"Harry," Vinson called sharply as he strode to Harry's side and gripped his shoulder. "Close your eyes."
"Why—"
Harry didn't finish before a dizzying pull seized him.
With a jolt of Apparition, he and Vinson appeared just outside the shop door.
Fortunately, the shop stood in a quiet corner of the street. Only a middle-aged man smoking nearby had his back to them. Their sudden appearance went unnoticed.
Because they hadn't traveled far, Harry wasn't too nauseated—only startled. Still shaken, he clutched Vinson's arm.
"What's wrong, Professor?"
Vinson didn't answer. His eyes were fixed on the shop.
A deep, muffled rumble rolled out from inside.
Harry jumped, his heart leaping into his throat.
The whole building began to shudder violently, the walls trembling as though ready to collapse.
The next second, the front window exploded outward. The wooden door tore free of its hinges and shot across the street, slamming squarely into the smoking man with a loud crash.
"—!"
The man dropped his cigarette in terror and spun toward Vinson.
"What on earth was that!?"
Vinson gave him a tight, apologetic smile. He drew his wand and flicked it in the man's direction.
"Wait—"
The man's voice cut off as the spell struck him.
Vinson had been careful: the charm wouldn't harm him. It would only make his head feel unusually light and pointy for a while.
With the passerby handled, Vinson turned back to the shop.
Inside, sharp crackling noises echoed. The walls groaned as something inside shoved them outward, timber and brick straining against the pressure.
Through the shattered window, all they could see was green—vast, dense green.
Harry stared in disbelief. The once-small shop was being forced apart by the massive bulk of the Biting Cabbage. Its leaves had grown monstrously large, bursting straight through the ceiling. The surrounding walls were split with long, jagged cracks.
It really became giant-sized…
Vinson's mouth twitched. He sighed helplessly.
Trouble. Again.
And the house… well, it definitely wasn't fit to live in anymore.
He moved forward cautiously, swishing his wand to push away hovering dust and debris.
As he approached, the Biting Cabbage—previously enormous and terrifying—suddenly sagged. It wilted rapidly, deflating like a punctured balloon. A low groan escaped it as its swollen form shrank. Even its roots curled inward, drawing into a tight, trembling ball. Within seconds, it was back to its original size.
Harry trailed behind, blinking in amazement.
"Why did it suddenly stop?"
"Its magic power probably ran out," Vinson replied, lifting the now-shrunken plant and handing it back to him. "The giant form is temporary. It never lasts long."
Harry accepted the cabbage and gently tapped its mouth.
The leaves twitched weakly. Gone was the aggressive snapping. It didn't even try to bite. Instead, it lay limply in his arms like a wilted puppy.
Vinson rubbed his temple in exasperation.
For all its dramatic appearance, the cabbage's transformation had lasted—what? Three seconds?
"Now," he sighed, "we need to deal with this mess."
Harry swallowed as he surveyed the destruction.
Thankfully, most of the damage was structural, and structural damage could be repaired.
"Reparo."
With a few practiced waves, Vinson restored the broken window, reassembled the shattered ceiling, and summoned the blown-off door back into its frame. Within ten seconds, the shop stood mostly intact again.
The potted plants and various potions inside, however… those would take time.
Harry glanced down at the cabbage, then back at the shop, guilt creeping into his expression.
"Did I… cause trouble?"
Vinson looked at him and chuckled softly. He patted Harry's shoulder.
"Don't worry. This isn't your fault. No one could have predicted the cabbage would suddenly behave like that."
Harry exhaled in relief.
At that moment, the door to the Plantation—reinforced by Vinson and still intact—opened.
Lupin stepped out, took one look at the torn-up storefront, and froze.
"What happened?" he asked blankly. "An earthquake?"
Vinson and Harry exchanged a glance.
"No," Vinson replied, shaking his head. "Nothing serious. Actually—good timing. Help me clean up."
With that, he pushed open the door and walked inside, leaving a very bewildered Lupin standing there.
Breaking the house, to Vinson, was a minor inconvenience.
The real trouble was something else entirely.
The explosion had been far too noticeable. The area might be secluded, but people still passed by.
Just as Vinson expected, he saw a few more Muggles wandering nearby.
To avoid complications, he cast Obliviate on every person he encountered.
…
But in the end, the incident couldn't be hidden.
It wasn't Muggles who discovered it—but the Ministry of Magic.
The magical traces left behind by the cabbage's transformation were simply too strong. Within half a day, the Ministry had received "reports of abnormal magical activity in the Muggle world."
Since Vinson was the only wizard living in the area, the Ministry's Accidental Magic Reversal Squad quickly identified him as the primary suspect.
That evening, investigators inspected the area around his shop for quite some time.
Vinson had planned to deny everything—until the investigator produced a photograph.
The image showed the building bursting apart as the cabbage enlarged, caught at the perfect moment of chaos. The cabbage itself wasn't clearly visible due to the angle, but the destruction was unmistakable.
There was no denying it now.
"How did you even take this?" Vinson asked, staring at the picture, curiosity overriding his frustration.
The investigator, evidently in a good mood, smiled.
"Just a little backtracking magic," he said lightly. "Of course, ordinary wizards can't use it."
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