Chapter 706: Beyond the Competition
Chapter 706: Beyond the Competition
It would be more apt to call this place a botanical garden than a village.
Aside from a handful of houses, all that met the visitors' eyes were greenhouses of various sizes, housing an array of magical plants.
The group had been informed beforehand that the Magic Garden was actually a forest, which explained the bewildered expressions on their faces.
As for the two witches at the village entrance, they were politely ignored by the group, as most couldn't understand a word they were saying.
Well, except for the Hogwarts trio, plus Karkaroff.
Surprisingly, the witches were speaking English, albeit with a peculiar accent.
"I'll take you to your temporary lodgings to rest." The witch repeated this phrase three times in English, French, and Bulgarian.
Serving as a part-time translator and guide wasn't an easy task.
In fact, one of the most challenging aspects of the Magic School Potion Competition was the language barrier. Most of the wizards came from different countries, speaking different tongues, which made effective communication difficult. Wizards like Dumbledore, who could effortlessly converse in multiple languages, were a rare breed.
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry primarily used English, while Beauxbatons Academy of Magic favored French, and Durmstrang Institute relied mostly on Bulgarian.
The location of Durmstrang Institute on the Scandinavian Peninsula was closely tied to its founder, Nerida Vulcanova, a Bulgarian witch.
Thus, students from European countries wishing to attend Beauxbatons or Durmstrang had to first learn the respective official languages of those institutions.
Otherwise, communication and daily life would become problematic, not to mention attending classes. The idea of an eleven-year-old child fluently mastering a foreign language was daunting to contemplate.
Of course, the upside was that graduates from these schools often became proficient in two languages.
The group was led to a pub, where their guide, a wizard named Bobby, introduced them to the pub owner, Selina, reportedly a British expat who had been living there for twenty-three years.
"You'll be staying and dining here during your time in the village," Bobby explained as he escorted them to their respective rooms on the second floor of the pub.
The rooms for each school were arranged in a row.
From the outside, they appeared to be separated by thick walls, with a door set into each wall leading to a surprisingly spacious room within, undoubtedly enlarged by the Imperturbable Extension Charm.
The Beauxbatons' rooms were directly across from Hogwarts, with Durmstrang as their neighbor. Thoughtfully, the organizers had hung nameplates outside each door, inscribed with the occupants' names in the languages commonly used by each school.
After unpacking their luggage, Professor Slughorn knocked on Albert and Isabelle's doors, intending to take them downstairs for a drink and to introduce them to the pub owner, Selina.
Selina, it turned out, was also a part-timer, her primary occupation being a herbologist.
The pub served as a relaxing gathering spot for herbologists and potion masters living in the area, and it was usually managed by house-elves.
Professor Slughorn and Selina seemed to be acquainted, and their conversation quickly turned to Albert and Isabelle.
Selina fixed Albert with an intense stare for quite some time before enthusiastically recommending a green health drink, which Albert politely declined in favor of hot cocoa with milk.
Although the village was mostly semi-isolated from the outside world, house-elves ensured the comfort of the wizards residing there.
Selina quietly informed them that the potion competition would take place the day after next, and that they would be taken on a tour of the greenhouses tomorrow.
She emphasized the need to be cautious around the greenhouses that housed dangerous plants.
As for the Magic Garden, Selina explained that its sole entrance was hidden somewhere within the village.
After finishing their hot cocoa, the pair retired to their rooms to rest, while Professor Slughorn stayed behind to catch up with his old acquaintance and gather any additional information.
Before turning in for the night, Albert paid a visit to Isabelle's room, where they chatted leisurely while playing a slow game of Wizard's Chess.
When they eventually tired of the game, they snuggled up and whispered softly to each other until sleep beckoned, and Albert quietly returned to his room.
The next morning, at eight o'clock sharp, after a hearty breakfast, Bobby and two other wizards arrived to guide the groups on a tour of the village's greenhouses.
Only eight teams had shown up.
The remaining three schools were absent for unspecified reasons, indicating their forfeiture of this year's competition.
Professor Slughorn was unsurprised by this, even confiding to the pair that schools sometimes chose not to participate if they lacked exceptionally talented students, to avoid embarrassment.
Hogwarts itself had abstained from entering the competition on more than one occasion.
"You think they're worried about not making it past the first round of eliminations?" Albert and Isabelle had both guessed as much.
"That's right," Professor Slughorn nodded.
Failing to make it past the first round of eliminations would be the truly embarrassing scenario.
After all, the first round was essentially a showcase of each school's potion-making skills, and not being able to brew a potion would indicate a lack of solid fundamentals.
If a team couldn't even produce a potion, the judges would have no excuse to let them advance to the second round, even if they wanted to.
It was better to opt-out from the start than to become a laughingstock.
After all, everyone had encountered similar situations, so no one would ridicule them.
After being led around the village, the impression that this place was more of a botanical garden was even stronger. The greenhouses contained a myriad of exotic magical plants and fungi.
If someone were told that this was the Magic Garden, eight out of ten people would believe it.
In fact, this place used to be the entrance to the Magic Garden. Later, some herbologists took up temporary residence here to study the precious herbs within, and gradually, a village formed.
The large-scale cultivation of magical plants was actually a desperate measure. Wild magical plants couldn't meet the demands of the potion masters, so the herbologists had no choice but to cultivate those rare and elusive plants in greenhouses to supply the potion masters, preventing wizards from taking reckless risks.
Scarcity meant value, and it meant that some people would go crazy and take extreme measures, even leading to the extinction of certain especially precious magical plants due to human destruction and harvesting.
Such cases were not uncommon.
Along the way, Albert saw countless precious plants that he had never heard of before.
Unfortunately, they were not allowed to get close, only able to catch a glimpse from a distance and listen to the introductions of those around them.
The young wizards who were invited to the Magic School Potion Competition were all outstanding in the field of potion-making in their respective schools, and they were all potential future clients.
Moreover, it served as a reminder to be cautious and not casually destroy the environment or, in particular, the rare magical plants within the Magic Garden.
Because any wizard who entered the Magic Garden would be under strict surveillance.
On the one hand, it was to protect the Magic Garden from destruction, and on the other hand, it was to ensure the safety of the participants and provide a basis for the judges' scoring.
Finally, the group was taken to visit the greenhouse of dangerous plants.
It was actually a warning in disguise.
"After entering the Magic Garden, you may very well encounter these dangerous plants," the herbologist explained to the already impatient students, "The Magic Garden is not as safe as you might think. You need to stay vigilant at all times, as any carelessness could cost you your life."
"Has anyone died in the Magic School Potion Competition before?" asked a man with an East Asian face, wearing a golden school uniform.
"Yes, the most recent case was at the turn of the century. There was an unlucky fellow who was bitten by a venomous tentacle and didn't make it in time for treatment."
The male witch glanced at the East Asian man and said to the participants, "Throughout the generations of the Magic School Potion Competition, there have always been one or two unlucky souls who, due to their carelessness, were injured by toxic plants and had to be sent to the hospital. I hope you won't become one of those unlucky ones."
He then proceeded to explain in great detail the dangerous plants in the greenhouse and the precautions to take.
Most of them were on the C-class restricted trade list, and these plants were undoubtedly dangerous yet extremely valuable.
Suddenly, Albert heard a thud, and everyone turned to see a black youth lying on the ground with a gorgeous, alluring, golden trumpet-shaped flower next to him.
"What an idiot, does he have mud in his brain?"
The faces of those male witches turned ugly, and one of them with a particularly fiery temper started cursing out loud at the headmaster of Wagado, not forgetting to send the student to the village hospital for emergency treatment.
This male student from Wagado School had brought it upon himself due to his recklessness.
The headmaster of Wagado wore an unsightly expression, never expecting his student to do something so foolish. Why pick a flower for no reason?
There were quite a few who took delight in the student's misfortune, as it meant one less potential competitor.
"You'd better be on your guard. Although there aren't many dangerous plants in the Magic Garden, if you do encounter them and fail to get treatment in time, it would be a great loss to lose your life," the herbologist said helplessly as he watched the student being carried away, "He's lucky that there are many experienced potion masters and herbologists here, but I hope you will take this as a lesson and not make the same foolish mistake."
After finishing the greenhouse tour, everyone discussed the unfortunate incident of the Wagado student.
"I saw it."
Isabelle privately told Albert, "That unlucky Wagado student couldn't resist Miss Mia's charm and probably wanted to pick a flower for her, so..."
He had his head muddled by enchantment magic and accidentally fell prey to the flower's allure, ending up being carried away.
(End of Chapter)
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