2 September 1992, Hogwarts
Yeah, Harry needed to somehow put on charms in the entrance of each common room, counting the number of people getting in and out, revealing if there's someone going out from any house just before the entrance to the Chamber opens. It would help focus on the house of the possessed victim.
Still, he had to do it at night or very early in the morning. As for now, he walked towards the greenhouses. He was almost going to be late for Herbology class.
Well, Herbology wasn't all that bad. Honestly, Harry wasn't all that passionate about the field, even if he understood its utility. Herbology wasn't just the study and breeding of plants for use in potions, even if that's what it was used for nowadays. No, it was a study of nature. NEWT herbology students start to even learn a few druidic spells and a few rituals to promote plant growth. It was the only kind of ritual magic allowed in the castle, and in the country, really. Even Dumbledore couldn't ban them, only restrict them, as it would cripple potion production which was necessary in any magical society.
Magical plants could also be extremely dangerous and commonly used as weapons. Yeah, a herbologist Auror was terrifying. There was this professor called Mirabel Garlick over a century back that had somehow created a plant that fed on magical fire. During an attack on the school during the last Goblin rebellion, this simple plant was able to kill a dragon, by growing from the beast's flames and binding the creature, who ended up being strangled to death. Yeah, that woman was badass. It was also one of the main reasons Harry never dismissed the seemingly kind and upbeat Professor Sprout. She had a mastery of the subject, which means that she probably knew more than enough way to give anyone a long and torturous death.
Something that Lockhart seemed unaware of since he kept pestering the woman about the 'correct way to doctor a Whomping Willow'. Never mind that the tree was a creation of the Professor in the first place. Yeah, Harry was curious about the Professors a few times and used his nifty little spell to find any books authored by them, and yeah, Professor Sprout had written one on the properties of the plant that she had created. Yeah, that woman was terrifying, and Lockhart was actively insulting her prowess with his suggestions.
Thankfully the woman ignored the man and did not turn him into fertilizer for her Venomous Tentacula, and just started the lesson, although slightly less upbeat than usual even after the ponce left. Still, it was obvious that this year was going to be more interesting than the last, especially when they started the year with Mandrakes of all things, well at least they were very young so the most they could get was a headache or passing out. Yeah, this was a very dangerous plant that was actually used by certain hit-wizard teams specializing in Mandrakes.
Of course, they used younger ones because the risk to their allies and for collateral damage was high, but it was still relatively common to have a mandrake or two in a team. As for fully matured ones, they needed to be put in specialized rooms with hundreds of wards and enchantments negating any form of noise. Yeah, the buggers' cries could somehow break a few wards on their own. It was why transporting adult mandrakes was such a problem and made illegal in most countries. Portkeys and Apparitions could mess with the wards slightly, and a fraction of a second was all those plants needed to kill hundreds or even thousands of people. Even taking them while flying was risky because the enchantments wouldn't be as stable without an active anchor, like a warded farm. It was why most farms bought the things young and raised them themselves, which was what Hogwarts often did, but they returned the plants to a specialized farm outside of the country just before they mature.
Honestly, Mandrake farming was mostly done for Aurors and Hit wizards. Even if it was useful in terms of an antidote for transfiguration mishaps, it was too expensive to use instead of just finding another cure which would work just as well. Very few incidents actually necessitated Mandrake essence to be used in a potion, and considering how quickly it could be contaminated, it was done to order. The effects practically disappear in an hour, and you couldn't really apparate or use any magic near it or its effects will be diluted. The best practice was to raise a young mandrake from scratch and wait for it to mature. These victims are often not in critical condition, meaning that they could wait a few months before being treated.
Still, repotting angry baby looking roots was sort of fun, all things considered. Everything went fine except for Crabbe who had put on his earmuffs incorrectly and was knocked out the moment he took out his seedling.
By the end of the lesson, Harry left with a smile on his face, even if his friends were unhappy with touching dirt. That was until he realized that his next lesson was with Lockhart.
Harry grumpily walked out of the room and Daphne caught up to him, "What's got you all grumpy? You looked pretty happy in Herbology."
"Well, we have Defense Against the Dark Arts next," he explained.
"Ah, Lockhart. I still don't understand what you have against him. You weren't that fussed with Quirrell, and he was a pretty bad professor," Daphne responded with a questioning tone.
"Quirrell was a competent wizard pretending not to be one. I could tell with the way he cast his spells, the way he spoke. He was a shit teacher, and he did try to kill me, but I could tell he knew what he was talking about. Plus, I was doing my best not to stay near him at any time. But Lockhart, I look at him and see a conman, who swindled his way into fame. I wouldn't really care about it if it wasn't the fact that he's supposed to teach us using fiction books, somehow."
"We'll see if he's worth it or not. If he's useless we could just self-study. I know you already do a lot by yourself," the blonde said.
"You're probably right. Alright, let's go catch up with Tracy and Blaise. They practically ran all the way there."
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