After breakfast, the fourth-grade Little Lions came out of the castle one by one.
After passing through a damp vegetable patch, we arrived at the Third Greenhouse, where this Herbology would be held.
Sprout arrived early; she was examining a group of black plants that looked like slugs.
Once all the students had arrived, she turned around and introduced the plant to them, saying, "This is Bubotuber, a plant with extremely high value."
Having studied pharmacy for so long, it's already a consensus that the more bizarre one's appearance, the more valuable they are.
Sprout smiled and removed his Dragonhide Gloves. "The most valuable part of the Bubotuber is its pus, which needs to be squeezed by hand. You will collect its pus."
"What?" Seamus looked disgusted.
"Pus." Sprout smiled and answered his question. "You heard me right, Finnegan, it's the pus from the Bubotuber."
She put the gloves she had taken off into her pocket. "Listen, you're going to collect the pus into these bottles. Don't forget to wear your Dragonhide Gloves, because undiluted Bubotuber Pus can cause unusual damage to the skin."
Although the process of squeezing tubers is disgusting, it can produce a strange sense of satisfaction, much like milking a cow.
Each bulge, when burst, sprays out a large amount of viscous, yellowish-green liquid and emits a pungent gasoline smell.
The students followed the professor's instructions and collected the pus into bottles. By the time get out of class was about to end, the fastest students had already collected a bottle.
Vincent had just finished collecting the first bottle, looked in surprise at the two full bottles in front of Neville.
"By Merlin, you're moving way too fast."
Neville picked up another tuber, somewhat embarrassed. "This is all the simple thing I can do."
After saying that, he skillfully squeezed the bottle gently, and a large amount of pus flowed into the bottle through the small opening.
Vincent was completely stunned.
Neville's control of force and choice of angle are impeccable, showing that he has a great talent in this area.
With a look of satisfaction, he picked up a tuber, examined it for a few moments, found the most suitable angle, and then gently squeezed it with the right amount of force.
No one is useless their whole life; everyone has things they are good at or not good at.
Sprout walked over just then, just as Neville finished collecting the third bottle.
She nodded, then clapped her hands. "Okay, everyone stop now."
Madam Pomfrey will be overjoyed; the pus from the Bubotuber is the best medicine for stubborn acne, and with so much collected, she can finally stop those students from using drastic methods to remove their pimples.
Hannah from Hufflepuff lowered her voice, "Like poor Eloise Midggan, she used a spell to get rid of the pimples on her face, and... sigh..."
Sprout sighed, "Silly girl..."
She shook her head. "But Madam Pomfrey put her nose back on in the end. Hopefully, she won't do anything foolish like that again."
The deep, resonant sound of bells rang out from the castle, crossing the damp grounds and reaching into the Third Greenhouse.
Sprout announced his dismissal, and the Hufflepuff Little Badger returned to the castle for their Transfiguration lessons.
Meanwhile, the Gryffindor Little Lions walked along the lawn toward the cabins at the edge of the Forbidden Forest.
Hagrid waited outside the cabin for the students to arrive.
His oversized mole-skin coat had even more holes in it now. He held the collar of his large hunting dog, Tooth, in his left hand, and several large, open wooden crates lay at his feet.
"Woo-woo—" Ya Ya kept trying to break free from the collar, seemingly very interested in the contents of the box.
After hearing the faint "pop pop pop" sounds, Vincent exchanged a knowing glance with Hermione beside him.
Last academic year, the two spent the vast majority of their time in the Forbidden Forest.
Hearing the familiar explosion, the two exchanged knowing smiles and quickly walked over.
"Good morning!" Hagrid greeted the Little Lions. "We still need to wait for the Slytherin students; they certainly won't want to miss the Blast-Ended Skrewt."
"Huh?" Ron leaned closer curiously. "Say it again?"
Hagrid pointed to the open wooden crate.
"Disgusting!" Lavender screamed and jumped behind Ron.
She's right. Anyone who sees Blast-Ended Skrewt will immediately think of the word "disgusting."
They were grayish-white and looked a lot like deformed lobsters that had been shelled.
Its head was nowhere to be seen, and many feet were sticking out haphazardly, looking sticky and terrifying.
Each wooden crate contains about one hundred Blast-Ended Skrewt, each about six inches long.
They climbed on top of each other, constantly bumping against the inner wall of the wooden box.
Besides being ugly, it also emitted a strong odor like rotten fish and shrimp.
Every now and then, sparks fly from their tails, and with a soft "pop," they propel themselves forward a few inches.
"They're all newly hatched," Hagrid said proudly. "You can raise them yourselves; it's a huge project!"
The Little Lions instinctively backed away, including Vincent and Hermione.
A cold voice came. "Why did you raise them?"
The Slytherin Little Snakes arrived, with Draco swaggering at the head of the procession.
"I mean, what can they do? What are they used for?"
Stunned by the question, Hagrid opened his mouth wide and racked his brains for a solution.
After a few seconds, he said gruffly, "Malfoy, that's for the next lesson. You just feed them today."
His large hand tightened the collar binding Ya Ya. "Alright, I've prepared ant eggs, frog livers, and green snakes. Everyone, take a little of each and try them to see if they'll eat them."
Hermione frowned as she looked at Vincent. "Those things from last year, could they be..."
Vincent swallowed hard. "Clearly, the Blast-Ended Skrewt is another new species."
Hagrid is really good at causing trouble. Last year's species that could also make explosive noises haven't even shown up yet, and now another new species has just hatched.
Hiding behind the two, Seamus muttered, "First the tuber pus, then this stuff, what a terrible day..."
Harry, standing nearby, trembled as he turned the club badge into a glove.
He walked to the wooden barrel full of frog livers, resisted his nausea, grabbed a handful, and then went to the wooden box.
Out of deep affection for Hagrid, he carefully placed the frog liver in the corner of the wooden box and tried to lure the Blast-Ended Skrewt over.
"Pop—" They didn't react at all, continuing to spray forward haphazardly.
Vincent on the other side was in the same situation.
Hermione examined the Blast-Ended Skrewt in the wooden box carefully. "I'm pretty sure they don't have mouths."
"It can't be that bad." Vincent, wearing gloves, reached out and grabbed a Blast-Ended Skrewt.
Just as he was about to turn over, a crisp explosion suddenly rang out.
Flames shot out onto a transparent magical barrier, and Hermione clung tightly to his arm in fright.
"Ah!" A scream rang out.
Hagrid ran to Dean in a panic.
"Its tail exploded!" Dean raised his burned arm. "It hurts so much!"
"Uh..." Hagrid nodded. "Yes, that does happen when they explode."
Vincent quickly put the Blast-Ended Skrewt back.
If he hadn't reacted quickly and activated the defensive barrier of the Flamel Ring in time, at least a small clump of his hair would have been burned off.
Hermione loosened her grip on him with lingering fear. "Hagrid should have told us beforehand."
Vincent grabbed a handful of ant eggs and put them into the wooden box. "Now I finally know why his clothes have so many holes."