He Still Had to Say Thank You!

Ravenclaw's common room was in a tower, making it one of the highest buildings at Hogwarts.

The overall style was blue and bronze, with comfortable tables and chairs scattered around the room and several elegant, arched windows set into the walls.

Unlike the common rooms of the other houses, this one had enough books to rival a small library.

Between the tables and chairs, the new Ravenclaw students were diligently taking notes.

Anthony Goldstein pointed to a pot of Dittany and explained the relevant material for their Herbology essay.

To be honest, this sort of scene was rare in Ravenclaw.

Most of the time, they preferred to read quietly on their own.

But when Anthony and a girl named Padma Patil began discussing the subject, knowledge found its way into the ears of the students nearby.

Even though it was all in the books, hearing someone explain it was like breaking a loaf of bread into pieces—it made the material easier to understand.

Before long, the nearby first-years had gathered around. After all, no one would turn down a higher grade, especially not a Ravenclaw.

"That's the basic knowledge about Dittany. I think if you use these three points, you should be able to get a very good grade from Professor Sprout." Anthony looked at the faces of the students around him and smiled.

Amid a round of enthusiastic applause, he earned the admiration of quite a few students.

"That was great," Padma praised him after the other students had gradually drifted away.

"But besides the essay itself, Professor Sprout gave us an extra-credit question. Have you figured it out?"

Professor Sprout believed in tailoring her teaching to each student's abilities. The Herbology essay itself wasn't too difficult; it covered basic knowledge that anyone could do well on if they were willing to put in the time.

But if they wanted an even higher grade, they had to tackle a more difficult bonus question. The answer couldn't be found just by reading the books—at least, it wasn't in any of the books available to them at this stage.

This time, the bonus question was how to speed up Dittany's growth without adding any additives.

Anthony hesitated for a moment, but in the end decided to tell her.

"On a cloudless night, if you leave Dittany that's still growing out in the moonlight, it'll grow faster..."

"But it isn't in the books, and Professor Sprout didn't mention it in class. How do you know?" Padma asked in surprise. She'd only asked on the off chance he might know.

"Glenn Howard told me... You know, the Slytherin who takes Herbology with us." Anthony answered honestly.

Padma thought back and recalled the boy. Professor Sprout often praised him in class.

At the same time, she couldn't help frowning.

Padma had an older sister named Parvati Patil, a Gryffindor in the same year as her.

From what Parvati had told her, the Slytherins sounded downright awful.

Just the other day, during a Flying Lesson shared by Slytherin and Gryffindor, a student named Malfoy had even stolen someone else's Remembrall and deliberately provoked the famous Harry Potter.

According to Parvati, Malfoy had been trying to get Harry's neck broken!

"Sorry, forgive me for doubting you, Anthony, but are you sure your answer has enough evidence to back it up?" What if that Slytherin was making it up just to watch someone embarrass themselves?

Padma didn't say the last part aloud, but her tone made her meaning clear enough.

Hearing this, Anthony shook his head helplessly. "No."

"Then..."

"But he lent me this pot of Dittany so I could verify it for myself."

With that, Anthony stood up and found a good spot in front of one of the tower's arched windows. He carefully set the Dittany down. Tonight was a full moon.

In truth, even he was a little confused about how he'd ended up agreeing to do this while listening to Glenn in the library.

But even if he had the chance to do it again, Anthony would still agree. In fact, he'd thank Glenn again.

Knowledge was valuable, of course, but more importantly, this was a chance to verify with his own hands whether something was true!

In some ways, it was even more important than an essay.

It was regrettable, but the dormitories and common rooms of the different houses weren't all equal.

Hufflepuff was close to the kitchens; Ravenclaw lived in a tower, high up with a good view.

Even Gryffindor at least had plenty of sunlight.

But Slytherin had it worse. Its dormitories and common room were built deep in the dungeons, right beside the bottom of the Black Lake. It was simply outrageous.

Aside from watching the Giant Squid through the glass, there was almost nothing to recommend the place...

No matter how fondly Glenn remembered Slytherin from a hundred years ago, he couldn't deny the truth of it—even Ominis and Sebastian agreed.

In those circumstances, getting Dittany to bask in the moonlight down in the dungeon was practically impossible.

So Glenn had asked Anthony to help by taking the Dittany out to bask in the moonlight.

The principle was the same as using Mooncalf dung.

Though the effect wasn't as strong as the latter, it still gave the plant a considerable boost in growth.

In just one night, the young Dittany had grown an inch taller!

"This assignment was very well done," Professor Sprout said happily during Herbology.

"Both Slytherin and Ravenclaw did a good job with the basic material. Most of you included the key points, so I've decided to award five points to each of your houses!"

Laughter and applause erupted in the classroom, filling it with a lively din.

Professor Sprout was happy to see them so enthusiastic, so she didn't stop them. She simply raised a hand to quiet them once the applause began to die down.

"In addition, I'd like to give special praise to two students. Not only did they complete their essays perfectly, but they also answered my bonus question..." she announced loudly. "They are Glenn Howard of Slytherin and Anthony Goldstein of Ravenclaw!"

This time, the applause grew louder and lasted even longer.

The Slytherin students all looked toward the boy who, in just a few months, had already distinguished himself in class after class.

Compared to the dismissive looks he'd received at the start of term because of his surname, their gazes were much more open now.

After all, the success of this assignment had a lot to do with Glenn's selfless explanations in the common room. He'd made everything so easy to understand that even Goyle and Crabbe, whose intelligence rivaled a Troll's, had gotten it.

That alone had earned the reluctant respect of even Malfoy.

Under everyone's gaze, Glenn stood and bowed slightly to those around him.

At Professor Sprout's signal, he and Anthony went up to collect their assignments, which had earned them an O (Outstanding, the highest grade, indicating perfect, flawless work).

After class, Anthony called out to Glenn, who was about to leave.

"This might sound a little shameless, but Glenn, could I borrow your Dittany again?" As he said it, he felt his cheeks turning red.

Although he'd been the one to approach Glenn in the library, just as Padma had said, at first he hadn't completely trusted the Slytherin.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have kept his doubts to himself and waited to write down the answer until he had proof. But the truth was... Glenn had never intended to deceive him.

"I want to test whether ordinary moonlight can help Dittany grow faster when it's not a full moon..."

He'd expected to have to go to some trouble to persuade him, but Glenn merely waved a hand and agreed at once.

"Sure. Just take good care of it."

Anthony was so taken aback that he didn't know what to say for a moment. He could only nod blankly.

"Okay, thanks."

After Glenn got up and left, Padma watched him intently as the Slytherins rallied around him, her thoughts in turmoil.

"All right, I admit I might've been a little prejudiced before. There are some pretty cool people in Slytherin."