Since it was the first lesson for the new students, Professor Sprout didn't have the students perform any practical tasks but started with teaching them the theoretical knowledge.
Professor Sprout was very gentle, perhaps all Herbology professors at Hogwarts were this gentle, as she softly encouraged and guided Neville when he couldn't answer a question.
Seamus secretly practiced the Transformation Spell during class and succeeded, though on his last attempt, he accidentally blew up a pot of Baboo Bulb. Fortunately, Harry reacted quickly and turned Seamus's scarf into an umbrella to shield against the splattered pus.
"Very good Transformation Spell, five points to Gryffindor!" Professor Sprout said loudly, but then she gave Seamus a severe scolding.
While Seamus was feeling downcast, Professor Sprout unexpectedly took out a small cake from somewhere and handed it to him.
With his head lowered, Seamus earnestly promised Professor Sprout that he would never cause trouble in Herbology class again.
Professor Sprout forgave him and deducted one point from Gryffindor as punishment.
After class, Harry didn't hurry to leave but stayed in the greenhouse.
"Mr. Potter?" Professor Sprout noticed Harry, who hadn't left. "Do you need something?"
"Well, Professor," Harry organized his thoughts, then said, "I read about Chinese Biting Kale in a book and I'm quite interested in it, so I wanted to ask if you have any mature Biting Kale here."
"Chinese Biting Kale is a very dangerous plant." Professor Sprout didn't directly refuse Harry but said tactfully, "I think a young wizard like you might not be suitable for cultivating such dangerous plants. You should take a look at a real Biting Kale; maybe you'll change your mind. Follow me."
Ron and Neville exchanged a look and decided to follow along, as did Hermione.
Seamus, holding the small cake, left first, feeling a little embarrassed to face Professor Sprout again—after all, he had blown up a Baboo Bulb.
The four followed Professor Sprout up to the second floor of the greenhouse, bypassed a cluster of trees, and came to a workbench.
On that workbench, there were six Biting Kales with open wide mouths, wriggling their bodies constantly.
"Look, this is Biting Kale," Professor Sprout introduced it to the four. "The kale in 'Thousand Magical Herbs and Mushrooms' is nothing compared to the real one."
As she spoke, Professor Sprout picked up a stick and placed it in front of one of the kales.
The kale wiggled its round body and chomped down on the stick with a bite.
The stick let out a crisp shriek and was bitten in half by the kale.
"Such a bad temper," Hermione frowned, "Harry, I think this isn't something we can cultivate at our current level—"
Before she finished speaking, she saw Harry extend his magic wand, swiftly pointing it behind the kale.
Then, Harry reached out his hand towards the kale.
"Harry!" she and Ron shouted together, "Take your hand back!"
But to their surprise, the kale rubbed against Harry's hand like a small dog.
"I think it actually has a pretty good temperament, do you want to try?" Harry raised an eyebrow and asked.
Ron clearly looked tempted and reached out his hand as well, but the kale turned towards him with a menacing grin.
"Maybe not," Ron quickly withdrew his hand.
Kale, huh...
Harry patted the kale's body, nostalgic for the Chinese dish "Explosive Kale" made by Professor Hao Ying.
"Truly amazing," Professor Sprout showed an expression of discovering a new continent, "I didn't expect a young wizard your age to know so much about plants. If it were in class, I would definitely add five points to Gryffindor."
Finally, Professor Sprout said, "If you like, I'll give you a smaller one with less harmfulness—but just don't throw it at your classmates' faces, understood?"
"Thank you, Professor, I won't do that," Harry replied obediently.
Professor Sprout smiled at those green eyes.
This child... really resembles Lily.
Harry left the greenhouse contentedly, holding a pot of kale with a not-so-big mouth under Hermione's worried gaze.
"I hope it won't bite Banban," Ron muttered, deciding in his heart that both he and Banban should keep away from this kale.
Neville, on the other hand, was quite attentive to the pot of kale, fertilizing and watering it whenever he had time and asking Harry for advice on Herbology.
Harry patiently answered all his questions, as they were roommates in the same dormitory, there was no need to keep secrets.
Of all the Hogwarts courses, the one Harry was most familiar with was Professor Bin's History of Magic.
Professor Bin was a ghost, reportedly having fallen asleep in front of the fire in the staff room, and the next morning, he went to class forgetting to bring his body—yes, he muddled his way into becoming a ghost.
During class, Professor Bin droned on in a monotonous tone, and Harry couldn't help feeling sleepy.
So nostalgic, this is the feeling.
Harry's eyes became moist.
The professor teaching Charms was an extraordinarily small wizard named Flitwick. During class, he had to stand on a stack of books to reach the lectern.
When he began the first class and took out the register to call names, he screamed excitedly when he called Harry's name and flipped backward out of the students' sight.
In the first class, Professor Flitwick only taught the Fluorescent Flickering spell, a simple spell that most students could perform successfully. However, due to Harry's beacon-like Fluorescent Flickering, Professor Flitwick gladly added five points to Gryffindor.
What truly disappointed Harry was Defense Against the Dark Arts class.
In fact, this class disappointed all the students because Professor Quirrell only stammered through recounting his disastrous adventure experiences, not to mention that the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom was filled with a strong garlic smell.
According to Professor Quirrell, the garlic was to ward off vampires, but the students suggested differently, implying that using silver might be more effective than garlic.
To avoid further questioning from the students, Professor Quirrell chose to teach them a minor curse—the Leg-Locking Curse.
This indeed captured the students' attention, and they no longer fussed over the garlic odor from Professor Quirrell, but instead eagerly wanted to learn this minor curse.