Chapter 87: Advancement, Visit, Dark Magic

Two days later, outside Hagrid's hut, Ciel was waving his wand, casting the Soil-Loosening Charm over and over on the forest floor. On the system panel, a golden luster had almost completely covered the Soil-Loosening Charm text. Then, after another unremarkable casting, as if it was a natural conclusion, the last trace of golden luster covered it. [Soil-Loosening Charm (Gold Tier)] advanced! Ciel took a light breath, a satisfied look in his eyes. This way, the spells that were quite helpful for planting—Soil-Loosening Charm, Pruning Charm, and Lumos Charm—had all reached Gold Tier. The latter two were even approaching Platinum Tier. In cultivating the Guardian Tree, the mastery of these spells would no longer be a weak point. He only needed his Magical Perception Enhancement to reach Gold Tier, and he could plant the Guardian Tree in soil and move to the next stage. Once this step was completed, the subsequent process would be much simpler. He just needed to brew the Sacred Tree Potion. Though not a ten out of ten chance, he had at least a seven or eight out of ten chance of success. By then, the Guardian Tree would become the second magical plant in Ciel's possession, after Piranha Algae, that could provide Silver-Tier rewards in bulk! Once the Guardian Tree cultivation was scaled up, and he harvested a wave of rewards, Ciel's mastery of Defense Against the Dark Arts would increase to Gold or even Platinum Tier in a short time. He would even gain some dark magic resistance. Facing some dangers, he would have much more confidence. Additionally, successfully cultivating the Guardian Tree was a milestone in herbology. This would give Ciel more certainty in obtaining more experimental plots in the greenhouse. Thinking of this, Ciel felt quite excited. After a moment, his gaze returned to the Soil-Loosening Charm. He wondered what the difference in effectiveness would be for the Gold-Tier Soil-Loosening Charm. Would it be more helpful for his cultivation? With this curiosity, Ciel waved his wand again. "Terra Soluta!" A yellow-brown light burst forth, sinking into the ground before him. The ground immediately came to life. The soil layers churned, and caked soil softened. Stones within were turned out. Both the range and depth were a circle larger than before the advancement. What surprised Ciel even more was that when he put his fingers into the soil to feel the changes more deeply, he could feel that the bottom layer of soil seemed to be still in a state of continuous movement. Therefore, even as time passed, the soil wouldn't cake up but would maintain a loose and airy state. This meant Ciel would no longer need to cast the Soil-Loosening Charm every day. This would save him a lot of effort. More importantly, because the soil was constantly moving, the nutrients and moisture within would be evenly distributed. If nutrients were lacking somewhere, new nutrients would immediately spread over with the soil's movement. This could ensure that every root hair of the plant received good care during its growth. As the saying goes, to grow good flowers, first grow good roots. As long as the root system was good, the plant's performance would certainly not be poor. So, Ciel estimated that the effect of the Soil-Loosening Charm after advancement would at least improve the growth state of magical plants by about ten percent. This meant he could get more rewards from each plant. In the long run, this would be a very considerable income. At this time, Ciel glanced at the time. When he saw the hour hand pass a certain point, his face immediately lit up with joy. "Finally. The punishment time is finally over. Seven days, a full seven days, I couldn't go to the greenhouse, nor work in the Potions classroom. You have no idea what kind of days I've been through... Fortunately, this torture is finally about to end. Work, I want to work!" Ciel couldn't wait to go to the greenhouse and continue caring for his plants there. Just then, he encountered Hagrid, who waved at him excitedly. "Ciel! Are you still practicing spells? Quick, stop practicing. Today's not a day for practicing spells." Ciel was stunned. "Is today some special day?" Hagrid looked at him in surprise. "Aren't you a member of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team? The Quidditch season has started! Today is the opening match between Gryffindor and Slytherin. You forgot about that? The entire school will be watching this match. It might even last a whole day. I thought you knew!" In his surprise, Hagrid quickly fumbled through his large pocket. Then he handed Ciel a bunch of things for watching the match: a monocular, a warm blanket, earplugs to prevent being deafened by screams, and so on. "This will be the first Quidditch match you watch in your life. You absolutely can't miss it. You must go." Coincidentally, an owl arrived with a letter from Professor Sprout. The message in the letter was the same. "Ciel, I know you're eager to go to the greenhouse. But you can't be absent from the Quidditch season's opening match. When the match starts, I must see you in the stands. Otherwise, I'll think your reflection is definitely not thorough enough, and you can expect to continue reflecting!" Ciel gave a wry smile. Seriously. In his previous life, parents wished they could lock their children in a room to study desperately. How come now, when he wanted to work and study so much, he couldn't? But after a moment, Ciel could only helplessly agree. "Alright. It seems I can't miss this Quidditch match." However, although he couldn't immediately return to his beloved greenhouse, Ciel wasn't opposed to watching the Quidditch match. He also remembered that in the original story, this Quidditch match was quite eventful. Not only was the competition on the field fierce, but the undercurrents below were also surging. He didn't know what Quirrell was thinking. He actually wanted to secretly cast a jinx on Harry's broom under everyone's noses to make Harry fall to his death! Professor McGonagall, Professor Snape, and even Dumbledore were present! It could only be said that it was very in character for Quirrell. This Ravenclaw-born academic god had ridiculously good grades when he was in school. Hermione's grades back then probably couldn't compare. Even after obtaining a teaching position at Hogwarts, he had managed to track down Voldemort's soul fragment on his own. Logically, encountering such a thing, he should have gone to Dumbledore. At the very least, he could have asked the Ministry of Magic to send a few teams of elite Aurors. But Quirrell was overconfident, thinking he could handle Voldemort, even control Voldemort's soul for his own use. So he went. He was instantly defeated. Directly possessed by Voldemort, becoming his lackey. Being capable of such a thing, his actions on the Quidditch pitch weren't hard to understand. However, Ciel only thought about these things briefly. He didn't intend to get involved. He was just going to watch the fun. But at this time, Ciel thought of another related matter. "Speaking of which... I remember that at this time in the original story, Snape was bitten by the three-headed dog, and his leg was severely injured, making him limp. And because the three-headed dog's teeth had dark magic on them, it couldn't be healed with potions, so he had to endure it. On the Quidditch pitch, Snape tried to break the jinx on Harry's broom, but the effect was not very good, probably because of this injury." If he were a stranger to Snape, Ciel wouldn't care if he was injured. But during this period, Snape's guidance to Ciel had been genuine. Although this difficult professor had a bad temper, wasn't easy to get along with, and didn't wash his hair, Ciel knew in his heart that he owed him quite a few favors. Not to mention the Half-Blood Prince's textbook that had given him so many benefits was also from Snape's hand. Both logically and emotionally, he should pay him a visit. Then Ciel asked Hagrid for a few rock cakes, a large leather bag of goat's milk, and several large strings of sausages. Then he headed toward the Slytherin Head's office. Fortunately, although this look was strange, the students he met on the way were all talking about the Quidditch match and didn't pay much attention to anything else. Most students had already gone to the stands early to get a good seat. So no one paid much attention to Ciel. Until he reached the Slytherin Head's office. Ciel knocked on the door. Before he could announce his name, a surprised voice came from inside, which seemed to contain a trace of joy. "Ciel Sprout?" Then, some muffled footsteps sounded. After a moment, Snape opened the door. Seeing what Ciel was carrying, he frowned. "What are you carrying these things for? This isn't some grocery store." Ciel smiled and showed an apologetic expression. "I've rarely been in the castle these past few days. I only heard today that your leg seems to be injured, Professor Snape. So I got some things from Hagrid. Rock cakes... although they're very hard, if you soften them in hot goat's milk, they're very good for recovery. And Hagrid's sausages are not only delicious but also made from precious ingredients. I thought perhaps you could use them, Professor." Snape paused. He snorted coldly. "All you think about is eating. You really are a Hufflepuff badger. Don't put it on the floor, put it on the table." After Ciel put down the things, Snape struggled to drag his leg and sat down in a chair. Throughout the process, his face was quite pale. Ciel silently compared the current Snape with what he had seen before. He could be sure that Snape was in a much weaker state than usual. His gaze fell on Snape's leg. He was horrified. The three-headed dog was truly a 5X-level magical creature. This level of danger was severe even for Snape. No wonder Quirrell was at a loss. Snape noticed Ciel's gaze. He said with irritation, "If you have something to say, just say it." Only then did Ciel speak up. "Professor. Can't even potions heal your injury?" Snape shook his head. "The wound was left by dark magic. If it were ordinary dark magic, I could, of course, handle it. But this dark magic is of a special nature... it can't be eliminated, only worn down with life force, which means it takes time. The healing speed will be many times slower than ordinary wounds. Some people might even be directly killed by such a wound." Then, for the first time, Snape, as if to reassure Ciel, showed a proud expression. "But am I an ordinary potioneer? As soon as this dark magic is consumed to a certain extent, I can deal with it. It won't be long." His voice grew sharp. "Hmph, in about two more weeks, you'll have to come back to work. Don't think about slacking off!" Ciel first nodded as if he understood. Then he suddenly paused. "Two weeks? Are you saying I have to wait another two weeks to work?" This was really troublesome. Ciel's heart sank. Then he noticed Snape's description just now. So he asked hesitantly, "You're saying the trouble with this wound is that it consumes life force? Does it consume a lot? Would an external life force work?" Snape looked at Ciel with some confusion. He instinctively replied, "External life force would work." [Chapter Complete] *** Want more? Check out my Patreon for: ✓ Advanced chapters of all my stories ✓ Exclusive novels & fanfics ✓ Early access content [email protected]/meowthtl ???? Community Goal: 500 Power Stones unlocks a bonus chapter! Thanks for reading and supporting the story