Armored Pumpkin

This busy life continued until Halloween eve.

Kyle woke up to the sweet and enticing aroma of roasted pumpkin wafting down the hallway. To make matters worse, Harris announced in the common room that next week's Quidditch practice was canceled.

He felt the previous training had been too demanding, and with Kyle and another new player performing exceptionally well, he decided to give everyone a break before the official game.

Kyle was naturally pleased with Harris's decision, as it meant he could finally relax a bit next week.

And perhaps to celebrate Halloween, there were even more pumpkins in the classroom.

In the morning's Transfiguration Class, Professor McGonagall used pumpkins as props and had the young wizards try to Transfiguration them.

Her request today was very simple: she could become anything, as long as it wasn't a pumpkin in the end.

Kyle was the first to finish, transforming the pumpkin into the shape of a stone statue at the castle gate.

Of course, it's the smaller version.

The stone statue slowly walked two steps on the table, then swung its giant sword, smashing the prop pumpkin on Kanna's table in two, scattering pumpkin seeds everywhere.

Kanna was furious. She wiped the pumpkin seeds off her face, glared at Kyle hatefully, and ground her small white teeth together as if she might pounce on him and bite him at any moment.

"It was a mistake, a mistake, it was an accident!" Kyle quickly apologized.

He intended to cut the pumpkin open, but forgot that the sword was just a prop he had conjured up.

Professor McGonagall rarely smiled, and teased, "For your ungentlemanly behavior, Hufflepuff loses one point. Don't be so reckless next time, and it's also dangerous."

"I understand, Professor," Kyle said softly.

Professor McGonagall nodded, glanced at the lifelike statue, and continued, "Excellent Transfiguration, Hufflepuff +11."

Because there are no fixed Transfiguration requirements, it is much simpler than usual, so many people have completed the requirements.

When class ended, the Transfiguration Class Classroom looked like a storage room, filled with wooden stakes, buckets, pillows... you name it.

Among the remaining people, some only completed half of the requirements; the items they conjured still retained the characteristics of pumpkins.

For example, Ryan transformed the pumpkin into the shape of Quaffle, but the surface remained yellow, making it look like he had put a pumpkin skin over the Quaffle.

However, Professor McGonagall still counted him as having passed.

As for those who simply made a few holes in a pumpkin but insisted that it had become a jack-o'-lantern, Professor McGonagall was not lenient at all and directly increased the length of their work from one foot to three feet.

Even if you hand in a blank answer to an easy question, it's not a big deal if you get penalized.

The afternoon Herbology Class.

Before class, Professor Sprout placed a novel plant, which had never been seen in the greenhouse, on the front bench.

"Armored Pumpkin!"

Professor Sprout smiled and said, "Does anyone know what it is?"

Knowing that the young wizards wouldn't be able to answer, Professor Sprout glanced directly at Kyle.

"The Armored Pumpkin, also known as the Iron Pumpkin, is hard and is often used as an alchemical ingredient. Its vines can also be combined with Gillyweed to create a Potions that allows one to breathe underwater."

"Excellent! Hufflepuff, ten points!" Professor Sprout said happily.

"Armored Pumpkin are a very rare and magical plant. Because they are so hard, they grow in a very peculiar way."

"They must molt once every time they grow a full size."

She pointed to the flowerpot in front of her.

Only then did everyone notice that there was a yellow pumpkin skin inside, shaped similarly to a wristband.

Does anyone know what this shell is used for?

Kyle raised his hand and said, "People usually put these shells on some precious plants to protect them from being damaged by Gnome or other creatures."

This is also where the name "Armored Pumpkin" comes from.

"Absolutely correct, Hufflepuff gets another ten points."

Professor Sprout said, "The Armored Pumpkin's shell is the best protection for those fragile plants; even a mature Dragon would have a hard time breaking it."

The greenhouse was silent as the young wizards stared incredulously at the unassuming pumpkin shell.

In their minds, the Dragon is arguably one of the most terrifying and powerful magical creatures.

Even Dragon couldn't bite it, which speaks volumes about its hardness.

The word "armor" is truly fitting.

"Then let's continue the lesson."

Professor Sprout clapped his hands, drawing everyone's attention. "Furthermore, I've decided to award this pumpkin shell as a prize to the student who performed best in this class."

Everyone instinctively looked at Kyle.

Judging from Kyle's performance just now, it's almost impossible for anyone to surpass him.

Professor Sprout seemed to have guessed what everyone was thinking. She smiled and said, "I must remind you that this lesson hasn't even started yet. What I just said was only an introduction to the Armored Pumpkin; it doesn't count as part of the lesson."

As she spoke, she walked around the bench and came to a row of wooden stakes nearby.

"Last week we learned how to fertilize Jumping Toadstool, and today we'll learn how to collect their mycelial powder..."

You probably haven't forgotten, have you? The Jumping Toadstool is extremely afraid of noise; you must remain very quiet to approach them."

Everyone nodded silently.

Everyone wanted the prize, so they squatted down beside the wooden stakes, carefully extending their brushes to spread the Jumping Toadstool, barely daring to breathe.

When class ended, Professor Sprout was extremely satisfied; she had never had such an easy class before.

No one poked the plants or tried to touch the Venomous Tentacula. Everyone was very attentive, and all the problems we encountered before disappeared in this class.

"Today is the best Halloween ever!"

A pleased Professor Sprout added two points to each house's score and, as agreed before class, rewarded Kyle with the shell of the Armored Pumpkin.

Kyle used a much weaker version of Whirlwind Sweep to finish collecting the data half a class period early.

After the Herbology Class, everyone began to leave the greenhouse in an orderly manner.

Kyle turned back at the door, took one last look at the Armored Pumpkin in the corner, and then left reluctantly.

He felt this plant would be a good neighbor to the Biting Cabbage, and if possible, it would be nice to bring some back to keep them company.

Unfortunately, there was only one pot, and Professor Sprout was very strict, so he couldn't find a suitable opportunity to take action throughout the entire class.