Daniel continued on his journey. After crossing a hill, he saw a small town—Longbottom. The Hobbits in the Southfarthing of the Shire were best known for growing pipe-weed, and Longbottom was particularly notable as the center for tobacco cultivation and trade in the entire Shire. Longbottom leaf was sold far and wide, favored by Dwarves, Rangers, and travelers alike. The grey Wizard Gandalf, for instance, was a loyal enthusiast, never seen without a pipe in hand.
The Hobbits of Longbottom were even more leisurely than those in Hobbiton. Passing by houses, Daniel saw Hobbits lounging, smoking pipes, and sunbathing. Even women puffed smoke from pipes. Seeing Daniel, a stranger who was clearly not a Hobbit, they merely looked at him with curiosity, without any intention of further inquiry or questioning.
He drove his carriage into the town, and upon arriving at the town square, the System reacted.
"Hogwarts Sign-in System: Location Shire - Longbottom, do you wish to sign in?"
"Sign in!"
"Sign-in successful! Congratulations on receiving the first-year Herbology textbook, 'One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi'!"
Daniel was momentarily stunned, not expecting the sign-in reward to be a Herbology textbook. This left him a bit disappointed. After all, Herbology primarily taught how to recognize and cultivate magical herbs, which couldn't directly enhance his strength. More importantly, this was Herbology knowledge from the Harry Potter world, and many magical herbs were unique to it. Daniel was skeptical about whether they could be found in Middle-earth.
However, as he opened the Herbology textbook, his eyes lit up. Herbology, a compulsory course at Hogwarts, involved the study of magical and ordinary plants and fungi. Students learned how to care for and utilize plants, understanding their magical properties and applications—a discipline closely related to Potions.
Daniel had originally thought 'One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi' was merely a science book introducing magical plants. But to his surprise, besides introducing magical plants and how to care for them, the book also contained methods for cultivating ordinary plants into magical ones.
For example, the Dittany, commonly used in the magical world, was extracted from the White Fresh plant. It could quickly heal wounds and was a common household potion. When Ron experienced Splinching during Apparition, Hermione used Dittany to heal him. The White Fresh plant was not rare; it was common in the Muggle world and used for medicinal purposes. The Dittany in the magical world had its miraculous healing effects because Wizards could cultivate ordinary White Fresh plants into materials with magical properties.
Moreover, most magical herbs in the magical world could find corresponding plants in the ordinary world; the only difference was whether they possessed magical properties, which required cultivation based on Herbology knowledge. According to the book, the growth of magical plants could be natural or artificially cultivated.
Natural magical plants generally grew in places rich in magical energy, like the Forbidden Forest at Hogwarts. Artificial cultivation was divided into several types. The simplest was to collect the feces of magical creatures like Dragons and Mooncalves. Ordinary plants that absorbed these feces had a high chance of transforming into magical plants.
Secondly, cultivation with Potions was faster and had a higher transformation rate, though it required knowing how to make Potions and considering their cost. The third method was for Wizards to cultivate them by watering with magic. However, this method was time-consuming, laborious, and had low yields, so few Wizards would expend a large amount of magic just to cultivate a few plants. Therefore, this method was largely abandoned by the magical world.
But for Daniel, this third method was the most suitable. After all, if he wanted to make Potions in the future, he would inevitably need magical herbs.
Originally, Daniel planned to leave Longbottom after signing in, but the appearance of Herbology made him change his mind. Longbottom not only excelled in growing pipe-weed but also had a very developed tobacco trade. Daniel went into a tobacco shop and specifically bought a large pack of "Longbottom Leaf" tobacco, Bilbo's favorite.
"Boss, do you know where I can buy living White Fresh plants?" Daniel asked the shop owner casually.
"What do you want White Fresh for? Nobody even wants that stuff as a gift," the boss looked at him strangely, but adhering to the business principle of customer first, he still offered guidance. "If you really want it, you can totally go look in the shaded valleys of the eastern hills; that plant is everywhere there."
"I understand, thank you for the information."
...
When Daniel left Longbottom, his carriage had an extra pack of tobacco and two pots of White Fresh. The White Fresh was still in its sprouting stage, looking a bit wilted because it had just been transplanted from the mountains.
Next, Daniel's destination was Bywater, located in the Eastfarthing of the Shire. Bywater was close to the East-West Road, right next to the Brandywine River, and quite a distance away. So, Daniel spent his first night camping in the wild.
At midnight, the moon reached its highest point. Bathed in moonlight, Daniel gently pinched a tender White Fresh sprout and continuously poured his magic into it. According to the cultivation method in the Herbology textbook, he needed to water the White Fresh with magic every midnight when the moonlight was brightest until the White Fresh was fully mature, only then could the Dittany be extracted and made. This was also the only Potion that could be made without a wand and a cauldron.
Having received Daniel's magic, the White Fresh seemed to regain some vitality, no longer in a wilted state. However, Daniel knew this was just the beginning. For the next few months, he would need to water the White Fresh with magic every night during the moonlit hours until it completely transformed and matured.
No wonder people in the magical world had given up on this cultivation method; compared to cultivation with magical creature feces and Potion cultivation, this method was indeed time-consuming and laborious, with little reward. For magic families specializing in growing magical herbs, their cultivated herbs were measured by the acre. If they were to water them with magic, even if they drained all their magic, they couldn't cultivate so many herbs.
The carriage traveled all night, finally reaching Bywater at dawn. Bywater was adjacent to the Brandywine River, with convenient water transport, even having a dock where one could take a boat to Buckland on the opposite bank.
Tired from traveling all night, Daniel went directly to the Floating Log Inn to check in. The inn, as its name suggested, was a floating establishment on the water, a landmark building in Bywater.
"Hogwarts Sign-in System: Location Shire - Bywater - Floating Log Inn, do you wish to sign in?"
"Sign in," Daniel said silently, placing the two pots of White Fresh on the windowsill of his room.
"Sign-in successful! Congratulations on receiving the first-year Potions textbook, 'Magical Drafts and Potions'!"
Daniel opened the Potions book, glanced at it, and then closed it again. While not exactly disappointed, he currently had no use for the Potions textbook. Besides requiring ingredients, the most crucial step in Potion making was the need for a wand to stir, only then could the final product be achieved. This was why, using the same ingredients, Wizards could create miraculous Potions, but Muggles would only end up with a murky, foul-smelling, and poisonous unknown liquid.
Therefore, if Daniel wanted to make Potions, he first needed a wand. But a wand was also far from what Daniel could pursue right now. He didn't think that simply putting a snake's nerve into a piece of wood would result in a wand. Otherwise, why would the Ollivander family be able to monopolize the wand-making business in Britain's magical world for a thousand years?