The hall was deathly silent.
The appearance of the Great King Flash Flower had shattered every doubt about Professor Sprout's academic integrity.
If a mature Great King Flash Flower stood before them, then the germination of a few ancient seeds was hardly worth questioning.
The masters stared at the legendary herb before them, speechless, their hearts surging with emotions too intense for words.
Flynna, however, had gone deathly pale.
From the beginning, she had believed the so-called germination of ancient seeds was nothing but a complete fraud.
Yet now, with the Great King Flash Flower standing right in front of her, her mind went blank. The only thing echoing in her head was every confident accusation she had just made.
Each sentence became a slap across her own face.
Then, in a flash, her memory dragged her back to the past.
The same hall.
The same rising confidence.
The same moment when she had been competing for the position of Herbology professor—only to hear doubts about the authenticity of her papers rise from below the stage.
Then and now.
How similar they were.
Both times, there had been a clown.
But a moment later, Flynna pressed her lips together, her fingers tightening until they turned white.
Unwillingness flashed through her eyes.
No.
It was still different.
She was no longer the woman she had been back then.
Now, she was a renowned herbology master. More importantly, she had a teacher of extraordinary status behind her.
In the field of herbology, she still had the right to question others.
Flynna stared at the Great King Flash Flower. Its dazzling colors swept across her vision, beautiful enough to astonish even her.
Then her eyes sharpened.
As if she had found a flaw.
Her tense body relaxed, and a look of triumphant certainty appeared on her face.
"Heh…"
A cold laugh rang through the silent hall.
Then came Flynna's sharp, grating applause.
The herbology masters turned toward her in surprise, unease stirring in their hearts.
They had long heard that Master Flynna and Professor Sprout had a terrible relationship.
Had seeing Sprout and her student create such a miracle finally pushed Flynna over the edge?
That would be troublesome.
Flynna herself was one thing, but the person behind her held an extraordinary position in the field of herbology.
If Flynna truly lost her mind over this, who knew how that person would react?
At that moment, Theodore glanced at Flynna, and a strange light flashed deep within his eyes.
This woman was likely the one the system had identified as Qingfeng, the Daoist child under Zhen Yuanzi.
Her relationship with Theodore had already risen from cold hostility to bitter resentment.
That did not trouble Theodore.
Never mind that she was a herbology master. If Theodore wanted to kill her, he had far too many ways to do it.
Even bitter resentment was no threat to him now.
Even if she hated him to the death, it would not matter much.
What surprised Theodore was something else.
There was an extremely faint trace of madness on Flynna.
It was so faint that if Theodore had not encountered those strange beings several times before, and if his perception were not so sharp, he might not have noticed it at all.
In other words, Flynna had some connection to those corrupted beings.
At the very least, she had come into contact with them.
Her mental state also seemed unstable. Apart from her poor character, contact with such things was probably one of the reasons.
Naturally, Theodore thought of the system's warning about Zhen Yuanzi and his most iconic treasure—the Ginseng Fruit Tree.
It seemed that the so-called supreme authority of herbology behind Flynna was not clean.
Heaven knew how that person was cultivating his "Ginseng Fruit Tree."
Flynna was still laughing and clapping.
Professor Sprout frowned at her.
"Master Flynna, what exactly do you mean by laughing like that?"
Flynna sneered.
"You don't understand?"
"I'm impressed. Truly impressed by your courage."
"In front of so many herbology masters, you actually managed to fool everyone. Amazing. Truly amazing."
Professor Sprout's brows drew tighter.
Even someone as good-tempered as her now had anger written across her face.
"When you hadn't seen the real thing, I tolerated your insinuations."
"Now a mature Great King Flash Flower is standing right in front of you, and you still insist on accusing us of academic fraud?"
"As a fellow master, you should know what an insulting accusation that is."
Then her tone turned contemptuous.
"Not everyone is like you were back then."
"The dirty things you did won't disappear just because you became a master or found yourself a famous teacher."
"People simply gave your teacher some face and chose not to mention them."
"You, of all people, have the nerve to accuse us?"
"There's a saying for people like you."
"A filthy heart sees filth everywhere."
The entire hall froze.
Merlin above.
Were they hallucinating?
Professor Sprout had always been known as a kind, gentle woman with a warm temperament.
Many of them had known her for years.
When had they ever seen her this sharp?
Even Theodore was stunned.
Good heavens.
He had thought Professor Sprout was the type to suffer silently and struggle to fight back.
Who would have expected her combat power to be this fierce?
Then again, in the original story, Professor Sprout had contributed greatly during the Battle of Hogwarts. She had hurled Chomping Cabbages into Death Eaters' faces and fought hard on the front line.
How could someone like that be a pushover?
From that perspective, the system judging her as Jade Cauldron Zhenren made even more sense.
Jade Cauldron Zhenren was usually gentle toward younger disciples and generous with instruction. He rarely showed his fighting side, so many people might assume he was merely a kind elder.
But his hidden trump card was the Immortal-Slaying Sword.
If cultivated to the peak, it could even rival one of the Four Swords of Immortal Slaughter.
During the Investiture of the Gods, whenever Jade Cauldron Zhenren was truly pushed, the Immortal-Slaying Sword came out—and heads rolled.
Professor Sprout and Jade Cauldron Zhenren were unexpectedly similar in that way.
Once they moved, they went straight for the killing blow.
After Professor Sprout tore open the stain of Flynna's past in public, Flynna's vision went dark. She trembled with fury and screamed until her voice cracked.
"Sprout! How dare you? How dare you!"
Professor Sprout sneered.
"You dared to falsify academic results back then. Now you dare accuse others of doing the same. If I were you, I would have buried myself in the ground long ago."
"I'm the one who should be impressed. How do you even have the courage to speak?"
Flynna completely lost control and pointed at Professor Sprout, cursing.
"You bitch! You damned bitch!"
"I knew it was you back then! You couldn't beat me openly, so you used dirty tricks and reported my paper!"
"You shameless woman!"
Professor Sprout's expression became even colder.
"Couldn't beat you? You certainly know how to flatter yourself."
"And since you brought it up, I'll tell you plainly. I wasn't the one who reported you."
"Though I admit, whoever did it performed a public service."
"But I had no need to report you."
"Compete ten times, a hundred times, and you still could never have beaten me."
"A vile person like you was never qualified to become a Hogwarts professor."
"Me? Report you?"
"You weren't worth it."
"To be honest, no matter how impressive you've seemed over the years—whether you found a great teacher or produced countless results—I have never respected you."
"You failed on this path long ago."
"Being called a herbology master alongside you is an insult to me."
Flynna was so furious she nearly fainted.
The other herbology masters were silent as frightened birds.
Fierce.
Absolutely fierce.
Yet quite a few secretly cheered.
No one knew exactly who had exposed Flynna back then, and most did not care.
But everyone knew her academic fraud had been real.
If not for her teacher, how could the title of herbology master have ever landed on someone with such a stained record?
It was only because people gave her teacher face.
Now that Professor Sprout had said it openly, many felt a secret delight.
Flynna's hatred surged like a storm.
For a moment, she had the urge to draw her wand and cast an Unforgivable Curse at Professor Sprout.
Cruciatus.
No—Killing Curse.
But then she met Theodore's eyes.
That gaze almost seemed to be waiting for her to draw her wand.
In an instant, Flynna felt as though she had been plunged into ice water. Her killing intent vanished like a retreating tide, leaving only bone-deep fear.
She had a feeling that if she drew her wand and uttered an Unforgivable Curse, the result would be simple.
Sprout would live.
She would die.
Her fingers loosened from her wand.
Seeing that, Theodore showed a trace of surprise—and regret.
This woman's instincts were rather sharp.
Still not mad enough.
Otherwise, he could have killed her on the spot and received the reward for a death feud.
Now he would have to spend extra effort later.
Theodore sighed inwardly.
Since she refused to die cleanly, she was only making things more troublesome for him.
What a perfectly reasonable path to death.
At that moment, Flynna felt another chill in her heart, followed by deep humiliation.
She was a grand herbology master.
After being cursed out like this by Sprout, she was actually afraid of a first-year wizard?
Anger surged again.
Flynna launched her counterattack.
"Sprout, you planned everything well. Your disguise is nearly perfect."
"But how could you forget the most basic point?"
"The Great King Flash Flower is the main ingredient of the Elixir of Unaging Youth. Every ancient text records that it requires a very long time to mature."
"From germination to first bloom, it needs decades at minimum."
"That was true even in the age of myth."
"If one wanted to cultivate it in this era, it might take over a hundred years from sprout to bloom."
"Yet you claim this Great King Flash Flower germinated only a few days ago?"
"A few days to cross a hundred years? From seed to bloom?"
Her eyes filled with mockery.
"Even Lady Hufflepuff couldn't have done that."
"Even the fertility goddesses of myth couldn't have done such a thing."
"And now you want to tell us your first-year student, Theodore Snow, did it?"
"Are you saying his herbology has surpassed myth itself?"
At Flynna's question, the other masters finally snapped out of their shock.
Yes.
The timing did not make sense.
Forget a few days.
Even a few years, even more than ten years, would not be enough for a Great King Flash Flower to grow from seed to bloom.
And ten years ago, Theodore probably had not even been born.
Yet this plant looked identical to the Great King Flash Flower recorded in ancient texts.
There could be no mistake.
"This…"
"What exactly is going on?"
"An impossible timeline, yet an unmistakable Great King Flash Flower. I don't understand. I truly don't understand."
Flynna laughed.
"What's so difficult to understand?"
"You are all herbology masters. Surely you haven't forgotten Transfiguration."
The others froze.
"You think this Great King Flash Flower was transfigured?"
One master instinctively shook his head.
"Impossible."
"We've all seen transfigured plants before."
"They might fool ordinary wizards, but they can't fool us."
Flynna said smugly, "Then think a little harder."
"Transfiguration performed by ordinary wizards naturally leaves flaws. It cannot deceive herbology masters."
"But Hogwarts' Headmaster and Deputy Headmistress are both top-tier Transfiguration masters."
"Add Sprout, a herbology master, and together they create a fake Great King Flash Flower that can pass for real. What's so strange about that?"
The masters drew in sharp breaths. Thoughtful expressions appeared on their faces.
When put that way, it did seem possible.
Professor McGonagall's mastery of Transfiguration was at the master level.
As for Headmaster Dumbledore, there was no need to say more.
When he took his N.E.W.T.s as a student, his Transfiguration had already stunned the examiners.
Not long after graduating from Hogwarts, he had become the school's Transfiguration professor.
In modern magic, Dumbledore was the highest mountain and longest river of Transfiguration.
If he had been involved, then never mind a Great King Flash Flower—if he recreated Mount Olympus from the age of Greek myth, no one present would be too surprised.
With that thought, their expressions became strange.
Whatever else one said, Flynna truly was an expert when it came to academic fraud.
Professor Sprout's anger deepened.
"Flynna, what are you implying?"
"Was it not enough to slander me and Theodore? Now you want to drag Minerva and Headmaster Dumbledore into this too?"
"Do you understand what it means to accuse Headmaster Dumbledore of academic fraud?"
Flynna still felt somewhat guilty at the mention of Dumbledore, and her tone weakened.
"I never said Headmaster Dumbledore committed fraud. I never said that."
"But Hogwarts has more than one Transfiguration master. Using Transfiguration to create a Great King Flash Flower is not impossible."
Her voice rose again.
"In any case, no one will believe that a Great King Flash Flower can mature in a few days."
"That is something even the age of myth could not accomplish."
"Unless you allow us to test the medicinal properties of this Great King Flash Flower."
Professor Sprout laughed in anger.
"The Great King Flash Flower is an incomparably precious ancient plant. Even damaging a tiny part of it would be an immeasurable loss."
"And now, because of your ridiculous suspicions, we should hand it over to you for testing?"
"Who gave you that much face?"
Flynna sneered.
"So you don't dare."
"I'll say it again. Making a Great King Flash Flower mature in a few days is impossible."
"Even the fertility goddesses of myth could not do it."
"So no matter what you say, this Great King Flash Flower cannot be real."
Professor Sprout was so angry the veins on her forehead nearly bulged.
At that moment, Theodore's amused voice rang out.
"So after all that, your confidence comes from one thing: because such a thing never happened in the age of myth, it cannot happen now. Is that right?"
Flynna answered as if it were obvious.
"Of course!"
"Even the fertility goddess couldn't do it. What right do you have?"
"Are you telling me that a first-year wizard has surpassed the fertility goddess in herbology?"
Theodore's expression became even more playful.
"I wouldn't dare say I've surpassed the fertility goddess in herbology."
"However…"
"The myths you find so impressive may not be quite so unreachable to me."
Flynna froze.
Then she stared at Theodore as if she were looking at a lunatic. Her eyes were full of pity for an arrogant fool.
This ignorant little wizard had no idea how terrifying those so-called gods of the mythical age had been.
Even a slight glimpse of that era was enough to inspire fear from the depths of one's bones.
But that was fine.
She would use this chance to ruin Sprout completely.
Flynna flipped her hand, revealing a seed.
She looked at Theodore provocatively.
"If you're truly that capable, then make this seed germinate and mature in front of all of us."
"If you really can do it, I'll give you this seed and every seed I previously sent to Hogwarts."
Professor Sprout's heart tightened.
A strange light flashed in Theodore's eyes.
"Oh?"
He smiled softly.
"Ancient plant seeds are indeed precious."
"But you're using them as a wager against the reputation of a Hogwarts Head of House, a herbology master, and even trying to implicate the Headmaster of Hogwarts."
"You think too highly of yourself."
Flynna took a deep breath and sneered.
"Then how many do you want?"
"Don't give me some impossible astronomical number."
Theodore said leisurely, "Not many."
"Thirty should be manageable, right?"
Flynna froze.
Her eyes widened.
"Thirty?"
"Do you think ancient seeds are cabbage seeds?"
"I already sent you twelve. Where am I supposed to find another thirty?"
A strange smile appeared on Theodore's lips.
"If you don't have them, you can borrow them."
"You are the great Master Flynna, aren't you?"
"Mortgage your assets. Mortgage your academic career. If necessary, stake your teacher's reputation too."
"With all that, borrowing thirty ancient seeds from the magical world should be possible, no?"
"And if that still isn't enough, you can always take a high-interest loan from Gringotts."
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