Whomping Willow

With Horatio's willing cooperation, young Tom Riddle believed he had charmed him.

Horatio mainly wanted to study the Basilisk, but Hogwarts's network was too complex; unless the entire school was dismantled, he couldn't find it. Though he really wanted to tear down Hogwarts, he couldn't defeat the old man yet and needed to endure.

He didn't know Parseltongue and couldn't find the Chamber of Secrets, so cooperating with young Tom to release the Basilisk was the optimal solution.

The most crucial reason was that when young Tom thought he had victory in hand, Horatio would stab him in the back. Horatio wickedly imagined Tom's expression would be priceless then.

"My friend, you can't stand those arrogant fools either, can you?" Tom wrote in the diary.

"Yes, especially those Slytherin insects, always looking down on me because they're pure-bloods," Horatio wrote angrily.

"..." Sorry, I'm one of those insects you mentioned, Tom thought, feeling his sore spot hit.

"To get rid of those fools, we must release Slytherin's pet in the Chamber of Secrets, but it's afraid of roosters. We have to kill all the roosters in the school."

Horatio pondered for a moment and agreed with Tom. Later, some of the killed roosters would be used for braised chicken, and others would provide flesh and blood energy for his Super Beast Siege Plan.

Horatio wickedly thought, Dumbledore wants to test Harry, doesn't he? Once I catch the Basilisk, Harry won't have anyone to test against! It's a good opportunity to give Dumbledore some pressure. I'll use a Super Beast instead. Replacing the Basilisk with a Super Beast makes perfect sense.

Horatio drifted off to sleep with beautiful aspirations for the future. Meanwhile, Harry tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep, feeling a sense of impending doom.

During Transfiguration class the next day, Professor McGonagall demonstrated turning a beetle into a button before letting the young wizards practice.

Horatio transformed the beetle into a creature of the same size, with huge purple forelimbs, which kept digging and burrowing into the desk.

Seeing this, Professor McGonagall came over and rapped Horatio's head hard with her teaching ruler, asking, "What are you doing? Did you eat too much and decide to destroy the desk?"

Horatio held his head and said aggrievedly, "I'm pulling the defense tower."

Parvati, sitting next to Horatio, couldn't take it anymore and slapped the purple monster flat.

Horatio hugged the Niffler's corpse, on the verge of tears, "My Niffler was solo-killed by someone from India."

The afternoon was Herbology with Professor Sprout. Today, they would have class in the third greenhouse.

Professor Sprout asked, "Today we need to repot the Mandrakes. Now, who can tell me the characteristics of Mandrakes?"

Hermione raised her hand first, "Mandrake is a powerful restorative, used to cure abnormal status."

"Very good, ten points to Gryffindor." Professor Sprout asked again, "What do we need to pay attention to when repotting Mandrakes?"

Harry raised his hand and answered, "The Mandrake's cry is fatal, so we need to wear earmuffs when repotting."

"Completely correct, another ten points to Gryffindor." Professor Sprout said happily.

Then, Professor Sprout had everyone put on their headphones, demonstrated how to repot a Mandrake, and then let the young wizards operate themselves.

If you can't find the book title, you can try searching for the author. Maybe the name has just been changed!

Harry and Neville, with a proficiency that was heartbreaking to see, repotted the Mandrakes, covered them with compost, leaving only the leaves exposed.

Professor Sprout excitedly displayed Harry and Neville's work, praising their swift and efficient movements, and awarded Gryffindor another 20 points.

Only Harry and Neville knew in their hearts why they were so skilled.

As for the culprit, Horatio? He merely tapped the Mandrake's pot lightly, and to the astonishment of Professor Sprout and the young wizards, the Mandrake climbed out of the soil by itself and then found a comfortable pot to settle into.

After covering the Mandrake with compost, Horatio sprinkled some of his homemade Jin Ke La on it. The Mandrake happily rustled its leaves, seeming to ask for Horatio's touch.

Then, the situation spiraled out of control. All the Mandrakes, whether repotted properly or not, crawled out of the soil and crowded in front of Horatio with their pots. Horatio covered each one with compost and sprinkled Jin Ke La on them.

Consequently, Horatio was banned from Herbology class, the reason being that he disrupted other students' practice.

Horatio insisted it wasn't his fault; his talent was just naturally this high. Who knew his Jin Ke La was so delicious that it had spread like wildfire among the Mandrakes?

After class, Professor Sprout found Horatio, who was boredly counting ants outside the greenhouse, and invited him to help deal with pests on the Whomping Willow.

Horatio readily agreed and followed Sprout to a large tree outside the castle. Under Horatio's god-like natural talent for Herbology, the Whomping Willow not only didn't attack him but instead extended its long branches to gently stroke his cheek.

Horatio said, "Stop touching me. Show me where you're uncomfortable, and I'll fix it for you."

The Whomping Willow shook its branches as if nodding, wrapped a branch around Horatio's waist, and lifted him to a spot on the trunk.

There, a carnivorous slug was gnawing away at the Whomping Willow's trunk. Horatio took out the Dichlorvos he usually used for pest control and sprayed the carnivorous slug.

The carnivorous slug writhed in pain for a few moments before falling off the trunk and dying.

Using this method, the carnivorous slugs on the Whomping Willow were quickly cleared. Afterward, Horatio sprinkled a circle of Jin Ke La around the base of the tree.

The Whomping Willow comfortably swayed its entire body, shedding countless leaves. Then, it tore off a branch and gave it to Horatio.

Sprout exclaimed in surprise, "The Whomping Willow has accepted you. You can plant this branch elsewhere, and it will grow into a new Whomping Willow."

Professor Sprout originally intended to award Horatio 50 points, but then she remembered that Professor McGonagall had privately told her not to tell Horatio about any points awarded for good performance; they should just be added secretly to Gryffindor's score.

Professor McGonagall: If this little brat knew he was getting points for Gryffindor, he'd find a way to lose them all. So, I'll just tell all the professors to add points secretly and not tell the little brat. He thinks he can outsmart me.

Horatio took the branch to his large greenhouse. Quirrell, who was tending to the alchemical golems, had already harvested several large baskets of Houttuynia cordata.

Horatio found a pot and planted the Whomping Willow branch in it. Looking at the Biting Cabbage, Venomous Tentacula, Venomous Geranium, and the Whomping Willow sapling in the greenhouse, he felt like he could play Plants vs. Zombies.

Speaking of Plants vs. Zombies, Horatio remembered the book Planting Techniques from a Plant That Doesn't Want Its Brain Eaten given by the system. What did it mean to give him the book but not the seeds?

[Offer those baskets of Houttuynia cordata, and I'll apply to headquarters for some seeds from the Plants vs. Zombies world.]

"No way, I need them for fish soup."

After some bargaining, Horatio gave the system half of his Houttuynia cordata, and the system applied to headquarters for several bags of seeds from the Plants vs. Zombies world.

If you find this book good, remember to add it to your bookshelf so you don't lose it next time.