Harry was up bright and early, already showered, cleansed, and even having gotten some body warming up before 7:30, the time that a tired Ron and excited Neville joined him in the school yard. Taking the scenic route to the gardens, while most took the inside route, neither was faster than the other. At least out here, the place was ventilated, away from the many rooms of 'secret' snogging couples, Harry passing at least two doors with loud moaning just this morning.
... Loud to a cultivator at least.
"I should've asked for some coffee before we left.." Ron stopped talking as he was overtaken with a yawn, walking with a much better-looking Neville, who had his sleeves already rolled up. While Ron wore a t-shirt with the Gryffindor lion's head on its left breast, Neville wore his enchanted sweater vest with long sleeves. They all wore the same pants, a school uniform, designed to shed dirt. Harry was wearing a T-shirt as well.
'It feels strange with a cultivator in me, should I get myself some training robes?' Harry thinks as Neville begins to speak.
''I talked with the professor last night before I left the hall, she was excited to hear our interest in gardening, said she'd have a set ready for us!'' Neville's stutter was noticeably gone when he was excited about a topic, and he had been practically vibrating in his dress shoes since putting them on.
"Thanks for the consideration, Neville, Ron. Did you eat the breakfast the elves gave you?''
''You set that up? Man, the eggs were delicious. I should try honey on them again in the future." Ron sighed happily as they walked, Harry keeping his easy smile.
''Good, that means you'll have the energy to train with me today. Have you ever used a hoe before?''
''N-No?'' Ron answered hesitantly since he genuinely hadn't. Mother never let him use his magic to touch them after the 'Spinning Devil' incident.
''Ah, it's not that hard to do it once you get the motions for it down." Harry's words reassured Ron, who was willing to try; if Harry was there, he was sure he could prevent a crash... right?
At the school greenhouse, they were met by the excited professor, her gloves already a bit soiled from her morning tending. Harry appreciated her scent. It held many earthy tones, hints of home cooking, as well as a unique mint smell, a welcome reprieve from how some of the students smelled.
''Hello Lovelies, it's so good to see young, strong men like you three taking an interest in gardening. Here is a bag of seeds along with a little guide for you, alright? Neville, I know you're a dear with the babies, so I'll look forward to yours, Harry, Ron, both your mothers were legends in their times, so I expect great things!'' She beamed at all of them as she handed the bags of seeds to Neville, who only looked at the paper over Harry's shoulder briefly to see what was there.
While there was nothing expensive, there were seeds to begin supplying his own Wiggenweld ingredients, a huge boon already so early, especially with someone like Neville to tend to them. Harry took the shortest route back to the private area where his training and garden were, only to find untilled land with two hoes.
Unchanted, normal metal hoes that were balancing against each other, upon seeing them, Ron turned gob-smacked to Harry. Who was across the way, showing Neville the tool shed, who grinned as he stroked the handles of the hedge trimmers, leaving Harry wondering.
'Is he going to do too much...? No, it should be fine, worst case I ask for a bigger space.' Harry pushed that thought to the back of his mind as he turned to Ron, who had approached the hoes to take both of them, weighing them in his arms. As Harry walked over to join the ginger, he wasn't met with confusion, more so a strange fire that surprised him, though it wouldn't be a mystery for long.
''So you said there is a form to it?''
''Yeah... It will be hard work, but there are tricks to lessen the strain, make it so the tool's not using you, you're using it." Harry said as he took the other hoe from Ron, stepping past him to begin marking out the zone they would be covering. This is where Ron's jaw dropped. The size of the square that he was making was already big, only for him to begin making a large square, then another. Only to see that it was broken off in sections, by the time Harry finished, Ron was sweating already from worry, only for him to point out over the field.
''Alright, you start here. I've marked how big each plot should be and the space between them. Have you been watching my form?" Harry asked only to get a look of confidence from Ron, who took a deep breath, seeming to gather courage before he began to work. Harry left him to it as he started the following larger plot, meant for trees. While he wouldn't have many magical fruits growing off trees, there were a few that could be of use to him. As he powered through, he felt his body begin to strain; it would take a while for his body to get used to the new demands of the work. There was a clear difference in efficiency, however, as Ron would occasionally stumble or go to strike down, only to miss the spot he wanted to begin loosening.
Neville was already making a small place for the dittany, mint, and moondew using enchanted tools, his physique already better than Ron's. As they worked through the day, by the time Neville was finished, Ron took a break, only for them to both watch, gobsmacked as Harry pushed on. By the time he finished the plots for the three fruit tree seeds he had, Encrusted Apples were known for their gemlike appearance when they ripened. Star Crunch is known for resembling a classic Christmas tree-topping star, and its incredibly crunchy texture and flavor are like a shooting star. The third and final was a more abstract fruit called the Sun Melon; though it wasn't necessarily good, it could produce its own 'sun rays'.
Which would be incredibly useful if they did, since the light from the sun helped in Yang energy, while he had yet to find a fruit to help him with the cold energy he would need in the future. Once he had watered them, he used his own herbal knowledge to determine how much would be enough. Afterwards, he went to find Ron hanging with Neville by the tool shed. Two chairs were currently set up, transfigured by Neville, but they weren't impressive at all. They were comfortable enough to relax as Ron gave one final huff before standing, going to grab his hoe as he left his seat for Harry, who took it.
''Water?" Neville asked, Harry's nod was met with a familiar elf from his breakfast time, appearing with a table; it had appeared earlier, but only with cups. Now it left a whole pitcher along with three cups.
''Thank you." Harry said gratefully as the Elf bowed, disappearing with a snap as Neville stood to pour them two glasses, handing one to Harry. Taking it with a nod, he watched his friend walk away, handing one to Ron, sipping the fresh water that tingled his senses with its purity. Only to feel a strange boost of energy overcome him, unable to suppress the sudden grin that bubbled to the surface as he raised his cultivation stages.
Qi-Grasp 2
He finished the water, feeling refreshed by the rise in strength. Taking the hoe, he thought it weighed a little less as he went to work again. Ron was quietly breathing when Harry passed on to the other side of the large plots. He powered through them until it was time for lunch, then stopped to clean up in the showers first. It was while they were in the shower that the three of them got stopped. Draco and his two peons were flanking the men's shower room for the first years. Harry kept his emerald eyes calm, his face a mask, channeling his inner young master a little through the memories of a cultivator.
''Heir Malfoy." Harry greeted with a cool detachment that made Draco sneer slightly; though his voice remained cordial, it was clear there was a veiled bloodlust.
''Heir Potter, is it true you have a business arrangement with Heir Greengrass?" His tone left things to be desired, so Harry raised his left brow slightly.
''Correct the way you address me if we are to use titles, as I am not 'Heir' Potter, but Lord." Harry stepped forward slightly, invading their space; Ron looked tired but ready to throw down, and Neville was hesitant. When Draco's men stepped forward, Ron began to, Neville gathering courage before Harry raised a hand to stop Ron. When the Malfoy heir followed the gesture, he took a long look at Neville, who, while hesitant now, looked ready to step forward, fists clenched at his side. That gaze moved to Ron next, then finally Harry again as he gave a simple apology for a 'mistake.'
''Apologies, Lord Potter, so?''
'I should break a leg to let you understand...' Harry thought briefly out loud on purpose to see Malfoy flinch, having been able to sense the slight magic peering into his senses. "No, we don't have a business arrangement but a personal one. Daphne has asked me to spar with her within the next few days in a duel of swords."
When he said that, it seemed to confuse the Heir Malfoy for a moment before stepping back, giving one last withering look before he left with a huff, with his goons following him.
''What's his deal? We haven't done anything." Ron hissed, only for Harry to speak up.
''He's got a crush on Heir Greengrass, with an inkling that she might like me better since she actually talks to me.'' When Harry admitted to that, it got Neville to chuckle softly as they got in the showers, a divider between them as they began. However, it was then that both of them noticed the difference in Harry's body; they had only seen him without a shirt the first day of school. So there was plenty of time to show improvements, but the lean muscle, showing improvements of physique, and even a healthier color of skin?
"H-Harry, excuse me, but… This might sound a little weird." Neville had paused to seemingly gather his courage before speaking.
"But do you do anything specific to show such improvements?"
"Eat right, work out, use your body actively until the only things that feel like work are things that truly push it to the limits. I was once in a place where I couldn't work out, and eat freely as I needed to, so working out was always a bit hard, but now? I make my own schedule so I can eat how I need, work out the same, but even just the better environment of Hogwarts will… 'Beautify' us?''
''Yeah, I heard a few upperclassmen complaining about it, something about magical quirks?'' Ron said with a hum, only for Neville to answer. It seemed the skin ship was helping Neville as they all split to shower separately.
"When you're in a piece of land that's been saturated in magic over centuries, not even including the fact that Hogwarts is settled on one of the four ever-largest recorded ley lines. Quirks appear when you use your magic for things actively; there are a few well-known ones, such as Mad-Eye Moody. His eye is said to be so heavily enchanted, it's begun to rewrite his brain to be able to cast better by erasing whole equations from spells."
Harry listened as he went through the shower routine; he'd find time to enjoy a bath another time, but a proper clean always felt nice. He'd still end up using the cleaning charm to scent himself how he wants, but that was just because he was aiming to 'activate' a magical quirk always to smell nice. He did think, however, that if Mad-Eye Moody, the famous Auror, truly was being synchronized with a magical artifact, Harry could see himself making it better. It reminded him of an artifact from the cultivator's home world. Instead of focusing on that, however, he spoke up just as Neville finished mentioning Albus's hair quirk.
''Then that makes it simple, have a self-care routine that you follow religiously, maybe if you do that, the spells that are 'annoying' to cast, like beautifying charm, will just cast themselves. That will leave more time to focus on other things. Muscle memory exists so that Magic memory could be a very real concept."
''Muscle memory?'' The echo he was met with from both of his friends got Harry to stop, not because he was exactly surprised, but he understood why they might be 'ignorant', so he instead took time to consider an example. Only to toss the rag he wasn't using across the way to Ron, who was watching, instinctively reached out to catch the rag out of the air.
"Wizarding knowledge has built up over a long time, spells as we know work because many before us have pushed the boundaries of spellwork. The body itself is also a beautiful study; much study goes into 'solving' all that ails the body, but not into why it ails. Not the limits or strength of the body because they're focused on magic, muggles have a study, focusing on the limits of the body even without magic."
''One of such things is how humans have evolved over the course of so many centuries of existence, how inside each of us are 'instinctive memories' that can be acted upon when we aren't thinking. If we further sharpen our bodies, work them out, and increase how well they respond to stimulation. We sharpen our mind, broadening how often we can make that 'accidental magic burst' into a controlled spell we can cast whenever.''
''...The body is just as magical as what we focus on studying here in school; there aren't very many branches of magics that focus on direct interaction magic has on the human body… Like the Lycanthropy curse." Harry added that after a period of time, his friends were thinking that it seemed he had opened a brand new path for both of them, and surprisingly, it was Ron who seemed the most motivated from this development.
(A/N) If you see a point I can improve, let me know. If you have any questions about terms or items, comment, and I'll answer as soon as I can!
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