Pushing open the greenhouse door, Sean felt his heart race.
What if Professor Sprout wasn't there?
What if she'd already finished processing the venomous snake fangs?
What if…
The worries flickered through his mind, but he brushed them aside as he spotted the stout professor hard at work.
"Professor Sprout," Sean called, jogging over, his voice tinged with excitement.
"Welcome, Mr. Greene," Professor Sprout greeted warmly. "Come along, we've got some special materials to handle today."
Sean's jog turned into a full-on sprint, as if the professor might vanish if he blinked. The plump witch let out an amused "Oh!" and parted some overhanging vines for him.
Professor Sprout led the way with a spring in her step, guiding Sean through the familiar Puffapod section. "These dear Puffapods are almost ripe. When those pink pods grow a bit bigger, the shiny beans will start jumping. We need to harvest them before they do, or the greenhouse will be a sea of pod flowers."
She pinched a pod, her voice brimming with the joy of a good harvest. "Care to help with the picking, Mr. Greene?"
Sean gave an enthusiastic "Mhm!" and the two—one big, one small—reached a sturdy oak table piled with an assortment of snake fangs.
"Every year around this time, I process some materials," Professor Sprout said. "Look at these fangs—so sturdy! Can you tell the difference between them, Mr. Greene?"
With a wave of her wand, she levitated a few fangs in front of Sean.
They were sharp, glinting coldly, and definitely different in some way.
"Venomous snake fangs have small grooves inside," Sean said after studying them closely.
"Absolutely correct," Professor Sprout replied, a bit surprised. "Sharp observation."
With another flick of her wand, a mortar and pestle flew into Sean's hands. "Try grinding them, Mr. Greene."
Sean didn't hesitate. Grinding wasn't too tricky, especially since the pestle seemed enchanted—maybe with a Pulverizing Charm, he guessed—making the work go quickly.
Professor Sprout watched him grind with focus, then waved her wand again. Ten mortars and pestles on the table sprang to life, grinding in unison.
"For a Draught of Peace, we need a finer powder, but for a Boil-Cure Potion, this size is just right," she explained.
Sean stopped grinding, having finished ten portions. Not too slow, he thought, until he noticed the ten mortars working simultaneously.
Wizards were just too efficient.
He didn't dwell on it, instead focusing on memorizing the state of the ground fangs and trying to spot differences between venomous and non-venomous powders. Sadly, he couldn't tell them apart.
"Oh, Mr. Greene," Professor Sprout chuckled, her hat tilting as she saw him practically press his nose into the powder.
With another wand wave, she sorted the powders into glass vials—pale pink for venomous, white for non-venomous.
Sean had a lightbulb moment.
"The sunflowers are tilting, Mr. Greene. Time to go," Professor Sprout said, waggling her fingers in a goodbye gesture.
Sean realized an hour and a half had flown by. He quickly said goodbye, pausing only to ask, "Professor, can I come back this afternoon?"
"Of course! The greenhouse welcomes every child who loves nature."
With that, Sean pushed open the door and headed out. That afternoon, Ravenclaw and Gryffindor had their first Transfiguration class together. He didn't fancy being turned into a pocket watch or a map, so he picked up his pace.
On the way, he checked his panel:
[Herbology Knowledge: Unlocked (59/90)]
[Apprentice-level Herbology Knowledge can unlock the Apprentice Herbologist title.]
Processing snake fangs didn't count toward Herbology, as expected.
He scrolled down.
[Levitation Charm: Apprentice Level (4/300)]
[Cleaning Charm: Apprentice Level (70/300)]
[Lumos Charm: Beginner Level (19/900)]
Lumos had reached beginner level. Sean flicked his wand, and the light was noticeably brighter than at apprentice level—and easier to cast, too. To get it as bright as he'd managed in class before, he'd need to channel some serious emotion, but even then, success wasn't guaranteed. He'd tried in class and couldn't replicate that dazzling glow.
The Transfiguration classroom was on the second floor of the castle, not far from Professor McGonagall's office. Inside, Sean saw a modest brown wooden table with chairs from the Gorse Dynasty—actual antiques. Hogwarts is loaded, he thought.
Then he spotted Michael, looking conflicted, sitting next to a dark-haired girl and clearly torn about whether to join Sean. Sean shook his head and sat next to Hermione instead. Beside her was an empty seat and a cage with a squeaking rat.
"You see the tabby cat on the desk? She's adorable," Hermione said.
Sean looked up. A silver-and-gray tabby sat primly on the professor's desk.
"Yeah," he nodded.
As they chatted, a creak came from behind. Harry and Ron burst through the door, panting. They were three minutes late.
Hermione glanced back, pursed her lips, and shook her head.
"Made it," Ron gasped. "If we were any later, McGonagall's face would've been the death of us."
Sean knew they were in for it as they hesitated to sit. The tabby cat leapt off the desk, transforming mid-air into a tall witch in a deep green robe, her head tilted as she fixed Ron with a stare.
Ron's eyes widened, his lips clamped shut, his expression screaming, "Harry, are we going to survive this?"
"That was brilliant," Ron tried, hoping to dodge trouble.
"Thank you, Mr. Weasley," Professor McGonagall said coolly. "Perhaps I should turn you and Mr. Potter into a pocket watch? Then at least one of you might keep time."
"We got lost," Harry mumbled.
"Then a map, perhaps. Surely you don't need one to find your seats?"
The classroom erupted in soft giggles.
"Two points from Gryffindor," McGonagall added.
Hermione shot Harry and Ron another silent, exasperated look.
Gryffindor's living up to its reputation, Sean thought.
"Transfiguration is among the most complex and dangerous magic you'll learn at Hogwarts," Professor McGonagall said sternly. "Anyone who misbehaves in my class will be asked to leave and never return. You've been warned."
With a flick of her wand, the desk in front of her morphed into a pig, which trotted around before turning back into a desk. The young witches and wizards stared, eyes gleaming, itching to start learning.
Support me by leaving a comment, voting, and visiting myPatr-eon at ilham20