Ciel looked at the tiny ball of light floating in front of him.
[Comprehension of Defense Against the Dark Arts (Iron Level)]
The seeds had only just sprouted, so technically, they hadn't been planted successfully. Compared to the rewards that would come with full maturity, this progress was minimal.
Still, it didn't affect Charles' joy.
After all, a Guardian Tree was not like Piranha Algae. The main challenge with the latter was that it required the Light of Time spell. And even then, one had to discover the exact light range the algae preferred. Once those conditions were met, the difficulty dropped significantly.
But growing a Guardian Tree? Every step required a strong foundation.
Successfully completing the seed-processing stage was already proof that Charles had reached a new level in Herbology.
Though there was still a long road ahead before he could say he'd cultivated a Guardian Tree, at the very least, he was now on the right path.
That thought brought a hint of regret to Charles."Unfortunately, going from seed germination to actual planting is a tough hurdle," he muttered.
"Even just loosening the soil properly has incredibly high requirements."
"I estimate that you'd need at least a Gold-Level Soil-Loosening Spell for a 100% success rate. Same for the Pruning Charm."Ciel shook his head.
No wonder Professor Sprout called the Guardian Tree the first real milestone every herbalist must cross. Magical perception, proficiency in essential spells—none of it could be skipped.
To cultivate a Guardian Tree successfully meant your foundational herbology skills had reached a certain height. From there, growing ordinary magical herbs would be practically effortless."I'm still a long way off," Charles admitted to himself.
"I need to keep improving my magical perception and spell mastery."
"Especially my Soil-Loosening and Pruning spells. I have to get them both to gold level soon if I want to move to the next stage of planting the Guardian Tree."He looked at the rooted Guardian Tree seeds nestled in the reagent bottle in his hand."Before I move on… I should ask Aunt to seal the seeds at this stage. That would preserve them."
"Also… I still haven't told her about the Light Spell's effect on the Goldfish Spider Plant, or the mutation it caused in the Man-Eating Algae."With that, Charles carried the seed sample and walked briskly toward the Hufflepuff Head of House's Office.
Professor Sprout was surprised to see Ciel arriving at that moment.
After all, when he wasn't in class, the boy practically lived in the greenhouse. He was rarely seen in the castle corridors.
This kid works too hard, Sprout mused.
If not for the fact that the other Hufflepuffs were very supportive of him, and that he got along well with students like Cedric during Quidditch practice, she might've been concerned about his social life.
Then her gaze landed on the reagent bottle in Ciel's hands.
Inside was a clear solution that had lost its magical glow. And at the bottom—seeds of the Guardian Tree with tiny roots extending.
They've taken root?! Has he really processed the seeds successfully?!
Professor Sprout stood up abruptly. Her chair fell back with a loud crash, but she didn't seem to notice.
Her voice trembled slightly with excitement."C-Ciel… y-you did this?!"Charles nodded, his voice calm but proud."I was feeling pretty good today, so I gave it a shot. I didn't expect to succeed on my first real try."Before he could even finish speaking, Professor Sprout snatched the reagent bottle from his hands like it was the most precious artifact in the world.
She looked at it with sparkling eyes, more reverently than she had ever looked at her own academic achievements.
One and a half months into school—and Ciel had already completed the first major step in cultivating a Guardian Tree.
How long had it taken her when she was a student?
She recalled that she didn't even become interested in herbology until her second year. Even then, it took her over two months just to complete this stage.
And that had already been considered fast!
Charles had completely outpaced her.
But there was no jealousy. Only joy.
This meant one thing: Charles had a unique talent for herbology.
A rare, natural gift.
The Sprout family's child might one day become a true master of the field!
Still admiring the rooted seeds like priceless gems, Professor Sprout heard Charles continue."I've managed this step, but I'm unsure about what comes next. Could you help me seal the seeds temporarily with a preservation potion?"That request was perfectly normal. Sealing Guardian Tree seeds during the planting process was standard practice.
But then Charles added something else."Also… Aunt, I have something important to tell you."She blinked, confused.
What could possibly be more important than successfully cultivating Guardian Tree seeds?
Then Charles began to explain his discovery regarding the Light Spell—a modified version of the common Lumos charm.
At first, Professor Sprout didn't quite understand why he cared so much about such a trivial spell. But then he described how the Goldfish Spider Plant grew significantly better under a specific blue-violet light frequency emitted by the spell.
A jolt of realization shot through her.
The magical herbology community had studied the Goldfish Spider Plant extensively—but this?
This was new. Groundbreaking.
A growth-stimulating light spectrum? No one had thought of that.
A whole new research direction. A completely unexplored angle.
If this was written up into a paper and published?
It would explode.
Professor Sprout was practically trembling.
She'd already published dozens of high-level papers. She didn't need more for her reputation. But for Charles?
This was everything."This frequency-based light spell… it could revolutionize magical botany," she whispered.
"If it affects the Goldfish Spider Plant, it may affect many others. We might be looking at dozens of top-tier papers from just this research direction alone."Suddenly energized, she looked at Charles with new determination."Don't tell anyone about this yet," she instructed.
"The light frequency spell's effect on Goldfish Spider Plants is already enough to make headlines. If we rush and someone else goes further first, our contribution could get buried."
"Let me do more testing—maybe even find another magical plant that mutates under the Light of Life spell."
"If I can manage that before the school year ends…"She clenched her fist."Then anyone doing similar research in the future will have to cite your paper. That would cement your contribution permanently."Then, she added with a smile:"With this kind of achievement, it'll be easy to get you another experimental plot. Maybe even two."Charles's eyes lit up instantly."Aunt… you mean I can get two more plots?"Professor Sprout nodded with complete certainty."Of course. Our experimental fields are limited, but they're reserved for students with real potential. Giving you more space to work would benefit Hogwarts as a whole."Ciel's heart skipped a beat.
One more experimental field would allow him to plant an entirely new herb—or even double an existing plantation.
Suddenly, he stopped holding back."Actually, Aunt… I haven't finished explaining the Light Spell results."He paused."The miraculous transformation you were just talking about… I've already done it."Professor Sprout froze mid-step, staring blankly at her nephew."...Ah?"
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