Harry Potter and the Great Old Ones.

Chapter 801
“To use a slightly Celtic superstitious explanation, you could say that the magic of house-elves infuses food with natural energy, making it taste better and fresher,” Tierra concluded.

"Is that so?" Professor Frolov scooped up another spoonful of fried rice and ate it heartily, as if hoping to alleviate the fatigue of his long journey with delicious food.

While Professor Frolov was enjoying his meal, the dishes ordered by Tyella and the others were being served up one after another by the house-elves—

Tierra's squid fried rice and clam chowder, Mitchell McGann's seafood pasta and vegetable salad, and Jeffrey Rocky's fish cakes and buttered seafood fried rice.

“Professor…Professor?” Mitchell McGann’s voice rang in Professor Frolov’s ears, abruptly pulling him back to reality from his warm and beautiful memories—

In reality, Professor Frolov was still sitting inside the cold fishing boat, leaning against the damp bunk bed.

“Um, sorry, Mitchell, I… I was just thinking about something,” Professor Frolov said.

“It’s time to eat, Professor,” Mitchell McGann said softly, then reached out and took Professor Frolov’s arm, making a gesture to help him up from the somewhat cold and damp bed.

"Did I just fall asleep again?" Professor Frolov asked hesitantly as he got up.

“You seemed to have taken a nap just now,” Mitchell McGann replied. “Mr. Jeffrey Rocky went to the restaurant about ten minutes ago.”

"Thank you for your trouble," Professor Frolov said, standing up with Mitchell McGann's help. He then walked stiffly and with a limp out of the cabin.

When Professor Frolov was young, he accidentally fell and shattered his knee during a geological exploration trip to the Denmark Strait. This left him with a chronic injury, and his leg would feel painful and inconvenient whenever it rained, snowed, or during a cold snap.

“Is your leg still painful?” Mitchell McGann asked. “Do you need—” “No, no,” Professor Frolov interrupted before McGann could finish. “It’s just an old ailment. There’s no need to waste the precious Whitening Potion.”

“Alright, Professor, let me help you to the restaurant. Maybe they’ll have some fresh seafood today.” Mitchell McGann didn’t insist.

“Um, Professor, I still don’t quite understand why you refused Mr. Thierra’s offer to treat your leg ailment?” Mitchell McGann asked curiously on the way to the restaurant.

After dinner that day, Tierra suggested that, in order to make the expedition to explore the Deep Ones go more smoothly, she would help Hallelujah Frolov treat his old leg injury, but Hallelujah Frolov refused.

"That Mr. Tierra you mentioned doesn't seem to be a wizard," Professor Frolov said calmly.

"Mr. Tyella is indeed no ordinary wizard; he..."

“No, Mitchell, you don’t understand what I mean,” Professor Frolov interrupted Mitchell McGann once again.

“I spent two days on land with that deep-sea diver,” Professor Frolov said. “We went from being wary of each other to being able to talk about anything.”

"The Deep One told me his name was Kirill Stanley. He said he used to be human and told me some things. These things were so bizarre and illogical that I didn't write them into my book."

“Stanley said.”

(End of this chapter)