save the bachelors

Chapter 4112 4114 [Mandra Grass]

The next day, the new semester officially began.

In the morning, while everyone was having lunch, they received the class schedule issued by the school.

I can see that the academic work in the second grade has changed a lot compared to the first grade.

First, flying classes were cancelled. Hogwarts' flying classes are like driving schools in the Muggle world, where students only need to learn basic operations. As for improving flying skills and flying faster and better, it is not the school's business, but students need to practice on their own.

Second, one more class was added to each of the Charms, Transfiguration, Potions, and Defense Against the Dark Arts classes. As a result, the workload increased by nearly 30%.

"I have to have Herbology and History of Magic in the morning, oh my god~" Fatty Joey couldn't help but complain.

"Don't scream, Herbology is not bad." Xiang Nan said with a smile, "After that, you can catch up on your sleep during History of Magic."

If he remembered correctly, he started learning about Mandrake in the second grade. And Mandrake was a must for practicing Animagus.

According to the books Xiang Nan had read, to practice Animagus, one had to hold a piece of Mandrake in one's mouth on a full moon day for a whole month without spitting it out or swallowing it.

Then, on a clear full-moon night, place it in a small glass bottle along with the pupa of the hawk moth, add a strand of hair and a teaspoon of dew, and place it in a quiet, dark room.

Then, recite the spell every morning and evening, wait for the storm to come, take the potion, and you can try the Animagus transformation.

Of course, there are many conditions involved. If one condition is not met, you may have to start all over again.

For example, a silver teaspoon of dew needs to be collected from a place without sunlight or human presence for seven consecutive days; after the potion is prepared, it must not be taken out for inspection before taking it, and it must not be exposed to sunlight...

Therefore, it is still quite difficult to become an Animagus. Therefore, since the 20th century, there have only been seven legally registered Animagus in the UK.

Of course, there are also unregistered Animagus, but the number is still not very large. It is good enough to have one trained in a hundred people at most.

……

The reason why Xiang Nan wanted to become an Animagus was because Animagus was better at concealment. When Animagus transformed, it would turn the wizard into an animal, but an animal that retained its sanity and memory.

Unlike animals transformed by Transfiguration, those are truly animals, without reason and memory, unless they are restored by Restoration.

By transforming into small animals with reason and memory, such as mice, beetles, geckos, poisonous snakes, birds, etc., they will not attract other people's attention. Then they can freely enter and exit many places and spy on many secrets that are not easy to be detected.

For example, Rita Skeeter can turn into a little beetle and spy on other people's privacy without being noticed. If it weren't for Hermione's cleverness, her secret would be difficult to be discovered.

Second, after becoming an Animagus, he has an extra means of survival. In critical moments, he can turn into a small animal and escape. As long as no one knows his Animagus form, it is easy to escape.

For example, after Sirius turned into a big dog, he successfully evaded the Ministry of Magic's arrest many times; after Peter Pettigrew turned into a mouse, he also successfully concealed his identity...

Xiang Nan will have to fight against Voldemort in the future, so more ways to save his life are never too many. Therefore, he not only needs to become an Animagus, but also an Animagus that can change into multiple forms.

……

At nine o'clock in the morning, the students from Ravenclaw and Gryffindor gathered in the No. 3 warming shed.

Professor Sprout was standing behind a stool in the middle of the greenhouse, on which lay about twenty pairs of earmuffs of various colors.

"We are going to repot the mandrake today. Now, who can tell me what the properties of the mandrake are?" the professor asked. Lily was the first to raise her hand.

No one was surprised by this.

Lily's grades have always been very good. In the entire grade, she and Xiang Nan are the most hardworking.

As long as Lily is around, Xiang Nan never likes to be in the spotlight.

"Mandra, also known as Mandrake root, is a powerful restorative agent," Lily said very naturally, as if she had swallowed the textbook. "It is used to restore people who have been deformed or cursed to their original shape."

"Excellent, ten points to Gryffindor," said Professor Sprout. "Mandra is an essential component of most antidotes. But it is also dangerous. Can anyone tell me why?"

"Hearing the cry of a mandrake can kill a person," Lily blurted out again.

"Absolutely right, ten points more," said Professor Sprout. "Look, the mandrakes here are still very young."

She pointed to a row of deep-bottomed plates. Everyone leaned forward to get a better look. There were about a hundred green and purple seedlings lined up there.

"Everyone get a pair of earmuffs," said Professor Sprout.

There was a scramble among the people, no one wanted to get a pair of pink fluffy earmuffs.

"When I tell you to put on your earmuffs, make sure they cover your ears tightly," Professor Sprout said. "I'll give you two thumbs up when it's safe to take them off. OK...put on your earmuffs."

Everyone quickly followed suit and put on their earmuffs.

Professor Sprout also put on a pair of pink fluffy earmuffs, then rolled up his sleeves, grabbed a clump of grass firmly, and pulled it up with all his strength.

When everyone saw it, they screamed.

For what was pulled out of the soil was not a root, but a very ugly baby, with leaves growing on his head. His skin was a light green with spots all over it.

The little guy opened his mouth wide, with a ferocious expression, and was obviously yelling at the top of his lungs. Although everyone was wearing earmuffs, it was not difficult to imagine how piercing his screams were.

Professor Sprout pulled a large flowerpot from under the table and stuffed the mandrake doll into it, then covered him up with damp dark compost until only the clumps of leaves were visible.

She brushed the mud off her hands, gave them two thumbs up, and took off her earmuffs.

"Our mandrakes are only young plants, and hearing their cries won't kill you," she said calmly, as if she had just watered the begonias. "But they can knock you out for a few hours, and I don't think any of you want to miss the first day of school, so make sure you wear earmuffs when you work. I'll try to get your attention when it's time to pack up."

"Four to a plate...lots of pots here...the compost's in the bag over there...watch out for the poisonous tentacles, they're teething." She slapped a thorny crimson plant, causing it to retract its tentacles as they crept toward her shoulder.

……

Everyone immediately started to get busy.

This job seems simple, but it is actually not easy to do.

Because the mandrakes didn't want to be pulled out of the soil, but they didn't seem to want to go back in. They twisted their bodies, kicked their feet, waved their pointed fists, and gnashed their teeth.

So except Xiang Nan, everyone was exhausted and sweating.