The Magical Accident Behind Lettuce

In the dimly lit room, a pale light shone down from the wall lamp, casting long shadows on everything.

"...Your friend is that witch?" Harry asked in shock. "But blinding someone is against wizarding law, isn't it?!"

"Yes."

"But by then her mental state was already unstable," Victor said slowly.

"In fact, ever since the witch took Lettuce into her life, her personality has become increasingly extreme, and she harbors an abnormal malice towards the outside world, which is completely different from when I first met her."

"But after she had chased the lettuce away for a while, she finally realized her erratic behavior and came to me to try to fix it."

"Then I discovered that the lettuce she was growing was actually poisonous, and had already caused irreversible damage to her magical abilities."

Viktor could almost see the witch's incredulous and desperate expression, and her mournful wail—she wouldn't be able to use magic again in a few days.

He paused for a moment before continuing:

"The witch originally only wanted to create a magical lettuce to keep herself young forever, but she didn't realize that the lettuce she chose was poisonous. While it gave people a bewitching charm, it also kept them perpetually restless and thirsty, ultimately destroying their body and mind, leading to death."

"The reason the prince fell in love with Rapunzel in the first place was because her mother ate lettuce for every meal during her pregnancy, which made her look like a giant lettuce. Everyone around her was strongly affected."

Harry felt a chill run down his spine, immediately recalling a phrase he had once seen in the book "The History of Magic":

"So this was actually a magical accident?"

"That's right."

Victor nodded.

"The villager's intense desire to eat her lettuce was a manifestation of his lack of resistance to magic, and pregnancy further weakened his resistance. The witch wanted to raise a child imbued with the power of the lettuce to enhance the magic's effects, but she ended up shooting herself in the foot."

"What happened to the witch afterward?"

"She's dead."

"We sacrificed everything, but all we got in return was the answer that there was no cure," Victor said casually.

Harry finally understood the whole story.

He felt a chill run down his spine and thought with lingering fear—no matter what kind of magic he learns in the future, the first thing he will do is to carefully check whether the magic is dangerous!

Victor then ended the topic.

But what he didn't tell Harry was that he knew the lettuce was poisonous when the witch first showed him the lettuce she had grown, but he never told her.

He simply watched with satisfaction as her desire to become younger grew stronger and stronger, eventually turning into an obsession that she was willing to give anything for—

Otherwise, who would trade their life for a prophecy of "don't touch lettuce"?

It was from this incident that Victor decided to come to Hogwarts.

It turns out that finding someone to do business with is just too inefficient. If the entire magical world knew that he had the ability to predict the future, and if the concept that "prediction can solve many problems" was instilled in wizards from a young age, it wouldn't be long before clients would come to him willing to give everything.

At that time, he can trade with whomever he wants, and his home will be bustling with visitors.

Victor thought about it and felt that his plan had a promising future.

Let's go back to the present.

After explaining the principle behind lettuce, Victor took out a leather bag from under the table.

The leather bag looked heavy, as if it contained a lot of things. Under Harry's curious gaze, he poured out a few green vegetables with white stems and oval leaves with wavy edges.

Harry recognized it; it was lettuce.

lettuce!

"These are the magical lettuce she left behind. I studied them for a while and found they have some effect on divination. When peeled, chopped, and mixed with spices, they produce a smoke that stimulates spiritual energy..."

Before Victor could finish speaking, he saw Harry back away and added:

"Don't worry, its toxicity won't affect you."

Harry obediently took the lettuce, then asked curiously, "Why?"

"Your will is stronger than that of ordinary people, and you are not affected by lettuce magic, only feeling slightly thirsty when you are near it. This talent has little to do with age, perhaps because... well, your soul is also a bit bloated."

"Okay, we're done talking. Could you please cut these into small pieces for me?"

"In exchange, I'll teach you a little trick on Friday."

After Victor finished speaking, he picked up a small knife from his side, handed it to Harry, and then gently opened the fireplace door and pushed Harry out.

"You can cut it at the table outside."

"Oh, oh, okay."

Harry was holding a few heads of lettuce, his mind a little blank, still trying to figure out what Victor meant by "soul bloat," but he couldn't quite make it up.

However, as he walked out of the office, he glanced back—

Inside the office, Professor Victor put away his leather bag, took out a black shawl, and seemed to be preparing to cover his head and take a nap. Beside him, the desk was neatly arranged, spotless, without a single work document in sight.

—Wait a minute, he's here to help, but the professor isn't doing anything?

Harry: "..."

He stared blankly at the closed fireplace, a hint of doubt creeping into his mind: Could Professor Victor be trying to slack off?

He pondered for a moment, then realized that Victor's sinister face had nothing to do with this speculation, so he quickly banished it from his mind and then repented for his actions.

Then, filled with curiosity, he placed the magical lettuce on the table in the divination classroom. Once spread out, the enormous size of the lettuce became immediately apparent, as each one was as long as his upper body.

Harry first raised the knife and cut the large lettuce in half.

The knife he used was an old-fashioned white knife, its material strange, yet exceptionally sharp. Almost instantly, the lettuce was split in two, revealing its green, translucent flesh, with a little juice seeping from the cut surface. And once cut open, a refreshing, slightly thirst-quenching aroma wafted out…

Thirsty.

Harry jolted, immediately took two steps back, covered his nose with one hand, and stretched out his arm to cut the lettuce in a strange posture.

"Crunch... crunch..."

The soft sound of lettuce being chopped echoed in the classroom.

While cutting the lettuce, Harry didn't see anything strange. Although his thirst intensified after cutting three heads of lettuce, it was just like eating a dish with too much salt—mild and indifferent, as if the lettuce had never driven a witch insane.

But if a single lettuce can make you thirsty, what would it feel like to be next to a human-shaped lettuce?

He couldn't help but shiver.

……

Victor's next class was around three in the afternoon. In the meantime, he received the lettuce that Harry had cut, and then happily grabbed a handful of candy from the table for Harry as a reward.

Those were specially made for me by the little elves; they're not only delicious, but they can also crawl around on the table like spiders.

As Harry was leaving, he asked, "Professor, are you planning to use these lettuce leaves to inspire your students' spirituality?"

"Yes, but that's only one of the purposes."

Victor said casually, placing the lettuce in a small dish as solemnly as if he were checking his paycheck.

"The other is that at least half of the students were persuaded to drop out."