HP: The Boy who Planted

The Pruning Spell had just been promoted to Gold Level.

This was now Char's second gold-level spell—a milestone that filled him with a quiet pride. The magic effect of using the Shadowless Spell to enhance the Pruning Spell was remarkable. Char even wondered if, at this rate, the Pruning Charm might reach platinum level almost as soon as the Luminescent Charm.

Ironically, the first spell he ever learned—the Soil Loosening Charm—was now lagging behind. It was still some distance from gold level.

"I'll have to pay more attention to the Loosening Spell next time," Char thought as he walked. "After all, it's crucial for planting guardian tree seeds. Only at gold level will it stop being a bottleneck for the next stage."

He let those thoughts drift away and focused on the newly upgraded Pruning Spell. "It just so happens I don't have classes this morning. Perfect time to see if the Pruning Spell has any new qualitative changes."

With that, Char made his way through the castle corridors toward the greenhouse. Along the way, he passed students with dark circles under their eyes—clearly, the excitement of Halloween had kept many up late. Even Cedric, a third-year who'd seen several Halloweens at Hogwarts, looked sleepy as he chatted with friends about the upcoming feast.

"I heard the kitchens have created special Halloween-themed dishes," Cedric was saying. "I bet they're amazing. And you'll never guess what I'm wearing tonight…"

Spotting Char, Cedric waved him over. "Char, no classes for first-years this morning. Where are you off to?"

Char smiled, "I'm going to check on the greenhouse."

After a few friendly words, Char continued on his way. Cedric watched him go, admiration in his eyes. "He's really going to the greenhouse at a time like this? He works so hard."

Char, for his part, didn't think much of it. In his previous life, working overtime before a holiday was nothing unusual. "If anything, these little wizards are too well protected," he thought with a wry smile. "If they'd ever experienced a holiday schedule adjustment, they wouldn't make such a fuss."

Soon, he arrived at the greenhouse. Even here, pumpkins and bats adorned the space for Halloween. The place was empty, making it the perfect time to test his upgraded Pruning Spell.

"Arbor-Siccus!" Char intoned.

A sharp surge of magic shot from his wand, leaving a deep mark on a thick tree trunk. Milky, viscous liquid immediately oozed from the cut and dripped into a special container below.

Char's eyes lit up with satisfaction. This was a Kara Tree, cultivated by Professor Sprout for the Halloween feast. The plant constantly produced a sticky, milk-like liquid from its stems, a key ingredient in many wizarding desserts. If too much of the liquid built up, it would hinder the tree's growth, so the Kara Tree needed to be scored with a Pruning Spell every day.

But the Kara Tree's trunk was notoriously tough. Char had tried before—even with a silver-level Pruning Spell, he could only scratch the bark, needing five or six attempts to get the liquid flowing. Now, with the gold-level Pruning Spell, one stroke was as effective as dozens before.

Feeling the improvement, Char was deeply satisfied. Most of the magical plants he'd grown so far—goldfish spider plants, fluorescent mushrooms—were small or soft. But the more powerful magical plants tended to be trees, often with strong magic resistance. Without a high-level Pruning Spell, just maintaining them would be a nightmare.

He continued experimenting, and his satisfaction only grew. "The success rate of cuttings has also increased," he noted. "With silver-level, I barely reached 10% for successful transplants. Now, just after the promotion, I'm already at almost 12%. That means more rewards in the long run."

But then Char frowned. Was it just his imagination, or had the Pruning Spell gained some mysterious new effect thanks to all the practice with the Divine Edge Shadowless Spell? He was happy with the spell's performance, but he couldn't shake the feeling that something extra was hidden beneath the surface.

He spent the rest of the morning in the greenhouse, repeating the Pruning Spell, trying to tease out this special effect. But by evening, he still hadn't figured it out.

"Maybe the effect is too subtle," he thought, glancing at the darkening sky. "Or maybe the trigger conditions are just too strict. No matter—if it's real, I'll discover it eventually. No need to rush."

With that, Char left the greenhouse and returned to the castle. His first stop was to check on Hermione.

He found Hannah Abbott, sporting a pair of enchanted rabbit ears, who was still indignant about the morning's events. "Ron Weasley is just awful! Hermione was only trying to help him, and he said those things behind her back. She's been crying in the girls' room all morning and wouldn't let anyone comfort her. It wasn't until noon that she came to our Hufflepuff common room, and she's still crying there."

Char breathed a sigh of relief. Hermione was in the Hufflepuff common room, not the girls' bathroom. According to the original story, that meant she wouldn't run into the troll tonight. That was enough—he and the others had repaid Hermione's favor.

As for the troll incident, Char had no intention of getting involved. With Dumbledore and the professors around, what could possibly go wrong? Let Harry and Ron have their adventure—he was just a boy who liked to plant trees. Adventure was for someone else.

Content, Char returned to the common room and settled into a cozy sofa. Not far away, Hermione was curled up by the fire, still sniffling from time to time. As night fell, the other students donned their costumes and headed to the Halloween party, leaving only Char and Hermione in the lounge.

Suddenly, Hermione looked up and managed a grateful smile. "Thank you for staying with me, Char. I'm much better now. Why don't you go to the Halloween dinner? It's already started—you'll miss all the fun. Once I'm done packing, I'll be there soon."

Char shook his head, about to reply, when a commotion erupted in the corridor. Students came running in, pale and panicked. Char knew immediately what had happened. Just like in the original novel, Quirrell had unleashed a troll in the castle to distract the professors from the Philosopher's Stone.

But this time, Hermione hadn't been lured into danger. The famous "iron triangle" of Harry, Ron, and Hermione might take longer to form than in the original story.

As Char listened, the younger students began to chatter nervously about the troll. "I heard the Weasley twins say trolls grind people up and eat them!" "They like to eat little kids best!" "They can use stealth spells and sneak into the common room!"

Hermione shook her head, exasperated. "No, no, don't believe Fred and George—they're always making things up. Trolls are dangerous, but not as evil as they say. They eat anything, but only a few eat people. And they don't have magical abilities—their danger is their strength and magic resistance. But don't worry, there's something in the castle that attracts trolls. They'll be looking for that—not for us."

The kids stared at her, wide-eyed. "What is it?"

Hermione's scholarly instincts kicked in. "You'll never guess—it's the goldfish spider plant. It's the raw ingredient for memory potion. Trolls are stupid, but they seem to know the plant is good for them. The mature goldfish spider plant has a fatal attraction for trolls. I remember the castle's plants are about to mature, so the troll will go straight for them. It won't hurt anyone."

The kids sighed in relief. But on the sofa, Char suddenly froze. "???"

He hadn't seen that twist coming.

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