Magical Studies at Hogwarts...

Chapter 96 Nature's Gift

As the moon rose high in the sky, a nightingale pressed its breast against a rosebud, its melodious song filling the air, and the thorns beneath the bud slowly pierced through.

Strangely, not a drop of blood flowed from the wound, yet the flower bud seemed to have turned even redder.

Ike slowed his pace and quietly approached. The nightingale seemed oblivious, continuing its chorus of song.

Not daring to act rashly, Ike knew that there was no record of this strange magical ritual in "Curses and Curses Breaking Spells," and he was unsure what the consequences of getting involved would be, as it could potentially cause great harm to the poor little guy.

Fortunately, it seems the buds will take some time to bloom, so the nightingale can still be saved.

After spending about four or five hours under the oak tree, the nightingale's song finally seemed to be stopping. These few hours had exhausted Ike; his hands had been pressed against the trunk, silently channeling magic to ease the oak tree's burden somewhat.

At least that's the message the oak tree conveys.

Suddenly, the nightingale stopped. The little creature had sung all night, pouring its heart and soul into the song, and almost couldn't hold onto the tree trunk. It flapped its wings twice to steady itself.

Ike quickly stepped forward and carefully grabbed the nightingale. The little creature was clearly frightened, but it was too weak and stopped struggling after a few moments.

"Good boy, good boy, I won't hurt you..." Ike slowly opened his left hand, which was holding the bottle, and opened the bottle cap with his right hand, bringing the bottle opening towards Nightingale's head.

"You can feel it, right... Here, this is good stuff, drink more..."

Nightingale seemed to sense something, perhaps instinctively feeling that the liquid in the transparent bottle would be beneficial to her. She glanced back at Ike, who was looking at her with encouragement, and after a while, she finally stuck her head inside.

The effects of the white sap were powerful; Ike could clearly feel Nightingale's condition improving.

The little guy wasn't big, only about the size of an adult's palm, and he couldn't drink anymore after a short while. But he was very lively, jumping around in Ike's hand a few times and barking a few times, showing his ease and joy.

"I'll put this bottle up there..." Ike pointed to a thick branch on the oak tree, "so that when you're done, you can fly up and drink it yourself."

The nightingale seemed to understand, flapped its wings and flew up, landing directly on the branch that Ike had just pointed to.

"Yes, yes! That's it!" Ike first tightened the bottle cap and put it in his pocket, then climbed up the tree trunk in a few quick movements. He took out the rope he had prepared beforehand, tied the bottle with it, and then opened the cap.

"I'll replenish the white sap inside; it'll definitely be enough for you to drink." Ike gently wiped Nightingale's head with his fingers. "Don't worry, you'll be fine."

"Oh, by the way, let me introduce you to a new friend..." Jimmy rubbed his eyes and crawled out from Ike's collar, clearly having been woken up.

Startled by Jimmy, the nightingale hopped behind the bottle and tilted its head to look over.

"Its name is Jimmy. It will stay here for the next few days to make sure the bottle doesn't fall," Ike said, taking Jimmy down.

He wasn't worried at all about Jimmy and the nightingale's relationship. Bowtruckles were natural tree protectors, nature's darlings. Apart from insects that harmed trees, they wouldn't harm the birds that occasionally rested in the trees.

Moreover, the nightingale in front of us can no longer be regarded as an ordinary bird; it has already possessed some magical properties.

Perhaps when the red rose is in full bloom, it will transform into a magical creature.

Sure enough, in no time at all, Jimmy and Nightingale became good friends, the two little guys jumping around the bottle, having a great time.

With a sigh of relief, Ike quietly climbed down from the tree. He was truly exhausted after running around outside for almost a whole night.

He went straight back to his room, flopped onto the bed, and fell asleep almost immediately. When he woke up again, it was almost noon.

Ike yawned widely, rubbed his eyes, and came out, still a little dazed after washing up.

He was familiar with this feeling; it was a reaction to excessive magic consumption.

Replenishing the oak tree's magic is no easy task. It is a newly grown magical plant with poor magic channeling. If out of ten parts of magic input, it is already considered good if two parts are retained.

That's where Ekko comes in.

He not only had to maintain the input of magic, but also guide the magic that wasn't absorbed by the oak tree to prevent it from dissipating and instead remain attached to the trunk. Although this wouldn't be difficult for Ike with his current level of magic control, it would take a long time.

After a drowsy lunch, Ike finally recovered. Ignoring the enthusiastic little ones, he quietly slipped back to his room to continue sleeping.

We'll continue tonight.

So Ike ate and slept during the day, slept and ate, and guided the oak tree to replenish its magic at night. He also played with Jimmy and the nightingale. A whole week passed in this dull but fulfilling way before the red roses finally bloomed.

It was a night with a full moon in the sky. When the flower bud, nourished by the nightingale's blood, finally bloomed, wisps of pale red light fell on the petals. The light, like mist, lingered on the petals for a long time before slowly melting into them.

The nightingale's song was melodious, and thanks to the white sap, it did not die as it had originally intended. Instead, it flapped its wings and danced a strange dance around the red rose.

It hovered, then soared, then swooped down, even flapping its belly up a few times. As the song played, white mist rose from the red rose, slowly enveloping the nightingale.

This was clearly a good thing, and Nightingale became even more excited. Even Jimmy joined in and secretly took a few sips.

The white mist slowly dissipated, and the nightingale's feathers gradually changed color. The gray and white feathers gradually lost their grayness, leaving only dazzling white, making it look extremely beautiful.

A wisp of bright red feather suddenly sprouted from the top of its head, like a cowlick, and moved back and forth as the nightingale flew, which was quite adorable.

Reaching out, the nightingale landed directly on my hand, nuzzling its head against my fingers affectionately.

Ike was startled. He could clearly sense a considerable amount of magic within the nightingale. Just as he had predicted, the nightingale had become a magical creature.

This confirmed his guess.

The birth of the Red Rose was both a crisis and an opportunity for the nightingale. Through a series of coincidences, it brought forth the Red Rose with its song and its heart's blood.

If they cannot survive, death is inevitable; but if they do survive, the red rose will also reward the nightingale.

This may be the first nightingale in history to survive, after all, the birth of this red rose is extremely rare, and even fewer are witnessed by human eyes. Even when it is discovered, it is by chance, and the nightingale is often on the verge of death, with countless attempts to save it.

Moreover, given the wizards' arrogance, the nightingale might just be a "sacrifice" in their eyes.

"Alright, alright, that's enough, little one..." Ike soothed the nightingale, gently placed it on his shoulder, and then took Jimmy down from the tree to keep it company before carefully picking the red rose and placing it in the box he had prepared.

Ike has already found a home for it; he'll call Stewart tomorrow to borrow his owl.

Aside from not being able to use magic, leaving school is one of the few troublesome things.

(End of this chapter)