The morning sunlight stread down. In the greenhouse, Ciel looked at the platinum-level Pruning Charm on the system panel. He let out a long breath.
After the platinum-level Lumos Charm, this was his second platinum-level spell! His eyes also showed anticipation. After the Lumos Charm's qualitative change, he was able to sense countless microscopic magical particles within the spell. This gave him a direction for further developing the Lumos Charm. Perhaps it could make the spell exhibit laser-like properties.
He wondered what kind of qualitative change would occur after the Pruning Charm advanced?
Imdiately, Ciel gripped his wand tightly and waved it gently. "Arbor Siccus!"
Then sharp, invisible magical power shot forth from his wand tip, once again falling toward the Devil's Snare roots. The mont the Pruning Charm acted on the roots, the strange feedback suddenly made Ciel's eyes widen.
"Hmm?"
At the sa ti, Professor Sprout was also awakened from her sleep by the gentle morning light. After drinking a cup of calming herbal tea, the fatigue from working herself to the bone on papers recently finally slowly drained from her body. But for so reason, Professor Sprout felt vaguely uneasy, as if sothing was happening.
At this ti, a mail owl flapped its wings, delivering today's Daily Prophet.
Professor Sprout was initially absent-minded, just glancing at it unconsciously. But the next mont, her gaze suddenly beca sharp. Her usually gentle expression seed to be brewing a storm.
Because on the front page headline of the Daily Prophet was a striking title: "Publishing Herbology Top Journal at Eleven - Genius or Academic Injustice?"
Below this headline, there was also a very aningful photograph. In the Sprout family greenhouse, the professor held a gold-embossed envelope in her hand, with an inscrutable smile on her face, looking at Ciel with mutual smiles.
The headline and photo together imdiately created a sense of conspiracy and scandal.
Professor Sprout clenched her fists tightly. Her eyes showed both anger and confusion. How was this photograph even taken?
Then she took a deep breath and continued reading. After just a few lines, the good-natured Professor Sprout fell into unprecedented anger.
"Complete nonsense! Not a single word of truth, nothing but distortions and fabrications everywhere. And yet she dares to swear that everything she wrote is true and dares to accept Veritaserum testing? Shaless!"
But after the anger, Professor Sprout's heart sank. Though she had been devoted to her greenhouse for years, that didn't an she was truly naive. She could already estimate what kind of reaction such a report would cause.
In the wizarding world, where there wasn't much fresh news, such big news wasn't available every day! Especially when it involved the respected Herbology master and Hufflepuff Head of House. This was enough for many idle people to chat about in bars for many days.
At this ti, just as Professor Sprout had predicted, as this issue of the Daily Prophet was delivered throughout the wizarding world, a huge uproar imdiately ensued.
…
Near the end of the Christmas holidays, Cedric was already planning Quidditch training for after the holidays ended.
"This year we have great hope of winning both the House Cup and the Quidditch Cup, creating history for our house in years."
Just thinking about this made Cedric's heart surge with excitent. He imdiately leaped up from bed and went downstairs to the first-floor kitchen to have breakfast with his parents. But as soon as he sat down, he noticed his father, Amos Diggory, looking at today's Daily Prophet with shocked and worried eyes.
Then, Amos worriedly asked Cedric about things at the house. "Did your house team make an exception this year to include a first-year student?"
Cedric nodded naturally. "Yes. Ciel joined us this year."
Amos imdiately stood up, speaking with so indignation. "So it's all true?! Then why could you only join the team in your second year, while that Sprout family child could break the rules in his first year? I can hardly believe Professor Sprout would be so biased. She actually made all of you serve as supporting cast for a first-year player? This is too unfair!"
His face was full of heartache for the unfair treatnt Cedric had received. "Child. The Seeker is clearly the core of the team. You're even the captain, yet you're forced to put all tactical focus on that Ciel Sprout. You must be very unhappy. Why have you never told us about this!"
Hearing this, Cedric was even more confused. "What?"
Then he realized. He grabbed that copy of the Daily Prophet. After reading for less than half a minute, Cedric's entire face turned red. His eyes looked ready to spit fire.
He said angrily, "Ciel could join the team entirely through Professor Sprout's power? He also forced us to play around him? Who the hell is spouting such nonsense... shaless, disgusting! Ciel is the most hardworking team mber I've ever seen. He's the key to our Hufflepuff team's victory. Damn it, I must write to clarify this!"
Amos looked at Cedric with surprise at this mont. He still seed a bit worried, afraid his son was intimidated by the professor and Head of House's authority. He asked again, "Cedric, you really haven't been suppressed? I also saw in the newspaper that the very precious experintal plots in the greenhouse are sought after by many students and herbology scholars. Yet Professor Sprout allocated them to Ciel as soon as he enrolled. Isn't this true?"
Cedric took a deep breath. He felt worried. This report throughout targeted the various preferential treatnts Ciel had received, including academic papers, Quidditch spots, and experintal plot allocations. If even his Hufflepuff-born father felt doubtful and indignant, one could imagine what kind of public opinion would form in the wizarding world.
Professor Sprout and Ciel. They would be caught in this whirlpool.
Cedric imdiately rushed upstairs. He realized he had to do sothing quickly. "Contact the Quidditch team mbers, contact Hufflepuff students, contact everyone I know. I must imdiately clarify all this."
Angry flas burned in his eyes. "Better yet, I need to gather a group of students. We need to go to the Daily Prophet. Slandering a mber of our little Badgers, defaming our Head of House... are you prepared to pay the price?"
…
At the sa ti, rumors were spreading at an incredible speed through the streets and alleys. Murmured discussions arose in the Leaky Cauldron. Old Tom's face was dark as pitch. He strode from table to table, snatching the Daily Prophet from custors' hands, then angrily tearing them to shreds.
"Get out! All of you, get out! My place can't accommodate your stupid speculations!"
However, even though the drinkers were driven from the pub, the spread of rumors was completely unstoppable.
Even in the Ministry of Magic, Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge saw today's Daily Prophet in his office. His eyes imdiately lit up. He stood up from his chair excitedly, pacing back and forth in his office.
Since forr Minister Millicent had resigned, Cornelius Fudge had been able to take office. This had been over a year ago. But Fudge always rembered what the premise of his rise to power was. That was... Dumbledore had once again refused the proposal to take over as Minister for Magic. The calls for that proposal had been much louder than the calls for Fudge to take over.
This also made Fudge realize. Whether he could sit securely in the Minister's position completely depended on whether Dumbledore had any thoughts of serving as Minister for Magic. If Dumbledore changed his mind soday, he would probably have to voluntarily resign from his office the next day in disgrace.
This thorn had always lodged in Fudge's heart. He was a politician. He couldn't possibly bet his political life on one of Dumbledore's whims.
And today's Daily Prophet suddenly made Fudge realize an attack point against Dumbledore. If the Hufflepuff Head of House was exposed for academic injustice scandals, then naturally, Dumbledore's managent would also have many criticizable aspects. Perhaps even more could be dug up. In this way, it would beco impossible for Dumbledore to take over as Minister for Magic again.
Thinking of this, Fudge imdiately made a decision. "Hogwarts is a magical school funded, allocated, and supervised by the Ministry of Magic. The Ministry has the duty to maintain educational fairness at Hogwarts. This matter must be publicly investigated."
Imdiately, a letter from the Ministry of Magic was sent to Hogwarts. It was also delivered to Professor Sprout.
…
Professor Sprout at this mont had a cold expression. She wasn't angry about the rumors and malicious speculations about herself or about so public investigation. Long ago, when she wasn't yet the Herbology master or Hufflepuff Head of House, there had also been people who maliciously spread rumors about her, trying to compete with her for a teaching position at Hogwarts. She had experienced such things many tis, and they were no longer enough to cause her any disturbance.
What truly made her angry was that this matter had also implicated Ciel. And the Ministry of Magic had also sent a letter. There seed to be sothing politically turbulent behind this, as if soone was deliberately escalating it to attack Dumbledore.
Professor Sprout didn't want Ciel to see such darkness. Fortunately, Ciel was still in the greenhouse at this mont. He didn't yet know what was happening in the outside world. This made Professor Sprout breathe a sigh of relief.
Then she left a letter telling Ciel she had matters to handle and not to worry. Only then did Professor Sprout silently leave the family estate.
In the greenhouse, Ciel was imrsed in the experience after the Pruning Charm's qualitative change. After the platinum-level qualitative change, the feedback the spell brought him was vastly different from before. If the previous feeling was similar to using scissors to cut paper... macroscopic, clear feedback... then now, Ciel's mastery of the Pruning Charm seed to involve more microscopic, deeper levels.
His experiential sense was closer to the essence of "pruning." Using knowledge from his previous life to make an analogy... cutting molecular bonds?
Ciel's expression was amazed. "The advancent from Gold Tier to Platinum Tier. Whether it's the Lumos Charm or the Pruning Charm, they seem to start developing from the macroscopic level toward more microscopic levels. In other words, delving deeper into the essence of these spells. Perhaps this is a common characteristic? Marking that spell mastery has reached a certain level?"
However, currently, although Ciel could perceive these microscopic-level changes, his sense of them wasn't yet very distinct.
"It should be an issue with magical perception. Gold-Tier Magical Perception Enhancent might not be sufficient for to clearly sense the microscopic-level changes in spells. When magical perception improves again, perhaps I'll be able to experience the changes in Lumos and Pruning Charms more profoundly."
The insights in his mind flashed by in an instant. Ciel's attention returned to the power of the Pruning Charm. After this qualitative change, delving from macroscopic to microscopic, even though his magical strength hadn't changed much, the power of the spell had still improved significantly compared to before.
Ciel waved his wand lightly. A Pruning Charm was cast. With unchanged magical strength, yet there was a feeling of a master butcher dissecting an ox. Entering the gaps with no thickness, the magic penetrated the Devil's Snare root's surface.
The next mont, a deep mark appeared on the Devil's Snare root.
Ciel's eyes lit up. "It seems like... I can try cultivating Devil's Snare again?"
[Chapter Complete]
***
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