The lesson was postponed by 15 minutes.

By the time Madam Pomfrey and Professor Flitwick, who had been called in charge, arrived, Professor Sprout had regained consciousness and sat in place holding the paralygia that Neil had cut off from the cactus in the same way that Miss Martel held in Julien's arms in "The Red and the Black", his patched hat tilted to the side, his eyes blank, and his mouth whispering something incessantly.

It was a tearful sight, friends.

In particular, there was a refreshing fragrance similar to aloe vera gel on the scene, which was even more pitiful for the professor who was saddened by the green juice on the ground.

However, when the enraged Professor Flitwick was about to confront the culprit (who was picking up the broken cactus stems on the ground into his pocket under the cover of guilt), she suddenly came to her senses and took the initiative to stand up for him.

"This is my miss!"

She said firmly.

"I was the one who allowed him to use that so-called special fertilizer on his plants, and I underestimated the danger of the whole thing — and when it happened, I, as a professor, should have stepped up to protect the students, but I failed to do anything. If there's anyone who deserves the most condemnation, it's me! ”

Such a tough attitude was not like Pomona's usual style, and seeing that she would not back down no matter what, Professor Flitwick had no choice but to compromise - after all, he was not willing to deal with the students of his own house with a heavy hand. Sprout even politely declined Madam Pomfrey's suggestion to take her to the infirmary for a break, "I've had enough gaffes today," she insisted, "at least let me do my duty as a good professor this time." ”

As a result, it is not surprising that Neil, who was suspended from school, was only deducted 20 points symbolically for disrupting the class and flouting the professor—symbolically, because the heroic act of protecting his classmates from the hands of the rampaging cactus monster was also worth 20 points, and after weighing the two sides, there was no punishment.

This may seem like a sign of favoritism, but Professor Sprout's statement has managed to attract everyone's attention, and it has also given new students (especially the Gryffindor students who have been poisoned by Snape) a new understanding of the teachers at Hogwarts, and in contrast, few people care about the small character who is staring at the cactus' remains like a scavenger.

If it hadn't happened to be for the fact that she had secretly made a "seven" gesture to Neil with the hand hidden behind her when Flitwick turned around, and received an "eight" reply, and then both of them nodded at the same time, Harry might have been as frank as everyone else in paying homage to it.

……

"Seriously, what did you feed that cactus? Does it work for other plants as well? ”

Taking the opportunity to get the watering can, Ron leaned closer to Neil and whispered.

Herbology courses have a high emphasis on hands-on work, and after explaining the basic properties of plants and how to care for them, the rest of the time is left to the students to get hands-on. Although students who are strangled, cut, or bitten are sent to the infirmary every year, and poisoning and the like are commonplace, herbal medicine classes are still more popular than sitting in a classroom listening to an old ghost talk about the history of magic for an hour and a half.

Neil, who was pruning the black daisy, seemed very happy to hear this.

"What a surprise to me, Mr. Weasley." He glanced quickly at Professor Sprout, who was instructing the other students on pruning techniques, and lowered his voice to Ron, "I never thought you would be interested in gardening......"

"Strictly speaking, I'm not interested in it at all." "But my mom might be interested in a fertilizer that can increase the yield of tomatoes in the garden by five times," Ron said solemnly...... Of course, the premise is—"

With the arrival of his fifth son's school-age age, the poverty of Weasley's famously poor state of Great Britain seemed to be approaching the point where it had to take risks for the sake of making a living.

Neil, whose eyes lit up slightly, put down the scissors, patted the dirt on his hands, and stepped forward to hug Ron's shoulder affectionately, like a snake spotting a squirrel that came out to forage in late autumn - a fat meat stored for wintering, plump and sweet: "It's absolutely safe, Mr. Weasley!" As I told the professor, this was just a small accident, and I deliberately increased the dose a little bit to highlight the effect, and the result was ...... Well, you've all seen it.

Moreover, the effect of this fertilizer on magic plants is completely different from that of normal plants, and the latter usually reacts much milder. In addition, I personally always think that housewives are one of the most courageous primates in the world, and Ling Tang will definitely be able to handle this kind of small scene. ”

His free hand reached into his pocket and fumbled for a while, and from it he pulled out a small cloth bag, slightly larger than a pepper shaker, with a circular pattern embroidered with cotton thread, half black and half white.

"Sample, Mr. Weasley, the instructions are all in there—no, it's free, for my friend's sake." Seeing what Ron wanted to say, Neil directly stuffed the cloth bag into his arms, "Don't worry, I, like my sect, don't do that kind of deceptive thing, and I will never use this as a threat to cut a pound of flesh from your heart afterwards." The next time you send a letter home, take this piece with you, and then, if Ling Tang likes it......"

Ron was a little resistant to this suspicious free treatment at first, but the blazing "come back with good use" spirit in Neil's eyes reassured him to a certain extent: "Okay, in fact, I originally wanted to ask if this thing is legal, but since you insist, ......"

"Very wise, Mr. Weasley, I look forward to seeing you again—what about you, Mr. Potter?"

Harry remembered the neatly cleaned lawn in the Dursleys' yard, and imagined the weeds growing up to several meters high, wrapping around his uncle and cousin's ankles and tossing them around in the air at Aunt Penny's screams.

"Thanks, Neil, I probably don't need these things where I live."

"Oh yes, you reminded me that you live in your uncle's house—the same old walrus-looking gentleman we met at the station, didn't you? It was a shame that the Ministry of Magic forbade me to supply goods to Muggle families, even those with wizarding children, and they thought the neighbors would wonder why the tulips they grew were bigger than a human head. Really, I thought English gentlemen would be more indifferent to other people's private affairs...... You know, it's the feeling of meeting and just talking about the weather. ”

Hermione, who had been immersed in the subject and had not joined the conversation, looked very unhappy when she looked back - but whenever she talked about Neil-related topics, she always had the same expression, so it didn't mean much.

"This is the first time I've heard of someone treating indifference as a sign of gentlemanhood...... Gentlemanly demeanor is not as superficial as you think. ”

"Of course it is, especially if you don't want to be asked!" Neil waved his hand a little excitedly, as if recalling some bad experience, and he rarely inserted those old honorifics that no one had used for centuries, "Why do the police, bus drivers, and coffee shop owners in this country always want to ask where the money came from when they see an Asian kid walking around the street alone?" The Americans are doing a better job of this, at least they will only ask you to hand over all the money, and never ask if you have a dying old mother lying in your house waiting for you to buy medicine and go back! ”

Ron laughed out loud and unkindly.

……

Despite wasting some time on small talk, everyone managed to complete the project before the bell rang, and Hermione, amused by the rather immoral joke at the last minute, was even rewarded with five points for good results. If it weren't for Professor Sprout's announcement of the end of class and the fact that everyone was not paying attention to Neil again, this lesson would have been a good start.

"That's the expert, Mr. Potter. Someone like Professor Sprout wouldn't have any prejudices against me just because I had destroyed one or two plants, fertilizer, gardening tools, rare seedlings and seeds...... She knows the value of these things very well and will not let them go easily. ”

When Harry was puzzled by the professor's unusual behavior, Neil explained.

"You might think that experts don't like to take risks, and that's just that they're just better at taking risks than the average person. Look at the rich businessmen, great generals, pioneers and founding kings of the world in history, who is not a veteran speculator and gambler? They know what they're dealing with, and they know what the limits of their abilities are, which is why I'll give the professor the original, and the one given to Mr. Weasley pre-diluted fivefold, I don't want to see him kill me with a knife because his garden has been taken over by the murderous tomatoes. ”

He stretched comfortably, as if looking forward to a better future.

"I believe it won't be long before she starts trying to optimize my ingredient mix by herself, and at that point, I can reverse the improved formula and sell it to the Sixth Elder...... You see, everything is going fairly well. Mr. Potter, if you would be interested in hearing more, I would like to invite you to visit my shop. Deng...... I mean, I've always wanted to have some more in-depth conversations with you. ”