The vine in the flowerpot stretched its leaves and branches towards the sun, as if stretching lazily.
"What's this?" Hagrid leaned in closer.
"An ingredient for potions from Africa, the Elephant-Eating Vine. It's hard to keep alive in Europe, so it's usually sent over dried. They love to coil around Erumpents, crush them, and squeeze out their juice. They naturally possess a Banishing Charm and magic resistance. I think it'll make a great watchdog pet." Anton said with a smile, reaching out to flick the vine's flower bud.
Then, the vine suddenly grew a small mouth full of fangs, letting out a comfortable 'whimpering' sound.
"Oh, what a cute little thing." Hagrid looked infatuated.
"Crush elephants and squeeze out their juice?" Draco looked horrified, glaring at Anton, "And you just put it on the windowsill in our dormitory!!!"
Goyle was even paler with fright.
They had once planned a prank, and Goyle had suggested fertilizing this pot of flowers by peeing on it.
Malfoy thought it was too disgusting, and Anton was not someone to be trifled with, so they didn't do it in the end.
Luckily Malfoy had stopped him, otherwise when he was peeing...
Goyle looked at the fangs on the vine, trembled, and looked down at his own crotch. He couldn't be more relieved, he almost cried.
"Don't mind the details." Anton chuckled and patted Goyle's shoulder, making him shudder.
He carried the flowerpot to the gap in the stone wall, frowning slightly as he looked at the area in the middle.
"Looks like it needs some leveling."
He gently drew his wand and waved it.
The ground began to tremble, and one by one, long snakes of earth rose from the bumps, slithering into the pits and hollows.
Even more, many clay figurines grew out of the mounds of earth, swinging large hammers and pounding the ground.
Before long, a flat piece of ground appeared before them.
The last figurine walked to the side of the wall, curled up, sat down, and turned into a large lump of earth.
The goblin Pedro had always thought this kind of 'moving figurine' was a low-class magic trick, but Anton liked it the most.
This goblin secret art of casually manipulating earth made him feel like a 'earth-element mage' from the fantasy novels he read in his previous life, which was particularly fun.
Of course, these humanoid figurines currently had little practical use. If you inserted your hand into a figurine, you could easily grab a handful of loose soil.
Anton had studied it for a long time, and only managed to achieve the effect of the figurines pounding the ground with large hammers, which was still just using the weight of the fine stones in the soil to fall and strike.
It had not yet escaped the category of a magic trick.
But it was still astonishing enough.
Harry Potter's mouth fell open. He swallowed and walked over to touch the lump of earth that was the figurine by the wall's entrance.
Splat!
The entire figurine crumbled.
"I... I didn't do it on purpose."
He quickly took a step back, but it was clear no one was paying attention to him.
Draco and his two companions huddled together. They had recently become allergic to anything resembling a large snake, as the sight always reminded them of scenes from their nightmares.
"Is this Transfiguration? It doesn't look like it to me." One of Fred's upperclassmen walked in doubtfully and stomped hard on the ground. "The terrain has indeed been changed, and there's no trace of magic maintaining its current state."
Anton smiled mysteriously and said nothing.
Wizard and goblin magic were not compatible. It was only because the old wizard had innovatively developed the 'Wizard's Eye' potion, which allowed one to observe the true face of magic, that it gave him the possibility of simulating goblin secret arts.
This was the foundation of his standing, and he couldn't talk about it.
He thought for a moment, "This is a Weasley family heritage. We are, after all, a pure-blood family with a long lineage."
So everyone looked at the twins. Fred, facing everyone's questions, shrugged.
This little brat was lying again. He knew it, but he wouldn't say it.
George laughed heartily, "The Weasleys possess the wizarding artisan skills passed down from ancient wizards. We will be able to create the most amazing magical items."
Fred spread his hands, "Indeed."
Every pure-blood family had its own heritage, even the poor Weasleys. Their family had a clock that could show the status of family members, a clock that would even amaze Dumbledore. Their father could modify a Muggle car into an invisible vehicle more formidable than a flying broomstick...
So that's how it is, everyone expressed their understanding.
Conflating concepts, it was clear the twins had been corrupted by Anton.
Ron looked aggrieved and complained to Harry and Hermione, "My dad never told me about these things!"
Poor kid. Hermione gave him a hug. Harry felt the same way, as he was also the unloved child in his family, so he joined in the hug.
Anton placed the flowerpot in the middle of the walled area and took out a bottle of dragon's blood from his satchel, pouring it into the pot.
"Whimper whimper whimper~~" The Elephant-Eating Vine twisted its body joyfully and suddenly shot out a long tendril.
As if it had been injected with Jinkela hormone, the Elephant-Eating Vine grew explosively fast, cracking the flowerpot and plunging its roots deep into the soil.
It began to frantically whip out its vines.
It kept getting bigger and bigger.
Everyone quickly backed away, feeling an inexplicable fear of this thing with fangs that could crush an elephant.
Anton stood beside the Elephant-Eating Vine, his eyes tightly closed, and finally began to chant.
Then he opened his eyes and waved his wand.
Like a magical conductor, the frantic growth of the vines became orderly.
As his wand gestured, the long vines moved like snakes on the ground, spreading beyond the wall, and coiled around the wooden planks and stones that had been cleared out earlier, as well as the four large tree trunks Hagrid had brought.
The tree trunks were lifted and erected at the four corners, twisted and driven deep into the ground, a full third of their length buried.
Various wooden planks and stones were pieced together by the vines, constructing bit by bit.
First were the two walls in the middle, dividing the space within the enclosure into three sections. Then, with a twist of the vines, several windows and door frames appeared.
Next, in the outermost room, many shelves made of vines and wooden planks appeared, along with a bar counter and a few long benches.
The outer walls.
Windows that could be opened and closed.
A roof with four pointed spires.
Except for the original fireplace, the place was no longer recognizable.
Before long, a house made of a mixture of gray stone, brown wood, and green vines appeared before their eyes.
Anton lowered his wand, full of smiles, "I love magic."
"Wow~" Everyone was stunned.
George and Fred's eyes were shining, "This is going to be our base from now on?"
Gasps of amazement rose one after another. Anton also looked at the house with satisfaction. Although the technical skill involved was low, and the spells needed to build such a house were nothing to write home about, the most important thing was the mindset to control these simple skills.
He had built a house with his own hands!
And it was so easy and effortless. He liked this feeling.
"Don't worry, these Elephant-Eating Vines won't harm people without being controlled by a spell. Everyone, come in and have a look!" Anton warmly invited those who had come to help.
Bang!
A party popper exploded.
George and Fred waved their wands, and the atmosphere instantly became lively.
"Welcome to the Weasley Shack," they said in unison.
At this time, the Weasley Shack was empty, but everyone was still eagerly looking around.
Hagrid also came in. He was amazed to find that it was very spacious inside and didn't feel oppressive for his size.
"Anton, I want to raise a little cutie like this too."
Anton led him to the side of the last door, where there was a huge vine protrusion. "Feed it some flesh and blood from here. In just half a year, a different-looking young vine will grow next to it, with some long tendrils. Then you can cut it off for separate planting."
"That's great." Hagrid's eyes lit up, and he lovingly stroked the large plant. "Looks like I'll have to raise more chickens."
After seeing off everyone who had helped, Anton and the twins happily began to divide up their respective spaces.
Ron, taking advantage of being the twins' younger brother, stayed behind with Harry and Hermione.
"The outermost area will be our 'campus tuck shop'. For the remaining two rooms, you guys pick one."
In the end, the twins chose the middle room. They both felt they had already gotten the better end of the deal.
"I can't wait." George rubbed his hands. "Dungbombs, fake wands, Self-Inking Quills..."
"And the replica wands Anton proposed," Fred said with a grin. "We should have more challenges."
Ron looked at them with some envy, "I want a Self-Inking Quill."
"One silver Sickle, Ron," George chuckled. "That's the marked price in our shack."
Ron's eyes widened in disbelief, "But I'm your brother!"
Fred and George looked at each other. "Then I'll also charge one silver Sickle."
"That's two silver Sickles in total, thank you."
"..."