The days at Hogwarts

I really don't know where these two people found so many weird legends. Neville couldn't stop trembling after hearing them. The Herbology class, which he was not afraid of, suddenly became as scary as the Potions class.

The twins who were eating breakfast heard the conversation between the two and put down their spoons. They walked over with smiles on their faces, opened their hands, hooked the shoulders of several little wizards, and buried their heads together, creating an immersive feeling.

George said quietly, "Do you know that some herbs have very special growing conditions? They need human corpses as nutrients."

"If any of you are accidentally left alone in the greenhouse, you will be dragged into the soil by the vines." Fred's voice was strong, but he suppressed his throat, so the volume sounded very low.

George continued: "Your cries cannot penetrate the soil, your hands cannot break free from the vines, and no one can find you. In the end, in despair, you will turn into fertilizer in the soil."

With the intimidating words, the two hooked their hands around the little wizard's shoulders and held them tightly. Neville looked panicked and struggled violently, but he couldn't break free. He seemed to be trapped in the scene described by the twins, entangled by vines and buried in the soil, unable to escape.

He stood up suddenly, knocking the twins off the stool.

“Hahahahahaha!” Lee Jordan, who had noticed the situation here a long time ago, laughed unbridledly, “You really deserve it!”

"Hahaha the twins deserve it!"

"Good job!"

The other students also noticed what was happening here and started to make fun of the twins, praising Neville's bravery.

Neville's face turned red with embarrassment. He ran away without looking back and left the auditorium as if escaping.

Using this as a small dessert for breakfast, the little wizards in the auditorium chattered about their summer vacation experiences and the information they had gathered about this semester.

All the excitement was soon suppressed by the roaring letter sent by Mrs. Weasley. After the deafening roar stopped, the hall was boiling again.

Because of temporary deafness, everyone opened their mouths and shouted, and this time the boiling was even louder.

Seamus, with a look of surprise and delight on his face, came up to the pale Ron and shouted in his ear: "So you get a Howler every year at the beginning of school. That's so cool!"

Then Ron's face turned even paler.

On the way to the greenhouse, Hufflepuff Rolf approached Loren.

After Christmas last year, they became friends. Their friendship was different from Harry Ron's and Simone's. They were not that close, but they knew they were friends and could talk about things when they encountered problems. They could talk about things that were difficult to talk about with close friends.

"Hey, Loren." Rolf didn't seem to be very happy about the start of school. His eyebrows were raised, and he didn't look very depressed.

"Rolf! Long time no see. How was your summer vacation?" Loren rolled a grass ball with his feet, bounced it a few times with his toes, and passed it to Rolf.

"We were planning to go to the African jungle to see rare animals, but my grandfather suddenly had to go to France and didn't let us go with him." Rolf stopped the ball and passed it back. "After returning from France, he became very silent. We were all a little worried about him."

Loren thought about it and realized that Scamander was also from the older generation and he should have known about Nico's death.

This is how the elderly feel about death. They may not have much to worry about when they themselves are dying, but when they see their old friends leaving, they can't help but feel emotional and sad.

"Don't worry, adults don't need children to worry." This was all Loren could do to comfort Rolf.

When the group arrived in front of the greenhouse, they found that Lockhart was also there.

He was wearing a long flowing green robe and a green hat with a gold rim on his shiny hair. He was spotless from head to toe, making Professor Sprout, who was covered in dirt and had black mud under his fingernails, look like a peasant woman.

"Hello everyone!" Lockhart smiled. "Just now I showed Professor Sprout how to heal the Whomping Willow..."

He boasted about himself in a high-spirited manner, implying that his knowledge of Herbology was superior to that of Professor Sprout, and that this was just one of his many skills.

Professor Sprout was holding back his anger, clenching his fists tightly, and silently comforting himself in his heart: This is retribution, this is retribution, this is retribution for laughing at Professor Flitwick yesterday.

Thinking this way would make her feel better.

"Starting today, we will have classes in the third greenhouse!" Professor Sprout said gritting his teeth.

When she took out a key from her waist that was thicker than her arm and opened the door of the greenhouse, all the students felt a smell of damp soil mixed with smelly fertilizer hitting them. The unpleasant smell was followed by the charming scent of flowers and grass, as well as some unique smells of plant roots.

Loren couldn't tell whether the smell was pleasant or unpleasant, but Lockhart pinched his nose and showed a disgusted expression. He borrowed Harry from Professor Sprout and pulled him aside to talk.

Entering the greenhouse, all kinds of exotic plants come into view. It is obviously different from the first greenhouse. Most of the plants here are very active. The branches and vines are shaking constantly, and the roots of each herb are loosening the soil, as if to allow themselves to breathe.

Loren had a strange feeling. They were not plants but more like animals. They even gave him a strange sense of intimacy, just like the dolphins he saw in an oceanarium.

They exude their own emotions, joy, freedom, and the happiness that comes from feeling Sprout's presence.

Professor Sprout led everyone to a row of deep-bottomed flower pots and gave everyone a pair of protective gloves and a pair of noise-isolating headphones.

Then the students’ preparation for the first herbal medicine class was examined.

"We are going to repot the mandrake today. Now, can anyone tell me what properties the mandrake has?"

In the huge greenhouse, only Hermione raised her hand to answer the question. The girl's cute voice echoed in the greenhouse: "Mandra, also known as Mandrake root, is a powerful restorative agent. It is used to restore people who have been transformed or cursed to their original state. It is particularly effective against petrification."

Well, good, only Hermione had previewed it.

"You know, that's what celebrities do..."

Outside, Lockhart's triumphant voice could be heard faintly, and Sprout, who was already annoyed, wanted to throw the mandrake in his face.

As if sensing Sprout's dislike for Lockhart, the plants also began to dislike Lockhart. The branches and roots trembled slightly, making an unnoticed, rustling sound.

This feeling was so strange. Loren felt the plants' disgust towards Lockhart, as if he could communicate with the plants.

Obeying some strange subconscious, Loren tried to convey his thoughts to a woody vine of the genus Parthenocissus in the grape family at the door of the greenhouse.

Then, the ivy-like vines entangled Lockhart's boots unknowingly, and then dragged him into the vines.

"Ah - help!" Lockhart screamed in panic, his voice breaking, howling as if the vines were already hurting him.

"Help! It's trying to suck my blood and bury me in the ground as food!"

Apparently, Lockhart had also heard the story the twins had made up in the Great Hall to scare people.

Harry watched the scene in silence. There were only a few vines on Lockhart, and he only needed to support himself with his hands and stand up. But he struggled in panic and ended up wrapping himself up tightly.

George and Fred, what a wicked crime... Harry thought.

Professor Sprout moved slowly with an anxious and panicked expression. She tried not to laugh out loud and was determined to watch Lockhart's show.

Everyone in the classroom saw Lockhart's embarrassing performance. The young wizards from Gryffindor and Hufflepuff remained silent, and all had a bad feeling about this semester's Defense Against the Dark Arts class.

Only Loren's eyes lit up when he saw Lockhart's miserable appearance - an opportunity to improve his favorability!

He strode to Lockhart and pulled him out of the vines, muttering as he pulled at the vines: "Professor Lockhart has paid too much to set a wrong example for us..."

The panicked Lockhart was so moved that he almost cried when he heard this. He vaguely saw that the Gryffindor student in front of him was glowing.

Are you the messenger sent by Merlin?

Lockhart reacted quickly and took control of the situation. He knew how to handle this kind of situation.

After saying a few polite words, he quickly left the scene and went back to the castle to spread another version of the story among other people. As long as he left a preconceived impression, most people in the castle would still recognize him as a best-selling author, adventurer, and recipient of the Order of Merlin.

Before leaving, he patted Loren's shoulder affectionately, and everything was said without words.

Loren seemed to see the progress bar above Lockhart's head: The Oblivion Spell is loading -

1%

5%

……

90%!

He returned to Hermione happily, neither arrogant nor impatient, like a reserved good student who did good things without seeking fame.

Hermione glanced at him expressionlessly, and said in a voice that only the two of them could hear, "Did you move the vines just now?"

Loren: !!!

Loren's eyes widened like bells. "I read the minds of plants, and you read me?!"

……

Mandrake was like a young beast, twisting its body, kicking its legs, and even waving its fists with gritted teeth, almost hitting Seamus in the nose.

Thanks to the enhanced Hermione, Loren was not like other students who were sweating, aching, and covered in dirt when the get out of class ended. Some students were even injured, not to mention being exhausted.

There was a Hufflepuff named Justin Finch-Fletchley, who kept talking to Harry, and even Ron, Loren and Hermione were not left out and chattered along.

The second class was Transfiguration. Professor McGonagall's classes were always difficult, but the second-year classes were even harder as they began to delve into the Transfiguration of living things.

When you transform a beetle into a button, the beetle's vitality will interfere with the operation of magic. You must not only consider the appearance of the button, but also make magic and life harmonious like playing music, to achieve the transformation effect, but not to harm life.

"Can anyone tell me what to do?"

Hermione raised her hand high, and she was the only one who raised her hand. Loren, who was sitting at the same table, was teasing a teaching beetle with his magic wand, flipping it over. When the beetle was about to turn over, Loren flipped it over again.

Professor McGonagall looked at the sharp contrast between the two and remembered how lazy Loren was at the end of last semester. She unconsciously tightened her grip on her wand.

"Loren Morgan, you answer." Professor McGonagall's voice was calm.

Hermione felt a little disappointed, but she still accepted it and slowly lowered her raised right hand.

Loren, who was attacked, said slowly: "When casting the spell, keep in mind the elements of Transfiguration: insight, essence, and target."

"Correct. Five points to Gryffindor for this." Professor McGonagall then analyzed the application of the three elements and the key points of casting spells.

Hermione thought it was just an ordinary question and answer session, but the following class shattered her fantasy. No matter what the question was, no matter how high Hermione raised her hand, Professor McGonagall would always call Loren and give him extra points.

After a long class, Hermione looked at Loren as if he was a third party who interfered with their relationship, and Professor McGonagall was the unfaithful person.

She felt extremely wronged. It was me who raised my hand, and I was the one who cooperated most with the professor in class, but Professor McGonagall gave all her attention to Loren.

As soon as the bell rang, Hermione immediately packed up her textbooks, shook her hair and ran out of the classroom. Her resentful look made Professor McGonagall feel guilty.

Before leaving, Professor McGonagall stopped Loren who was about to chase out and said, "Come to my office on Saturday night..."

Thinking of Hermione's sad eyes, she paused and said, "Let Granger come too."

After saying that, the usually steady Professor McGonagall trotted out of the classroom. Her back actually looked a bit flustered.

Chapter 163 Resurrection Potion

After what happened in the Herbology class, the young wizards from Gryffindor and Hufflepuff no longer had any expectations of Lockhart.

But the young wizards still found it hard to believe that the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor would abandon his students and run away alone when the Cornish elves were running around the classroom and even hanging Neville from the chandelier.

"If I accidentally see his portrait now, I will be too sick to eat." Neville picked a whole chicken leg with his teeth, and swallowed it whole, making his voice a little distorted.

The fact that Neville, who has always been timid, could say such cruel words proved that he was extremely disappointed with Lockhart.

"He keeps talking to me about fame and news all day long. He doesn't act like a professor at all." Harry complained angrily.

It would have been fine for Lockhart to say it himself, but he kept dragging him on, as if they were the same kind of people, exchanging experiences.

"And that Colin Creevey," Ron complained, "He's looking forward to saying 'Hello, Harry~' to Harry all day long, if Harry can say 'Hello, Colin' back to him."

"Oh! It's like he got a response from his lover."

Colin Creevey is a freshman in Gryffindor. Because he is too obsessed with Harry, he behaves like a pervert and always follows him and takes pictures of him.

Harry felt a chill at his lover's words, and he made up his mind to avoid Colin Creevey in the future.

But there were some things that could not be avoided, such as eating in the auditorium and going back to the lounge. Colin always managed to stop him and humbly ask for an autograph.

And Lockhart seemed to have mastered some kind of summoning magic. Every time Colin took a photo, he would pop up and turn the photo of the Boy-Who-Lived into a photo of the Boy-Who-Lived and Professor Lockhart, who could do magic.

Harry's expression of hatred and helplessness became a daily drama that Loren and others looked forward to.

Friday night, Potions Master's office.

The Philosopher's Stone was supposed to have died with Nico, but now it was in his hands. Loren didn't want the Philosopher's Stone to be covered in dust, so he could only use it as a source of magic power to do things like remove traces.

Out of respect for Nico and trust in Snape, Loren accepted Snape's invitation to study the Philosopher's Stone before leaving school last semester.

But Loren thought about it carefully later. Those words about the legendary potion, about leaving the name in the textbook, the nature of magic, and the mystery of the potion were too vague. Snape himself would not believe them.

However, Loren still lent out the Philosopher's Stone. He wanted to see what the potion master was trying to do.

On the test bench, irrelevant tools were placed aside, with only a cup of viscous transparent liquid and a red magic stone on the table.

Snape bent over, put his head on the table, and gently scraped the Philosopher's Stone with a silver knife. The light shone on Snape's pale face, serious, cautious, and focused, like a believer in prayer, and the whole behavior inexplicably revealed a sense of piety.

A few tiny grains of red powder peeled off from the main body and stained the blade.

The dust-like powder was so small that Loren hesitated for a moment with his eyes bulging. He finally said, "Although the Philosopher's Stone cannot be regenerated, there is no need to be so frugal, right?"

Snape turned his head and gave him a look with eyes that were as calm as the abyss. Snape turned his head without saying anything and continued his experiment.

He carefully poured the powder into the transparent and sticky liquid next to it. Some of the remaining powder stuck to the silver knife, so Snape simply sank the entire knife into the mucus.

"The extract of slime mold and duckweed from the Pantanal swamp is the most effective and stable magic inducer discovered so far."

While conducting the experiment, Snape faithfully fulfilled his duty as a teacher, and explained the knowledge in a flat tone: "It has good magical conductivity, but even if the huge magic power of a hundred adult wizards is poured into it, only tiny bubbles will emerge."

Loren's eyes lit up when he heard this: "Can it be used in alchemy?"