Harry Potter: Glory Bows to Me

Chapter 406 Herbalism Lesson

Amanta pushed open the glass door of the third greenhouse, and a wave of humid heat, carrying a strong earthy smell, rushed out, instantly dispelling the chill that had accumulated in the castle's stone corridors.

The greenhouse was already packed with students, all busy preparing for the upcoming classes.

The branches and leaves of various exotic plants intertwine overhead, and the hanging vines are like green curtains, through which the sunlight shines in a fine and dappled pattern.

"Oh, darling, you've come!"

Professor Sprout was wearing his patched hat and standing behind a long table piled with dark brown flowerpots.

When Amanta came in, she flashed a bright, muddy smile, waving a small shovel covered in green sap.

“Dumbledore told me not to worry, go to your seat. I think Mr. Potter has already prepared that pot of Babbage tubers for you—today we're going to try repotting them, be gentle!”

"Thank you, Professor."

Amanta nodded politely, trying her best to appear no different from usual.

She made her way through the crowded aisle, dodging the waving arms of the Hufflepuff students, toward the end of the Slytherin console.

There, Harry was struggling to hold down a giant bulb that looked like a big black slug, which was wriggling restlessly, trying to crawl out of the new flowerpot.

Meanwhile, Draco Malfoy, sitting opposite him, was slowly putting on his expensive dragon-skin protective gloves.

Draco moved with the elegance of someone preparing for a potion experiment, rather than relocating these slimy magical plants. His eyes were lowered, his platinum blonde hair gleaming coldly in the sunlight, and he exuded an aloofness that kept strangers at bay.

As Amanta approached, Draco paused almost imperceptibly in the motion of putting on his gloves.

But it was only for a moment.

The next second, he resumed his arrogant and indifferent demeanor, turning to the side to tidy his small shovel, as if the pause just now was merely an illusion.

Amanta felt a slight sting in her heart, and that familiar feeling, mixed with disappointment and bitterness, welled up again.

But she quickly took a deep breath and suppressed these unnecessary emotions deep within her heart.

She sat down in the empty seat next to Harry.

“Hey, Amanta!” Harry exclaimed as if he had seen a savior, but he discreetly lowered his voice, his green eyes flashing with worry behind his glasses. “What’s going on? Did Dumbledore want to see you about yesterday’s match? And… could it be about the diadem?”

Amanta swiftly took her dragon-skin gloves out of her bag.

"It's not a big deal."

She answered softly, keeping her voice low as she observed the movements of the students around her.

"The headmaster was just asking a routine question. But I sensed... he was very concerned about why we got through the mermaids so quickly. And he implied that Professor Snape had lost something extremely important."

"It's over." Harry wailed, nearly dropping the shovel from his hand, looking as if he had just swallowed a slug.

“I knew we couldn’t hide it. When that madman Julius threw the crown at the merman, I knew we were doomed. Snape would definitely kill us…”

“As long as we stick to our guns and say we knew nothing about it,” Amanta calmly analyzed. “Dumbledore didn’t directly confront us, which means he was observing us too. As for the rumors of cheating…”

“Oh, that,” Harry shrugged helplessly, pressing the runaway tuber back into the soil. “Anyway, everyone’s been saying Slytherin will do anything to win for a long time now. As long as Dumbledore believes we didn’t cheat, let the rest of us think what they want.”

“I think so too,” Amanta nodded.

"Innocent."

A very soft chuckle came from the other end, followed by a slightly affected cough.

Draco finally turned around, holding a small shovel in his hand, his brows furrowed, looking at Harry with the eyes of someone looking at an idiot. Although his tone was disdainful, everyone could hear the familiarity in his voice.

"Harry, is your brain blocked by this pile of tubers?"

Draco spoke in his signature long voice as he skillfully mounded soil around his tuber.

"The Godfather hasn't acted yet, perhaps because he's waiting for the right moment to wipe us all out. How long do you think Julius can keep the fact that he gave the crown to the mermaid a secret? That's Ravenclaw's crown! Not some random piece of junk picked up off the street!"

Harry rolled his eyes, not to be outdone: "Come on, Draco. You saw it yourself at the bottom of the lake yesterday. What else could we do in that situation but give it to him? Were we just going to watch Amanta get trapped there?"

Upon hearing this, Draco paused for a moment with the shovel in his hand.

He pursed his lips, as if he wanted to refute something, or as if Harry had touched a sore spot.

He quickly glanced at Amanta's face, then looked away, his voice lower and a little awkward: "...Of course I know. But the point is, that Julius guy not only stole Snape's things, but he also made such a big fuss about it. Now the whole school is talking about it, which is going to put Slytherin in a very awkward position."

After speaking, he seemed to realize his earlier loss of composure, his lips pressed into a pale line, and he lowered his head again to handle the plant in his hands, his knuckles turning white from the force.

Amanta looked at his lowered eyelashes and felt a slight stirring in her heart.

Even in this awkward moment, Draco was still worried about Slytherin's situation.

This deep-seated sense of responsibility is both his strength and the biggest barrier between them at present.

“Since it has already happened, we can only face it,” Amanta replied calmly. “Julius dared to do it, which means he was prepared. Our primary task now is to find out exactly how much Dumbledore knows, and…”

At this point, her words abruptly stopped.

Because she remembered the stack of parchment.

The familiar handwriting on it, that chilling "Dedicated to the Master".

She didn't tell Harry and Draco about the handwriting.

This is not distrust, but an instinctive caution and a form of protection.

The fact that Julius was able to take the crown from Snape without anyone noticing shows that he was far more dangerous than they imagined.

Amanta raised her head, her gaze passing over the layers of vines and the students busy repotting the plants, and landing on the other side of the greenhouse.

Julius Hoffmann was standing there.

In that instant, the surrounding noise of conversation, Professor Sprout's instructions, and even Harry's struggle with the Babo tuber seemed to fade into a blurry background sound.