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Chapter 169: Armor Pumpkin
Chapter 169: Armor Pumpkin
This busy life continued until the eve of Halloween.
Kyle woke up early in the morning and smelled the sweet and tempting aroma of roasted pumpkin floating in the corridor. Even more wonderfully, Harris announced in the common room that the Quidditch practice for the next week had been canceled.
He felt that the previous training had been a bit heavy, and since Kyle and the other new player had performed perfectly, he decided to give everyone a break before the formal game.
Kyle was, of course, very happy about Harris's decision, meaning he could finally relax a little next week.
And, in anticipation of Halloween, even the classrooms had a lot more pumpkins.
In the morning's Transfiguration class, Professor McGonagall used pumpkins as props and asked the young witches and wizards to try to transform them.
Her requirement today was very simple: it could be transformed into anything, as long as it was not a pumpkin in the end.
Kyle was the first to finish, transforming his pumpkin into a statue of a castle gate.
Of course, it was a miniature version.
The statue slowly walked a few steps on the table, then waved the giant sword in its hand, and immediately smashed the prop pumpkin on Connor's table into two halves, with pumpkin seeds scattered everywhere.
Connor was furious. She wiped the pumpkin seeds from her face and glared at Kyle, her teeth grinding, as if she might pounce on him at any moment.
"Accidental! It was an accident! I'm sorry," Kyle quickly apologized.
He had intended to cut the pumpkin in half but forgot that the sword was just an illusion he had created.
Professor McGonagall rarely smiled and teased, "Because of your ungentlemanly behavior, Hufflepuff will be deducted one point. Don't be so rash next time, and it's also very dangerous to do so."
"I know, Professor," Kyle said softly.
Professor McGonagall nodded, glanced at the lifelike statue, and continued, "Excellent transfiguration, Hufflepuff earns eleven points."
Without a fixed transformation requirement, the task was much simpler than usual, and many people completed it.
By the time the class ended, the Transfiguration classroom resembled a junk room, with wooden stakes, buckets, pillows... everything imaginable.
Among those who hadn't finished, some had only completed half of the task, and their creations still retained features of pumpkins.
For example, Ryan had transformed his pumpkin into the shape of a Bludger, but the surface was still yellow, looking like a Bludger wearing a pumpkin skin.
However, Professor McGonagall still passed him.
As for those who had merely poked a few holes in their pumpkins and insisted they had transformed them into jack-o'-lanterns, Professor McGonagall was not at all polite. She directly increased the length of their homework from one foot to three feet.
It was reasonable for her to penalize those who couldn't even complete such an easy task.
...
In the afternoon, they had Herbology.
Before class, Professor Sprout placed a pot of novel plants that had never appeared in the greenhouse on the front bench.
"Armor Pumpkin!"
Professor Sprout smiled and asked, "Does anyone know what this is?"
Knowing that the young witches and wizards might not know, Professor Sprout looked directly at Kyle.
"Armor Pumpkin, also known as Iron Pumpkin, has a hard texture and is often used as an alchemy material. Its vines can be combined with Gillsweed to make a potion that allows people to breathe underwater."
"Very good, Hufflepuff earns ten points!" Professor Sprout said happily.
"Does anyone know what this shell is used for?"
Kyle raised his hand and answered, "People usually put these shells over precious plants to protect them from gnomes or other creatures. That's also where the name 'Armor Pumpkin' comes from."
"Absolutely correct, Hufflepuff earns another ten points," Professor Sprout affirmed. "The shell of the Armor Pumpkin is the best guardian for fragile plants. Even a fully grown Fire Dragon would find it challenging to bite through."
A hush fell over the greenhouse as the young witches and wizards gazed at the unassuming pumpkin shell, incredulous. In their eyes, Fire Dragons were among the most fearsome and powerful magical beasts. If it could withstand a Fire Dragon's bite, then the word "armor" in its name was truly fitting.
"Now, let's continue with the lesson," Professor Sprout said, clapping her hands to regain everyone's attention. "Also, I've decided to offer this pumpkin shell as a reward to the student who performs the best in today's class."
Unconsciously, everyone turned to look at Kyle, for it seemed unlikely that anyone could outperform him based on his earlier display.
However, Professor Sprout anticipated their thoughts and smiled, saying, "I must remind you all that the class hasn't truly started yet. What I've shared so far is merely an introduction to the Armor Pumpkin and doesn't count as part of the lesson."
As she spoke, she walked past the benches and stopped near a row of wooden stakes.
"Last week, we learned how to fertilize the Jumping Umbrella Mushrooms. Today, we'll be learning how to collect their spores... You should still remember that these mushrooms are extremely sensitive to noise, so you must remain quiet if you wish to get close to them."
Everyone silently nodded. Eager for the reward, they knelt by the wooden stakes, carefully extending their brushes towards the Jumping Umbrella Mushrooms, holding their breath to avoid making any noise.
By the end of the class, Professor Sprout was delighted. She had never had such a smooth and incident-free lesson. No one fiddled with the plants unnecessarily, nor did anyone attempt to touch the venomous tendrils. Every student was focused and diligent, and the usual problems were nowhere to be seen.
"Today has been the best Halloween ever," Professor Sprout declared happily, awarding two extra points to each house. True to her word, she presented the Armor Pumpkin shell to Kyle, who had completed his task half a class early using a greatly weakened Whirlwind Sweep.
After the Herbology class ended, the students began to leave the greenhouse in an orderly fashion. As Kyle reached the door, he turned back for one last glance at the Armor Pumpkin in the corner before reluctantly walking away. He thought it would make a great companion for the Biting Cabbage, and he regretted not being able to get one for them. Unfortunately, there was only one pot, and Professor Sprout had kept a close eye on it, leaving him no opportunity to take a cutting.
...
(End of Chapter)
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