Chapter 15. Is It Too Late to Turn Down This Job?
Remus Lupin stepped into the greenhouse and was immediately struck by the sight before him.
The space was far larger than it looked from outside; the expanse of earth seemed to stretch on without end.
The air was thick with a jumble of scents from all manner of ingredients, almost dizzying in their mixture.
What shocked Lupin most was that the potion plants here weren't arranged in neat pots like in a typical magical glasshouse, but were sown directly in broad swathes across the ground, as if this weren't a greenhouse at all but a farm.
Seeing Lupin's surprise, Adrian Wesson wasn't in the least taken aback.
Anyone would be, faced with so vast a plantation of ingredients.
With only a cursory glance, Lupin had already spotted many rare reagents.
To a knowledgeable eye, these weren't mere plants, but fields of gold.
That alone made Lupin regard Adrian rather more highly; this young man was far more capable than he had imagined.
"Mm, I reckon I should give you a proper tour." Adrian smiled, drawing his wand. "You'll need a Bubble-Head Charm, sir, or you'll end up breathing in some… well, not-so-friendly fumes."
At this, Lupin copied Adrian and cast the charm on himself. In moments, two large bubbles sealed around their heads.
The Bubble-Head Charm lets you breathe underwater or screen out odours—an exceedingly practical little spell.
As to why they needed it, Lupin discovered soon enough.
He glanced about and spotted a tall willow not far off, which made him pause.
"Hey, is that a Whomping Willow?" He looked at the tree with a fond expression. "I remember Hogwarts has one just like it."
"In fact, this is that Willow's offspring," Adrian said, patting the trunk. "Back at school, I transplanted it from Hogwarts."
Ordinarily, a Whomping Willow attacked anything that came close, but this one had not done so, which Lupin found curious.
The moment he drew nearer, however, the Willow's demeanour changed entirely.
Its branches whipped the air, slicing up gusts that sent Lupin stumbling back.
"Ah—sorry, it's a bit shy with strangers." Adrian gave a small laugh. "When you go near it, it's best to raise your hands above your head. Do that, and it won't strike you."
"Aren't you meant to press the knot?" Lupin asked.
He remembered that the one at Hogwarts would go still if you pressed the scar on its trunk.
That was how he entered the tunnel beneath the Willow to reach the Shrieking Shack.
"Every Whomping Willow is different," Adrian explained patiently. "Mine hasn't got a knot. Just do as I said and you'll be fine—it won't hurt you."
"I think I'd best not get too close for now," Lupin said, shaking his head, still a little shaken.
"It really is safe," Adrian said, a touch regretfully. "You'll need to learn to get on with the plants. That's part of your job."
Since the boss had put it that plainly, Lupin hesitated, then decided to try.
It was his job, after all.
He drew a deep breath, edged towards the Willow, lowered his body as much as he could, and, as Adrian had instructed, raised both hands over his head.
This time, as he approached, the Whomping Willow stayed quiet.
But just as he meant to go closer, the branches suddenly began to shudder violently.
Lupin froze where he stood.
Even Adrian took a small step back.
That shouldn't be happening. By rights, doing this should have calmed it down, Adrian thought.
While he was puzzling over it, the colour of the branches began to shift, the green deepening into a dark purple.
"This isn't right," Adrian said, face tightening, a flicker of caution in his eyes. "Back up a bit, Lupin."
No sooner had he spoken than the Whomping Willow, as though provoked, blasted out billows of purple vapour, acrid on the air.
The fog spread at once, staining the surrounding air a dusky violet.
Fortunately, both Adrian and Lupin had their Bubble-Head Charms up in time and didn't inhale the poison.
"Back! Quickly!" Adrian shouted, urgent, tugging Lupin away.
The poison surged over them, tinting their bubbles purple. Startled, both men raised their wands and reinforced the charms, finally stopping the fumes from seeping in again.
"What happened? Why did it suddenly do that?" Lupin's face had gone a shade pale as he looked to Adrian.
He had never seen a Whomping Willow act so strangely; this was well beyond his expectations.
Adrian's brow furrowed—he clearly had no idea either.
"Eldra," he called to the Tree of Wisdom in his mind, "analyse the Whomping Willow in front of us."
[Species: Whomping Willow]
[Level: 2]
[Trait: Toxicity]
[Status: Growing (0%)]
…
With the information in hand, Adrian relaxed a little.
So the Willow had been affected at this moment by his plant-mutation ability and had gained a "Toxicity" trait.
Ordinarily, Adrian needed his own magic and certain potions to drive a mutation, but spontaneous changes did occur from time to time.
This Willow was such a case—gaining "Toxicity" at random without his intervention.
Having finished his analysis, Adrian let out a slow breath. He turned to Lupin with a calming smile. "Don't worry, Lupin. This is a normal manifestation. My Whomping Willow behaves like this. It's still safe."
"…Is it really?"
Staring at the Willow still breathing out the last curls of poison, Lupin looked unconvinced.
He was already wondering whether this job was quite what he'd signed up for.
Under Lupin's dubious gaze, Adrian approached the Willow again and Raid a hand to its trunk.
As he neared, the branches gradually stilled; at his touch, the purple mist faded away.
"You see? Sorted," Adrian said with a nod.
What they had just seen was likely the Willow failing to control its venom the moment it first gained the "Toxicity" trait.
By now, it seemed able to rein it in; the trunk, too, had returned to normal.
Lupin kept his eyes on the Willow, still ill at ease; Adrian's explanation did not put him entirely at peace.
"Is it too late to turn down this job now?" he asked, weary resignation in his voice.
"I'll pay you double."
"Deal."
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