#61 - The spell is just a means

Regarding Mune's question, Professor Sprout offered her own methods.

Fertilizer and Growth Potions.

However, neither of these met Mune's needs.

The prerequisite for increasing yield through fertilization is having a large area of land and ample time.

But Siron was about to face war, and land, crops, and even labor would surely be destroyed, and time was an even more impossible thing to have.

As for Growth Potions, ordinary plants simply couldn't absorb them.

Perhaps Growth Potions could be used to cultivate large magical plants, but using them to grow food crops wouldn't work because the crops couldn't absorb them, and the potions weren't easy to brew either.

"Professor, isn't there any other way?"

Mune asked, still somewhat unwilling to give up.

"If we're talking solely about plant growth magic, then indeed only these two come to mind, but spells..."

Professor Sprout pondered for a moment before speaking.

"Besides the [Engorgement Charm], there's also a [Growth Charm] and [Grow Forth], but to know the specific differences between them, you'll have to ask Professor Flitwick."

"Okay, I understand, Professor."

Having received the answer, Mune wanted to go to the library to find some information first, but Professor Sprout called him back again.

"Wait, Mune, are you sure you want to research this kind of magic that enlarges or accelerates plant growth?"

"It seems so for now."

Seeing that Professor Sprout was still somewhat worried, Mune answered sincerely.

"You can actually reconsider. Actually, Molinaro's Lavender Incense and Cedric's Drowsy Mushroom Powder are both very good. You don't necessarily need to research such basic things."

In Professor Sprout's view, Mune's choice of direction was not what she favored.

When it came to nurturing students, she was actually very willing to be someone who lifted students up, especially hoping that students could achieve greater success on top of her research.

But Mune's choice was a completely opposite direction.

If her choice was a diligent gardener, then what Mune wanted to research was someone who cultivated the fields.

Compared to other people's research, the path Mune chose was more fundamental, but also more difficult.

"Professor, I still want to give it a try. If it doesn't work out, I'll come back to study herbal plants anyway. I'm only eleven years old."

"Heh heh, alright."

Sprout shook her head with a smile.

Mune's answer made it impossible for the Herbology professor to refuse, because the age of eleven indeed offered many opportunities for trial and error, especially for a student like Mune who was very proactive.

Mune wasn't aware of Sprout's thoughts. After leaving the club, he went straight to the library.

......

Although he had been at Hogwarts for two months, Mune didn't know where Professor Flitwick's office was.

But he wasn't in a hurry to ask now. During his time studying at Hogwarts.

Especially influenced by the Herbology Club, Mune knew that if he didn't have a basic understanding of some things, he wouldn't be able to discover more accurate questions.

Just like those seniors who pestered Sprout every day, they could only know how to ask accurate questions after researching herbs in depth.

So, Mune first found some relevant spell books and some magical plant books in the library.

It wasn't until after Charms class on Tuesday afternoon that Mune stopped Professor Flitwick, who was preparing to leave, with his questions.

"Mr. Scarlett, I must say you have a great potential to be a duelist."

Before Mune could ask his question, Professor Flitwick praised him first.

"Does your family have anyone involved in wizard duels?"

Seeing Mune stunned in place, Flitwick curiously asked the question in his mind.

"Probably ~ not."

Although he didn't know what a wizard duel was, Mune was very clear that his family were all ordinary people.

"Is that so? That's really strange. Just now, after I finished explaining the Mending Charm, your casting technique was fast and accurate, even Miss Granger wasn't as fast as you."

What Professor Flitwick was talking about was Mune's brilliant performance in class.

Just now, after Flitwick finished explaining the spell, Mune subconsciously pulled out his wand and directly waved it to repair the broken pencil.

The whole movement was smooth and flowing, without a trace of procrastination.

This was also why Flitwick believed Mune had what it took to be a duelist.

"Mr. Scarlett, if, and I mean if, you want to achieve good results in the Wizarding Duels Competition in the future, be sure to come to me. I will tell you all my experience!"

Flitwick said, standing back on the textbook and patting Mune on the shoulder. He really admired Mune's spellcasting technique.

"Professor, the duelist thing can be discussed later. I want to ask you some other questions now."

Mune didn't want to study how to duel wizards for the time being. In his opinion, making sure his family was full was the most important thing to solve.

"Oh, that's a pity, but I'm still very willing to hear your questions."

......

"[Engorgement Charm], [Growth Charm], [Grow Forth], indeed, all can cause changes to the object they affect, but there are also differences between them."

Professor Flitwick had a deep understanding of spells, and he could give corresponding answers to the questions Mune raised.

And finally, to make it easier for Mune to understand, he also made a horizontal comparison of these spells.

"The [Engorgement Charm] doesn't actually change the real size of the original object. It achieves the enlargement effect by expanding the gaps in the material structure."

"As for the [Growth Charm], it mainly acts on plants, functioning like a strong catalyst."

"Finally, the [Grow Forth] will increase the size of the object in a short period of time, but it will also destroy the internal structure of the object, making it a very dangerous spell."

After Flitwick finished explaining the three spells, he adjusted the glasses on the bridge of his nose.

"Sir, do you remember what I said in the first Charms class?"

Hearing Flitwick's question, Mune thought for a moment and roughly guessed which sentence he was referring to.

So he blurted out.

"If you don't know what you want, then you'll never know what spell to learn."

"That's right, it seems Miss Granger said you have a very good memory, and it's actually true!"

Mune was stunned for a moment. He never thought Hermione would have said these things to Flitwick.

"Alright, since you know this sentence, then you should be able to understand that spells are just a means. Before that, you must tell me what you want."

Flitwick could always discover the essence of the problem. His reminder pulled Mune out of the quagmire of researching spells.

"I want to be able to quickly grow a kind of food crop in a short period of time so that more people can be full."

Hearing Mune's request, Flitwick fell into contemplation.

"Your request is really a bit strange, which reminds me of those court wizards of the Middle Ages."

"Court wizards?"

Mune was surprised by this term, which differed by only one word.

"That's right, some of the wizards at that time chose to be loyal to the king, and they were also asked to solve the food problem."

"Did they solve it?"

"Of course not, otherwise, how could they have been hunted down?"