That was shit.
Even if it was a dragon's, it was still shit!
Letting her, the great Lord Voldemort, use those hands that once held the elder wand to grab shit?!
"I'm not doing it." Draco threw his gloves on the table, "This is too disgusting, I'll have Goyle do it for me."
"I can't either..." Pansy was also about to cry, "This will ruin my nails."
There was a chorus of complaints all around.
Tamara took a deep breath.
If she didn't do it, she would stink for three days.
If she did it, not only could she get those damn 5 life points, but she could also once again establish a god-like image in front of these pampered wastes.
"This is the price."
She closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, the disgust in her eyes had been replaced by a sense of sacred sacrifice.
Tamara rolled up the sleeves of her silk robes, revealing two fair, slender arms like lotus roots.
Then.
She reached out those well-maintained hands, with perfectly trimmed and rounded nails, and without any hesitation, plunged them directly into the bucket of dragon dung compost in front of everyone.
"Hiss—"
A collective gasp came from the surroundings.
Draco's eyes were about to pop out.
"Ta... Tamara? Are you crazy?!"
Tamara grabbed a handful of warm, viscous compost and expressionlessly placed it into the bottom of the flowerpot.
Not only was there no trace of disdain on her face, but it also carried a kind of almost devout concentration.
But Tamara was already screaming frantically in her heart about wanting to chop her hands off, while simultaneously having to maintain her surface calm.
"In the eyes of a Wizard, materials are not noble or lowly, only whether they are useful."
She carefully placed the delicate Dictamnus seedling into the pot; what a sharp contrast it was—those hands covered in filth, yet holding up the emerald green life in an extremely gentle posture.
"Though dragon dung is filthy, it contains powerful magic that allows Dictamnus to radiate its strongest medicinal properties."
"If you can't even stand this bit of dirt..."
Tamara looked up, her black eyes scanning every dumbfounded Slytherin.
"Then when you face bloodshed, face rotting wounds, face true Dark Arts, are you also going to run away because of disgust?"
Draco was stunned.
He looked at Tamara's mud-stained hands and suddenly felt how ridiculous his own affectation was.
Yes.
This was Tamara.
She could be high and mighty like a queen, but she could also hesitate-free dirty her hands for the sake of power.
This kind of courage... this kind of ruthlessness to do whatever it takes for a goal... this was a true Slytherin!
"I'm sorry, Tamara."
Draco grit his teeth and also took off his gloves.
"You're right, I'm a Malfoy, I shouldn't be afraid of this little bit of stuff."
He also grabbed a handful of dragon dung; although his expression was still a bit distorted, he endured it.
With Draco taking the lead, Pansy, Goyle, Blaise... all the Slytherin freshmen silently took off their gloves.
For a moment, only the rustling sound of turning soil remained in the greenhouse.
Professor Sprout stood aside, watching this group of Slytherin students who were usually the most difficult to please, now each playing with mud barehanded and working with great enthusiasm.
She was moved to tears.
"Oh... how touching..."
Professor Sprout wiped the corners of her eyes: "In all my years of teaching, I have never seen Slytherins who love plants so much and respect the earth so much!"
"Miss Riddle! Your words are so educational!"
"Twenty points to Slytherin! For the most precious spirit in this class!"
Tamara did not smile because of the points.
She was concentrating on the final finishing touches.
She used her mud-covered fingers to gently press down the soil at the base of the Dictamnus, her movements as light as if she were caressing a lover's cheek.
[Ding! Task Completed: Gift of the Earth.]
[You have proven with your actions that true virtue is not afraid of dirt or exhaustion!]
[System Evaluation: S]
[Reward: life +5.]
[Current life: 12.]
[Ding! Congratulations to the host!]
[Detected that the "life" attribute has broken through the 10-point mark.]
[Your close contact with soil and fertilizer proves that you have a heart that understands the true meaning of life by nourishing all things.]
[Unlocked Level 1 life-series Charm: Episkey.]
[Spell Effect: Can heal minor wounds, bruises, small fractures, or nosebleeds.]
[System Evaluation: "You used to only create corpses, but now you have learned to repair bodies. See, isn't this a great improvement?"]
"Healing magic?"
Tamara's expression was extremely ugly; so after enduring humiliation and heavy burdens for nearly a whole class, she had unlocked such a useless skill!
She sneered in her heart: "I am the Dark Lord, not a nurse at St Mungos."
[No matter what it is, helping others is never a bad thing!]
The moment the bell rang for the end of class, she stood up almost like a projectile.
"Class dismissed," Professor Sprout had just finished saying.
Tamara had already begun chanting spells at her hands.
"Scourgify! Scourgify! Tergeo! Scourgify!"
She cast four spells in one breath at her hands until they became fair and dry again, even a bit red and peeling, and there wasn't a trace of odor left in the air before she stopped.
Even so, she still felt like something was crawling under her fingernails.
"Tamara, wait for me!"
Draco chased after her, shaking the mud off his hands, looking excited. "I think that feeling just now was actually quite cool! Like... er... conquering nature!"
Tamara turned her head and looked at Draco, who was approaching with hands full of mud, and instinctively took three steps back.
"Stay away from me, Malfoy."
Her voice returned to that heart-stopping coldness, and this time it truly carried murderous intent.
"Don't speak to me until you've washed your hands clean."
After saying that, she turned and left, her pace so fast it was as if she were fleeing for her life.
"What's wrong with her?" Pansy approached, looking at Tamara's back as she practically fled in panic.
"Probably..." Draco looked at his own filthy hands, deep in thought, "Probably going to think about how to lead us to continue pursuing excellence."
"She truly is a natural-born leader."