Inside Hagrid's cozy little hut, the trio finally got to enjoy his baking without risking dental surgery.
Turns out rock cakes you could actually bite into were weirdly delicious.
The wheat flavor came through perfectly, mixed with sweet bursts of dried fruit—crisp but not jaw-breaking, way more character than the boring desserts in the Great Hall.
Ron wiped crumbs off his mouth, eyes locked on Lucien with pure greed.
"So, Lucien—that championship alchemy project of yours, SwiftSpeak… that's the same little book you gave Harry, right?"
He sounded like he was about to start drooling.
Ron had watched Harry chat in real time with Lucien across half of Europe using that thin booklet. He'd been jealous ever since.
Lucien smiled and pulled out three brand-new copies he'd prepared in advance. He slid one to Ron and one to Hermione.
"Ah—I get one too?" Hagrid stared at the massive leather-bound volume in front of him, scratching his wild beard in confusion.
This special edition was twice the size of the others, with reinforced copper corners and thick, durable hide—perfect for giant hands.
"Of course," Lucien said, grinning. "Now you can message us anytime instead of sending owls all the way up to the castle."
"Oh, roo—thanks a million, Lucien!" Hagrid wiped his huge palms on his coat a few times before gently picking up the book like it was made of glass.
Lucien flipped open his own copy and showed everyone the back cover.
"See this code? Every SwiftSpeak has a unique ID. Just enter it in your book to add someone as a friend…"
The three younger students immediately hunched over their copies, poking and scribbling like it was Christmas morning. Even Hagrid pulled out his absurdly long wand and started tapping away, muttering under his breath.
A few minutes later everyone was added.
Lucien tapped his screen again. "And you can make group chats—pull a bunch of people in so one message reaches everyone."
He demonstrated.
Almost instantly, the same line appeared on everyone else's pages at once:
Lucien created the group chat "Hagrid's Hut Squad"
Ron's eyes lit up. He typed fast:
Ron: Hey, can everyone see this?
Hermione: Got it!
Harry: This is brilliant!
Hagrid took forever to peck out his reply, thick finger hovering over the page.
Hagrid: Oh, I'm in the group too.
Laughter filled the little hut.
Lucien kept flipping through the moving photos, narrating his Beauxbatons adventure while the pictures played like tiny films.
"This is the main palace building—way fancier than our castle. Marble everywhere, magic fountains shooting colored water…"
The trio leaned in, gasping at every new shot.
When he turned the page, a silver-haired girl appeared beside him in one of the photos.
They were standing in an ice-sculpture garden. She glowed with a soft silver halo, smiling straight at the camera. The breeze in the picture lifted strands of her hair, and the silver shimmer looked like liquid moonlight.
Ron's eyes bugged out. "Blimey—she's gorgeous!"
"Merlin's beard—she actually glows!"
Harry adjusted his glasses, speechless. In his head he was thinking the exact same thing. She was easily the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen, even in a moving photo. The kind of pretty that practically jumped off the page.
Something felt a tiny bit off, though.
Her eyes… they weren't quite looking at the camera.
They seemed to be angled just slightly to the side…
Hermione pressed her lips together, glancing between the photo and Lucien's face a couple of times before asking quietly,
"Do all the girls at Beauxbatons look like that? Do they seriously use that beauty fountain every single day?"