Mandrake, Moon Sleep Song

The Third Greenhouse.

Lucien leisurely took a pair of earmuffs. Actually, there was no need to fight over them; there were just one more earmuffs than there were young wizards. The extra one was probably prepared for Professor Sprout.

Sure enough, after the young wizards returned to their seats with their earmuffs, Sprout picked up the pink earmuffs that had been left over.

"I told you to wear earmuffs, you MUST wear them, make sure they're completely covered!"

"When I hold up two fingers, I can take off the earmuffs. Okay, now put them back on."

The young wizards all wore earmuffs as required and even asked their companions to help them check each other's ears.

Sprout then demonstrated the operating procedures.

Grasp the blades of grass and pull up the Mandrake with force.

What was revealed to everyone was not a grassy figure, but a very unsightly baby, whose light green skin was pitted and covered with spots of varying sizes.

His ugly little face was contorted with grief, and his mouth kept opening and closing, clearly as if he were shouting.

However, the earmuffs were indeed of very good quality; Lucien couldn't hear the Mandrake's cries at all.

Professor Sprout quickly stuffed the Mandrake into a larger flowerpot, deftly burying the ugly doll with soil fertilizer, leaving only the green leaves sticking out.

She then held up two fingers, signaling the young wizards to remove their earmuffs.

Professor Sprout reached behind his shoulder and slapped the spiky, deep red tentacle back; it was Venomous Tentacula belonging to a magical plant.

"Be careful when handling the fertilizer; these Venomous Tentacula have grown fangs."

"Alright, let's get started, four people per group."

Lucien and his roommate Terry, along with two Hufflepuff classmates, Hannah Abbott and Susan Bones, were grouped together.

Each person took a pot of Mandrake and prepared their props.

Lucien skillfully pulled out the Mandrake, but instead of roaring, it kept its little mouth shut.

Lucien was used to this, because his title of "Diligent Little Gardener" gave him a certain affinity with plants, and these magical plants generally wouldn't harm him unless he was manipulated by humans.

But the others weren't like Lucien; the Mandrake that Terry and his group pulled up all started to cry out.

Although the sound couldn't reach their ears, the Mandrake would still struggle.

They struggled and twisted their bodies, flailing their limbs, clearly hating being pulled out of the soil.

But they don't seem willing to go back.

Even if you put Mandrake in a new flowerpot, without soil and fertilizer to cover them, they will still wriggle and twist.

Lucien had just finished burying the Mandrake quietly when he looked up and saw Hannah clutching her hand in pain, her Mandrake falling to the ground.

It looks like it got bitten by accident. Although these Mandrake are still seedlings, their bite force should not be underestimated.

Lucien took out his wand and cast a healing spell on Hannah's hand.

Suddenly feeling the pain in her hand lessen considerably, Hannah took off her Dragonhide Gloves and saw the small row of bright red teeth marks quickly fade away.

When Hannah saw Lucien holding up his wand, she realized that it was Lucien who had healed her, and quickly thanked him several times, adding a few more words of thanks.

But the little girl forgot that everyone was wearing earmuffs and couldn't hear anything either.

Lucien nodded again, while out of the corner of his eye he saw the Mandrake on the ground wriggling, about to bite Hannah's ankle.

There's no Dragon Hide sheath for protection there; one bite and it'll be a bloody mess.

Lucien parted his lips slightly and uttered an obscure word in a strange tone:

"Sleep well~"

In an instant, the Mandrake stopped, its little mouth opened and closed a few times, and it actually fell asleep.

Strangely enough, Terry and the others who were very close to Lucien also vaguely heard the word "sleep," and their eyelids involuntarily closed.

However, Lucien did not continue singing, and with the earmuffs reducing the obstruction, the others immediately regained their senses.

They also noticed that the Mandrake in their hands had calmed down and were no longer as turbulent as before.

Lucien pointed to Hannah's feet, and Hannah, seeing the Mandrake at her feet, was startled.

Hannah, having learned about the bite force of the Mandrake, couldn't help but feel a chill. Even if Madam Pomfrey could heal her, a bite really hurts!

Hannah picked up the Mandrake from the ground. Although she didn't understand why it looked like it was asleep, she patted her chest and breathed a sigh of relief.

She thanked Lucien while carrying the Mandrake, clearly still not realizing that everyone was wearing earmuffs.

Lucien waved his hand, recalling the feeling of using Moon Sleep Song just now.

It's still not smooth enough, and the control isn't precise enough.

He learned the Moon Sleep Song from a magic book in Nicolas's collection, created by an ancient wizard with Veela blood.

It can soothe living beings, including humans, animals, and even magical plants, causing them to fall into a deep sleep.

This magic is peculiar; it requires chanting the incantation with a special melody. The incantation is also very long, resembling lyrics, so it's more like singing than reciting.

The magic begins to work while the incantation is being sung, and its effect increases with each complete recitation.

Lucien was very interested at the time, feeling that many Ancient Magic, at least in form, were very different from modern magic.

After asking Nicolas, they received the answer.

Magic was created and passed down by wizards.

In the beginning, those wizards who accidentally awakened magical powers had no ready-made spells, potions, or alchemy...

At first, I had to figure it out little by little on my own.

Everyone has different understandings and strengths, so the magic created is naturally diverse and unique.

Perhaps the more ancient the wizard, the less magic they theoretically possessed.

However, the magic you develop yourself will always be the most suitable for you.

From nothing to something, ancient wizards understood every step and detail of magic, witnessing its birth and growth.

This allows the power of magic to be maximized.

Those ancient spells are difficult to learn because they all have distinct personal characteristics.

Over time, fewer and fewer of them have been passed down.

This is something that Lucien finds very regrettable; some knowledge simply cannot be passed down even if one wants to.

The Herbology passed quickly.

The students were all sweating profusely, and their backs ached; it was all because those ugly Mandrake had been causing them so much trouble.

Lucien didn't feel much of a difference; when it came to farming, the amount of exercise he got wasn't even enough to warm him up.

After class, Hannah thanked Lucien again, apparently remembering that she couldn't hear while wearing the earmuffs.

Lucien then went to find Professor Sprout, who had received a letter from Fawkes Dumbledore him to help heal the Whomping Willow.

This is, after all, the only Whomping Willow tree in all of Britain that can be hit by a car; it would be such a shame if it were to be killed.

The leaves, branches, and bark of the Whomping Willow have great medicinal value, Snape would occasionally come to collect some to make potions.

Lucien knew that Dumbledore wanted him to use the Qilin Saliva to heal the Whomping Willow, lest the tree collapse.

Dumbledore also promised that Lucien could collect the fallen branches and bark.

Lucien was naturally pleased with this, not only because of the medicinal value of those materials.

I also have a spell I want to create, which happens to require the branches and leaves of the Whomping Willow.