Professor Sprout froze.
For a long moment, she simply stared, as if stunned by what Robert had just said. Then, her expression shifted — realization, a touch of hurt, and finally, deep concern.
Was Robert treating her as someone trying to steal his job?
Conflicting emotions washed over her. And yet, when she heard the confident terms Robert proposed for continuing his work at the plantation, her heart ached.
What kind of life had this child endured?
How could someone value a simple plantation job so deeply?
After composing herself, Professor Sprout finally explained everything to Robert — who now stood just as frozen.
He had assumed he had transmigrated to a parallel world. Only now did he realize the shocking truth:
He had transmigrated into the Harry Potter world?
Though Hufflepuff was never heavily described in the original books, Robert certainly knew of Professor Sprout, the esteemed Herbology professor at Hogwarts.
But being her nephew?
That was beyond anything he could have imagined.
While Robert stood stunned, Professor Sprout's own expression shifted to something more emotional — excited, even.
"Robert, your family was attacked by Death Eaters a long time ago," she said quietly. "The entire house was destroyed. I thought you had... I thought you were gone."
"By Merlin, when your magic surged yesterday, the Book of Admittance recorded your name. That's how I knew you were alive."
Robert was stunned.
A magic surge?
Yesterday?
Then a thought struck him.
After he obtained the Planting System, he'd spent years exploring its functions. He had learned that rewards from planting varied: the harder the plant was to cultivate, the greater the reward. Some plants even offered special bonuses.
Driven by this, he had expanded his collection beyond common crops like cotton. He'd tracked down and experimented with seeds of rare and even unknown species. One such plant was something called margaret, which he'd cultivated a year ago.
And just yesterday, a batch of those margaret seeds had silently sprouted.[3 margaret planted]When the reward light cluster appeared, something unusual happened — for the first time ever, the system couldn't read the reward:[Missing necessary information, unable to read reward content]Driven by curiosity, Robert didn't wait for the plants to fully mature. He immediately harvested one of them.
At the time, he felt nothing strange.
Only a light breeze passed by.
Could that breeze have been his magic surge?
Was the reward related to magic? And because he lacked magical awareness, he couldn't understand what it was?
Determined to find answers, Robert led Professor Sprout to a corner of the plantation where he kept his rarest experimental plants.
He pointed to the freshly sprouted margaret.
"Aunt," he asked earnestly, "you're the Herbology professor at Hogwarts, right? You must know a lot of plants. Do you recognize this one?"
Professor Sprout's heart warmed when she heard him call her Aunt. She had feared that he would reject her — that he would blame her for his years spent lost and alone.
But this boy — this strong, curious, hardworking young man — had accepted her without hesitation.
She looked at him with pride and tenderness.
This was her nephew.
A true child of the Sprout family. Handsome, kind, diligent — and most importantly, a lover of plants.
She stepped forward and examined the margaret plants.
Her eyes widened in shock.
"This is a flower from the magical world," she said. "It's called margaret. Though it's mostly ornamental, it has another use — it can be processed into a potion that stabilizes a young wizard's magic when it gets out of control."
"In the Muggle world, it's nearly impossible for it to survive."
"But you—Robert—you actually cultivated it to life?"
Her face lit up with admiration.
As expected of the Sprout family.
The family's gift for Herbology had clearly been passed down. She was overjoyed — their legacy had a successor!
At that moment, the reward system in Robert's mind finally updated.[Margaret Planting Reward — Extremely Weak Magic Boost (Incubating)]
[Once fully matured, reward upgrades to — Weak Magic Boost]Understanding dawned on Robert.
He now realized that the body he had transmigrated into — Robert Sprout — had originally been born without magical talent. That's why his name hadn't appeared in the Book of Admittance, and why no letter from Hogwarts had ever come.
That's why he never appeared in the original story.
But yesterday changed everything.
By planting margaret and unknowingly triggering a magic-based reward, he had gained just enough magical presence for the Book to recognize him.
It was the first ripple in what could become a massive change.
He, Robert Sprout — once forgotten — now had a future in the magical world.
His heart swelled with joy.
Of course he wanted to go to Hogwarts!
Who hadn't dreamt of receiving an owl-delivered letter? Of entering that ancient castle filled with wonder, spells, and flying broomsticks?
And he had the Planting System.
A world full of magical plants?
It was practically made for him.
At that moment, Professor Sprout gently asked, "Robert... are you willing to let me take care of your life?"
Robert looked up.
He saw the longing in her eyes — the hope, the regret, and the overwhelming love.
He nodded slowly.
"Of course, Aunt."
A wide smile broke across her face. Pure joy filled her expression.
But Robert hesitated, then added, "I do have one request, though... if that's okay?"
Professor Sprout's heart tensed.
She was ready for anything.
She had failed this child once. She wouldn't do it again.
It didn't matter what he asked — money, power, resources, a favor from the Ministry — she would find a way.
Even Snape, as arrogant as he was, owed her multiple favors from his need for rare potion herbs.
"Robert," she said solemnly, "no matter what it is, if I can do it, I will. Even if you wanted a dragon, I'd make the Ministry approve it!"
But Robert blinked at her, surprised.
"A dragon? What would I do with that?"
Then his eyes sparkled.
"What I want… is a piece of land. Somewhere quiet. A space where I can plant flowers and trees."
He paused, a little sheepishly.
"And maybe… if you have any strange seeds in the future… I'd love to try planting them."
Professor Sprout stared.
That was it?
Land and seeds?
She was the Head of Hufflepuff, the master of Hogwarts' entire Greenhouse network, and a recognized authority in magical botany!
She could give him acres, and more seeds than he could ever plant in a lifetime!
She burst out laughing — the warm, full-bodied laugh of someone genuinely overjoyed.
"Of course, Robert!" she said. "You can have as much land as you like. And I'll personally help you choose the most magical seeds."
As she spoke, her eyes were full of maternal pride and affection. She looked at Robert as if he were her own son.
Then something seemed to click in her memory.
"Oh — I nearly forgot!"
She reached into her cloak and pulled out a thick envelope.
It was made of heavy parchment, sealed with four crests — lion, badger, eagle, and snake.
She held it out, her voice trembling slightly.
"This is your Hogwarts acceptance letter."
"Normally, an owl would deliver it. But I couldn't wait."
"So, Robert… welcome back to the magical world."
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