Arthur and Hermione had no idea that Mr. Granger happened to pass by and overheard Hermione's excited cries.
Worried, he stepped into the room.
Mrs. Granger, seeing his unsettled face, asked curiously:
"What's the matter with you? You look as if your soul has flown off somewhere."
"Tell me, do you think our daughter… might like young Arthur?"
At that, Mrs. Granger rolled her eyes.
"You only just noticed? Haven't you seen how much she's changed after a year away at school? Before, she'd stay at home reading all day. Even if we pushed her to go outside, she'd just sneak off to the library. But now? Sure, she still loves her books, but every other word out of her mouth is 'cousin.' I've noticed it — when Arthur's not around, her reading efficiency drops by half."
"Hiss…"
Mr. Granger hadn't realized his little girl's heart had already sprung such a big leak.
"But… does she really have to throw herself at him like that?"
"Oh, children's affairs — why meddle too much?" Mrs. Granger waved it off.
"No, I think we have to. I just heard her say things like 'you're amazing,' 'I love you,' and even 'hurry, let me in.'"
Mrs. Granger: ???
Was her daughter truly so shameless?
"Are you sure you didn't mishear?"
"Of course I'm sure!"
"…Alright. Tonight we'll talk this over properly."
At dinner, Mr. Granger gave his wife a meaningful look.
"Ahem, Hermione dear, what were you doing in your cousin's room earlier today?" Mrs. Granger asked, clearing her throat.
"Hmm? I wasn't in his room earlier." Hermione tilted her head, puzzled by the sudden question, but she answered honestly.
She'd actually asked Arthur's opinion earlier about whether to tell her parents about the Zen Garden. Since she'd be going there often to practice magic, it was best not to make them worry about her disappearing. Arthur had said there was no need to hide it.
"You weren't there? Then you two must have gone out afterwards. No wonder I didn't hear any more sounds~" Mr. Granger muttered, still lost in his own misunderstanding — convinced the two kids had snuck off somewhere with magic.
"Dad, what are you even talking about? We didn't go out at all!" Hermione frowned, completely baffled.
Mrs. Granger sensed something was off. Maybe things weren't quite what her husband imagined. So she asked:
"Then what were you doing during the day?"
"Practicing magic in Cousin's Zen Garden, of course! Mother, you don't know—"
Hermione explained everything in one breath — about the Trace, and about Arthur's Zen Garden.
"I see! So some people were just overthinking."
Mrs. Granger gave her husband a sharp glare.
"Overthinking what?" Hermione asked curiously.
"Cough, nothing. Eat, eat." Mr. Granger buried himself in his food, embarrassed, leaving Hermione full of doubt.
Arthur found the whole scene amusing. Thinking it over, he understood perfectly — Mr. Granger must have passed by when Hermione was saying those ambiguous lines, and simply got the wrong idea.
"Never mind your father. By the way, Arthur, did you just say your garden can adjust the flow of time?" Mrs. Granger quickly covered for her husband's awkwardness, changing the subject.
Arthur blinked, then nodded. "Yes. Why, Aunt?"
"It's nothing serious, I just wanted to ask… Do you have a room there? I'd like to plant some fruits and vegetables."
Arthur was stunned. Did his aunt have a trace of Yan blood in her veins? Where else would such a strong farmer's soul come from?
"What, is it not allowed?" Seeing him silent, Mrs. Granger thought he was going to refuse.
"No, no, there's plenty of space. I'm just curious — why the sudden idea?"
"Sigh, isn't it because fruits and vegetables here in Britain are too expensive?" she said.
At that, Mr. Granger interjected obliviously:
"Expensive? I think they're fine."
"Shut up and eat your dinner!" Mrs. Granger snapped.
This man — never managing the household, never knowing the price of firewood and rice. Most men were meat-eaters anyway; Mr. Granger had no say when it came to fruits and vegetables.
Arthur thought back to his geography lessons from his previous life. Britain, an island in the Atlantic, temperate oceanic climate — cloudy and rainy all year, with low temperatures and little sunlight. The heat and light conditions were poor for growing fruits and vegetables. So for ages, the country had relied heavily on imports. No wonder produce was expensive.
"Well then, Aunt, just get some seeds. In a few days you'll be eating fresh fruits and vegetables." Arthur patted his chest in guarantee.
His Zen Garden was a farmer's ultimate dream: thought-controlled, one-click harvesting, no need for watering or fertilizer, fertile soil that stayed moist on its own.
The very next day, Mrs. Granger brought him a huge pile of seeds. Looking through them, Arthur was dumbfounded — watermelon, oranges, mangoes, even lychee. And for vegetables: cabbage, broccoli, carrots, and more.
He couldn't help but marvel at his aunt's resourcefulness. How had she managed to gather so many different seeds in such a short time?
Arthur sorted the seeds by type, planted them in the garden, and left them alone.
For the next few days, his life was simple: fishing by day, gaming by night. Hermione would enter the Zen Garden to practice magic, while he, with nothing better to do, spent his time at the garden pond with a fishing rod. The fish? Stock from Hogwarts' Black Lake. Thanks to the adjusted time flow, the pond had already developed a stable ecosystem.
The result? Fresh fish on the Granger table every day. When Mr. Granger heard about the pond, he insisted on joining, so another fishing rod appeared by the pond.
A few days later, most of the fruits and vegetables in the garden ripened. Mrs. Granger went in herself, saying she wanted to experience the joy of picking produce by hand.
The couple talked it over, then decided to close their dental practice for a while and give themselves a long holiday.
And so, the Granger family began enjoying a cheerful rural life inside Arthur's Zen Garden. Or perhaps it was more accurate to say Arthur had given them a taste of agritourism.
Well — all except Hermione.
The little witch scoffed at joining in their rustic fun. She was determined to practice hard, so that one day she could astonish everyone in secret.
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