Chapter 10: Herbology Class

The four of them chatted quietly for a while until Professor Sprout entered Greenhouse Three through a side door, carrying over twenty pairs of earmuffs in various colors. She placed them on a stool in the center of the greenhouse.

"Now, we'll wait for Mr. Potter to join us, and then we can begin the lesson," Professor Sprout said, her tone still friendly despite a hint of dissatisfaction from the earlier incident.

It wasn't long before Harry pushed open the door and quietly slipped into a seat next to Ron.

Everyone was present.

"Today, we'll be repotting mandrakes," Professor Sprout announced, pointing to a potted plant beside her. "Now, who can tell me the properties of mandrakes?"

Hermione's hand shot up faster than a lightning bolt, followed closely—though not as quickly—by two others. Draco and Neville, realizing they had no chance, awkwardly lowered their hands.

"Of course, with Hermione in class, there's no way I can answer first," the two boys thought with wry smiles.

"Ah, very good, Miss Granger. Please go ahead," Professor Sprout said with a smile, nodding at Hermione.

"Mandrakes, also known as mandragora, are a powerful restorative," Hermione answered confidently, her words clear and precise. "They are commonly used to return those who have been transfigured or cursed back to their original state."

"Excellent! Ten points to Gryffindor," Professor Sprout said, her mood visibly improving as she gave the points generously.

"However," she continued, her gaze sweeping across the young wizards to emphasize her point, "while mandrakes are a key ingredient in many antidotes, they are also very dangerous. Now, who can tell me why?"

Whoosh! (High-quality sound effect)

Hermione's hand shot up again, almost hitting Glenn, who calmly tilted his head to avoid it. The movement of her hand even caused a small gust of air that ruffled Glenn's hair.

"Sorry, Glenn..." Hermione quickly apologized in a whisper, sticking out her pink tongue sheepishly.

Professor Sprout once again called on Hermione. "Hearing the cry of a mandrake can be fatal," the girl answered without hesitation.

"Absolutely correct! Another ten points to Gryffindor!" Professor Sprout clapped her hands. "Now that everyone has a general understanding of mandrakes, please come forward and collect a pair of earmuffs."

As soon as she finished speaking, the students rushed forward, eager to avoid ending up with a pair of pink earmuffs.

"Looks like we don't have a choice," Hermione said with a shrug. Being among the first to enter the greenhouse, they were left with the earmuffs others had avoided.

She didn't mind, though—she quite liked pink. Glenn didn't care about the color either; even if he disliked pink, he wouldn't see them while wearing them.

Draco and Neville, however, were not so lucky. Both boys looked constipated as they reluctantly put on their pink earmuffs. Most boys their age probably weren't fans of the color pink.

Forcing themselves to ignore their friends' teasing glances, they focused intently on the mandrakes in front of them.

"Looks cute on you, Glenn," Hermione teased with a smile, poking him and gesturing with her hands.

Glenn, dressed in all black with a somewhat brooding demeanor, looked surprisingly adorable with the pink earmuffs—a stark contrast that Hermione found amusing.

"You too," Glenn replied, nodding and gesturing back.

Hermione fell silent, her cheeks turning slightly pink as she lowered her head to study the mandrake in front of her, as if it held some hidden treasure.

Professor Sprout then demonstrated the process. She forcefully pulled a mandrake from its pot, revealing a root that looked like a very ugly baby. It was screaming its head off, though the students couldn't hear it thanks to their earmuffs.

She placed the mandrake into a larger pot, filled it with moist, dark compost, and buried it until only its leaves were visible.

Dusting off her hands, Professor Sprout removed her earmuffs and signaled for the students to do the same.

"Our mandrakes are still seedlings, so their cries aren't fatal," she explained, holding up the mandrake for everyone to see. "However, the cries of mandrake seedlings can still knock you out for several hours. I'm sure none of you want to miss the first day of school, so make sure your earmuffs are securely in place while working. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Professor!" the students chorused, sounding like a group of kindergarteners.

Satisfied, Professor Sprout nodded. "Now, put your earmuffs back on. I'll signal you when it's time to clean up. Let's begin repotting your mandrakes."

The group of four obediently put their earmuffs back on and got to work.

With their solid theoretical knowledge and the professor's clear demonstration, they quickly got the hang of the task.

Glenn was the first to finish. The mandrake in his hands didn't even have time to scream before finding itself in a new pot.

Mandrake: ?

Was that just my imagination? Whatever, back to sleep.

Neville finished next, successfully repotting his mandrake. He let out a long sigh of relief and wiped the nervous sweat from his forehead, inadvertently smearing dirt all over his face.

Hermione finished shortly after Neville, but seeing that two people had beaten her, she clenched her fists and playfully shook them at Glenn and Neville.

"I'll beat you next time, just you wait!" she declared, her expression more cute than threatening.

Glenn remained unfazed, while Neville scratched his head with a sheepish grin.

Hermione casually cast a cleaning charm on Neville, then noticed that Draco had just finished his work. Smirking, she raised an eyebrow at him in a teasing challenge.

Draco, who had nearly lost a finger to his mandrake and was the slowest of the group, looked like he wanted to curse someone.

But he held back.

I'll endure this!

Not far away, Professor Sprout noticed the four students who had completed their tasks quickly and efficiently. She nodded in approval.

"Due to the excellent and swift work of Mr. Hawthorne, Miss Granger, Mr. Longbottom, and Mr. Malfoy, I'll award twenty points each to Slytherin and Gryffindor!" Professor Sprout announced generously. By the end of the class, Gryffindor had earned forty points, while Slytherin had gained twenty.

However, her announcement went unheard by the other students, who were too busy struggling with their mandrakes while wearing their earmuffs.

Seeing her fellow Gryffindors looking distressed, Hermione didn't hesitate to head over and help. She gestured to Glenn, "I'm going to help them."

"Alright," Glenn replied.

Neville, inspired, decided to assist his own housemates, who were also struggling.

Draco, seeing this, panicked. If they kept helping the Gryffindors, it would only make them stronger! He decided to help the Slytherins instead.

Turning to Glenn with hopeful eyes, he gestured, "Two Gryffindors are helping their housemates. I'm going to help Slytherin. Want to join?"

"No," Glenn replied without hesitation.

Draco stormed off, his reaction entirely expected but still frustrating.

Why won't Glenn help Slytherin? If Hermione asked him to help Gryffindor, he'd definitely go!

Are we Slytherins really less important than Hermione?

Be confident. Remove "are," "really," and the question mark.

Meanwhile, Glenn sat calmly in his seat, recalling his knowledge of classical Chinese. He had made significant progress and now found it much easier to learn.

With the trio's enthusiastic help, many students soon completed their tasks, earning approving looks from Professor Sprout.

"Because of the mutual assistance among students, I'm awarding ten points each to Gryffindor and Slytherin!" she announced.

Another round of points. On the very first day of class, no less.

Hermione thought it wasn't nearly enough. Those troublemakers would soon lose all the points they had earned. Professor Sprout, please be more generous—more points, more!

The spirit of cooperation quickly spread. Students who had finished their tasks began helping others, creating an unusually harmonious atmosphere in Greenhouse Three.

For once, Gryffindor and Slytherin weren't bickering but genuinely focused on learning—a rare sight indeed.

Unfortunately, the peace didn't last. As soon as Professor Sprout declared the class over, the two houses resumed their rivalry.

"We finished first!"

"No, we did!"

"What? Don't believe me? Meet me after class!"

"Oh yeah? You want to fight?!"

The arguments erupted once more.

Hermione sighed, rubbing her temples. It seemed there was still a long way to go before Gryffindor and Slytherin could truly get along.

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