Entering the kitchen, Amanda reached into the nearby sink and used her right hand to lift out a large piece of ribs.
Hermione walked into the kitchen and saw this, her head leaning back slightly; she hadn't felt it as much before they were thawed.
Now that they were thawed, she truly felt the shock of seeing such a massive slab of ribs.
Looking up at the hanging knives, Amanda's movements paused for a moment.
There was no cleaver, Amanda concluded after scanning all the knives.
At the same time, her analysis of the knives was complete, concluding that none were suitable for chopping the ribs.
Looking down at the slab of ribs on the cutting board, Amanda reached out and grabbed both ends of one bone.
Hermione blinked and watched Amanda's actions in confusion. Wasn't Amanda supposed to chop the ribs into smaller pieces? What was she doing?
Crack... crack. As the slight sound of bone snapping rang out, Hermione's eyes gradually widened. No way, it couldn't be what she was thinking, right? That would be too incredible.
Yet in the next moment, what Hermione had imagined actually happened. With a crisp snap, the rib in Amanda's hands broke into two sections.
Reaching up to take a knife, Amanda easily sliced through the flesh still connecting the rib, and the bone was completely separated into two pieces.
Hermione swallowed hard, her gaze involuntarily moving to Amanda's slender, long hands. Was Amanda's strength... really that great?
You couldn't tell just by looking at her; after all, she was very thin. So what on earth did she usually do to have such fearsome grip strength and upper body power?
Thinking about this, for some reason, Hermione instinctively associated it with a behavior of Amanda's that she had previously discovered and forbidden.
Her grip strength... surely it wasn't developed back then, was it?
At that possibility, Hermione felt a wave of suffocation; her eyes began to burn as she looked at Amanda, and her heart started racing wildly.
Amanda was completely unaware of the turmoil in Hermione's heart. She simply placed her hands calmly on the ends of the next rib.
Her hands suddenly exerted force, slight muscles bulging on the backs of her hands, but the power within them was not to be underestimated.
Another crisp snap, and the sound of a rib breaking came again.
After slicing through the flesh, another rib became two sections. She repeated this process until all the ribs were in two pieces, and only then did Amanda put them into the pot.
Although they were much larger than the ribs she had stewed before, it would be fine as long as they were simmered a bit longer.
After mixing the sauce and pouring it in, then adding the scallions, ginger, and other ingredients, Amanda covered the pot.
Hermione raised a hand to rub her cheeks, and after calming her emotions, she stepped forward.
"Amanda, are you stewing the ribs first to eat them later?"
Amanda was placing the next dish to be prepared onto the cutting board. Hearing Hermione's voice, she looked back at her, yet the movement of her hands chopping vegetables didn't pause at all; she started immediately.
"No, Stewed Ribs need to simmer for a while to taste good, so we'll have the ribs for dinner tonight."
Hermione only felt Amanda's words ringing in her ears; as for what Amanda actually said, she didn't register it at all.
All of her attention was on the fact that Amanda was still chopping vegetables while looking back to talk to her.
"Turn your head back!" Hermione cried out in terror, waving her hands frantically at Amanda, signaling her to turn back and look at what she was cutting.
She had thought Amanda wouldn't start chopping so soon, which was why she had spoken up. Who knew Amanda would continue so quickly, and while looking back at her no less!
Amanda nodded and calmly turned her head back, looking at her hands as they chopped.
She naturally didn't see any problem with talking while looking away while chopping. She often mentally recited textbooks while cooking; multitasking was normal for her.
Besides, since Hermione was talking to her, shouldn't she look back at her to answer? Otherwise, it would be impolite.
Seeing Amanda turn back to her chopping, Hermione finally breathed a sigh of relief. She stepped forward to help Amanda wash the rice and do some prep work as usual.
Throughout the entire cooking process, Hermione didn't dare say another word to Amanda, fearing the girl might be doing something that required undivided attention.
If she turned her head to look at her again because she wanted to talk, it would be disastrous.
She didn't make any particularly labor-intensive dishes. Once the rice was ready, Amanda brought the food to the dining table.
Hermione smelled the aroma of the food and swallowed. Oriental cuisine she'd never had before; it looked very appetizing. It truly lived up to the delicacies described in books.
"Dinner's ready," Amanda called out toward the living room. The five people who were chatting stood up quickly and walked eagerly toward the table.
They really couldn't wait; they had smelled the aroma of the food just now!
The seven children sat down at the table. Since Penelope was the eldest present, Amanda sat next to Hermione, hands resting motionless on her lap, quietly watching Penelope.
Ron, who had already started eating eagerly, nudged Harry—who was also eating with gusto—with his elbow while chewing on some Braised Pork. "Why isn't Amanda eating?"
Harry swallowed his food, looked at Amanda, and shook his head. "I don't know. Maybe she's not hungry?"
Hermione, sitting next to Amanda, knew exactly what the issue was. She sighed helplessly and looked at Penelope, who was currently arranging her napkin.
Penelope was the oldest among the children; Amanda was likely waiting for Penelope to start eating before she did.
Penelope felt Hermione's gaze and looked up. "What's wrong?"
Hermione shrugged and shook her head. "It's nothing."
It was a good habit for Senior Penelope to arrange her napkin before eating; she couldn't exactly tell Senior Penelope to hurry up and eat without finishing.
Besides, it wouldn't take Senior Penelope long to arrange a napkin. If Amanda wanted to wait, then let her wait.
With that thought, Hermione also sat quietly like Amanda, waiting.
Cho Chang and Marietta, sitting opposite them, naturally noticed this, and their eating slowed down slightly.
After exchanging a glance, they decided to find a time when Amanda wasn't around to ask Hermione what was going on.
Only after arranging her napkin did Penelope begin her meal unhurriedly, her elegance and meticulousness appearing perfectly natural.
Seeing her pick up her cutlery, Amanda finally reached for her own and began to eat at a slow pace.
Amanda's slow eating speed took everyone present, except Hermione, by surprise.
Merlin's lunch! Amanda was actually eating slowly?!
Ron watched this in disbelief, even muttering a sentence to Harry beside him.
"Mate, pinch me. I'm not dreaming, am I?"
Harry gave his best friend a speechless look and reached out to grant his wish.
"Hiss..." Ron winced and clutched his arm, glaring at Harry. "Man, you really didn't hold back."
Harry gave a guilty cough and turned back to bury his face in his food, though a mischievous smirk played on his lips.
Compared to the playful interaction between the two boys, the other three girls, who saw Amanda as a younger sister, were filled with relief.
Amanda could finally slow down her eating; it wouldn't affect her health anymore.
Everyone finished lunch feeling satisfied. After the meal, just as Amanda was about to wash the dishes, Hermione beat her to it and took all the cutlery.
"You did most of the cooking for lunch, so I'll do the dishes."
"Go take a nap. If you don't want to sleep, then watch some TV."
After instructing Amanda, Hermione turned her gaze toward Harry and Ron, her eyes narrowing slightly.
"You two can sleep until one-thirty, then get up and do your homework. Don't think I don't know—your homework hasn't been touched at all!"
Having truly not touched their homework and spent the last two weeks just playing, Harry and Ron both froze.
They obediently agreed and went upstairs for a nap, figuring they should sleep as much as possible before they had to come down and do homework.
The remaining three Ravenclaw girls covered their mouths and giggled at the "dejected" backs of their juniors.
They had planned out their homework long ago, doing a bit each day so they could both play and study, finishing it all before the last two weeks of summer.
The remaining two weeks could then be spent reviewing and playing—a perfect balance of work and rest.
However, the three of them simultaneously looked toward Amanda, who was already sitting motionless in the living room watching TV. They guessed Amanda's homework had probably been finished long ago.
Sitting on the sofa, Amanda watched the cartoons playing on the TV, but her primary attention remained on the yard outside the living room window.
She was not only listening for movement at the yard gate but also constantly listening for any helicopters passing overhead.
To ensure a smooth disposal execution, Enforcement Agents sometimes carried out the process through a combination of ground and air operations.
Thus, both the sky and the ground were points that required attention, Amanda concluded in her mind.
Cho Chang, Marietta, and Penelope didn't take a nap; instead, they followed their own plans and went upstairs to their rooms to complete their daily portion of homework.
Having already finished her homework, Hermione saw that Amanda hadn't gone upstairs after she finished the dishes, so she walked over to the sofa and sat beside her.
Naturally reaching out, she pulled Amanda toward her to let the girl lean on her shoulder and asked softly,
"Don't want to nap?"
"No. It's not my sleep time right now," Amanda answered in a flat tone.
"Then let's watch TV." Hermione smoothed her hair and accompanied her in watching TV.
As the clock reached one-thirty in the afternoon, Hermione looked down at Amanda. "I'll be right back."
With that, she got up and went upstairs. Amanda mechanically turned her head to watch Hermione's retreating back.
Her mind quickly analyzed that she was going to wake Harry and Ron up to do their homework.
Withdrawing her gaze, Amanda continued to watch the TV expressionlessly. It was still those cartoons with no educational value.
But why didn't she have the same feeling as when she had peeked at cartoons in the mall? There was no sense of curiosity or confusion.
Amanda simply pondered this neutral question. But what had she felt back then?
Upon careful thought, her brain throbbed with pain again. Amanda didn't reach a conclusion and stopped thinking about it.
Just then, Hermione came back down and gently pulled her into her arms again.
The two had been sitting together for only a short while before Cho and the others started coming down one by one.
The amount of holiday homework assigned by the Hogwarts Professors wasn't very large, even for Professor Snape.
Holidays were meant for students to relax; assigning a reasonable amount of work was just to ensure they didn't forget what they'd learned.
If too much was assigned, they might just give up and not complete it seriously.
So it was better to assign less, allowing students to spread out the work, finishing it by doing a little each day and leaving the rest of the time for play.
This way, they might actually put effort into it.
Thus, for Cho and the others who managed their time well, writing for just over an hour each day was actually enough.
They sat on the sofa, said their hellos, and joined Amanda and Hermione in watching cartoons. After another hour or so, Hermione stood up to go upstairs.
When she came back down, Harry and Ron were following behind her.
"From now on, stick to this schedule every day. Write for at least an hour and a half and finish on time. Don't expect me to let you copy my homework in the end, and Amanda won't give hers either."
Hermione crossed her arms and looked back at the two. Harry and Ron nodded hurriedly in agreement.
An hour and a half a day was fine; the burden wasn't heavy, and they still had plenty of time to relax.
They couldn't afford to make Hermione angry; they would need to rely on her for their final exam reviews in the future.
When dinner time arrived, the large pot of ribs Amanda had been stewing finally made it to the table. After simmering all through noon and the afternoon, the moment the lid was lifted, the aroma instantly filled the entire dining room and living room.
Everyone present involuntarily swallowed, and even Penelope's movements in arranging her napkin quickened slightly.
After Penelope took a large piece of rib with her hands, Hermione eagerly followed suit and took a large piece along with Amanda.
With one bite, her mouth was filled with rich juices, and Hermione squinted her eyes in happiness.
Beside her, Amanda took a bite of a rib, chewed, swallowed, and then turned to Hermione, speaking in a flat voice.
"I'm sorry, Hermione. I didn't notice when I took the ribs last night. This slab of ribs is better for stewing than for braising. So I made Stewed Ribs instead; I'll definitely make braised ones next time."
Eating, Hermione blanked for a moment at Amanda's words, then quickly swallowed the meat in her mouth once she registered them.
"You don't need to apologize, Amanda," she said, wanting to reach out and pat Amanda's head, but seeing the grease on her hands, she silently lowered them. "You're the one who worked hard to cook. Of course we eat whatever you make; we certainly have no right to be picky."
Hermione gave a bright smile, and everyone else at the table nodded in agreement.
Amanda nodded stiffly, but her mind paused for a moment.
If she didn't make the dish someone wanted, shouldn't she be punished? Because she had failed someone's expectations.
But Hermione said it didn't matter, and even said she was the one cooking, so everyone should eat whatever she made and shouldn't be picky.
Lowering her head, she bit off a piece of meat from the rib, and a scene from her memory gradually surfaced in her mind.
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