Professor Sprout's Gift

As the weeks passed, Breeze studied magic methodically at Hogwarts, yet his maverick lifestyle made him seem less and less like a Slytherin.

The Little Snakes no longer bothered him, while students from other houses were increasingly friendly toward him; even Ron Weasley gradually stopped mentioning him as time went on.

Breeze had become a lone-wolf snake.

"The Sorting Hat must have been broken, otherwise how could our dear little brother Breeze have been sorted into Slytherin?" George said with a giggle while eating lunch. "Right, Fred?"

"I'm George, Fred." Fred looked at Ron, who had immediately bristled upon hearing them, and grew interested, continuing to provoke him.

"Ah, I really wish we could swap for a new one."

"Swap for a new brother!" Ron glared with wide eyes, shouting indignantly at Fred, "George, you couldn't afford a brother who eats like a bottomless pit!"

Hearing Ron say this, Fred chuckled instead. "I could sell the old brother, and then I'd be able to afford a new one."

"Cut it out, George!" Percy said sternly from the side. "Don't cause trouble at the dinner table."

The real George spread his hands, feigning grievance.

"I'm the real George, don't pin Fred's mistakes on me."

Fred draped an arm around George's shoulder, complaining, "Don't be like that, we're one and the same; whoever does something wrong, it gets counted against the other."

"True, but our old brother looks like he wants to hit us." George laughed, pointing at Ron, who was sitting there with a flushed face, sulking and refusing to eat.

Harry watched his friend being bullied by his older brothers without the slightest intention of intervening; he was already used to it. It would be a bigger problem if the Weasley twins weren't bullying Ron. Moreover, this kind of life made Harry feel envious; he thought that if he had an older brother, at least he wouldn't be so lonely.

Hermione, who was reading, frowned deeply, paying no attention to the argument. Only when she finished the last bite of her salad did she close her book and say sternly to Harry, "Harry, Quidditch training starts this afternoon. You have to come to the library with me first to finish our weekend homework!"

"Ah... I—I mean, I understand, Hermione. You can go ahead, I'll come after I eat a bit more." Harry pulled a bitter face. He had spent the last few weeks this way. Hermione hadn't let her studies slip despite joining the Quidditch team; she managed her time tightly, and as a classmate and teammate, he was naturally dragged along with no excuse to refuse.

"I advise you to hurry." Hermione didn't look sideways, not even glancing at Ron, who was glaring at her from beside Harry, before she took her books and headed toward the library.

"Oh, look at that. She's just like that Order, a total freak. The Gryffindor know-it-all, lecturing everyone incessantly like some old pedant. No one likes her, Harry. You need to escape her clutches."

Ron had just had a conflict with Hermione in Charms class a few days ago, even publicly questioning her habit of helping other young wizards master their spells, and had secretly given her a nickname—the Know-It-All.

"Ron, you can't say that about Hermione. She's a girl."

"Hmph, regardless, you have to admit the girls in Gryffindor don't like her either. Granger only knows how to deal with books. Even if she joined the Quidditch team, it's a disaster. Maybe... w-w-wuh!"

Harry hurriedly covered Ron's mouth, looking guiltily at Hermione, who hadn't left immediately and was standing behind them.

"Sorry, Hermione, Ron didn't mean it."

Hermione didn't speak; she just ran off with red eyes.

"Oh, our old brother made a little girl cry, and she's our team's genius Chaser, too." Fred patted Ron on the shoulder and said, "You have to apologize, Ron."

George added, "You have to go and offer a sincere apology yourself. What you said just now was too hurtful."

Percy also wore a stern face; as a Prefect, he absolutely would not allow house conflicts to happen under his watch.

"You have to apologize, Ron."

Ron had felt guilty at first, but as his brothers continued to blame and order him around, he suddenly stood up and said, "Your brother is that Order, don't order me around!"

With that, he ran off as well.

Harry sat uneasily in his chair, eventually choosing to chase after Ron, hoping to talk him down.

The minor conflict in Gryffindor didn't attract much attention. Breeze was talking to Cedric at the time, discussing the new desserts the house-elves had been researching.

"Today is Friday, and the first years have no classes in the afternoon. I'm planning to go see Professor Sprout, so I'll be heading off."

Breeze tightened his cloak. It was already winter, and the temperature at Hogwarts was very low; it was only warm inside the castle. Although it hadn't snowed outside yet, the wind had already turned icy.

"Professor Sprout, are you transplanting the Devil's Snare today?"

In the greenhouse, Sprout was crouching beside a massive Devil's Snare, holding a small flowerpot, her hand trowel poised and ready.

"Oh, Order, come over and help me. Only you can soothe it."

Sprout was very welcoming of Breeze's arrival. Breeze had come here often over the past few weeks; one could say he was Sprout's favorite student.

Breeze placed his hand on the somewhat agitated Devil's Snare, radiating a faint natural magic to calm it down.

"What a truly remarkable talent." Sprout parted the calm vines of the Devil's Snare and couldn't help but remark.

Breeze had told Sprout about his natural magic voluntarily. Compared to waiting for her to ask, answering proactively was more likely to win her favor and make Breeze appear more sincere. This wasn't calculation, just a little bit of foresight on Breeze's part.

"The Devil's Snare has many vines, but only one root system. We just need to find it to complete the transplant." Sprout rummaged around and, relying on her experience, quickly located the root system.

"If it weren't for you, I'm afraid I'd have to use fire magic to avoid these vines."

Sprout waved the small flowerpot in her hand and said, "This is an alchemical item Dumbledore helped me find. It allows large magical plants to reside inside temporarily, making them easy to transplant. Want to try?"

"Of course." Breeze's eyes lit up. He took the pot, and then watched as Sprout carefully shoveled away the soil around the roots, slowly lifting them up.

Seeing this, Breeze held out the small pot. The roots were soon transplanted inside, and the lush, sprawling vines began to shrink, becoming a miniature cluster of vines.

"Very well done. Many young wizards don't have the nerve to face large magical plants. You are excellent." Sprout still remembered that a few days ago, during the lesson on Devil's Snare, some students had been terrified by even the small specimens. It was a pity that they hadn't learned much in that class.

"Alright, let's continue processing the other plants. I know you have time today, and as a token of my appreciation, I've decided to give you a gift."

A gift?

Breeze felt a sense of anticipation; tending to plants was the relaxation activity he chose outside of his studies. Constant learning was becoming a bit much for him to handle, and he couldn't bring himself to be a true bookworm. However, he could always count on receiving gifts here at Sprout's, like the pot of Moonflower he had just received last week, which he had placed on the windowsill of the Turret.

"Of course, I'm looking forward to it, but I'm sorry, Professor. I have some things to take care of this weekend, so I won't be able to help you tend to the plants in the afternoon. I might be getting quite busy after that as well."

During this period, Breeze had already mastered all the spells he could find and was proficient in controlling most of them. It could be said that in terms of spellwork, he was in no way inferior to those outstanding graduates.

The next step was the integration of spells and Natural Magic. As for creating alchemy notes, well, sorry—the platform of the Turret was already piled high with flowerpots containing various plants Breeze had brought back from the Forbidden Forest, yet there was still no sign of Trance Grass.

"Oh, that's quite alright. I have plenty of time on the weekends, and I can manage them just fine afterward." Sprout smiled gently, ruffled Breeze's black hair, and pinched his cheek. "Then, let's begin."

"Of course."

After helping Sprout finish tending to the plants, she mysteriously pulled a small box from her pocket.

"This is a Small Garden Box."

A garden box?

Breeze looked at the box in surprise, for he could only think of one possibility: it was a pocket dimension, another application of the Undetectable Extension Charm. Such items were extremely precious and were rumored to have been invented by Helga Hufflepuff herself.

"This is an alchemy item I crafted based on the alchemical fragments of Lady Hufflepuff. I hope you like it." Sprout handed the box to Breeze and continued, "Don't worry, it has been approved by the Ministry of Magic. However, since I am always at Hogwarts and have several greenhouses of my own, it has just been a collector's item. It's perfect for you now."

"Thank you so much, I really need this." Breeze was extremely sincere, his face lighting up with excitement, which prompted Sprout to pinch his little cheek once more.

"Alright, it's getting late. Run along and have your dinner."

"Oh, right. Goodbye, Professor Sprout."

"Goodbye, child."

Leaving the greenhouse, Breeze headed toward the kitchens. He had no intention of appearing at the dining table; his planned schedule for the day had been interrupted by this box, and now he wanted to make a trip to the Forbidden Forest.

"Dobby, could you give me some portable food? I have things to do and no time to go to the Great Hall."

"Oh, of course! It is Dobby's honor to serve the young wizard!"

Perhaps it was because Breeze only knew Dobby, but being specifically called upon made the elf quite excited, or perhaps he was showing off, as the other house-elves looked on with envy.

Taking the beef jerky and sandwiches provided by the house-elf, Breeze cast a Disillusionment Charm on himself.

The Disillusionment Charm was a spell Breeze had always wanted to learn, but ordinary wizards had no channel to access it. Perhaps it was in the Forbidden Section, but Breeze possessed the detailed notes of the Master of the Turret, so it had only taken him a short time to master it.

With the Disillusionment Charm cast, Breeze blended into his surroundings, and he remained undetected even as he passed by other young wizards. The Disillusionment Charm wasn't foolproof, but it was more than enough to deal with students; with further study, he might even be able to slip past some powerful wizards.