Inside the potted-plant shop that evening, Vinson found himself being formally questioned. As a law-abiding citizen—at least on the surface—he naturally cooperated with the Ministry of Magic's investigators. Besides, Vinson was quite aware that as long as no Muggle had seen the Biting Cabbage, the Ministry would likely avoid making things difficult for him. Incidents that stayed within the wizarding world were, after all, far easier for them to ignore.
"Name."
"Adrian Vinson."
"Occupation."
"I currently teach at Hogwarts."
"And regarding what happened at your residence today?"
"...It was just an experimental accident."
"Not a magical creature causing trouble?"
"No."
The investigator continued down his list, asking question after question until he had filled an entire page with notes. Thanks to Vinson's unusually cooperative attitude, everything progressed with remarkable smoothness.
Then, as the quill lifted from the parchment, the investigator hesitated and suddenly asked, "Uh... Mr. Vinson? Are you truly a professor at Hogwarts?"
Vinson nodded. "Is there a problem?"
"No, no," the man replied quickly. A smile tugged at his lips. "It's only that this is the first time I've met such a young professor."
"Actually, I only started this year," Vinson responded lightly, smiling as if this were perfectly normal.
"A newly hired professor, then?" The investigator raised his eyebrows. He flipped back through his own notes. "Let me check... Yes. And what subject do you teach?"
"Care of Magical Creatures," Vinson answered casually, as though discussing the weather.
Upon hearing this, the investigator scribbled a final remark at the bottom of his record and stood up from his chair.
"That concludes the investigation, Mr. Vinson."
Vinson blinked. That was it? Already?
"That's it? Do I need to do anything further?" he asked cautiously. He didn't trust the Ministry enough to assume convenience came without cost.
"Well..." The investigator cleared his throat and adopted a slightly embarrassed tone. "Technically, you were suspected of possibly keeping dangerous creatures. But—" he glanced around the room, "we didn't find any prohibited magical beasts here."
Then he winked. "And to be honest, your identity helps. You're a professor at Hogwarts, after all. That carries a great deal of credibility."
So being a Hogwarts professor had that kind of effect? Vinson felt a faint spark of amusement. It seemed his new professional identity came with a surprisingly high level of social privilege in the magical world—useful, if nothing else.
"Alright then, sir," the investigator continued as he slipped on his windproof hat and headed for the door. "If you're willing, you can visit the Ministry tomorrow to give an official statement. Of course, it's perfectly fine if you don't."
With that, he left hurriedly—clearly eager to go off-duty.
Vinson watched him disappear and exhaled in relief. If the matter could be dismissed so easily, he certainly had no intention of voluntarily walking into the Ministry. Given the number of technically illegal things he'd done, that would be nothing short of walking straight into a trap. Privately keeping a dragon alone could earn him a lengthy stay in Azkaban.
Yet he was also confident the Ministry wouldn't be able to find any real evidence, even if they suspected him. His precautions had been thorough.
After the ordeal, Vinson checked his pocket watch. It was already six o'clock. Considering how rushed the investigator had been, Vinson assumed the man was simply eager to get home.
Harry had left the Biting Cabbage in Vinson's care earlier, worried that it might abruptly enlarge again. If that happened inside his aunt's house, the entire building might burst apart—and unlike Vinson, Harry couldn't repair structural damage with a casual wave of his wand.
Vinson turned his gaze toward the small Biting Cabbage resting on the table. It appeared to have recovered some of its energy, no longer as limp and exhausted as it had been after its giant transformation had ended. As soon as Vinson approached, it opened its mouth wide.
It wanted Dragon-dung mixed fertilizer.
Unfortunately, Vinson had nearly exhausted his supply.
"I didn't prepare enough Dragon-dung mixed fertilizer," he said, rummaging through the shop's storage and taking out ordinary magical fertilizer instead. "You'll just have to make do with this for now."
When he placed the substitute fertilizer into the Biting Cabbage's mouth, the little creature chewed twice, then immediately spat it back out with a dramatic series of coughs—coughs that clearly carried meaning: This is disgusting.
"You've gotten picky now?" Vinson's expression darkened. "Keep that up and I won't feed you at all."
The Biting Cabbage froze. Instantly, all signs of disgust vanished. It stopped coughing and accepted the ordinary fertilizer obediently. The creature clearly understood who held authority in this arrangement.
After absorbing the nutrients, it returned to its normal, energetic state.
"Can you control your size now?" Vinson asked.
The Biting Cabbage bobbed up and down enthusiastically, which he took as a yes. Darkness shimmered faintly across its leaves, and the creature began to gradually expand again.
This time, however, the growth was controlled and stable. It seemed the earlier giant transformation had merely been its first attempt, and lack of familiarity had resulted in its uncontrolled enlargement.
"Stop."
At half a meter tall, Vinson halted it. That size was more than enough to intimidate most people.
To test its biting strength, he retrieved a slab of refined iron—Goblin-crafted—from his warehouse and set it in front of the enlarged plant. The Biting Cabbage simply stared at it.
"What are you waiting for? Bite it," Vinson ordered.
The creature's silence was almost eloquent: Are you serious?
But under Vinson's stern prompting, the Biting Cabbage reluctantly obeyed. It clamped down hard and, after significant effort—and at the cost of one tooth—successfully left a visible mark on the refined metal.
Immediately afterward, the cabbage shrank back to its normal size, clearly having exhausted its remaining magic.
"Not bad," Vinson said approvingly. Goblin-crafted refined steel was no ordinary metal. The fact that a plant could dent it—at the price of a single tooth—was astounding.
The Biting Cabbage whimpered pitifully about its lost tooth until Vinson poured a small bottle of specially brewed growth potion down its mouth. The creature quieted at once.
After soothing it, Vinson picked up the fallen tooth and fed it into the Tree of Wisdom for analysis.
"Eldera."
[Type: Biting Cabbage Tooth]
[Characteristic: Giant Transformation]
As he expected, the tooth retained the same "Giant Transformation" trait.
With this, Vinson could create a specialized growth potion capable of granting other plants the ability to enlarge themselves. The effect would not be universal—only plants naturally compatible with the transformation characteristic would succeed—but experiments would reveal which ones worked.
Fortunately, Biting Cabbage teeth were regenerative. He would never run short of materials. Whenever he needed more, he could simply extract another one.
It might demand a bit of sacrifice from the Biting Cabbage.
But Vinson was confident it wouldn't mind.
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