Chapter 155: Shock, Preparation, and New Seeds

When Ciel's name was called, the little Hufflepuffs immediately gave him the most enthusiastic applause yet. Of course, considering he had been in detention for three whole weeks, while applauding, the little Hufflepuffs didn't put any pressure on him at all. Hannah, Susan, and other girls who had good relationships with him all quietly said to him: "Ciel. You missed three weeks of classes. Don't pressure yourself. Your Transfiguration will always be the best in our hearts." His face showed a smile as he looked at the little Hufflepuffs. "Don't worry. This year we're not only going to win the Quidditch Cup and House Cup. First place in Transfiguration will also belong to Hufflepuff." The confidence in his words made the little Hufflepuffs burst into deafening applause again. This, however, made Hermione nervous... even more nervous than when she had been on stage herself. Could he have also mastered Switching Spells? Even Professor McGonagall's eyes showed some uncertainty. Switching spells was much more difficult to master than Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration. First, they required extremely high magical perception. This meant they demanded certain magical talent. First-year students rarely consciously trained their magical perception. But some precocious students with decent talent could reach the standard through deliberate training. Hermione should belong to this category. But his talent wasn't high. Plus he'd been in detention for three weeks. Even with ample time, mastering Switching Spells without guidance would be quite difficult. Still, Professor McGonagall applauded and looked at him expectantly. She wasn't the type of professor to play favorites. Even though Hermione was from her own House, he was just as much her student. If he could really show superior Transfiguration skills, Professor McGonagall would be genuinely pleased. At this moment, he held his wand and waved it lightly. His movements were full of composure with a flowing grace. Then the matchstick before him transformed into earth-yellow smoke. The smoke suddenly began condensing again. In the blink of an eye, it had become a little badger, almost identical to Hufflepuff's emblem! This little badger landed on the desk looking completely bewildered. This scene made both Hufflepuff and Gryffindor students exclaim in surprise. Hannah, Susan, and other Hufflepuff girls couldn't help reaching out to gently touch the little badger. The feeling was almost indistinguishable from the real thing. "It's alive?!" Seeing this scene, Hermione's face was full of shock. This belonged to the category of Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration. But compared to her Gamp's Law, his mastery was on a completely different level! Professor McGonagall couldn't help but gasp. His mastery of Gamp's Law was far superior to what he'd demonstrated in the previous Transfiguration class. But she remembered Lucius Malfoy's gift to him... the Serpensortia spell. That made it understandable. During three weeks of detention, he apparently hadn't relaxed for a moment. He hadn't even been satisfied with simply mastering the Serpensortia spell's usage. Instead, he'd painstakingly studied the underlying principles of Serpensortia. This made Professor McGonagall feel infinite emotion. Such age, such maturity, and such diligence. Truly an excellent young wizard. Reaching such mastery in Gamp's Law was even rarer than Hermione simultaneously mastering both Gamp's Law and Switching Spells! But then his demonstration wasn't finished. Previously, he indeed couldn't be considered to have mastered Switching Spells. But these past two days, through countless shadow traversals, personally experiencing the transformation of surrounding magic from shadow nature to various other natures... even a pig should have gained some understanding. Moreover, his Transfiguration foundation was already very solid. Some principles of Gamp's Law were interconnected with Switching Spells. He had mastered Switching Spells on the very first day of shadow traversal. Now his mastery in this area was on par with his Gamp's Law. This explained the rich, almost substantial bronze color on the Transfiguration text in his system panel. If not limited by magical perception, his Transfiguration mastery would probably already be showing hints of silver, approaching the threshold for Silver tier! Hermione's previous demonstration of Switching Spells was indeed remarkable for a first-year student. But in his view, while praiseworthy, it was just that. The next moment, he gently waved his wand. The little badger suddenly transformed back into dispersing smoke amid everyone's exclamations. The smoke then became a shadow. The shadow contracted and gathered on the desk, finally taking the shape of a matchstick again. This series of operations made Professor McGonagall's face light up with delight. Even her dissatisfaction with the little lions was forgotten. "Transforming into a shadow? I really don't know how you thought of that! A transformation I never considered... genius thinking!" Professor McGonagall generously gave her praise, followed by a whopping thirty house points. Then Professor McGonagall announced something. "Hermione Granger. And Ciel Sprout. Your excellent performances exempt you from this year's Transfiguration final exam. Also, you don't need to attend the remaining Transfiguration classes this term. But everyone else still needs to come to class. However, Hannah Abbott, Susan Bones..." Professor McGonagall called out some little Hufflepuffs' names. "Though your Transfiguration hasn't reached exemption level, you don't need to write essays. Prepare well, and you'll definitely get good grades on the final exam. As for the remaining Gryffindor students..." Professor McGonagall gritted her teeth with disappointment. "Your essay word count is doubled!" Instantly, the lion students were wailing in despair. His eyes lit up, feeling quite surprised. This was really perfect timing. If he obtained pioneering permits soon, he'd probably need to spend lots of time clearing farmland. Not needing to attend Transfiguration classes or prepare essays would significantly increase his free time, making things much more convenient. At this time, Professor McGonagall had begun pointing out Transfiguration problems for each little Hufflepuff and lion. He estimated there probably wouldn't be time for his own Q&A in class. Fortunately, he could always visit Professor McGonagall's office. He'd ask about Transfiguration questions later. So he didn't waste time. After greeting Professor McGonagall, he left the Transfiguration classroom under everyone's envious gazes. Hermione had wanted to stand up too, but after hesitating, she looked toward Professor McGonagall. Professor McGonagall noticed Hermione's gaze. She'd always paid close attention to this student, who was somewhat like herself. She temporarily interrupted her "interrogation" of the little lion before her and beckoned to Hermione. The two came outside the classroom. Professor McGonagall asked softly, "Hermione, is there something you want to ask me?" Hermione nodded, her face full of disappointment. She couldn't help rambling. "Professor, I don't understand what's happening. When I attended Muggle school before, I was always first in every subject. Every competition I entered, I always won. But why am I working harder than ever now, even using some clever methods, yet still can't beat Ciel? The gap is even widening?" Hermione asked in bewildered "despair." "What exactly am I lacking compared to him? Is my talent that much inferior to his?" Hearing Hermione's question, Professor McGonagall fell into silence. After a long while, she sighed bitterly. "Hermione. What I'm about to say shouldn't be used to evaluate students. Don't mention this to others... this is very serious." Hermione nodded solemnly. Only then did Professor McGonagall's expression become heavy, with some emotion and regret. She slowly said, "Actually, his innate talent is far inferior to yours. Even far inferior to any young wizard at Hogwarts. In his first week of enrollment, all the professors felt sorry for him. Such a hardworking child, yet destined to achieve little in magic. Honestly, I never thought he could master Transfiguration. I was even prepared to help him on exams, at least pull him to passing. After all, it wasn't about him being insufficiently smart or hardworking... heaven was too cruel and unfair to him. I never imagined he could achieve such heights in Transfiguration." Hearing Professor McGonagall's words, Hermione's eyes widened. She could hardly believe her ears. His talent... "What Malfoy said about his talent, I thought was a rumor... It's actually true? His talent really is just barely above a Squib's, just meeting Hogwarts' admission standards? This... how is this possible...? How did he manage this?" Professor McGonagall's gaze looked toward where he had departed, as if seeing his unwillingness to waste any time. Her heart was full of pain. "That must be effort and suffering beyond description... grinding teeth to powder, tearing flesh to shreds wouldn't capture it. I can't imagine how much that child must pay for every step forward." Hermione felt like she'd been dealt a heavy blow, her body swaying. She also remembered his usual behavior... always hurrying as if endless tasks awaited him. For a moment, Hermione's eyes stung, and she couldn't help wiping them. After a moment, Hermione's eyes showed determination. She bit her lip. "If he can do it, then I definitely can too. My effort isn't enough... I need to work even harder. Time, time... use more time." Hermione quickened her pace, almost jogging away toward the library. Her dignity wouldn't allow her to fall so far behind when his talent was so limited. Professor McGonagall watched Hermione's departing figure with worry and some hesitation. Hermione seemed quite shocked. But after a moment, Professor McGonagall shook her head, dismissing her thoughts. "Time-Turners are too much for young wizards to handle. At least wait until third year... if Hermione's still obsessing, then let her try." Then Professor McGonagall returned to the classroom to continue guiding the other students. Meanwhile, he headed toward Professor Sprout's office. He'd submitted his farmland clearing needs to the Ministry. According to their previous contract, the Ministry had to satisfy any resources he needed for Herbology. With a contract witnessed by Dumbledore himself, plus his request being just a Ministry document, there shouldn't be any obstacles. Now he should consider what magical crops to plant after clearing farmland. His mind went through his considerations. "First, newly cleared farmland. Even with fertilizing potions, its fertility compared to greenhouse soil would be vastly different. It probably couldn't support plants like Patronus Trees that provide Silver-tier rewards. Even Bronze-tier reward plants would be difficult. So my choices should focus on Black Iron-tier reward plants. Preferably hardy varieties with some survival ability outdoors, not too susceptible to pests and diseases. This would save lots of maintenance trouble." Additionally, he looked at his [Magical Perception Enhancement] ability, which still needed much time to break through to the Platinum tier. Now almost all spells, including Transfiguration, were limited by magical perception. He estimated this situation would recur. So he had to prepare in advance. Taming more trolls was imperative. This faced a key problem... food. A single troll consumed enormous amounts of food. Though they could hunt for themselves, time wasted in this process would slow Mimbulus mimbletonia maturation. So his cleared farmland should ideally grow plants that could cover trolls' feeding needs. "Wonder if I can find plants meeting my requirements." Various thoughts flashed through his mind as he opened Professor Sprout's office door. The scene before him truly stunned him. The office walls now had countless storage compartments... thousands of them by appearance. Each compartment held a small bag of seeds with descriptions. The desk had a letter from Professor Sprout. "Dear Ciel. I have something important to handle. I know you must be thinking about clearing farmland. I've prepared samples of all seeds I can supply in quantity. You can choose slowly... tell me what you want to plant." He paused, moved. So many seeds with such detailed descriptions... the effort involved was obvious. And it had only been two days since Aunt learned of his farmland clearing idea. Imagine how much work she'd put in. Then he took a deep breath, his gaze resolute. For this reason, he didn't want to say sentimental words. This year's Quidditch Cup and House Cup must stay with Hufflepuff. And Professor Sprout's greatest obsession... Antonin Dolohov must die. The former was manageable. This year Hufflepuff's points were leading by a huge margin. Unless Dumbledore shamelessly gave the trio double points... a hundred points each... Gryffindor couldn't easily close the gap with Hufflepuff. As for the latter, his current strength was still insufficient. In wizard battles, unless ambushed or escape-restricted, fleeing for survival wasn't difficult. The more powerful the wizard, the stronger their survival ability. He estimated that to reliably kill Antonin Dolohov, his direct combat strength needed to approach Snape's level. Then, combined with some unexpected methods... unleashing all trump cards immediately upon meeting without giving Dolohov any chance to react... only this could ensure a kill. To reach such strength, he needed to plant trees first. His turbulent emotions calmed as he approached the storage compartments, examining the seeds one by one. With Professor Sprout's descriptions, these seeds' reward information was clear before him. Of course, many seed rewards were bizarre. Like the Bouncing Bulb he'd seen before, which provided Black Iron-tier jumping ability enhancement. Bubotuber pus provided the rare Bubble-Head Charm enhancement. These rewards could be classified as "useful." More rewards he couldn't think of uses for. Finding what he needed among these hundreds of plants was like finding a needle in a haystack. But fortunately, he had sufficient time and patience for such searching. He slowly examined these seeds and corresponding information. Until night deepened, he saw a wrinkled seed with a peculiar smell. His eyes suddenly brightened.