bookbashuk Chapter 23 The Establishment of the Eagle's Nest
Chapter 23 The Establishment of the Eagle's Nest
On Friday morning, Karen stood at the window of the Ravenclaw Tower. The first week of school was coming to an end, and today's classes consisted only of Herbalism in the morning and Astronomy in the evening.
The sound of Wesley hurriedly packing came from behind him. He was frantically stuffing textbooks into his schoolbag, his reddish-brown curly hair sticking up in a messy, frizzy mess.
Fabian was already dressed and gently pushed up his glasses with his fingers: "Professor Sprout said we'll be learning about the Devil's Web today, so we need to wear protective suits."
Ernesto had also prepared dragon-skin gloves, a hint of anticipation flashing in his gray eyes: "I remember, the sap of the Devil's Web is supposed to be a high-grade potion ingredient."
Four boys walked through the misty castle courtyard toward Greenhouse No. 3. Vines climbed the glass of the greenhouse, and the dim light inside could be vaguely seen. Pushing open the door, the damp air smelled of earth.
Professor Sprout stood in the center of the greenhouse, a kind smile on her round face. Behind her was an area enclosed by a black curtain, with only a few faintly glowing mushrooms providing illumination.
"Good morning, students!" Her voice was as warm as a spring breeze. "Today we will learn about a special magical plant, the Devil's Web."
She waved her wand, and the black curtain slowly drew back. In the dim light, a deep purple vine was writhing, like a sleeping giant serpent. Karen's "Eye of Truth" immediately detected the magic flowing within the vine, pulsating as if it were alive.
"Devil's webs prefer dark and damp environments," Professor Sprout explained. "They will actively entangle any object that comes near them, and the more it struggles, the tighter it becomes."
Wesley leaned forward curiously, his reddish-brown curly hair almost touching the vines: "Can it distinguish between animals and plants?"
"Excellent question!" Professor Sprout's eyes lit up. "The Devil's Web senses its prey through body temperature and movement. Now, please divide into groups of four, and each group will receive a small seedling for observation."
Karen and her roommates received a Devil's Web seedling about a foot tall. Even in the dim light, its slender vines writhed restlessly.
"Touch it gently with protective gloves first," Professor Sprout demonstrated, "to feel its strength and reaction speed."
Fabian cautiously reached out his hand, and the vines of the Devil's Web immediately wrapped around it: "Its strength is greater than I expected!"
Ernesto used a dragon-skin glove to measure the thickness of the vine: "According to the Encyclopedia of Magical Plants, the vines of a mature Devil's Web can even break the bones of a werewolf in the right environment."
"Really?" Wesley leaned closer excitedly, completely forgetting the professor's warning. "What if..."
Before he could finish speaking, the Devil's Web suddenly sprang up, and a vine wrapped around his wrist. Wesley struggled in panic, which only caused more vines to wrap around his arms and waist.
"Don't move!" Fabian shouted, but it was too late. Wesley was dragged like prey caught in a python's web towards the main part of the devil's web. His face began to flush, and he struggled to breathe.
Professor Sprout was about to intervene when Cullen raised her wand: "Flash!"
A blinding white light burst from the tip of the wand, and the Devil's Web quickly loosened its vines as if burned. Wesley collapsed to the ground, panting heavily.
"Perfect response!" Professor Sprout clapped. "Ravenclaw, ten points! Mr. Hawthorne accurately utilized the light-sensitive property of the Velcro."
She turned to the still-shaken Wesley: "Mr. Cruz, that's why I emphasized not to approach rashly. Are you alright?"
Wesley forced a smile: "I'm...I'm okay, just a little...nauseous."
The lesson continued, and with Wesley's example in mind, the other students handled their devil's nets with greater caution. Karen noticed Fabian quietly slipping a small section of vine into his dragon-skin pouch, his eyes behind his glasses gleaming with a scholarly light.
Before get out of class ended, Professor Sprout summarized: "Remember, while devil's web is dangerous, it has important uses in the medical field. Its extract is a key ingredient in potent sedatives. Next week we will learn how to safely collect its sap."
As they left the greenhouse, the sunlight was particularly blinding. Wesley rubbed his wrists, which were red from being bound, and said with lingering fear, "I'll never underestimate these magical plants again..."
"You should be glad it's just a seedling," Ernesto said sarcastically, but handed Wesley a bottle of anti-swelling ointment.
Fabian lowered his voice mysteriously: "I've obtained some samples; we can try to cultivate it in the practice room."
Karen nodded, her grey-blue eyes thoughtful: "We can create a suitable environment in that classroom."
With no classes in the afternoon, the four boys decided to head to their secret practice room, an abandoned classroom. As they walked through the castle corridors, they encountered the Weasley twins experimenting with a new prank.
"I heard that some unlucky guy had a close encounter with the Devil's Web during your class this morning?" Fred grinned.
"Do you know who it is? We have a gift for him." George smiled mysteriously.
"Well, you've come at just the right time. Wesley is the unlucky guy you've been talking about!" Fabian, usually so mild-mannered, teased Wesley.
Hearing this, George pulled a bag of candy from his pocket and handed it to Wesley: "Try our new product, 'Devil's Candy'! It'll get stuck on your tongue! Let you experience the intimate embrace of the devil's web once again!"
Wesley took a step back in fright, which made the twins burst into laughter.
After saying goodbye to the twins, they arrived at the abandoned classroom on the fifth floor.
Cullen pulled a piece of parchment stamped with the Hogwarts seal from her pocket and solemnly showed it to her companions: "Guys, Professor Flitwick has secured official usage rights for us!"
"Great!" Wesley cheered as he pushed open the door, coughing as he was choked by the dust that rose up.
The classroom was in a mess: desks and chairs were piled up crookedly in the corner, there were still blurry arithmetic and divination formulas on the blackboard, and several old textbooks were scattered on the floor.
"Looks like I need to do a thorough cleaning first." Ernesto wrinkled his nose and drew his wand.
"Perfect for practicing the Cleansing Spell," Karen said with a smile.
For the next two hours, the four boys waved their wands and turned the abandoned classroom into their secret base.
"Clean it up!" Ernesto's incantation swept away years of accumulated dust.
"Yugadimur Leviosa!" Fabian used a levitation spell to gradually pile the debris into the corner.
Karen used a Transfiguration Charm to transform several broken chairs into comfortable armchairs, while Wesley was responsible for painting the Ravenclaw flag on the wall with colored ink. Although the painting was crooked, you could see that it was full of passion.
After a quick cleaning, the classroom finally looked usable.
"Look at this!" Fabian suddenly dragged a glass container out of the secret room. "A perfect incubator!"
Then, under the guise of cultivating white sage, they obtained some special soil from Professor Sprout's greenhouse and carefully transplanted the phantom vine seedlings into it. Karen used her "Eye of Truth" to observe the flow of magic and instructed Fabian to adjust the humidity and light.
"We should add some glowing mushrooms," Karen suggested. "The Devil's Web fears strong light, but it thrives in dim light."
As the sun sets, the once dilapidated classroom has been transformed: one side is a research area, displaying alchemy equipment moved from the secret chamber; the other side is a practice area, with various spell targets drawn on the floor; in the corner, the devil's net slowly wriggles in a specially made incubator.
"We should give this classroom a name," Wesley suggested, rubbing his wrist, which was red from being strangled.
"Ravenclaw's secret laboratory?" Fabian pushed up his glasses.
"Too blunt," Ernesto muttered.
Karen looked around, her gaze landing on the crooked flag on the wall: "Let's call it 'Eagle's Nest'."
"Perfect!" the three roommates agreed in unison.