Hogwarts' Golden Glory

The other party suddenly stopped.

Then I looked at Kane.

She almost forgot that the other person's father, Lucius, was among those who had escaped.

The atmosphere became somewhat awkward for a moment.

"So, if you want the trial to start sooner, is that necessary?"

Kane tentatively opened his mouth.

Algi suddenly interjected, "So you want to reopen Sirius's trial sooner rather than later?"

Augusta narrowed his eyes: "Kane Malfoy, you've gone through all this trouble just to help Black?"

Kane nodded slightly, a wry smile on his face. "More or less. After all, if such an obvious miscarriage of justice can be ignored, what credibility does the Ministry of Magic's law have left?"

Algi's fists clenched so tightly they cracked: "First thing tomorrow morning, I'll go to Wizengamo and file an emergency motion."

Augusta laughed and said, "Kid, you're much smarter than your father... Lucius never understood what 'retreating to advance' meant."

Augusta's cane drew sparks across the floor: "The Longbottom family doesn't engage in political deals, but they are clear about their debts."

"Frank and Blake used to be partners, so we're definitely going to handle this."

Frank struggled to sit up in his hospital bed, and his wife Alice immediately supported his swaying shoulders.

"Thirteen years... ago..."

His hoarse voice, like a rusty gear turning, said, "Blake... shielded me from... the curse..."

Kane nodded slightly.

He knew he would get this answer.

The Longbottom family's loyalty to their comrades is like the bouncy root they cultivate exclusively.

Its surface is unassuming, but its root system is incredibly resilient.

However, Kane had other motives.

"Mrs. Longbottom, I also need some jumping stems."

The air in the ward seemed to freeze for a moment.

The toad Raeford in Neville's arms suddenly croaked.

It's important to know that the rhizome of the jumping plant is a key ingredient in wolfsbane medicine.

The Longbottom family, being the only family capable of cultivating the Jumping Rhizome, faces a very tight supply every year.

Augusta's vulture hat slowly turned its head: "How much?"

"Five pounds per month for a year."

Kane tapped his fingertips lightly on the edge of the bed. "And it has to be Grade A harvested on the eve of the full moon."

Algi's eyebrows practically flew into his hairline: "Merlin! You really dare to ask for that! That's the highest grade we supply to St. Mungo's!"

He turned to his mother, "Last year Snape wanted three pounds for research, and we didn't have any—"

"Give it to him," Frank suddenly said, his hoarse voice like sandpaper scraping.

Alice held her husband's hand tightly and nodded gently.

Augusta's cane slammed heavily on the ground.

The house-elf appeared with a "snap," holding a bronze box.

The moment the lid was opened, a silvery-blue fluorescent light illuminated half of the ward.

Twelve jumping rhizomes are neatly arranged on moss soaked in dragon's blood.

"This is a treasured specimen from the third seedbed in our East Greenhouse."

The old lady's voice was rough, "Enough to make two hundred doses of standard wolfsbane medicine."

Her sharp gaze pierced Kane. "No need to explain its purpose?"

Kane took the bronze box and said calmly, "Let's improve the existing wolfsbane medicine."

Algi's mouth was wide enough to fit a dragon egg.

But thinking about what Kane had just done, he kept his mouth shut.

This kid might actually make it!

Even Frank, lying in his hospital bed, coughed with trembling shoulders upon hearing this.

Alice gently patted her husband's back and suddenly waved to Kane.

"Come..."

Her hoarse voice, like the wind rustling through withered leaves, said, "Come closer..."

As Kane bent down, Alice's withered finger suddenly tapped his forehead.

A flash of silver light appeared, and a miniature pattern of jumping roots appeared between Kane's brows before quickly disappearing.

"Longbottom's mark..." Frank explained with difficulty.

"With this... the plants in the greenhouse... won't bite you..."

Algi whistled, "Merlin's stinky socks! Last time I tried to sneak some Mibumibo, those damn biting daffodils chased me for three miles!"

"When we're on holiday..." Augusta tapped Kane's calf with her cane.

"You can come to the manor for dinner..." A sly glint flashed in her eyes. "Remember to wear thick boots..."

Dumbledore clapped his hands at the opportune moment: "What a wonderful academic exchange."

His blue eyes behind his half-moon spectacles gleamed with pleasure. "But now, I'm afraid I'll have to send these two young men back to Hogwarts—otherwise someone might replace all the lemonade in my office with Scotch bitters."

Neville hugged his parents tightly, his movements as careful as if he were handling fragile glass.

"I...I'll come see you all again when I'm on vacation..."

"What a touching scene." Dumbledore opened his arms. "Children, let's go."

Soon, the group returned to Hogwarts.

Kane couldn't wait any longer.

Kane stood in front of the potions office and knocked three times gently.

The door slid open silently, and a strong smell of herbs and some kind of spicy magic potion vapor wafted out.

Snape sat at the table, his dark circles under his eyes so deep it looked like he'd been hit twice with a crucible.

He was stirring a potion that emitted eerie purple smoke in his hands.

His gaze lifted from the crucible and landed coldly on Kane.

"A late-night visit, Mr. Malfoy."

His voice was like a dull knife scraping against a stone, "I hope you're not here to report that Draco has blown something up into the sky again."

Kane did not answer immediately, but instead took the bronze box from his dragon-skin pouch and placed it on the table.

The moment the box lid was opened, a silvery-blue glow reflected on Snape's pale face.

This caused his expression to relax for a rare moment.

"Jumping root," Kane said. "A grade from the Longbottom family."

Snape's fingertips lightly traced the moon phase pattern on the edge of the leaf, a glint of greed flashing in his eyes.

True potion masters are powerless against materials of this caliber.

But he quickly regained his composure, raising his eyes to stare at Kane: "What price?"

"My godfather," Kane said, "what price do we need to pay?"

"Hmph." Snape snorted coldly.

"That is, to continue improving the wolfsbane medicine."

Snape pointed his fingertip at the bouncy root.

"Didn't we already try it before? You were here too. I used three whole Grade A plants, and the result was—"

"The crucible exploded."

Kane picked up where the other person left off, his shoulders shaking as he tried to suppress a laugh: "That's because you used a silver stirring rod."

"Page 792 of the 'Moonlight Reaction Guide' clearly states that the root of the jumping plant will produce an 'overactivity effect' when it comes into contact with pure silver."

Snape looked as if he had been publicly pointed out for mispronouncing "Yugardim Leviosa": "That book is outdated rubbish published in 1892."

"So I plan to use this later."