First came the issue of the Growth Potion.
Leonard had already obtained the recipe for this potion from Professor Sprout. Since the ingredients weren't particularly rare, Professor Sprout had generously given him several sets for free.
Though there were no detailed instructions, with just the recipe, Leonard could quickly work out the finer points of the brewing process on his own. After ruining two batches of ingredients to gain experience, he finally succeeded in brewing a vial of Growth Potion on his third attempt.
Unfortunately, the potion's primary ingredients contained no magical plants, meaning Leonard couldn't enhance it using strengthened materials.
With the potion ready, it was time to test its effects.
Leonard casually tossed a Chomping Cabbage seed onto the ground. Under the effects of Optimize Growth and Rapid Growth, the seed quickly took root, sprouted, and began growing rapidly toward maturity.
During this process, Leonard dripped a few drops of the Growth Potion onto the rapidly developing Chomping Cabbage. Soon, the cabbage matured—but its size remained unchanged.
"I see. So the enhanced attributes of the Chomping Cabbage are actually linked to its magical energy, meaning the Growth Potion can't affect it?"
Leonard stared at the unaltered cabbage, not disappointed but thoughtful, his mind turning to the Transfiguration spell.
Transfiguration magic involved not just altering form, but also size—meaning the "Growing" spell was a branch of Transfiguration.
If the Growth Potion couldn't enlarge the Chomping Cabbage, perhaps a Transfiguration spell could.
Then again, what about developing a potion that mimicked the effects of Transfiguration?
That idea was a stretch. Even with Leonard's unique advantage—the ability to directly perceive magical energy flows—he still lacked the deep alchemical knowledge necessary to create an entirely new potion.
To design potions using Magical Sight, he would first need to memorize the magical signatures of most ingredients, and that alone would take a significant amount of time.
"Take it slow. There's still plenty of time," Leonard murmured, carefully storing away the useless Growth Potion. He'd probably hand it off to Hagrid or someone else later.
He also needed to figure out where to get some herbicide from the wizarding world to test on his plants.
For now, though, it was time to get out. Staying holed up in the room for so long was starting to feel suffocating.
Having finished his potion work, Leonard didn't bother with the leftover clutter on the brewing table and headed straight out of the Room of Requirement.
That was the beauty of the Room of Requirement—once you changed the room, no matter how big a mess you'd made, it would clean everything up perfectly, leaving the space spotless for the next time. A true blessing for lazy people.
Leaving the Room of Requirement, Leonard wandered into the castle courtyard, enjoying a brief moment of peace amid the laughter and chatter of the students.
That was when he noticed Hagrid pulling a cart piled high with massive pumpkins toward the castle.
The sheer size of the pumpkins drew a crowd of astonished students, while Hagrid, proud of his work, lifted his head with satisfaction.
The pumpkins were fully ripe—Halloween was just around the corner.
And the Halloween Eve feast was precisely when Quirrell was supposed to unleash the troll and cause chaos.
Leonard thought for a moment, concluding that Quirrell's plan this time probably wouldn't accomplish much, not even advancing the story.
After all, Harry Potter and Ron Weasley's friendship was in a rough spot, and Hermione hadn't had any serious conflicts that would drive her to the bathroom in tears.
So the most likely outcome would be the professors subduing the troll, Quirrell getting caught trying to steal the Philosopher's Stone, and Snape getting bitten by a dog...
Wait—Snape getting bitten by a dog!
Leonard's eyes suddenly narrowed.
That treacherous dog Snape had gone too far. One way or another, this grudge had to be repaid.
But the question was—how should he take his revenge?
Leonard fell into deep thought.
For example...
He could quietly follow Snape, cause a little chaos during his argument with Quirrell, and make sure he got bitten even harder this time. Right, and then there was Malfoy, who'd been unusually well-behaved lately—if possible, he could be added to the plan too.
He'd just let the troll do the work!
...
The day before Halloween, Hagrid had already begun decorating the castle.
The decorations were made from pumpkins hollowed out by the kitchen elves. Under their expert craftsmanship, the pumpkin shells were carved into eerie faces. Hagrid then carried these jack-o'-lanterns to the Great Hall to help set up the decorations.
Dozens of lanterns were hung from the ceiling or stacked along the walls, while cobwebs and animated bats adorned the hall's interior. Professor Flitwick waved his wand, levitating each decoration into its proper place.
The ceiling of the Great Hall, once filled with endlessly burning white candles, was now dotted with smaller jack-o'-lanterns. Professor McGonagall had made these herself, using Transfiguration spells in front of the students to turn ordinary candles into glowing pumpkins.
Watching this transformation, the children eating breakfast grew even more excited, eagerly anticipating the Halloween feast to come.
But their excitement had consequences. During lessons, the students found it nearly impossible to stay focused—though, of course, that depended on the professor.
Take Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape, for instance. As the two teachers most notorious for deducting points, not a single student dared to act up in their classes—not even those from their own houses.
So during Transfiguration and Potions, the students forced themselves to behave, suppressing their bubbling excitement and focusing intently on their studies.
After all, point deductions weren't the only punishment—there was always detention.
No one wanted to spend Halloween night locked in an office or the trophy room while everyone else enjoyed a feast of sweets and laughter.
However, in other classes, the atmosphere was far more relaxed. The students chattered endlessly, their voices filling the rooms as if they were racing against time to say everything before the bell rang.
Everyone knew Professor Flitwick from Charms and Professor Sprout from Herbology were kind and lenient. Taking advantage of that, the students grew more and more unruly until both professors, helpless against the chaos, decided to give them a free period to enjoy themselves.
And so, evening came quickly.
Once the announcement was made, the students eagerly hurried toward the Great Hall. In a space completely transformed from its usual solemnity, they prepared to begin their long-awaited Halloween feast.