Professor Sprout had already anticipated the contestants' reactions. She did not immediately reveal the answer, but instead looked toward Neville, Luna, and Harry.
"During the competition just now, three students used Gillyweed. That was a very clever solution, because Gillyweed causes you to grow fish-like gills and webbing like a frog's, allowing you to move underwater as freely as a true aquatic magical creature.
"This is an example of using the power of plants to alter the form of your body. Transfiguration can achieve a similar effect, but its drawback is that it is far too difficult."
Professor Sprout's gaze swept across the contestants who had arrived, and then she sighed.
Viktor Krum really had failed to pass the merfolk's trial.
He had tried to transform himself into a shark, but had only completed most of the transformation. His head and torso had changed, but his legs had remained the same, making his movements underwater rather clumsy.
Reaching the merfolk village on time had not been a problem, but catching the little fish had been nearly impossible.
Of course, even if he had completed the transformation, with a shark's enormous body, getting the fish into the basket would still have been extremely difficult.
Bringing her thoughts back, Professor Sprout continued her explanation.
"What Hogwarts will provide you with is a kind of fruit similar to Gillyweed. It has the ability to partially transform you into a magical creature. Once the transformation is complete, you will also partially inherit that magical creature's abilities."
The contestants immediately erupted into excitement.
Gillyweed merely gave a person a few amphibian traits, but the fruit Hogwarts was offering could actually give someone the characteristics of a magical creature?!
That was incredible!
"What kind of magical creature?" one cautious contestant asked.
After all, magical creatures varied greatly in strength. If someone ended up transforming into a Doxy, they would be better off not transforming at all.
"There are many kinds. Dragons, Basilisks, phoenixes, unicorns, as well as other magical creatures. I won't list them all one by one."
The contestants were all shocked when they heard those names.
Every one of them was an extremely powerful magical creature.
Although some of the most infamous species had not been mentioned, this was already astonishing enough.
Everyone present was instantly tempted, and at the same time, they felt fortunate that they had worked hard to pass the merfolk's trial.
Sure enough, effort brought rewards.
Just as the contestants began considering which magical creature fruit they wanted to choose, Professor Sprout brought them some bad news.
"The fruit chooses the wizard?"
The contestants heard a phrase that sounded rather familiar.
"Yes. Transformation fruits also have their limitations. If you cannot resonate with the fruit, it can cause serious harm to your body. So first, you need to communicate with the fruits on the tree and see which one recognises you. Only then can you choose that fruit and consume it."
More than one contestant let out a sigh.
All the calculations they had just made had been pointless.
Now they could only leave everything to fate.
"Who would like to go first?"
After explaining the characteristics and precautions of the transformation fruits, Professor Sprout finally began the main event.
The students looked at one another.
In the end, a student from Uagadou casually raised his hand and volunteered to be the first to try.
"All right."
Professor Sprout did not waste any words and directly led him to the transformation fruit tree.
"Hold out your hand."
The Uagadou student extended his hand in confusion.
Under Professor Sprout's guidance, he began walking around the transformation fruit tree.
As he moved, the fruits on the tree began to react.
Some remained completely still.
Some trembled slightly.
Others shook violently.
"Choose this one."
Professor Sprout indicated that he should pluck the fruit that was shaking the most.
"It's a dragon fruit. It's the fruit most compatible with you."
The Uagadou student blinked.
Had he just hit the jackpot?
Before handing over the fruit tree, Helga had already explained the production method of the transformation fruits to Professor Sprout, so Professor Sprout understood that there were differences in how precious the various fruits were.
Dragon fruits were relatively inexpensive among the transformation fruits because their raw materials were the easiest to obtain.
A Re'em fruit, on the other hand, was extremely precious.
Phoenix fruits had originally belonged to the precious category as well, but Professor Dumbledore happened to own a phoenix.
Seeing that the contestant before her had received a dragon fruit, Professor Sprout decided that this was a good opportunity to give everyone a demonstration.
"Since you're the first one up, I'll give you a special privilege. You may eat this fruit now and demonstrate the wonders of the transformation fruit for everyone. Don't worry. I'll replace the dragon fruit you consume."
The Uagadou contestant did not hesitate.
He swallowed the dragon fruit directly and, under Professor Sprout's guidance, completed a transformation.
Watching the Uagadou student undergo a partial dragon transformation right before their eyes, the contestants immediately became completely convinced of the transformation fruits Professor Sprout had described.
While marvelling at Hogwarts' deep foundations, they also became eager to try it themselves.
One contestant after another enthusiastically stepped forward to see what kind of fruit they could resonate with.
The students who had only come along with their friends and had not earned a trial reward themselves could only watch enviously as their friends went up to collect their treasures.
Rhys was also one of the few who was not qualified, but he was quite calm about it.
Right now, he only wanted to see what kinds of fruits the Hogwarts contestants would resonate with.
Among the Hogwarts students, Harry was the first to step forward.
He had barely extended his hand when a phoenix fruit fell directly into his palm.
Professor Sprout was not too surprised.
She knew that the core of Harry's wand was a phoenix tail feather, and by coincidence, the phoenix that had provided the tail feather was the very same phoenix that had provided the blood used for the fruit.
Under those circumstances, it was perfectly reasonable for the phoenix fruit to favour Harry.
Professor Sprout then helped Harry pluck two more phoenix fruits from the tree and sent him away with three in total.
The reward Hogwarts gave contestants who had passed the merfolk's trial was three transformation fruits.
This gave them room to explore the fruits' abilities while also allowing some margin for error.
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12 Chaps ahead at Patreon.com/HornyFBI