When Silan and Neville arrived at the greenhouse, Professor Sprout was waiting for them outside.
"Hello, children. I'm sorry to trouble you again," Professor Sprout smiled warmly at them. "This is the last time before summer vacation."
Taking the Dragonhide Gloves from Professor Sprout, Silan shook her head and said, "No trouble at all, I'm happy to help you, Professor."
"Me too," Neville hurriedly followed.
After a year of hard work, many of the herbs in the greenhouse have reached maturity and are ready to be harvested.
Along the way, the Belladonna were large and round, their Dittany leaves were bigger than a person's palm, and the Bellflower were full of fruit, all of which drooped their heads from exhaustion.
"Watch out for those Mandrake over there," Professor Sprout warned. "That's a plant you learn about in your second year."
Professor Sprout continued his work while simultaneously teaching on-site, explaining many practical tips for harvesting herbs.
"When picking Belladonna, be careful of the thorns on its stems. If you get pricked without wearing Dragonhide Gloves, you'll feel a tingling sensation."
"There are just too many of these Dittany leaves. Let's put them in the basket over there first."
"Hmm... the Bellflower berries taste good, would you like to try some?"
Professor Sprout continued to teach while working, and the atmosphere remained relaxed and pleasant.
After they completed their task, Professor Sprout gave each of them a packet of herb seeds.
"Take them, children," Professor Sprout said, removing the Dragonhide Gloves from his hands. "You deserve them. If you're interested, you can try planting them yourselves."
"Thank you, Professor."
Silan and Neville thanked him, but as they were about to leave, Professor Sprout stopped them.
"Wait a minute, children, you'd better go out through the door we came in through," Professor Sprout said, pointing to several strange plants in front of them. "Those Chomping Cabbage are a bit dangerous."
It was then that Silan and Neville noticed several strange yellow plants next to the side door they had originally intended to use.
This plant looks like a cabbage, but it has sharp teeth, and each one is as big as a human head.
"Silan, I think we should go through the front door." Neville took two stiff steps back.
"This is Chomping Cabbage?" Silan took two steps forward with great interest.
He was very interested in the Chomping Cabbage, a combat plant touted as an "indispensable adventurer for the Hufflepuff" and a "weapon more effective than a magic wand."
"A clever little fellow," Professor Sprout said happily. "To be precise, it should be Chinese Chomping Cabbage. Oh... don't get too close."
"This plant is not friendly and will actively attack people who get close, so it needs to be pruned and fed regularly."
Professor Sprout used Levitation Charm, grabbed Silan by the shoulder, and gently lifted him up, like a claw machine, before placing him aside.
She herself walked closer to the Chomping Cabbage, pointed to their large, sharp-toothed mouths, and said, "These have reached maturity; the seeds are hidden inside their mouths."
Through the teeth of the Chomping Cabbage, Silan did indeed see a few seeds.
In a sense, he and the Chomping Cabbage are from the same hometown.
When fellow villagers meet, their eyes well up with tears.
Silan was homesick and wanted to ask his fellow villagers for something to express his longing for home.
He deliberately asked, "Professor, how do we extract their seeds? Do we just put on Dragonhide Gloves and handle them directly?"
When it comes to Herbology, Professor Sprout becomes very animated and speaks fluently and at length.
"Haha, what you said is a method, but it's too crude."
Professor Sprout looked around the greenhouse and found a stick.
"If one knew the Accio Spell, they could time it perfectly to extract the seed. However, there are more convenient methods..."
Professor Sprout tied a feather to a stick, then reached out and scratched the mouth of a Chomping Cabbage.
The Chomping Cabbage shuddered as if about to sneeze, then suddenly froze.
The feathers continued to flutter.
"Puff!"
The Chomping Cabbage let out a muffled exhale, and two seeds flew out of its mouth.
Silan and Neville exchanged a glance.
They never expected there would be such a method.
Professor Sprout picked up the seeds of the Chomping Cabbage and handed them to them. "These two seeds are for you too."
"Is it alright, Professor?" Silan asked, playing hard to get.
"Of course," Professor Sprout nodded with a smile.
"However, I must remind you that if you want to grow Chomping Cabbage, you must use a pot; you can't plant it directly in the ground, otherwise it will run around everywhere."
After purchasing supplies in the Forbidden Forest, Silan went to the greenhouse for another round of shopping, and returned home with a full load.
That evening, Dumbledore held the End-of-Year Feast in the Great Hall.
That year, the entire Great Hall was decorated in Slytherin's green and silver to celebrate their seventh consecutive House Cup victory.
The other three houses don't want to see Slytherin win the House Cup again.
"Another year has passed," Dumbledore said cheerfully. "But before we enjoy these delicacies, I must trouble you all to listen to this old man's clichés."
"What an amazing year it has been... I don't even know where to begin..."
In Silan's view, Dumbledore was clearly biased in judging the House Cup in order to groom Harry and lead him down the path of the Chosen One.
However, Snape wasn't exactly fair or impartial when deducting Gryffindor.
They're about evenly matched.
Silan wasn't interested in that; she was already planning how to spend her summer vacation.
"If I go to the Burrow, I'll have to find a chance to go to Diagon Alley to sell the Unicorn Tail Hair I have and buy Potions Ingredients while I'm at it."
"We also need to exchange some Galleon for pounds so James and the others can go to school..."
While Silan was rambling on and on, Dumbledore had already given Gryffindor all their points, putting them ahead of Slytherin.
Cheers erupted from the Gryffindor table, Harry and Ron stood up and cheered loudly, while Neville was surrounded and embraced by the crowd.
The Slytherin members booed, and Malfoy looked astonished, as if he had been Full Body-Bind Curse.
Snape glanced at the dazed Silan, then his gaze swept across the crowd and landed on Dumbledore. He said somewhat bluntly, "Headmaster Dumbledore, if I remember correctly, Slytherin students also contributed to this."
"If you've forgotten, I can remind you, his name is Silan Prewett."
"Thank you for reminding me, Professor Snape."
Dumbledore smiled at Snape, his gaze lingering on Silan, and said softly, "But I think he has already received the reward he most desired, so there's no need for any extra points."
Snape, his face grim, snorted coldly, flicked his robes, and sat down without a word.
Hermione seemed a little unhappy that Dumbledore hadn't mentioned Silan's name.
"Silan was a huge help!"
Amidst the clamor of the crowd and the enthusiastic cheers, she kept glancing back at Silan.
In fact, Silan had no opinion about this.
He has already gained enough from this matter.
Moreover, he never thought Dumbledore would give the House Cup to Slytherin.
Perhaps this scene marks the end of Dumbledore's plan.
How can the House Cup, which they risked their lives to obtain from Dumbledore and could easily be won by simply adding points at banquets, compare to the benefits Silan has already secured?
Dumbledore looked at Silan, who sat calmly amidst the noisy crowd, his eyes filled with both admiration and concern.
The Great Hall's decorations have been changed.
The End-of-Year Feast was held as scheduled, and the summer vacation is just around the corner.
Looking at the jubilant crowd, Silan felt neither joy nor regret for losing the House Cup.
He still has a lot to do.
Silan preferred to seize by trickery rather than accept charity.