The Pruning Charm had just advanced to Gold-rank.
This became Roger's second spell to reach Gold-rank, a milestone worth celebrating. With the astonishing enhancement brought by Sectumsempra, Roger even had a hunch: the Pruning Charm might reach Platinum-rank almost at the same time as Lumos!
That made his first spell—Soil Loosening Charm—feel left behind. It was still stuck below Gold-rank despite the time he had invested in it.
"I need to pay more attention to the Soil Loosening Spell later," Roger thought. "After all, it's essential for planting the Guardian Tree seeds. If it doesn't reach Gold-rank soon, it could hold back the entire planting process."
With those thoughts drifting through his mind, Roger quickly shifted his focus to the freshly advanced Pruning Charm.
"It just so happens I don't have classes this morning," he mumbled. "Perfect timing to see if the advanced Pruning Charm has undergone any qualitative changes."
Without further delay, Roger left the dorm and made his way through the corridors of Hogwarts Castle, heading straight for the Greenhouse. Along the way, he passed several bleary-eyed students, all clearly excited but sleep-deprived from the previous night's Halloween buzz.
Even upper-year students like Cedric, usually calm and composed, looked a bit out of sorts. Cedric was enthusiastically discussing his House's Halloween feast with friends.
"I heard the kitchen has created some Halloween-themed banquet dishes," Cedric said with a grin. "I bet they'll be epic."
"And the costume I'm going to wear—you'll never guess—"
Just then, Cedric spotted Roger and gave a cheerful wave.
"Hey, Roger! First-years are off this morning. Where're you headed?"
"Greenhouse," Roger replied with a smile. "Thought I'd check something out."
After a brief exchange, Roger continued on. Cedric watched him go, his expression shifting to one of admiration.
"He's really something," Cedric said to his friends. "Still going to the Greenhouse while everyone else is caught up in festivities."
But for Roger, it was nothing special.
Working on a holiday? Compared to his previous life, this was just like clocking in before Qingming Festival. Nothing unusual. If anything, Hogwarts students were a bit too sheltered.
"If they'd experienced working overtime or compensatory leave," Roger thought, "they wouldn't be this shocked."
He shook his head and arrived at the Greenhouse.
Even the usually earthy and orderly Greenhouse had been decorated for Halloween, with glowing pumpkins and floating bats adding festive charm. But at this hour, it was entirely empty—perfect for Roger's experiments.
"Arbor-Siccus!"
With a sharp surge of magical energy, the Pruning Charm struck a nearby tree trunk. A deep groove appeared almost instantly, and thick, milky-white sap began to flow from the tree into a specially placed container.
Roger's eyes lit up with satisfaction.
This tree was a Cara Tree, cultivated by Professor Sprout for the Halloween feast. Its stems produced a sweet, viscous sap used in many magical desserts. However, the tree's tough trunk made extracting the liquid difficult. Previously, Roger's Silver-rank Pruning Charm could barely scratch it—he had to cast the charm five or six times just to get a small trickle.
But now?
One cast. One deep cut. Sap flowing.
The upgrade to Gold-rank had clearly made a tremendous difference.
He felt a wave of satisfaction. His previous magical crops—Goldfish Vine and Luminous Mushroom—were smaller or non-woody, making them easier to handle. But the truly powerful magical plants—those with deeper magical properties—tended to be tree-like and naturally resistant to magic.
Without a powerful enough Pruning Charm, caring for just one of them could become a tedious chore. Now, with the charm's improved strength, cultivating advanced magical plants became a real possibility.
Roger continued his experiments.
"The success rate of cuttings has also improved," he murmured, inspecting a set of fresh samples. "Before, I barely got a 10% survival rate from cut plant sections. Now it's almost 12% already."
It didn't sound like much, but for large-scale cultivation, that increase in yield would make a huge difference.
Yet despite all this progress, Roger still felt uneasy.
Perhaps because the charm had advanced through Sectumsempra, he suspected there was still some hidden characteristic in the new version. Some additional effect that hadn't yet revealed itself.
"It feels like there's something else to it," he muttered. "Some subtle enhancement or hidden condition…"
All morning and afternoon, Roger remained in the Greenhouse, running tests. He tried different targets, altered casting angles, even modulated wand movements. Still, nothing new emerged.
"Maybe the trigger is too subtle... or the conditions too specific?" he wondered, finally glancing up at the sky. It was already starting to get dark.
Normally, he wouldn't have cared. But today was Halloween.
And today, Professor Quirrell was planning something.
Roger wasn't looking to get himself involved. As far as he was concerned, this was the kind of situation Hogwarts teachers were paid to deal with. Let Harry and Ron have their moment of glory. He was just a first-year focused on plant magic.
With that, he packed up and left the Greenhouse.
Back in the Castle, his first question was about Hermione.
He soon found Hannah Abbott, who was already dressed in her bunny-eared Halloween outfit. She told him the story with a visible mix of concern and annoyance.
"Ron was horrible!" she said. "Hermione was just trying to help, but he insulted her behind her back. She cried all morning in the girls' lavatory and wouldn't let anyone near her."
Roger's expression tensed, but Hannah quickly added, "She finally came to our Hufflepuff common room. Still crying, but at least she's not alone anymore."
Roger exhaled slowly. That was enough. As long as Hermione wasn't in the girls' lavatory, she'd avoid the Troll incident entirely.
Consider that a favor returned, he thought. Hermione had helped many of them before.
As for tonight's chaos?
Roger had no plans to intervene. With Dumbledore and the other Professors in the Castle, everything would be fine. He wasn't a hero. He planted trees.
So Roger returned to the Hufflepuff common room, curling up in a large armchair.
Across the room, Hermione was nestled by the fireplace, still wiping her eyes occasionally. Gradually, the sky outside darkened, and one by one, the other Young Wizards donned costumes and headed for the Halloween feast.
Only Roger and Hermione remained.
After a while, Hermione looked up.
"Roger," she said quietly, "thank you for staying here."
"I'm feeling much better now. Why don't you go to the feast? I'll be there soon too."
Roger shook his head but said nothing. He didn't get a chance to explain before a sudden flurry of footsteps echoed from the hallway.
Young Wizards came rushing back, panic-stricken.
Roger didn't even need to ask. He already knew.
As in the original story, Quirrell had unleashed a Mountain Troll inside the Castle to distract the teachers while he investigated the Philosopher's Stone.
But this time, Hermione wasn't in danger.
Maybe the formation of the Golden Trio would take a bit longer.
While Roger reflected, chaos erupted in the common room.
"They say Trolls will grind people up and eat them!"
"I heard they like kids the best—because we eat good food!"
"They can use stealth Magic and sneak into the common room!"
But Hermione sat up and shook her head firmly.
"Don't listen to Fred and George," she said. "Trolls don't use magic. They're dangerous because of their strength and magical resistance, not because they're cunning."
"But there's something in the Castle that will attract it."
The room went quiet.
"What is it?" the others asked.
"Goldfish Vine," Hermione said. "It's an ingredient for Memory Potions. Trolls are incredibly stupid. They seem to instinctively sense the benefits of Goldfish Vine and are drawn to it."
She continued, "The ones grown in the Castle are nearly mature. That's where the Troll will go. It won't come looking for us."
Everyone let out a collective breath of relief.
Only Roger sat frozen on the sofa, his mind spiraling into a whirl of confusion.
"???," he thought.
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