Professor Sprout was a squat witch who always looked very kind. She wore a patched hat over her flyaway hair, and her clothes were always covered in quite a bit of soil. If she took off her witch's hat, anyone would mistake her for an ordinary farm woman, but now she was the Herbology teacher at Hogwarts.
Today's Herbology class was shared by Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Unlike usual, they were going to Greenhouse Three today. The plants here were more interesting than in Greenhouse One, but of course, they were also more dangerous. The students discussed in low voices, guessing what knowledge they would learn today. Well, most of these students were Ravenclaws; you couldn't expect Crabbe and Goyle to love learning as well. They both looked drowsy and listless, perfectly fitting the status of academic slackers.
Draco and Pansy walked to the greenhouse door, surrounded by Ravenclaw and Slytherin students, waiting for Professor Sprout's arrival.
"Sorry, children, I'm a bit late." Professor Sprout arrived late, with many bandages wrapped around her arm. "There were some more problems with the Whomping Willow, and I had to go deal with them." As she spoke, she took a large key from her belt and opened the door. The smell of damp earth and fertilizer wafted into their noses, mixed with a heavy scent of flowers. Those flowers were as large as umbrellas and hung from the ceiling.
The students curiously looked at everything around them.
"Don't touch anything." Draco grabbed Pansy's hand just as she was about to reach out and touch a plant growing in a small porcelain pot. It had enchanting flowers, and its seductive posture and brilliant colours were very attractive to girls.
"If you want your hand to end up like this, I won't stop you." Seeing Pansy glaring at him fiercely, Draco pulled out a book from somewhere—as if he had swallowed it—and skilfully flipped to the page he needed, pointing at a picture. "See for yourself." The picture showed a person's withered hand, covered in black spots, looking as if it could rot away at any moment.
"You win." After seeing the picture clearly, Pansy frowned and took a large step to the other side without hesitation, showing a look of disgust toward the pot of flowers.
"So the first thing to do when entering here is to put on your gloves." As Draco spoke, he picked out a suitable pair of gloves from the table. Pansy also quickly chose a pair and put them on; she didn't want her hand to accidentally turn into a disgusting state.
Professor Sprout stood behind a trestle in the middle of the greenhouse. She clapped her hands, drawing everyone's attention. She said, "Today we are going to repot Mandrakes. Now, who can tell me the properties of the Mandrake?"
Several Ravenclaw students immediately raised their hands. Professor Sprout called on a tall, thin boy who seemed a bit nervous and said with a slight stutter: "It, it can restore people who have been cursed or transfigured to their original state. It is a powerful restorative agent."
"Very good, ten points to Ravenclaw," Professor Sprout said. "Mandrake is an essential part of most antidotes. But it is also very dangerous. Who can tell me why?"
"If we hear their cry, we will lose our lives," Draco said calmly.
"Correct answer," Professor Sprout said. "I hope you can raise your hand before speaking next time, student Draco. Ten points to Slytherin." She then pointed to a row of deep-bottomed trays and continued: "Look, everyone, the Mandrakes here are still very young. Their cries are not yet fatal, but they will knock a person out for several hours. Now, everyone take a pair of earmuffs."
There were about twenty pairs of earmuffs of different colours on the stool. The students scrambled for them, as none of them wanted to wear the pink earmuffs.
"Well, I have to say it actually suits you quite well." Draco tried his best to hold back his laughter. Pansy ended up wearing the pink fluffy earmuffs because she was a bit slow to grab one.
"You dare say more!" Pansy also felt that this girlish colour scheme didn't suit her. Being teased by Draco, she couldn't help but feel both embarrassed and annoyed. She reached out, making a move to snatch Draco's earmuffs, presumably wanting to swap.
"Stop." Draco gently pushed her hand away and pointed at the Professor.
An ugly baby with grass leaves growing on its head had been pulled out. Its skin was pale green and mottled. This little fellow was clearly screaming at the top of its lungs.
Draco shrugged, meaning he couldn't help. The lesson had already begun. If Pansy were willing to be unconscious for a few hours, she might still be able to swap.
Pansy could only take out her anger on the Mandrake baby. She used all her strength to grip it tightly. Draco could guarantee that the expression on the baby in Pansy's hand was definitely the most painful-looking one in the entire classroom.
Before long, basically everyone had finished the task and buried the Mandrakes in new pots. Some students were sweating profusely, looking as if they had just fought a battle with a Dark wizard. Others seemed to handle it with ease, as if they had done a trivial little thing.
Suddenly, the students felt the table in front of them shake. They looked toward the teacher and knew they could now take off their earmuffs.
"Very good, everyone did a great job," Professor Sprout said appreciatively, very satisfied with the students' performance.
"Professor, I'd like to ask a question." Draco raised his hand, thinking to himself: "Forced science popularisation assist begins."
"Go ahead, child."
"Could you tell us some specific symptoms that can be resolved by Mandrakes?" Draco said word for word, hoping to attract the students' attention as much as possible.
"That's a good question." Professor Sprout praised him first and then said, "People who have been hit by Petrificus Totalus can use it; that's one of them."
"Professor, then did student Neville from Gryffindor also use Mandrake last semester? He seemed to be hit by Petrificus Totalus last semester as well," a brown-haired Ravenclaw girl asked.
"Very good." Professor Sprout's smile became increasingly kind, and then she said, "Child, the effects of spells cast by different people are not the same. Miss Granger had no ill intent at the time, and she is still a student. If the Petrificus Totalus were cast by that person…" As she spoke, Professor Sprout's smile faded, replaced by a serious expression. "Sorry, I seem to have said too much." She immediately stopped talking because she noticed the atmosphere had become heavy, and looks of fear appeared on the students' faces.
Draco spoke up to break the somewhat awkward silence. He continued to press: "Professor, what about Medusa? Legend has it that if people look directly into her eyes, they will also be petrified. Is this true, and can Mandrake solve it?"
"Oh, child, that's just a legendary creature, no need to worry." Professor Sprout paused for a moment, as if she had thought of something, and then said: "But there is indeed a creature whose eyes are similar to the legendary Medusa."
"What is it, Professor?" Draco pressed.
"A Basilisk."
"A Basilisk? What's that?" A group of students began to whisper and murmur to each other.
"Well…" Professor Sprout lowered her head and thought for a while, as if searching through her memory, and then said: "Actually, you can ask your Care of Magical Creatures teacher—Professor Kettleburn; he should know better than I do." She paused and continued: "But since a student has asked, I will answer—the Basilisk is a brilliant green giant snake that can reach fifty feet in length. The male snake has a bright red plume on its head, and its fangs are exceptionally venomous." She paused again, likely wanting to emphasize the following words: "But its most dangerous form of attack is to stare at the target with its large yellow eyes. Anyone whose eyes meet its gaze will die instantly. If it's indirect contact, there is one last hope, and that is Mandrake."
The students were in an uproar.
Realizing that what she said was a bit terrifying, Professor Sprout continued: "Don't worry, there haven't been any records of Basilisk sightings in Britain for at least four hundred years." Only then did many students breathe a sigh of relief.
"Does it have any natural enemies?"
"Of course, every creature has natural enemies. The cry of a rooster is fatal to it, seemingly because it is originally hatched from a hen's egg," Professor Sprout said.
Walking out of the greenhouse, almost all the students were talking. Although many of them were covered in mud and their backs ached after the labour, they didn't care about that. The Basilisk discussed in today's class made them very excited. Nothing serves better as conversation fodder than something terrifying yet distant from people.
"Students, what are you talking about, a Basilisk?" Lockhart appeared behind them like a ghost, leaning against a pillar. Today, he wore a lavender-coloured robe, and at this moment,t he was showing eight sparkling teeth with his trademark smile. He winked and continu,d: "That really is a big fellow. Back when I went to…" Lockhart began to boastfully recount his "experiences" again. A group of students quickly gathered around upon hearing this. They were curious about how Lockhart had dealt with a Basilisk. Besides a rooster, was there any magic that could defeat it?
"Pansy, aren't you going to listen to his story?" Draco asked from the side.
"I think your story about the Lady White Snake is much more interesting." Pansy curled her lip, showing disdain for a certain someone.
Draco immediately felt truly embarrassed.
About fifteen minutes later.
"And just like that, the village regained its peace. They wanted to repay me, but I refused. As a recipient of the Order of Merlin, Third Class, and an honorary member of the Dark Force Defence League, this is what I should do. I should not accept any reward." He paused, then winked his charming eyes: "Of course, a grateful kiss from the young ladies is not included." As soon as he finished speaking, the students immediately burst into rounds of warm applause. A group of girls screamed excitedly, with starry eyes like fans.
"Where did he plagiarise this from again?" Seeing a certain someone's shameless behaviour, Draco could only roll his eyes to show his contempt.
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