As Crabbe reached out to grab the Goldfish Vine, Malfoy's footsteps paused.
A flicker of amusement danced across his face.
Goyle licked his lips.
He suddenly thought Crabbe had excellent eyesight. That green, goldfish-shaped thing did look like a sweet treat—maybe even better than a Chocolate Frog.
It seemed like it would burst with juicy flavor the moment it was bitten into.
"I want some too!"
"Give me a bite!"
Goyle reached out and tugged at Crabbe, eager to share whatever it was he had in his hand.
As for Sharl, Neville, and Hermione, Crabbe and Goyle didn't even spare them a glance.
Hadn't Malfoy just said that Sharl and Neville were barely stronger than Squibs?
And Hermione? She was just a Muggle-born witch.
Besides, no one here had learned any magic yet.
Size was truth.
Hermione's face flushed with anger.
"Rude!"
"Insolent!"
She pulled out her wand.
Back home, she had already been practicing some spells.
She could now cast several minor charms.
But facing Crabbe and Goyle—those towering, burly figures—even with all her courage, her wand trembled slightly in her grip.
She had never actually been in a fight before, and her heart was pounding.
Could the charms she had learned really handle two troll-sized bullies?
Neville, of course, couldn't cast spells yet.
But he didn't hesitate—he shielded the Goldfish Vine behind him with his body.
His eyes were filled with determination.
Even if he were beaten to a pulp by Crabbe and Goyle, he would never let those two thugs lay a hand—or a tooth—on the plant.
It was a gift from his cousin, Sharl!
Just as the tension in the compartment was about to explode—
Click.
The sound of the door locking echoed through the small space.
Malfoy froze.
Only now did he notice that Sharl had silently turned the lock from the inside.
His expression shifted.
Was Sharl out of his mind?
But a chill—an old instinct passed down in the House of Malfoy—suddenly made Draco uneasy.
Something about the compartment felt off now.
Eerie.
Everyone's attention turned to Sharl.
He was standing still, fists slowly tightening at his sides.
His expression was cold—like a storm was building inside him.
"You came in here talking about Squibs and Muggle-borns," Sharl said in a low, steady voice.
"I'm not going to argue with you."
"But you want to eat the Goldfish Vine I planted?"
His expression twisted—something feral and furious, as if haunted by a memory from another life.
It had been a dark and windy night.
Sharl had only stepped away from his experimental field for half an hour.
When he returned, the women who had long coveted the tangerines he'd grown had wrecked everything.
One of them had the audacity to frown at him.
"Why are your tangerines so sour?"
"Young man, these won't sell."
"Fine, I'm kind, I'll give you two yuan per catty of tangerines, how about that?"
The memory surged, and with it, so did his rage.
Now, the faces of those greedy women seemed to merge with the grinning faces of Crabbe and Goyle.
SNAP.
Something inside him broke.
"Die!"
Sharl's fists moved like blurs.
With a series of rapid strikes, his punches landed cleanly on Crabbe and Goyle's stunned faces.
The two thugs, both at least a head taller than Sharl, dropped instantly.
What followed was sheer fury.
Sharl's feet stomped down in a relentless rhythm.
"I'll let you eat tangerines!"
"Eat, eat, eat!"
"Say they're sour again?"
"My thesis! My graduation project!"
"Eat your way through my entire field, will you?!"
Malfoy stood frozen, completely horrified.
His usual smugness had evaporated.
Sharl's gaze fell on him.
Malfoy stammered, "I-I didn't eat anything… I didn't want any… that plant looked gross anyway…"
Thud.
Before he could say more, everything went black.
A sharp pain blossomed across his face—his eye socket throbbing.
He let out a shriek, clutching his head and collapsing.
Sharl yanked him up by the collar.
"My plants—are they yours to judge?"
"Huh?"
"Are you the one studying agriculture? Or am I?!"
Then, without further ceremony, he flung Malfoy back to the floor.
"Phew—"
Sharl let out a deep breath.
"That felt good."
Neville and Hermione, still standing, were shaking.
So that's why he locked the compartment door?
To beat up Malfoy and his gang?!
Terrifying.
Absolutely terrifying.
Malfoy was sobbing now, clutching his bruised face.
"I—I'm going to tell my dad!" he shrieked.
"He'll expel you! All of you!"
Sharl sneered.
He pulled out three dark, irregular lumps from his pocket.
Before anyone could stop him, he forced one into each of the trio's mouths.
Malfoy's eyes widened in horror.
"W-What did you make us eat?!"
Sharl gave him a pitying look.
"Devil Parasite Grass seeds."
"Ever heard of it?"
Malfoy was speechless.
He hated Herbology.
He didn't know any of the plant names—not even the basic ones.
The name alone told him it couldn't be good.
Sharl began his explanation, his tone slow and eerie.
"The Devil Parasite Grass is a highly dangerous, very rare Dark Arts plant."
"Even One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi doesn't mention it."
"Only our Sprout Family has access to it."
"It's toxic—but that's not the worst part."
"What makes it truly unique is how it grows."
"It takes root—inside the human body."
"It feeds off the flesh and blood of its host."
"Young wizards, like you three, are its favorite."
"Soon, you'll feel something off. But you won't know why."
"That's the Devil Parasite Grass sprouting—sending out roots inside your body."
"And when it matures, it will—pop—burst out of your chest."
Sharl hadn't even finished.
Malfoy's face turned the color of milk.
His eyes rolled back.
He fainted.
Sharl clicked his tongue.
"So much for a pure-blood tyrant."
He dragged the trio to the door and shoved them out.
Then he turned back inside—only to find Hermione and Neville as pale as ghosts.
Even they were clearly shaken by what they'd just witnessed—especially the mention of a plant bursting out of a person's chest.
Hermione took a deep breath.
"Sharl, that was wrong."
Her voice trembled, but she forced herself to speak.
"Even if they were being bullies, you can't do something that cruel."
"That could get you arrested."
Sharl blinked—then burst out laughing.
"You guys didn't actually think the Devil Parasite Grass is real, did you?"
He shook his head, chuckling.
"Please. I made it all up."
"Even if my family had something like that, there's no way my aunt would give it to a kid who hasn't even started school yet."
Hermione and Neville blinked.
"Then what did you give Malfoy and the others?" Hermione asked suspiciously.
Sharl grinned.
He pulled out a small pouch and opened it.
Inside were a bunch of watermelon seeds.
"Here."
"Just regular Muggle-world watermelon seeds. I roasted them myself."
He offered some to Hermione and Neville.
"Want some?"
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