Cedric sighed melodramatically as he stared at the absolute mess on his desk. He was going through a 'dry spell', literally, since it was his spells that seemed to be running dry. For some reason not a single one had been going right all week, even though he just about put his back out bending over his books and cauldron to make sure he followed every instruction perfectly. It was maddening! Now, in a bit of a fit trying to prove his self-worth, he'd taken an ambitious challenge upon himself and tried to create a complicated Good Luck Potion - Obviously, from the looks of his green goop-covered desk, it had turned out to be a Bad Luck Potion.
He knew he had to clean the slime up before it became self-conscious and attempted to absorb and assimilate everything around it, so he set to the task of cleaning up with the Family Wand, sealing the goop up in jars where the lack of oxygen would cause the magic to die and turn it into harmless hair gel. He had just magicked away the last of it when Winifred suddenly burst into his room from the portrait, crying out in what seemed like a panic, "Cedric! Oh Cedric, come quick! Quickly, quickly!"
Thinking that something was terribly wrong, Cedric followed after her, the both of them magically transporting themselves to the Goodwin home in Mystic Meadows. Cedric immediately took out his wand, pointing it out and looking around, "What's the matter, mumsy? Is there a burglar?"
"Ohoho! Oh, of course not Cedric, don't be silly." Winifred replied, waving off her son's paranoia and directing his attention to the special guest who was standing in the middle of her kitchen - None other than the Princess Sofia, who was wearing a light pink apron with red hearts on the pockets over her usual Buttercup uniform, although her vest and her beret were hanging on the hat-rack by the door and her hair was pulled up into a ponytail. Winifred went on to explain, "I called you to see how cute Sofia looks in the apron I made her! Doesn't she look like a doll?"
Cedric rolled his eyes upwards and answered semi-sarcastically, "Adorable, mother." He was hardly impressed by that, though, since the Princess literally looked cute in everything she wore. It's hard not to look cute when you ARE just plain cute, after all. And he was just in a bad mood besides for being interrupted during his spell-work, even though he was failing miserably at it.
Sofia went on to inform him, "The Buttercups are having a Baking Day with the folks here at Mystic Meadows! Your mother and I are going to make her famous Harvest Bread!"
"Ooh, how nice for you-Wait, did you say Harvest Bread?" Cedric began to reply sarcastically again, until it registered what she'd actually said. His mother had several famous bread, pie, cake, cookie and scone recipes, but Winifred's World Famous Harvest Bread was her most special, sought-after recipe.
Some bread recipes might be applauded for their delicious simplicity, but Harvest Bread was not that kind of bread. Harvest bread was made with everything the Harvest brought with it - Pumpkins and their seeds, ripe bananas, persimmons, golden pears, golden apples and golden raisins, not to mention chopped dates, grated carrot, walnuts and pecans, all of these mixed into the sweetest cornmeal-and-flour batter and spiced with the most alluring blend of cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, cloves and ginger. Already the kitchen smelled like a spice apothecary's store, and Cedric's nostrils betrayed him to sniffing openly.
"Mmm..." He mumbled, too tempted by the aroma to continue to show his displeasure. "Well, perhaps I could help out, in exchange for a slice when it's done...?"
Winifred gave him a knowing smirk, and Sofia grinned, clasping her hands in excitement. "Of course, Mister Cedric! Let's get started right away!"
First they had him separate the pumpkin from the seeds, which he managed to do with magic, but when it came to pureeing the ingredients, everyone had to put down their wands and pick up a masher. To Cedric's mortification, his elderly mother and the petite princess were mashing their fruits much faster than he was at first, so he rolled up his sleeves and really put his back into it, and soon their task was complete.
Winifred then procured a huge bowl, and gave Cedric a giant wooden spoon to stir with as Sofia began to throw in the butter and sugar, and crack in the eggs. Soon they had their batter ready, except for just one last thing - The flour, which Sofia added last, but a little too quickly, and some of the white powder flew up into her face, making her look like a cute little ghost. Cedric snorted openly at her situation, which caused her to frown at him, reach down for a bit of the batter off of the rim of the bowl, and then wipe it on his cheek. She giggled at his resulting frown, but he soon smiled again, swiping his tongue out and licking the batter off of his cheek.
After pouring the batter into the loaf pan, which was really more like a cake pan in size, Winifred carefully placed it into the oven and set her timer, which was shaped like an egg and would hatch into a peeping chick as soon as the time was up. Then everyone flopped down onto the sofa, exhausted, and waited with a pot of tea to share while their treat finished baking.
"So, Son." Winifred began as she sipped at her chamomile. "Have you done any interesting spells lately?"
Cedric sighed and reluctantly admitted, "Actually, it seems as if all my spells have been going wrong lately..." He only admitted this because his father was out of the house at the moment and therefore not around to bug him, otherwise he would have remained tight-lipped about the issue.
Even still, he was a little self-conscious about Sofia being there, until she piped up, "Don't feel bad, Mister Cedric. Nobody's perfect all the time, even as good a sorcerer as you. It's probably because you've been trying too hard. You should take a break, rest up, and then when you get back to doing magic again, you'll probably do better because you'll be refreshed!"
Cedric blinked. "You really think so...?"
"I'm sure of it, Mister Cedric! You just need to relax, and believe in yourself!" She chirped back.
"I think she's right, Cedric." Winifred agreed with a smile.
Soon the peeping chick alerted them back to the gigantic, golden-brown loaf, which by then had filled up not just the entire house with the magically sweet Harvest-smell, but the entire street. Naturally this brought the neighbors coming for a taste, but Winifred insisted that her special helpers ought to get the first shares, and Sofia and Cedric gratefully accepted the sweet, steaming slices of buttered goodness with wide eyes and large grins.
Sofia immediately expressed her happiness at the first taste, "Mmm! Mm, mm, mmm!"
Cedric closed his eyes in rapture as old childhood memories of his favorite treat washed over him, "Mmmmm~!"
Upon tasting it for herself, Winifred exclaimed, "Oh my goodness! I think this is the single most perfect Harvest Bread I've ever baked!"
Sofia nudged Cedric and gave him a wink, "Things always turn out better when you're with your friends! After all, as long as you're with your friends, even if you fail, at least you still had fun!" He smiled down at her and nodded with a bashful blush.
Later that night after Cedric returned home, all that baking and filling up on bread had made him sleepy, so he didn't bother doing anything else for the night but getting a good rest. First thing in the morning, he set to gathering the ingredients for another Good Luck Potion, but just as he was heating up the cauldron, a knock sounded off at his door. Opening it, he found Sofia standing there, wearing her apprentice robes.
"Good morning, Mister Cedric!" She beamed at him, "Would you like any help with your spells today?"
He smiled down at her, and stepped aside to let her in.
The Good Luck Potion still failed, but the failure was much more fun than usual. And besides that, he was lucky enough to have a friend like Sofia.
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