After Charms class came Herbology. Charles and his classmates made their way out of the castle to the first greenhouse.
While giving out the usual safety instructions, Professor Sprout gave Seamus a particularly pointed look before saying—rather deliberately, it seemed—"There's no need for wands in today's lesson. Please keep them put away and do not take them out unless instructed."
Clearly, Seamus's "performance" in Charms had already made the rounds among the staff. Sprout probably even knew about the incident last night when he blew up his own bedclothes.
The greenhouse was full of delicate little magical plants and flowers—many of which also played a vital role in keeping Hogwarts funded. One accidental explosion, and the damage could be expensive.
The first Herbology lesson was just an introduction to the various magical plants they'd be studying that year. Names, appearances, general properties—that sort of thing. Actual planting and cultivation would come next lesson.
"Mr. Potter," Professor Sprout said suddenly, "you seem quite fond of burnet-saxifrage, aren't you?"
The class had just been listening to her talk about the Devil's Snare, and now all eyes followed hers to Harry—who was bent over a leafy green plant, so close that his glasses were practically brushing the leaves.
"Ah—!" Harry jumped, realizing everyone was staring. "Sorry, I just thought it looked familiar. I think I saw something like it in Charles's garden. Smells the same, too—not sure if it tastes the same, though…"
Charles chimed in, putting on an exaggerated thoughtful face. "I thought it looked familiar too. Someone gave it to my grandfather once. Said if you mash it up and put it on wounds, it heals really quickly. You can even eat it raw. We planted some in our garden—but the fertilizer smells awful."
Professor Sprout sighed. "Honestly… Another wizard handing out magical herbs to Muggles. Good thing it was only burnet-saxifrage and not something more dangerous."
Then her tone sharpened. "Let me remind all of you: under no circumstances should you give magical plants or potions to non-magical people. The consequences can be extremely serious!"
"For example, the Devil's Snare I just mentioned—it's easily mistaken for the Tickle Vine, which wiggles its leaves in a similar way. But there have been numerous cases where a well-meaning wizard gave someone Devil's Snare… with fatal results."
She then stepped beside the burnet-saxifrage. "This is the plant I was going to introduce later today, but since Mr. Potter brought it up, let's do it now."
"Burnet-saxifrage is widespread—even some magical creatures chew it up and apply it to their wounds."
"But wild ones are spindly and not very potent. To grow strong and effective plants, you need to fertilize them with dragon dung or mooncalf manure."
"It helps wounds heal quickly—especially the extracted essential oil, which Professor Snape will cover in Potions this year. It can treat serious injuries without leaving scars. Eaten raw, it still works, though mostly for minor cuts and scrapes."
Harry had a look of sudden understanding—so that's why Mr. Smith always made me eat that weird salad whenever I got hurt… and it always worked after a nap.
After class, Charles approached Professor Sprout with a question she wasn't expecting.
"I saw a patch of overgrown weeds south of the greenhouse," he said. "Would it be alright if I cleared it and tried growing some burnet-saxifrage there?"
Professor Sprout gave him a curious smile. "Are you interested in Herbology?"
"I've always liked growing things," Charles replied.
She chuckled. "Well, if you clear that patch, I think Professor Dumbledore himself might come out and thump you on the head."
Charles blinked. "…Wait—is it not just weeds?"
Her grin widened. "That's right. If you can correctly identify every magical plant outside the greenhouse, and find an actual patch of unused land, I'll approve it. You'll even be allowed to use the fertilizers here."
Charles agreed immediately, eager and determined. He started by walking around the entire greenhouse, noting down every plant he could find.
That afternoon, they only had one more class—History of Magic. During lunch, Charles asked Percy about any good Herbology reference books, and after eating, he raced to the library and borrowed two.
History of Magic? That could wait. His head—and his desk—were now entirely filled with Herbology.
Plants that could be grown outside the greenhouses were generally safe and non-dangerous, which narrowed Charles's search considerably—and he was soon rewarded.
One plant he'd initially mistaken for a weed turned out to be Longroot Yellowbean. Aboveground it looked utterly unremarkable, but underground, its thick main root could grow longer than a meter.
The juice extracted from its root system was a key ingredient in potions used to treat infections and abscesses. The longer it grew, the more potent it became. Judging by their size, some of the plants outside the greenhouse might've been older than Harry and Ron combined.
Many other herbs also used their roots for their medicinal properties. The next page in the book described another herb grown outside the greenhouses called Purpleflower Groundgrape, whose underground roots resembled plump little grapes clustered together.
It was a powerful laxative—when sliced, dried, and ground into powder, it could relieve constipation. It was also used as a supplementary ingredient in potions for treating intestinal parasites.
That evening, Charles was back in the Gryffindor common room, hunched over a table, studying with the same focus as always.
He'd drawn up a detailed map of the area outside the greenhouse, neatly labeling each plant he'd found.
The Weasley twins had originally come over to rope him into experimenting with a new trick bag idea, but seeing how intently Charles was working, they decided not to interrupt and instead sat down nearby to wait.
Charles had managed to identify half the plants from the two reference books he'd borrowed. Setting his quill aside, he gave a long stretch and decided he'd swap them out for two more tomorrow.
Just then, a glass of pumpkin juice was placed in front of him. Fred leaned in, eyes twinkling with mischief. "What's this then—are you planning a midnight herb heist?"
George added, "All the good stuff's inside the greenhouse, you know."
Clearly, these two had made more than a few unauthorized trips in there.
Charles took a sip of the juice and told them about his idea—he wanted to clear a bit of land to grow magical herbs on his own.
Fred tilted his head, puzzled. "What gave you that idea?"
Putting down the empty glass, Charles replied, "I just think growing magical plants sounds fun."
He wasn't about to tell them his real reason—that if the sky ever fell, Harry would be the one holding it up, and he'd need something to do in the meantime… like gardening.
Fred and George exchanged a quick look, then said, one after the other:
"Want to grow something valuable?"
"We could help."
Charles shook his head with a chuckle. He was only doing this for fun. He figured he'd pick plants that were pretty and not too difficult to grow.
If he was doing it for profit, he'd be talking to Dumbledore about leasing land, bringing in a hand-crank tractor, and planting whatever fetched the highest price.
Hogwarts didn't allow electric devices, but a fully mechanical walk-behind tractor might be fair game, right?
Worst case, he could just wait for the Weasleys' flying car to show up again and turn that into a plough.
And if that didn't work out… well, there was always Seamus.
Just then, Percy approached. "Professor Dumbledore would like to see you."
(End of Chapter)