Chapter 8: A Lesson in Herbology
Corwin urged the pony onward. After cresting a gentle hill, a new village came into view.
This was Longbottom.
The Hobbits of the Southfarthing were renowned for their skill in growing pipe-weed, and Longbottom was the heart of it all—the center of the Shire's entire tobacco cultivation and trade. Longbottom Leaf was a famous export, beloved by Dwarves, Rangers, and wandering travelers alike. The grey wizard, Gandalf, was one of its most loyal enthusiasts, rarely seen without his pipe.
The Hobbits here seemed even more relaxed than those in Hobbiton. In front of nearly every smial, Corwin saw small groups of Hobbits lounging in the sun, smoking their pipes. Even some of the women held pipes, puffing out contentedly shaped smoke rings.
When they saw Corwin and his cart, a clear stranger in these parts, they looked on with lazy curiosity but made no move to question him. Theirs was a quiet, unassuming peace.
He guided the pony and cart into the center of the village. As he reached the town square, the system came to life.
[Hogwarts Legacy System: Location Acquired – The Shire – Longbottom. Do you wish to Attune?]
"Attune," he murmured.
[Attunement Successful! You have received the first-year Herbology textbook: One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi!]
Corwin blinked. He hadn't expected a Herbology book. His initial excitement cooled into a quiet disappointment. Herbology was the study of magical plants; it wouldn't directly increase his power or defensive capabilities. More importantly, this was knowledge from the world of Harry Potter. He seriously doubted he could find a Mandrake or a Venomous Tentacula here in Middle-earth.
But when he opened the spectral book and began to read, his eyes widened in surprise.
Herbology, a core subject at Hogwarts, was the study of magical and mundane plants and fungi. Students learned to care for and utilize them, understanding their unique magical properties. It was a discipline deeply intertwined with Potions.
Corwin had assumed the book would be a simple encyclopedia of plants he'd never find. To his delight, he was wrong. In addition to detailing magical plants and their care, the book contained something far more valuable: methods for cultivating ordinary plants into magical ones.
Take Dittany, for example. The potioneers of the wizarding world used it to create Essence of Dittany, a powerful healing draught for treating wounds—a staple in any wizarding household. Hermione had used it to heal Ron after he was splinched during their escape. The book explained that the Dittany plant itself was not rare; it was common in the Muggle world and used in herbal remedies. The magical healing properties came from the way it was cultivated by wizards, who could imbue the common plant with magical attributes.
Almost every magical herb in the book had a mundane counterpart. The only difference was whether or not it possessed magical properties. And that, the book explained, was a matter of cultivation.
The textbook described two main methods. The first was natural growth: magical plants would sprout on their own in places rich with ambient magic, like the Forbidden Forest at Hogwarts.
The second method was artificial cultivation, which had several variations. The simplest was to use fertilizer from magical creatures like dragons or Mooncalves. When ordinary plants absorbed these potent nutrients, there was a high chance they would transform into magical variants. A faster, more reliable method was to use specific potions to nurture the plants, but this required skill in potion-making and was often prohibitively expensive.
The third method was direct magical infusion. A wizard could channel their own magic directly into a plant to nurture it. This method was incredibly time-consuming and labor-intensive, with a very low yield. Few wizards were willing to expend so much of their personal magic just to grow a few plants. As a result, this technique had been almost entirely abandoned by the modern wizarding world.
For Corwin, however, this "obsolete" method was perfect. If he ever wanted to brew potions, he would need magical ingredients. This was his only way to get them.
He had planned to leave Longbottom right after his attunement, but the Herbology book changed his mind.
After finding an inn, he visited a local tobacconist. He bought a large pouch of "Old Toby," Bilbo's favorite blend, as a future gift.
"Excuse me," he asked the shopkeeper, "do you know where I might find live Dittany plants?"
"Dittany?" The shopkeeper gave him a strange look. "What would you want that for? It's just a worthless weed." Still, seeing a paying customer, he decided to be helpful. "If you really want some, you can find it all over the shady valleys in the hills to the east. Nobody bothers with it."
"I see. Thank you for the information."
When Corwin left Longbottom, his cart was one pouch of tobacco and two potted plants richer. The Dittany plants were just new sprouts, looking a little wilted from being freshly transplanted.
His next destination was Frogmorton, a town in the Eastfarthing of the Shire. It was close to the Great East Road and bordered the Brandywine River, a considerable distance away. For the first time, Corwin had to spend the night in the wild.
At midnight, with the moon at its zenith, Corwin sat by his small campfire. Bathed in moonlight, he gently pinched a tender leaf of a Dittany sprout and began to channel a steady stream of his own magic into the plant. According to the textbook, this was the first step. He would need to repeat this ritual every night, at the peak of the moon, until the plant was fully mature. Only then could he extract its essence. This was one of the very few magical concoctions that could be created without a wand or a cauldron.
Under the infusion of Corwin's magic, the wilted sprouts seemed to regain some of their vitality. But he knew this was just the beginning. For months, he would have to perform this ritual every night until the plants were fully transformed. It was no wonder the wizarding world had abandoned this method. Compared to using magical fertilizer or potions, it was brutally inefficient. The great magical greenhouses of the world cultivated herbs by the acre; if they used this method, they would drain every wizard in the country of their magic and still not produce enough.
The pony-cart traveled through the night, and Corwin finally arrived in Frogmorton as dawn was breaking. The town sat right on the Brandywine River, and its ferry was a convenient way to cross over to Buckland on the other side.
Exhausted from the night's journey, he went straight to the Floating Log Inn to rest. The inn lived up to its name; it was a unique structure built right on the water, a landmark of the town.
[Hogwarts Legacy System: Location Acquired – The Shire – Frogmorton – The Floating Log Inn. Do you wish to Attune?]
"Attune," Corwin said quietly, placing the two pots of Dittany on his room's windowsill.
[Attunement Successful! You have received the first-year Potions textbook: Magical Drafts and Potions!]
Corwin summoned the book, flipped through it briefly, and then closed it. He wasn't disappointed, but he knew the book was useless to him for now.
Making potions required more than just the right ingredients. The most crucial step, the one that turned a mundane mixture into a magical draught, was stirring it with a wand. The wand acted as a catalyst, infusing the potion with magical energy. It was the reason why a wizard could create a miraculous elixir, while a Muggle using the exact same ingredients would only end up with a foul, toxic sludge.
If Corwin ever wanted to brew a potion, he first needed a wand.
And a wand was something far beyond his current reach. He knew it wasn't as simple as sticking a dragon heartstring into a piece of wood. If it were, the Ollivander family wouldn't have held a monopoly on the wandmaking trade in Britain for over a thousand years.