Professor Sprout gave a brief introduction before getting straight to the point.
"Today, we are learning how to re-pot Mandrakes. First, you must all put on your earmuffs."
Kane looked at the pair in front of him. They looked a bit "Constant-styled,"—which was a polite way of saying they looked like they'd been slapped together by hand. He slipped them on quickly.
The earmuffs were magical; they didn't block out normal speech at all. According to Sprout, they filtered only the harmful frequencies of the Mandrake's scream but did nothing to reduce the actual volu.
Perfect, Kane thought. The bigger the ss these things make, the easier my 'resource relocation' will be.
Once the students were ready, Sprout explained the lethal nature of the plants. Seeing the flicker of fear on most students' faces, she gripped the leafy tops of a Mandrake.
"Everyone, follow my lead."
Kane grasped his Mandrake's leaves. Seeing Sprout's "battle-ready" expression, he felt a rare spark of tension. In the Constant, Mandrakes were just annoying, barking radishes that hopped around. If they're different here, I'd better be careful.
"On my count! Three... two... ONE!"
"PULL!" Sprout yelled.
Instantly, the greenhouse erupted into a Mandrake "War Cry"—a sound a thousand tis more piercing than nails on a chalkboard. The entire class dissolved into chaos.
Kane, holding his Mandrake by the hair, felt a sense of relief. He'd wondered why Sprout treated these like high-level threats; now he knew.
If a student ssed this up and the professor wasn't fast enough to suppress it, soone was going to end up with zero Sanity and a very short life.
Sprout, in Kane's eyes, was officially an "Undercover Boss." Her ability to manage this noise was top-tier.
But admiration didn't stop his hands. He channeled his Shadows into the plant. The ugly, screaming Mandrake imdiately went quiet, shifting its "citizenship" to the Eternal Domain and becoming the familiar, cute, silent "ugly radish" he knew.
Following Sprout's instructions, he shoved the newly naturalized Mandrake into the fresh pot. Soon, the greenhouse fell silent again.
"Whew... survived that," Kane exhaled. Now he just had to wait for the bell, bag the "dead" Mandrake, and swap in the daikon.
Yawn—
"Kane, class is almost over." Harry patted Kane, who had managed to fall asleep while standing, propped up by his hands on the table.
"I am reborn," Kane muttered, blinking his eyes open just as the bell rang.
Neville, sticking to the plan, spoke up imdiately: "Professor, I... could I take a Mandrake ho to study?"
Every eye in the room pivoted toward Neville.
Now! Kane grabbed the Mandrake by the hair and yanked it out.
Neville, currently being lectured by Sprout on why taking a biological weapon ho was a bad idea, glanced over and saw Kane performing a "dry pull" with no earmuffs and no protection. He nearly fainted.
Mate, that's not what I thought you ant! You were supposed to take the pot, not just rip the scream-demon out by its scalp!
The students around them froze, waiting for the lethal scream. It never ca. Kane held the Mandrake up like a trophy; it was as dead and silent as a grocery store vegetable. He quickly stuffed it into the front of his robes.
Harry, working with practiced precision, shoved the half-daikon into the empty pot. At a glance, the green tops looked remarkably convincing.
"And that is why Mandrakes are dangerous magical plants. Do you understand, Mr. Longbottom?" Sprout finished her lecture. Neville nodded blankly.
Your Mandrake and his Mandrake... are clearly not the sa species.
After class, Kane gave Neville a massive hug. "Neville, my brother! You're a legend. If you ever need anything, I've got your back!" He shook the poor boy so hard Neville looked ready to lose his lunch.
"I—I'll rember that," Neville stamred, prying himself loose. "But... your plant? Why was it silent? It looked... dead."
Kane decided on the truth. He'd already turned Neville's toad into a Shadow creature briefly; there was no point hiding his ability to "convert" biology. Neville just nodded, though he secretly suspected Kane had simply murdered the poor thing.
"Anyway," Neville added, "I saw Hagrid outside. He wanted to tell you three to stop by his hut after lunch."
"We'll head there straight after eating," Kane said, leading Harry and Ron toward the Great Hall.
He was in a fantastic mood. He'd need to ask Hagrid where the spiders were in the Forbidden Forest; he was still a few webs short of a Tent and a Prestihatitator.
Fortunately, the Great Hall was serving coffee at lunch—a literal lifesaver for Kane. He ate sparingly, watching Harry and Ron wolf down their food with a smug, "high-IQ" smile. Save room, boys. We're going to Hagrid's. He's bound to have snacks.
"Aye, they're gonna love these Rock Cakes," Hagrid said, pulling a tray of glowing-red cakes out of the forge—er, oven. He set them aside to "cool," a process that looked more like tempering steel than baking.
Knock, knock, knock!
"They're here!" Hagrid bead, opening the door for the trio.
The three boys walked in, each carrying a gift. Hagrid was touched. Harry gave him a small, enchanted crate; Ron gave him a shiny new axe; and Kane gave him a cream-colored satchel with an Undetectable Extension Charm.
If Kane could hear Hagrid's thoughts, he would have felt a bit awkward. "Gifts" was a strong word; these were things he'd hand-crafted using materials "borrowed" from the Hogwarts grounds.
"Thank you, lads! I love 'em!"
Hagrid sat them down by the fire. Just as he was about to start the tea, a letter flew through the window. Hagrid read it, and his face went pale.
Kane was busy weighing a Rock Cake in his hand, wondering if he could swallow it in one bite, when he noticed Hagrid's expression. "What's wrong?"
Hagrid swallowed hard. "Professor Dumbledore sent a ssage. A Mandrake has gone missing from the greenhouse. He says Hogwarts is like a ticking ti bomb right now... he's worried it'll go off."
Kane's face didn't change as he continued to examine his Rock Cake. "Why write to you? Do you have a special tracking dog for Mandrakes?"
Hagrid shook his head. "No... It's just, Dumbledore says he already knows you stole it, Kane. He told to tell you to go and turn yourself in imdiately."
Clang.
The Rock Cake fell back onto the plate, shattering it instantly. Kane looked up, his jaw dropping.
"???"
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