born wizards might not excel at everything, but their understanding of herbs was top-tier. Identifying edible things? Battle-tested. No way anything would go wrong.
Thus, a team of young wizards quietly left the main path, heading for the woods near the school. Although built on a volcano, magic made cultivating ordinary crops easy.
Snakes, in the hands of experienced people, lose three-quarters of their intimidation factor. Add some magic-savvy, snake-eating Hufflepuffs into the mix… you know the rest.
After catching dozens of snakes and a few rabbits, they heard rustling nearby.
Instantly, everyone raised wands and whispered, "Stop! What are you doing? Come out, or else!"
The response wasn't an attack, but magical smoke and blinding light that temporarily obscured vision.
Then came a few plops and cries of surprise.
Allen wasn't going to let them escape.
Eagle-eyed Marshall spotted bamboo shoots and mushrooms near the escape points, perfect for a small meal.
The group exchanged a glance, meeting in the wild, best to settle it with a fight. They decided to intercept the ingredients.
Allen and friends didn't even capture anyone; they just grabbed the food and ran, why announce it if you're cooking in secret?
Unfortunately, they were one step too slow.
They were surrounded by all the Hufflepuff girls.
Leading them were the two female prefects. Yes, they were being disciplined by their own people.
Why?
Because the first-year girl Allen had tripped with vines was one of their own.
"You fourth-year boys, bullying first-year girls, aren't you ashamed?"
The sixth-year prefect scolded them one by one, Allen included, leaving no room for argument.
Bullying your own people? Fine. But a first-year girl? From her outfit, it was clear they were sneaking in for ingredients to cook.
And then they stole the food…
After a lengthy lecture, the prefect and the girls carried all the baskets away, leaving Allen and friends with nothing but their backs.
Though they knew the food was theirs, nobody dared to speak up. Only after the girls left did Marshall wipe the cold sweat from his forehead.
"Allen, I think we just got robbed."
"Our dinner…"
"She's a demon, I don't think she'll ever get married."
"Agreed."
Allen rolled his eyes. "Agree my foot, our biggest problem now is what do we eat for dinner?"
"Why not shamelessly mooch some food?"
"Heh, do you think there's enough for the girls? Are you planning to never date in the academy?" another friend shot a disapproving glance.
Silence.
Finally, Allen gritted his teeth. "Are you guys afraid of trouble?"
"How big?"
"What trouble?"
"Where?"
Allen pointed to another camp.
"If you're not scared, I know a place to get food. Don't know what exactly, but it'll fill our stomachs… a little embarrassing, though."
"No problem, we'll wear masks."
••┈┈┈┈┈༓┈┈┈┈┈•••
Alright, maybe they overestimated their morality a bit.
Allen and his group quickly tore spare clothes from their packs, any previous school insignias had long been removed.
Late at night, unaware campers were about to witness an unfortunate disaster…