novelhk Chapter 157 The Rhythm of the Greenhouse
Chapter 157 The Rhythm of the Greenhouse
Chapter 157 The Rhythm of the Greenhouse
Thursday afternoon was sunny and warm, perfect for outdoor activities. The air in the Hogwarts Conservatory was filled with the rich aroma of damp earth, humus, and hundreds of plant species. Professor Sprout, a short, stout figure, busied herself among the rows of lush magical plants, wearing thick dragon-skin gloves and sporting a warm smile.
The Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff students gathered in a newly cleared area in the center of the greenhouse. The plants here looked quite peculiar: low-lying plants with slender, flexible stems covered with many pea-sized, almost transparent, bell-shaped sacs. These sacs swayed gently and silently in the breeze.
"Alright, children, quiet down," Professor Sprout patted his mud-caked gloves, his voice gentle but clear. "Today we're going to meet a new friend, a little fellow just brought from the cloud forests of the Andes Mountains in South America—the Dancing Bellflower!"
The students curiously gathered around to observe the sparkling little bells.
"They're beautiful, Professor!" a Hufflepuff girl whispered.
"But why don't they make any noise or dance?" another student asked.
"Good question!" Professor Sprout said with a smile. "That's precisely the wonder of the Dancing Bellflower, and also the difficulty in cultivating it. These little bells aren't meant to make sounds. They're extremely sensitive magical resonators." She carefully touched one of the bells with her finger; it only swayed slightly. "See, ordinary touch and wind barely register them."
"So how do you make them 'dance'?" Fabian pushed up his glasses and asked curiously. He was always fascinated by these unusual plants.
“That’s the key,” Professor Sprout said, producing an exquisite tool that resembled a combination of a brass tuning fork and a small harp. “They require stimulation from sound waves of a specific frequency! Not ordinary sounds, but 'sound spells' or specific harmonics from magical instruments that contain stable, gentle magic. The vibration frequency of these sound waves resonates precisely with their internal magical structure! This demanding triggering requirement has led many botanists to believe that they were artificially created by wizards, but we won’t discuss those issues today.”
She gently tapped the small brass harp with her wand. "Sonorus!" A clear, melodious, almost metallic single note rang out, echoing through the greenhouse amplified by a spell.
A miraculous thing happened!
As that specific note continued to vibrate, the small patch of dancing bellflowers seemed to suddenly awaken from its slumber! The slender stems began to sway from side to side in an elegant, wave-like rhythm, and the transparent little bell-shaped sacs at the top seemed to be given life, bouncing and spinning wildly up and down! The whole plant seemed to be performing a silent yet passionate dance, full of indescribable vitality.
"Wow!" the students exclaimed in surprise.
"See that?" Professor Sprout stopped casting the spell, and the bellflowers' dance gradually subsided. "This resonant stimulation greatly promotes their growth, making them healthier and their magical properties more active. Conversely, if they don't receive proper sound wave nourishment for a long time, they will become stunted and grow slowly." She pointed to several bellflowers in the corner that were noticeably dull in color and had their bells jingling.
"Now, who wants to try?" Professor Sprout looked around at the students. "It doesn't require much magic; the key is stable frequency control. Try to produce a continuous, steady vibration from the tip of your wand, mimicking the frequency of the musical notes produced by the tool I just used. Kate? You want to try first?"
Kate of Hufflepuff, whose name had been called, stepped forward somewhat nervously, raising her wand to the strange ensemble. She took a deep breath and uttered the spell, a slightly sharp, unstable sound wave emanating from the tip of her wand. The bellflower only caused one of its small bells to sway slightly and perfunctorily before falling silent.
"Don't be nervous, dear," Professor Sprout encouraged. "The frequency is a bit off, and it's not stable enough. The magic should be gentle, imagine you're plucking an invisible string, making it produce a pure note, and then sustaining it."
The next few students' attempts were not very successful. Some sound waves were too strong, causing the bellflower leaves to tremble but the bells remained still; some had completely wrong frequencies, producing no response at all; and some were intermittent, causing the bellflowers to show a slight movement before stopping again.
"Karen? Why don't you give it a try?" Professor Sprout's gaze fell on Karen, a hint of anticipation in his eyes. Professor Flitwick had often praised Karen's spell-learning abilities in front of her, and Karen also possessed remarkable observational skills regarding magical plants.
Karen nodded and stepped forward. He didn't immediately cast a spell, but instead carefully observed the bellflower waiting to be awakened. He recalled what he had just seen: when Professor Sprout activated it with the tool, the specific frequency of sound waves acted like a delicate key, inserting into an invisible magical lock, instantly triggering a harmonious resonance within the stream, causing the magical flow to accelerate dramatically and its activity to multiply.
He needs to find the frequency of that "keyhole".
Karen raised his wand without chanting any spell. He closed his eyes, concentrated his mind, and summoned a tiny wisp of magic. His magical perception was already far beyond that of ordinary people, and at this moment it was highly focused on the tip of his wand.
He imagined the sound frequency of the brass tool that Professor Sprout had just used, and under his will, the magic began to vibrate at a high frequency within a tiny area at the tip of the staff.
Then he gradually adjusted his thoughts, and the frequency gradually matched.
喻—
A faint, almost inaudible, yet remarkably stable and pure sound wave emanated from the tip of Karen's wand. The frequency of this sound perfectly matched the point he had previously detected where the bellflower's magical structure resonated most easily!
In an instant, it was as if a fountain of life had been poured in!
The dancing bellflower in front of Karen trembled suddenly, and then its slender stem began to dance in a more fluid and agile manner than when Professor Sprout had demonstrated it! The little bell-shaped sacs on it were extremely joyful, bouncing up and down, spinning at high speed, and even colliding with each other, as if they were dancing a passionate flamenco!
The sheer amplitude and vitality of this plant's swaying far surpassed any previous demonstration! Several plants beside it also seemed to be infected, their stems and leaves beginning to sway slightly even without being directly enchanted.
"Merlin's mustache!" Professor Sprout's eyes widened in surprise. She strode over and examined the vibrant bluebell closely. "Fantastic, Cullen! Perfect! Your frequency control is incredibly precise! And the magical output is so stable and gentle! Look how happy it is!" Her eyes were full of admiration as she looked at Cullen. "My dear, your mastery of magical control is truly astonishing. I dare say no student at Hogwarts has better control than you!"
The surrounding classmates also exclaimed in amazement and envy.
Karen maintained a steady output of magic power, watching the plant sway joyfully before him, a strange sense of satisfaction rising within him. This was not merely control of magic power, but more like a dialogue with the rhythms of nature's life. He could clearly "see" that, under the continuous effect of the precisely resonant sound waves, the pale green magic flow within the plant became brighter, smoother, and brimming with vitality.
"Professor," Karen asked, her voice steady as she maintained the vibration, "besides promoting growth, does this resonant stimulation have any other effects? For example, does it enhance certain specific magical properties?"
"Excellent question, Karen!" Professor Chisprout said approvingly.
"This is precisely one of the important directions we are introducing and studying! Some scholars believe that the dew contained in the bell-shaped sacs of bellflowers that have received appropriate resonance nourishment over a long period of time may have a stabilizing effect on emotions."
Its mild calming effect makes it an excellent ingredient for certain high-grade tranquilizing medicines. However, this effect requires long-term cultivation and verification with a large number of samples.
Karen nodded thoughtfully. The calming effect reminded him of moonmoss and the curse on his mentor, Castor. Although the effect of the bellflower might be weak, this method of resonating with life magic through a specific frequency was itself worthy of study.
After a while, Karen slowly withdrew her magic. The bellflower seemed reluctant to stop, swaying gently a few more times before finally settling down completely, but the entire plant appeared noticeably brighter and greener than before.
"Excellent, Karen! Ravenclaw, three points!" Professor Sprout exclaimed happily. "Did everyone see that? That's the effect of precise control of magic! Of course, it requires a lot of practice and strong concentration. Alright, now work in pairs, one person tries to activate the bellflower, and the other observes the effect. Take turns practicing! Remember, the magic should be gentle, and the frequency should try to mimic the sound of my tool! Karen, you did very well. You can move around freely, or perhaps you could keep an eye on those few Silent Ferns over there? They like quiet, but they need their overly dense 'sound-absorbing hairs' on their leaves regularly, otherwise it will affect their breathing."
"Yes, Professor," Karen replied. Although he didn't intend to devote as much effort to herbalism as he did to alchemy and spells, he was quite interested in these magical plants.
As he was observing, Fabian approached, his face showing keen interest. "Karen, Professor Sprout said I could come and see these Whispering Ferns? They're quite special. Very different from the Whispering Ferns grown in the Eagle's Nest."
"Hmm," Karen pointed to the leaves, "these hairs seem to absorb sound waves. The professor said that the overly dense parts need to be groomed regularly, otherwise it will affect the plant's respiration."
"Can I try?" Fabian asked eagerly, carefully extending his fingers, but afraid of hurting the downy fur. "How should I comb it? Just with my hands?"
"We'll need very gentle tools." Karen looked around and saw some small, soft-bristled brushes that appeared to be made of a special material on the tool shelf next to her. "How about trying this?"
Fabian picked up a small brush, held his breath, and carefully approached a leaf of a Silent Fern. He gently brushed the deep purple down with the tip of the brush. The down swayed slightly, and the brush seemed to thin out a little where it had been touched, revealing the glossy dark green leaf underneath.
"Look! It seems to be working!" Fabian whispered excitedly, careful not to disturb the quiet plant. He moved gently and attentively, as if handling a precious work of art, combing through each leaf one by one. Karen watched quietly from the side, without disturbing him.
He noticed that after Fabian combed it, the magical flow of the leaf seemed to become smoother, although the change was extremely subtle.
"Fabian?" Professor Sprout walked over unnoticed, a pleased smile spreading across his face as he watched Fabian intently combing his hair. "You're quite interested in these quiet little ones?"
Fabian looked up, his face slightly flushed, but his eyes bright: "Yes, Professor! They're amazing. How does this sound-absorbing property develop? What should we be careful about when grooming the downy hairs? And I'm curious, how do these plants deal with this problem in nature?"
"Very good, very good," Professor Sprout nodded repeatedly. "The hairs of the Silent Fern are a natural sound-absorbing material, helping them find a quiet growing space in noisy jungle environments. The key to grooming is 'gentleness,' like you just did. Don't use force, or you'll damage the cells at the base of the hairs. They prefer a humid but well-ventilated environment and are afraid of strong light and noise pollution."
Then she looked at Fabian, "As for the question you asked, generally where there are Silent Ferns in nature, there is another magical creature, a kind of South American fairy. They usually like to live in quiet places, which matches the environmental requirements of Silent Ferns, and they also help Silent Ferns groom their downy hairs. If you are interested in them, Fabian, you can try to take care of and cultivate them. Later, you can also try to cultivate them from spores."
"Really? Professor! Thank you so much!" Fabian was overjoyed, a smile spreading across his face.
"Of course," Professor Sprout smiled kindly, "Hogwarts' greenhouse always welcomes students who love plants. Alright, Cullen, Fabian, get out of class is almost over, pack up."
The bell rang at the right time. The students began cleaning up their tools and gradually left the greenhouse. Fabian was still excitedly discussing the habits of the Silent Fern with Professor Sprout. Karen glanced at the Dancing Bellflowers that had quieted down again in the corner, then at Fabian, who was immersed in the plant world.
On the way out of the greenhouse, Fabian was still very excited: "Karen, do you think I can successfully cultivate Silent Ferns? Professor Sprout said it can be cultivated from spores, which requires very careful observation and environmental control—"
"Of course," Karen replied confidently. "You have the patience and attention to detail." He recalled Fabian's steady defense during special training and his meticulous handling in Potions class.
"Thank you," Fabian smiled a little shyly, "The way you made the bellflowers dance today was amazing! I'm afraid I could never achieve that level of control even after practicing for a long time."
"Find the right frequency, maintain a stable output, and you can do it too," Karen patted him on the shoulder.