There were so many plants on the right side of the Greenhouse.
This was Sean's first thought.
And they were dense and robust.
This was Sean's second thought.
Therefore, he stuck close behind the plump Professor,
lest the Professor get lost and disappear among the lush green leaves if he wasn't careful.
Professor Sprout, holding a shovel, led Sean, walking briskly between two rows of plant stands,
and occasionally pinched the leaves of the plants,
and smelled the petals of the plants.
"This is the Bubble-Pod area. After we pass here, we'll reach the place where we can really show off our skills."
Professor Sprout's voice was a bit loud, but not noisy; instead, it was very reassuring.
Bubble-Pods?
Sean carefully looked at the vines, which varied in thickness. They bore plump, pink pods,
containing sparkling beans.
Sean had read about this magical plant in books. It was said that these beans would bloom immediately upon contact with any solid object.
"These Bubble-Pods will be ripe soon. By then, these planting shelves will be filled with Leaping Toadstools..."
Professor Sprout enthusiastically explained to Sean,
and a light sparkled in Sean's emerald eyes.
Perhaps the light in the Greenhouse was a bit too bright, or perhaps the Young Wizard's serious observation was indeed very endearing.
Professor Sprout's pace became even brisker.
How wonderful... New sprouts always bring new hope.
This was what Professor Sprout most wanted to see.
"Come here, child, let's process these daisies."
Professor Sprout stopped in front of a wooden table. It was a large, sturdy wooden table,
its center seemingly stained dark by plant sap and soil.
Sean quickly stepped forward and saw Professor Sprout take out several pots of daisies from under the wooden table.
If one had to point out any difference between them and the purely ornamental small flowers, it was that their stems were much thicker.
Also, if you were to buy them in Diagon Alley, 20 of them would cost one Galleon.
Terrifyingly expensive.
"Don't get distracted, watch closely. For yellow daisies, you start three inches below the petals..."
Professor Sprout deftly cut the daisy, and milky white sap flowed from the stem,
which the Professor skillfully collected in a glass bottle.
"Only daisies at this time of year can have their sap collected.
The cut cannot be too deep, otherwise it will affect the future growth of this lovely little flower;
nor can it be too shallow, otherwise the extracted sap will not meet the standards for making Shrinking Potion."
The Professor explained in detail, then with a wave of her wand, a small knife and a glass bottle landed on the wooden table in front of Sean.
"Come, try it, Mr. Green."
Sean nodded and picked up the tools.
"Wrong angle, Mr. Green, a little more to the side..."
"Too light, Mr. Green, be bolder..."
"Oh, Mr. Green, don't cut! The position is wrong..."
Time quickly passed with Sean's mistakes.
Sean quickly realized that he didn't seem to have any talent for Herbology Class either.
Just as he failed for the fifteenth time, furrowing his brow slightly in thought,
a gentle voice came from beside him:
"Discovering you have no talent, yet still willing to pick up the hoe, is the beginning of Herbology."
Sean looked up. Professor Sprout's face was as soft and profound as the warm sun.
Thus,
it continued until Professor Sprout's large shadow became slanted, and Sean gradually mastered the essence of processing daisies.
Force, angle, and position were all very important. If even one thing was slightly off, the proficiency panel would not increase.
"You have completely processed a daisy to an apprentice standard, Proficiency +1."
The prompt from the panel was like a heavenly sound. After mastering the correct method, Sean was terrifyingly motivated.
"You have completely processed a daisy to an apprentice standard, Proficiency +1."
"You have completely processed a daisy to an introductory standard, Proficiency +3."
...The sun slanted, and all thirty pots of daisies were neatly stacked. Sean wiped the sweat from his hair,
his eyes as bright as the Herbology Class Professor beside him.
"Very well done, Mr. Green,"
Professor Sprout clapped softly. Nothing made her happier than witnessing a young sprout grow strong.
"Go have dinner quickly. Oh, by the way, take this."
A piece of candied jackfruit was placed in Sean's arms. At the same time, he heard the "clang" of the bell, which meant dinner had begun.
Hogwarts' mealtimes were always fixed. If you missed it, you would just have to go hungry.
Of course, some Young Wizards would ask friends to get some food in advance, but Sean clearly hadn't made such preparations.
To go hungry at Hogwarts, that would be terrible.
Sean thought this, then quickly said goodbye to Professor Sprout and walked towards the Great Hall.
If his body were better, he would have run there.
"Next time, we will be dealing with some special materials."
Professor Sprout said this before Sean left.
Sean saw tooth-like objects piled on the dark wooden table, and he guessed perhaps it was these?
...After the Great Hall's dazzling array of food,
Justin was being lectured by Hermione because he hadn't noticed that his afternoon class was also Herbology Class, and with Gryffindor.
So when Hermione saw him in Greenhouse One,
Miss Granger instantly bristled.
"Are you doing this on purpose!"
"I'm sorry..."
Sean was struggling with Hungarian Goulash and didn't notice Justin's pleading gaze.
Soon, he was drinking pumpkin juice and checking his day's harvest.
"Herbology Knowledge: Unlocked (59/90)"
By processing daisies, Sean gained a total of 33 proficiency.
"Apprentice-level Herbology Knowledge, can unlock the Apprentice-level title in the Herbology field."
The activation of the title was within reach. If he made good use of the remaining time, he might even activate the title today.
As for the pile of tooth-like objects, Sean carefully compared them and realized they should be venomous snake fangs.
Although he didn't know why Professor Sprout wanted to process them,
it happened to match Sean's needs.
One of the ingredients for brewing Murtlap Essence was venomous snake fangs.
As soon as the battle ended, Sean left the Great Hall,
leaving Justin and Hermione a bit surprised.
"Sean!
Ah, he walked so fast.
I wanted to ask him to go to the library together.
Maybe he could solve our problem about distinguishing mature dittany.
Honestly, I have no idea how to write the Herbology Class essay."
Justin was a bit frustrated. magic was a bit harder than he imagined.
Although Professor Sprout told them to do their best, as Hufflepuff, who wouldn't want to satisfy and be praised by the Professor?
"I don't think so necessarily,
but Hogwarts' library houses thousands of books, we will find the answer."
Hermione shook her head helplessly, but she was full of confidence.