Disclaimer: I don't own anything. This is not meant to infringe upon copyrights.
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The discussion about Professor Quirrell didn't last long.
Cedric told them that the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor before Oren was even worse.
Back then, he was a first year, full of dreams and boundless anticipation for Hogwarts.
But this bliss lasted less than two days. During Defense Against the Dark Arts class, their professor, under the guise of teaching, wantonly cast curses on them.
Vomiting Curse.
Horn Curse.
Hair Thickening Curse.
Jelly-Leg Jinx.
Skull-Expanding Curse…
He experienced them all.
Although the professor always managed to remove the negative effects of the curses in time, preventing any real harm to their bodies, the feeling while under the curse was extremely unpleasant.
Especially the Skull-Expanding Curse; the dizzying discomfort was still vivid in Cedric's memory.
Moreover, the professor would divide the students into two factions based on their house, forcing them to duel with curses.
Therefore, every Defense Against the Dark Arts class was torture for him, taking several days to recover.
Fortunately, this situation didn't last long.
According to Cedric, on Halloween, a large group of heavily armed people stormed into Hogwarts and took the professor away.
At first, everyone thought he was a malevolent dark wizard.
But it wasn't until a few days later that they learned from the Daily Prophet that the man was actually an escaped patient from St. Mungo's Hospital.
And from the Department of Psychiatric Trauma at that.
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After Cedric finished speaking, Kyle and Kanna stared at him in disbelief.
"It's true." Seeing their incredulous expressions, Cedric shrugged and said, "If you don't believe me, you can ask the Weasley brothers; they know too."
Kyle shook his head, silently feeling sorry for Cedric and the Weasley brothers for a second.
Sure enough, anyone who dared to apply to be a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts was no ordinary person.
With Cedric's experience as a comparison, Professor Quirrell's class didn't seem so bad anymore.
And when it came time for Herbology class in the afternoon, the magical Greenhouse No. 3 made them completely forget about it.
It was simply a paradise of magical plants.
Mandrake, Venomous Tentacula, Snargaluff… plants they'd only ever heard of before could all be found here.
"We're going to repot the mandrake today," Professor Sprout pointed to a row of deep dishes beside him and asked, "Now, who can tell me the properties of mandrake?"
Cho, who was in the class with them, was the first to raise her hand.
"Mandrake is a powerful restorative agent," Cho said without hesitation. "It's used to restore deformed or cursed individuals to their original state."
"Very good, Ravenclaw, ten points," Professor Sprout said. "Mandrake is a crucial component of most antidotes, but it's also dangerous. Can anyone tell me why?"
"Hearing the cry of mandrake can be fatal," a boy standing in the middle blurted out.
"Absolutely correct, Ravenclaw, another ten points," Professor Sprout said.
At the same time, she glanced at Kyle with some regret.
This child is too honest. Raising your hand in class isn't enough; it's better to speak up directly… like that Ravenclaw boy earlier.
What a waste of a rare opportunity for extra points.
Just as he was thinking this, Professor Sprout suddenly noticed that Kyle hadn't lowered his hand.
"Oh, Kyle, do you have anything to add?" Professor Sprout asked.
"Yes, Professor," Kyle said, "besides its crying, dried mandrake leaves are also very dangerous to Animagus."
"Yes, you're right."
Professor Sprout nodded, but quickly shook his head.
"But it's not as dangerous as you think," she said. "In fact, the effects of dried mandrake leaves on Animagus are very weak. Only long-term consumption in animal form would cause irreversible consequences.
By long-term… it would take at least three years. If the wizard transforms back into human form during this time, the negative effects can be instantly eliminated.
Moreover, there are very few Animagus in the magical world; there are only seven registered in the Ministry of Magic. As far as I know, none of them like to remain in animal form for extended periods, let alone consume mandrake leaves.
Therefore, although mandrake leaves do have an effect on Animagus, the probability of such an event is actually very small.
Apart from that gluttonous Barnes a hundred years ago, there is no other recorded case in the magical world."
"Is that so?" Kyle nodded thoughtfully. "I was overthinking it."
"No, you should say you've read a lot of books," Professor Sprout said with a smile. "I remember only one very obscure herbal book mentioning this. What was it called again?"
"A Selection of Medieval Herbs," Kyle said. "I saw it at Mr. Scamander's place."
"Yes, that's the book," Professor Sprout said with a smile. "Everyone knows Mr. Scamander as a remarkable magizoologist, but few know that he was also a master of herbalism."
"Hufflepuff plus ten points," Professor Sprout clapped her hands and said to everyone. "This is just extra knowledge; you only need to know it, no need to memorize it."
Then, she pointed to the row of deep pots again and began to explain the precautions for repotting the mandrakes later.
"Four people per pot, and remember, you must wear earmuffs," Professor Sprout instructed. "Although the mandrakes here are still very young, their cries won't be fatal, but they can make you unconscious for several hours.
I think none of you want to miss the first day of school, so everyone must wear earmuffs while working. When it's time to clean up, I will try to get your attention."
With earmuffs, repotting the mandrakes isn't difficult; just be careful not to put any part of your body into their mouths.
Although mandrakes don't have teeth, they do have a layer of hard keratin, so a bite from one can be quite painful.
Kyle grabbed a clump of leaves and skillfully pulled the mandrake out.
The little guy immediately started yelling and screaming, wriggling its light green body as it did so.
Its movements were much louder than the others, seemingly showing great resistance to Kyle.
"I just casually plucked a few leaves, is it really that big of a deal? So stingy!"
Kyle muttered to himself, then casually pulled a large flowerpot from under the table and stuffed the mandrake into it.
[End of the chapter]