The Hogwarts Greenhouse was located on the sunny south side of Hogwarts Castle. When Alan arrived, he wasn't alone—Professor McGonagall was accompanying him.
"I'll explain to Professor Sprout that you want to use the biting cabbage. Otherwise, she would never agree," Professor McGonagall said.
Alan nodded in understanding. Naturally, what Professor McGonagall said would be far more convincing than anything a first-year student like himself could say.
So, this visit to the greenhouse would be led by Professor McGonagall.
There were seven greenhouses at Hogwarts, each corresponding to a different academic year. Among them, the greenhouse for first-year students was the least dangerous. The plants grown there were mostly ordinary, non-magical varieties. They didn't have any special properties, but were still essential as auxiliary materials in various potions. So, even though they were mundane, wizards were still taught to grow them.
The final class for the day had just ended, and Professor Sprout was tidying up the greenhouse. She stood waving her wand, restoring the scattered debris and plants that had been messed up by students. Dirt and dust were being whisked away by her wand with precise movements, and the floor was soon swept clean.
Domestic magic was a major field in the magical world. Despite the word "domestic" giving the impression that it was simple or ordinary, it was anything but. Wizards who could skillfully perform such magic were usually outstanding Hogwarts graduates. It required significant practice and high magical literacy to master the complex spells involved—cleaning, levitation, transfiguration, and more.
"Oh, Minerva, you're here," said Professor Sprout when she noticed Professor McGonagall. She was a slightly round woman with a kind face and walked over with a warm smile. She looked like she was seeing an old friend. "What's the matter? Don't tell me you need herbs?"
"This is a bit of a special case," Professor McGonagall replied, glancing at Alan before leaning in and whispering something to Professor Sprout.
Although they spoke in hushed tones, Alan's sharp ears picked up everything easily.
"You've probably heard of this student—Alan Cecil," Professor McGonagall whispered. "He's quite the talented young chef, and he makes fantastic snacks. However, the ingredients he uses are rather special—magical plants and Fantastic Beasts."
"I've heard of him," Sprout replied, giving McGonagall a strange look. She lowered her voice and added knowingly, "But there's no need to be so secretive about it, is there?"
"He wants to exchange some of the candy he's made for a supply of biting cabbage larvae," McGonagall explained, then winked. "It's very delicious candy. I'd like a portion too—just don't tell anyone else."
Professor Sprout's mouth opened in surprise, forming a perfect "O."
"You're serious, Minerva?" she said in disbelief. "You actually came here for a few candies?"
Was this still the Minerva McGonagall she knew? Sprout remembered how McGonagall had once been a true Gryffindor in her youth, often doing bold and surprising things. But ever since she became the Transfiguration Professor, she'd grown far more reserved—she didn't even play Quidditch anymore, even though she used to love it.
Yet here she was, returning to her Gryffindor roots... because of candy?
Alan's lips twitched as he fought to hold back a grin. I didn't expect you to be like this, Professor McGonagall, he thought.
It seemed she really preferred the rock sugar biting cabbage over the crispy version she'd tried earlier.
Unable to stop himself, Alan pulled out a piece of the rock sugar biting cabbage and popped it into his mouth. The satisfying crunch caught the attention of both professors.
"Mr. Cecil," Professor McGonagall said, walking over, "let Professor Sprout try your candy."
"Of course, no problem," Alan replied smartly. He pulled out two pieces and handed them over. "Professor, you can have one as well."
Sensible! Professor McGonagall was delighted, though she kept a calm expression. She handed one to Professor Sprout and kept one for herself.
Then, both professors took a bite—and immediately fell in love with the taste.
"This is completely unexpected," Professor Sprout said with admiration. "I once tried to use biting cabbage in cooking, but the results were inedible. It was awful. Now I realize it was my cooking skills that were lacking."
"You've cooked with magical plants before?" Alan's eyes lit up. He thought he had found a kindred spirit. "What were the results?"
Professor Sprout laughed and waved a hand dismissively. "I can't compare with you. I've only ever tried it with biting cabbage. I didn't want to waste the other plants."
The biting cabbage in the Hogwarts greenhouse was mostly used as a study specimen for students. It had little value in potion-making and was rarely used in other fields. So, for Professor Sprout, biting cabbage was more of a burden than a resource. If it weren't for teaching purposes, she might never have bothered with it in the first place.
The biting cabbage wasn't particularly resilient, but it had an incredibly strong reproductive ability. A single plant could produce dozens of larvae in a year. To maintain enough supply for student learning, Hogwarts cultivated many biting cabbages annually.
But there was a problem: these cabbages couldn't simply be thrown away. They were magical plants and could disrupt the surrounding environment if improperly disposed of. And they didn't sell well either—there was no real market demand. Every year, Hogwarts had to kill off a significant number of mature biting cabbages just to control their numbers.
So, if someone could use these biting cabbages for something useful, it would truly be a blessing for Professor Sprout.
Even if there were no exchange involved, she would still be happy to offload them.
"If you want biting cabbages, it's no problem," Professor Sprout said cheerfully. "I assume what you need for your candy is the larvae, right? How many do you need?"
"How many can you spare?" Alan replied with a smile. "The more, the better. I can use them all as ingredients."
"Haha, I'm glad to hear that," Sprout said, laughing. "But I can't give you all of them. I still need to keep enough for teaching purposes."
She paused, thinking. "How about this: I'll keep a few for lessons each year, and I'll give you the majority of the young biting cabbages I harvest. They reproduce every three months, so you'll get a fresh batch quarterly. How does that sound?"
"That would be perfect," Alan said, pleased.
Just then, Professor McGonagall gently nudged Professor Sprout, reminding her of something. Sprout nodded, returning to the topic at hand.
"So, how do you want to handle the exchange?" she asked.
Alan thought for a moment. "How about one-quarter of the rock sugar biting cabbages in exchange?"
"Deal—" Professor Sprout started to say, but McGonagall cut her off.
"One-third," she said firmly. "The market value of your candy is three pieces for one Galleon. A third is more reasonable."
"Of course," Alan agreed easily. "But I do have one condition: the professors can't sell the biting cabbage candy. You can give them away as gifts, but not sell them."
"No problem," McGonagall agreed without hesitation.
"Then we have a deal." Alan smiled sincerely.
Finally, the supply issue for the biting cabbages was solved. And not just any supply—but high-quality, Hogwarts-grown biting cabbages!
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