Over the following week, poor Adelaide found herself trapped in a living hell of suffering.
The relationship between Alice, who came from a pure-blood background, and Hermione, who came from a Muggle family, had reached a point of being as incompatible as fire and water, with both constantly at each other's throats.
The two were like planets colliding; even two words said slightly wrong would trigger an incredibly fierce argument. Caught in the middle and feeling torn, Adelaide could only rely on her linguistic talent to navigate between them cautiously. She had never wished for the start of school so much.
A beautiful summer break was supposed to be a time for people to enjoy a relaxing and pleasant period, free to play, rest, and unwind.
But what about Adelaide now?
Every day, she was forced into the middle of this thrilling "Lion-Snake War," like a small boat in a violent storm, at risk of being swallowed by the surging tides of jealousy from both sides at any moment.
Hermione was jealous that Alice had spent the entire past year by Adelaide's side, while Alice was jealous that Hermione had accompanied Adelaide throughout all of primary school.
Just as Adelaide was feeling overwhelmed by her two friends' "love"—which was intense enough to catch fire—she received a letter from the British Ministry of Magic, temporarily rescuing her from this suffocating predicament.
Using the receipt of an important letter as an excuse, she retreated to her room to open it. She discovered it was the final ruling regarding the massive commotion she had caused in Hogsmeade earlier—at the time, a burst of curiosity had led Adelaide to test the performance of combined mutated magic beans and Ancient Runes in Hogsmeade. Who could have guessed the experiment would spiral out of control, leading directly to half of Hogsmeade Village being attacked by magic beans?
With a complex mix of emotions, Adelaide read the verdict with a hint of helplessness and speechlessness.
The efficiency of these British gentlemen at the Ministry of Magic was simply too low. Adelaide's summer break was already half over, and they had only just finished processing a case that occurred before final exams... She opened the envelope and scanned it, her expression gradually souring—Merlin's thong!
Adelaide rushed into Dumbledore's study like a gust of wind, her face full of anger and anxiety.
At that moment, Dumbledore was buried in a thick pile of documents sent over by Professor McGonagall. Adelaide unceremoniously hauled Dumbledore out from the mountain of paperwork.
"Mr. Dumbledore!" she shouted loudly, her voice filled with obvious dissatisfaction and grievance. "The Ministry of Magic actually wants to strip me of my right to use magic beans! Not only have they classified mutated magic beans as Class A Non-Tradeable Goods, but they've also strictly banned their cultivation in Britain! Do you know what this means for me? What if I'm unlucky enough to run into Lord Voldemort? I'm still very weak right now!"
Hearing Adelaide's complaints, Dumbledore sighed helplessly and raised a hand to rub his brow.
He comforted her earnestly, "Adelaide, do not be too worried for now. Given the current scale of the Death Eaters, even if Lord Voldemort truly has returned, he would never dare to launch an attack on you easily or openly."
"Moreover, you have already mastered powerful charms like the Fiendfyre and Protego Totalum. With your current strength, handling two or three ordinary Death Eaters alone is more than enough—if someone with your strength is considered weak, then how is Harry supposed to survive?"
If things were truly as dangerous as Adelaide claimed, The Chosen One would have died eight hundred times over at Privet Drive. After all, his mother's Blood Curse only ensured his safety within the range of Number 4, Privet Drive; it had little effect once he left the house.
Adelaide pouted and shot Dumbledore a displeased look, clearly unsatisfied with his answer.
While acting like a sulking little girl on the surface, her mind was rapidly calculating her next move: it seemed even Dumbledore was secretly wary of her hybrid magic beans, to the point that he had acquiesced to the Ministry's ban. It was unlikely she would regain permission to grow hybrid magic beans in the short term.
But that didn't matter. With Ancient Runes and the learning experience gained from her charms, she could entirely research new lethal moves.
Once the new term started, she would be eligible for the Ravenclaw House Quidditch team trials—consequently, the modification and utilization of the bludger would undoubtedly become a key subject for her focus.
At the same time, she couldn't ignore that plantation in Iceland. she had to find a way to dig up a new project to make full use of it as soon as possible.
Adelaide rolled her eyes and said sincerely to Dumbledore, "Respected Mr. Dumbledore, you should know that researching magical plants has always been my most passionate hobby. If I am now forbidden from continuing my deep research into mutated magic beans, it will truly leave me feeling incredibly empty. In that state of emptiness, there's no telling what kind of mess I might end up researching—of course, I personally express my understanding, affirmation, and support for the Ministry's decision."
"I just wonder if you could find it in your heart to help me find some magical creatures or plants that aren't harmful to others for me to conduct my research? If you personally select the species, it certainly won't be considered dangerous, right?"
Dumbledore frowned slightly, sinking into a brief moment of contemplation.
He also felt this was reasonable. If he let Adelaide explore on her own, he always felt she would find strange and dangerous creatures to study. It was better for him to find some safe species to satisfy her Ravenclaw curiosity.
Dumbledore looked at Adelaide warmly and replied with a smile, "Very well, child. I will do my best to find a suitable research subject for you as soon as possible."
After receiving Dumbledore's affirmative reply, Adelaide turned and left with a satisfied smile beaming on her face.
Letting Dumbledore decide her research subject was essentially a roundabout way of getting a 'get out of jail free' card—this was a safe species personally identified by Dumbledore himself. Even if she researched a dangerous variant again in the future, the Ministry of Magic would likely have to weigh their options carefully and would not easily ban her research project.
For now, Fudge still didn't have the nerve to slap Dumbledore in the face. By the time Dumbledore and the Ministry potentially had a falling out later on, she estimated she would have already developed her power enough to not care about the Ministry anyway.
However, what Adelaide had not anticipated was that Dumbledore was even more unexpected and "cautious" than she had imagined!
He actually brought her twenty Flobberworms!
Each of these Flobberworms was about ten inches long, their bodies a dull, lusterless brown. Their surfaces were incredibly smooth, they had no teeth, and they looked exactly like giant, wriggling earthworms.
Adelaide looked at the Flobberworms in the breeding box, her face turning dark.
Speaking of Flobberworms, these peculiar creatures could be described as having no interest factor whatsoever.
Usually, they preferred fresh, juicy lettuce as their food source. Because their inherent characteristics were so mundane, in the classification system of magical creatures in the Wizarding World, Flobberworms were categorized into the lowest level, X.
To put it bluntly, this was a useless species.
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