Looking at the name Ed mentioned in Professor Sprout's letter, Char remembered something. According to Eugene, the house-elf of his family, the knowledge of using the dark magic of Transfiguration to transform plant seeds that his target had learned seemed to have been obtained from a wizard named Ed in Knockturn Alley. He had noticed it then. This Ed had come a long way in combining the dark magic of Transfiguration with Herbology. It could even be said that this was something he could not achieve in this field in a short period of time. And this road was too important to him. If he could gain something, then there might be hope to improve the level of plants such as gillyweed and marigolds. He needed to improve his magical perception and strength, which would greatly reduce the difficulty.
Originally, he had planned to use the Malfoy family's connections to find Ed's whereabouts when the time was right. But he didn't expect to hear about him here. As to whether these two Eds were the same person, his eyes flickered. "There aren't many herbalists in the magical world, not to mention that those who can achieve this level of accomplishment are even rarer. The likelihood of having the same name and surname is very low. There's a high probability that's the Ed I'm looking for."
At the same time, accompanied by the sound of an owl's wings flapping, a notice about the time and location of this year's herbology examination, as well as the list of people taking it, flew into the hands of a group of herbalist apprentices who were looking forward to it. When she saw this notification letter from the International Herbalist Association, a round-faced, chubby girl had a look of determination in her eyes. "Eight years. For eight consecutive years, I have been eliminated from the formal assessment. To this day, I still haven't obtained the official herbalist qualification. I can only call myself an apprentice. Back then, I was a well-known herbology genius among my peers. Sigh... but this time, I've put in another year of hard work. I can do it. I definitely can do it!"
Immediately, she couldn't wait to open the envelope and look at the list of contestants. At first, she couldn't help but smile. "Very good. There are a few perverts who passed the assessment last year and the year before. Without these competitors, the competition will be based on qualifications, strength, and even background. Who can compare with me? My instructor will definitely be begging everyone to help me pass the exam this year. Isn't this invincible?! Who can beat me, who dares to beat me! Hahahaha, I succeeded this time, I definitely succeeded this time!"
Until her eyes fell on the last few lines of the list. "Upon the recommendation of Pomona Sprout, Char Sprout (11 years old) has been approved to participate in this examination." Such handwriting came into view. The round-faced girl's expression suddenly froze. Her fingers suddenly twisted together. "Little Sprout, Sprout's nephew? Broken. His background is better than mine!" There was no jealousy on her face, but instead, she was filled with envy. Compared to when she had just graduated and was full of energy, determined to make a name for herself in the academic world, after eight years of suffering, she had long since faced reality. She just hoped she could pass the test and get the official status of a herbalist to make a living. It would be such a wonderful thing if she could have a thigh as thick as his to hug. "There are only four spots left. There won't be any more accidents, right?"
Immediately, she looked at the name behind his again. "At the special invitation of the International Herbalist Association, Mr. Ed will also participate in this assessment." When she saw this name, her eyes widened, her face full of tears. "Ed? The Ed who just published a top journal, made outstanding contributions to the field of ancient plant cultivation, and received letters of congratulations from countless experts? He's going to take the test too? I want to compete with him for a spot in the same exam? Me? No, do I deserve it?"
Similar to her lament, this was also said by many herbalist apprentices who were about to take part in this assessment. After all, there was only one assessment every year, and only five people could obtain the official herbalist qualification at a time. The competition was already quite intense. If two places were directly locked in this year, for them, that would be hell-level difficulty. This made many of them look strange. Strange eyes fell on Char's name. No one could shake Ed's spot, but for Char, it was not impossible. After all, he was only eleven years old. And the paper he had published on the light spell system... many people also suspected that the main work had probably been done by Professor Sprout. Even with her recommendation, when the time came for the assessment, if he performed too badly, she would not be able to force him to pass. Perhaps they still had hope for his spot. If it were previous years, they certainly wouldn't have thought of doing that. But this year, the competition was too fierce. You could only pick the weak ones.
It was at this moment, inside a small, cramped house in Knockturn Alley, that the strong smell of blood mixed with some pungent herbal scent filled the room. A thin, pale hand with light blue veins clearly visible stretched out from under a cloak and opened the letter. After seeing that the examination location was changed from Paris to London, a soft exhalation sound came from beneath the cloak. "Very good. The research funds we got from Porgy Charman have been almost used up. My identity is shady, so I'm destined to be unable to get any research funding. I don't even dare let those herbalists know my last name. I was originally worried about how to get the money for the trip to Paris. Now, it's much easier."
Beneath the cloak, pale fingers tightly grasped the letter. It seemed that the wish of many years was about to come true. "Publishing that paper, overwhelmingly passing the association's assessment, winning the Youth Award, and becoming famous in the herbology community—all of this is just the beginning. One day, I will stand at the pinnacle of the herbology world, towering above all the so-called masters, washing away the shame and criticism my family has endured, and restoring my family's honor. The Robinses have been hiding from the wizarding world for too long. I've had enough of this. I want the Robinse family name to once again stand proudly in the world of herbology!"
Ed Robinse, under the cloak, was immersed in the intense emotions churning in his heart. As for the list of other people participating in the assessment mentioned on the letter, to him, it seemed like nothing was worth paying any attention to. It was when he saw the last name Sprout that his gaze lingered for a moment, but there was only a hint of irony beneath the cloak. "Sent here at the age of eleven to take the formal assessment. Oh. The Sprouts have also fallen." Immediately, his eyes were no longer focused on the assessment list. It was all garbage, nothing to focus on.
This was not an isolated case. At this moment, it seemed as if it was in a dark space underground. A strange hand entangled in blood-colored vines, its flesh and blood almost fused with them, also lived on this piece of letter paper. Dry fingers rubbed Ed's name over and over again. A hoarse, excited voice echoed in the darkness. "There's no doubt about it. The feeling that paper gave me... Ed—so what if you hid your last name? I know you must be from the Robinses family. Another gifted person from the Robinse family. Their rare talent, inherited in their blood, to cultivate magical herbs with flesh and blood, and can even have an effect on ancient plants—after hundreds of years, it has finally reappeared in the wizarding world."
The voice revealed obvious greed and desire. "Merlin is still kind to me after all. The last gifted person from the Robinse family gave me great fame and hundreds of years of immortality. And you will accomplish my great feat in herbology. Like Nicolas Flamel, achieve immortality!" Then, it seemed that because he was too excited, blood-red thorns sprouted from the vines, tearing the letter into pieces in the blink of an eye. Only the part with Ed's name was preserved intact. From beginning to end, this strange existence had never set its sights on anyone on the warning list except Ed, including Char. In his opinion, all of them put together were not as valuable as a single hair of Ed. The assessment after this change... he paid attention to nothing. The only one he was paying attention to was Ed. The upcoming herbalist examination, and the various arrangements that were different from the past, vaguely revealed the unusual and unpredictable situation behind it.
But now, Char knew nothing of this. After guessing that Ed was the wizard he was looking for, he took a deep breath. His mind gradually calmed down. In any case, there was still some time before the herbalist assessment. By then, he would naturally be able to see Ed's true face. Before that, there was still a lot of work waiting to be done. He couldn't let this incident delay other progress. Immediately, he temporarily put the matter of the assessment on his mind. His pace was not disrupted. Instead, he focused on his own affairs.
After a while, he watched the progress of various tasks in the small greenhouse and nodded with satisfaction. Everything was proceeding in an orderly manner. It was just a matter of time until completion. "There is only one thing that has not been figured out yet." A moment later, he took out the small box he had received from Nicolas Flamel. Once upon a time, it had contained the Philosopher's Stone. And now, what was contained inside was a shadow flower made entirely of shadow magic. He looked at the small box, especially the diamond-level reward light shining through it. A strange flash appeared in his eyes. He had previously felt that this was the special world that Nicolas Flamel had described where the shadow flower could be grown. It seemed possible that this was the world filled with shadow magic that he had entered through the Shadow Thorns. Just because of everything going on these days, he had never had time to verify it. But he had not forgotten this matter. After all, it was a diamond-level reward, and he hadn't received it many times yet. Each time, his strength had leaped forward. Moreover, the reward of this shadow flower was equivalent to a shadow magic affinity that could indirectly enhance his talent. For him, who had always suffered from poor magical talent, it was undoubtedly a timely help.
Now he finally had some free time. He took a deep breath. "Then this matter... it's about time."