Herbology Greenhouse.
Today's assignment was clearly a step up from the first class. Still, it wasn't anything too advanced—after all, they were just first-years.
In short, the theme of today's herbology lesson could be summed up in four words: composting with manure!
Professor Sprout had brought in piles of magical creature dung from the Forbidden Forest, ready to teach the young witches and wizards how to make effective fertilizer.
Truth be told, Dawn really didn't want to do it.
Even though most magical creature dung didn't smell too bad—some, like the Mooncalf's, even had a strange herbal scent—it still didn't change the fact that it was, at the end of the day, excrement.
"Alright, children! Don't all make those faces," Professor Sprout said cheerfully, smiling as she bent down with her dragon-hide gloves and picked up a round, black lump.
"It might just be dung, but don't underestimate its usefulness—especially in Herbology."
She began introducing them one by one: "For example, Bowtruckle droppings have natural insect-repelling properties and can promote tree growth."
"Mooncalf dung is excellent for growing shade-loving herbs and plants that bloom at night."
"And herbs grown with unicorn manure are at least twice as effective as normally cultivated ones."
As she continued, she suddenly sighed with a look of regret.
"But if we're talking about the best fertilizer, it would have to be dragon dung. Unfortunately, we don't keep dragons in the Forbidden Forest, and buying it from outside is far too expensive."
Dawn raised an eyebrow. Seems like Hagrid wasn't the only dragon fanatic in the school.
"Alright! Let's get started! But pay attention to how I do it first," Professor Sprout called out.
The Hufflepuff students, wanting to impress their Head of House, responded loudly and quickly overcame their hesitation to start handling the dung.
Dawn sighed, put on his dragon-hide gloves, and cast a barrier charm over his face before joining in.
.......
Growing herbs wasn't as simple as it looked.
Different types required different ratios of dung, depending on their unique properties.
For example, Bounce Bulbs needed fertilizer made mostly of Niffler dung with a little bit of gnome droppings mixed in, whereas Gnarled Vines were the opposite.
And besides dung, some fertilizers needed additional ingredients.
Take Gillyweed, for example—the same herb from the Triwizard Tournament that lets you grow gills and webbed hands to breathe underwater. Its cultivation required adding bubotuber pus.
By the end of class, it wasn't as tiring as expected, since most of it involved Professor Sprout's demonstrations and explanations. The students just had to remember the key points and try it out a little.
Once Dawn settled into the lesson, he found it surprisingly interesting.
The only disappointing part was that the greenhouse still didn't have any dangerous plants like Mandrakes.
That crushed his little plan to "borrow" some things for himself.
Left with no choice, he decided to speak to Professor Sprout after class.
"Are you saying… you need some Mandrake leaves?" she asked, her smile fading into a more serious look. "Can you tell me what you need them for?"
As the Herbology teacher, she knew exactly what Mandrake leaves were associated with—Animagus transformations.
In the past, many overly curious students had read about transformation methods somewhere and tried to experiment on their own, nearly causing major accidents.
"Professor, I want to study potions," Dawn said with a smile. "I'm really interested in Potions."
"A few days ago, I read in a book called [Advanced Potion-Making] that adding Mandrake leaves to a clarity draught would double its effectiveness. I just wanted to give it a try."
He scratched his head. "But I'm a little afraid to ask Professor Snape… so I thought I'd check with you first. Do you have any Mandrake leaves here?"
Professor Sprout narrowed her eyes. "Is that really all?"
"Huh?" Dawn blinked innocently.
The plump witch stared at him for a while before finally smiling again.
"No, nothing. Curiosity is a good thing. I happen to have a few Mandrake leaves here—wait right here."
She left and headed for another greenhouse.
Dawn watched her back and subtly curled his lips into a grin. Sometimes, acting like a good student really paid off.
Before long, Professor Sprout returned with a small wooden box in hand.After a few more words of thanks, Dawn said goodbye and left.
Professor Sprout waved him off.
Once all the students were gone, she hummed cheerfully to herself as she began to tidy up. She was a very warmhearted witch—being able to help a young wizard brought her just as much joy.
But suddenly, a twinge of worry struck her.
Frowning, she muttered to herself, "Just in case… I'd better mention this to Minerva."
......
After leaving the greenhouse, Dawn went, as usual, to the Room of Requirement.
But to his surprise, the wall already had a doorknob—meaning someone was already inside.
Who could it be?
Hermione? The Weasley twins?
The question flashed through his mind, but he quickly let it go.
Hogwarts was a big place with plenty of empty classrooms. He only came here because it was convenient, so he didn't mind if others used it too.
Finding a nearby washroom, Dawn took a Mandrake leaf from the box, cleaned it, and placed it inside his mouth, pressing it against the roof of his mouth.
Hmm…
It tasted strange, with a very unique flavor. Resisting the urge to lick it, he cast a sticking charm to keep it firmly in place.
He had learned this trick from [Animagus: A Wizard's Fantasy].
Once everything was set, Dawn easily found an empty classroom, slipped inside, and locked the door.
The day before yesterday, he had checked out the unfinished book [Advanced Transfiguration: Flesh and Flesh] from the library.
It was a four-century-old text.
In it, the author presented an interesting idea:
He claimed that magic flows through flesh, and that wizards cannot transfigure into magical creatures because the types of magic they possess are fundamentally different.
Yes.
The author boldly categorized magic into different types based on race and body, asserting that goblin magic and wizard magic, for example, were entirely distinct.
He argued that magical creatures could only perform specific abilities because their magic only supported those limited functions.
Dawn tapped the desk with his fingers.
To be honest, he scoffed at the theory.
He had observed magical creatures at licensed pet shops in Diagon Alley—their magical auras looked the same as a wizard's: silvery-white mist.
He certainly hadn't noticed any differences.
Still…
Now, another thought was starting to form in his mind…
________________
Upto 20 chapters ahead on patreon :-
patreon.com/BloodAncestor