"Eldra," Adrian continued, "show me your current information."
[Name: Eldra (Wisdom Tree)]
[Abilities: Object Analysis, Soul Connection]
[Status: Growing (1%)]
Upon learning the Wisdom Tree's current state, Adrian was somewhat surprised, and his eyebrows became slightly creased.
For three whole years, the Wisdom Tree's growth progress had remained stagnant at 0%, showing no change at all. Regardless of how he cared for it or what methods he used; he couldn't advance the progress bar. Yet today, this long-stagnant progress bar had actually advanced by 1%!
"What... is going on?" Adrian muttered to himself, his palm gently stroking the Wisdom Tree's trunk.
"Eldra," Adrian called softly, "tell me, why has your growth progress suddenly advanced?"
The Wisdom Tree's branches swayed gently, green light flickering a few times. A moment later, a message entered Adrian's mind.
Well, it seemed the Wisdom Tree itself didn't know either. He quickly recalled everything that had happened recently, trying to figure out if something had occurred.
"Could it be... Harry?" Adrian suddenly thought of the boy who had just left.
Harry Potter, the protagonist of this world, had accidentally entered his plantation today and had quite a lengthy conversation with him. Perhaps Harry's arrival had triggered some kind of reaction in the Wisdom Tree?
Adrian's fingers tapped lightly on Eldra's trunk. "So, when should I invite Harry over again?" he murmured to himself.
Because he hadn't bought Dudley's chocolate, Harry had been confined to his room. Though calling it a room was generous, it was just a cupboard under the stairs.
Harry lay in the cramped cupboard, staring bored at the low ceiling above him. His fingers fidgeted unconsciously as he silently counted the time—still seven months before the Hogwarts acceptance letter would arrive. Ever since he learned he was a wizard, he had been eagerly anticipating going to Hogwarts.
Suddenly, a faint knock broke the silence in the cupboard. Harry paused, thinking he had misheard. The Dursleys never knocked on his door; they only roughly pulled it open to order him to do chores or scold him.
"Knock, knock, knock—" Another series of knocks.
Harry puzzledly opened the door. There was no one outside.
Harry frowned, just as he thought he was hearing things, a breeze suddenly blew from the end of the hallway. Then, a letter appeared out of thin air before him, slowly floating down until it finally stopped in his palm.
Harry's heart suddenly quickened. He quickly tore open the envelope and pulled out the letter inside.
I am Adrian Westeros, we met just a few days ago. If you remember me, I would like to invite you to visit my plantation again. I believe you will be curious about everything here, and I have some things I'd like to share with you.
If you're willing, please come to the plantation at one o'clock tomorrow afternoon.
Looking forward to your arrival.
Harry finished reading the letter, feeling a surge of excitement. "Tomorrow at one o'clock..." Harry murmured, his heart full of anticipation.
However, his excitement was quickly interrupted by reality. The Dursleys would never allow him to go out, let alone to a stranger's home. He would have to find a way to sneak out.
As it turned out, Lady Luck was on Harry's side. The next day, the Dursleys needed to attend a party and wouldn't return until evening. And his piggy cousin Dudley had also left home at eleven in the morning.
Harry walked on the path to Adrian's shop, secretly rejoicing in his luck. When he entered the potted plant shop, the layout was the same as before, except that the door that had previously stood in the center had been moved to the corner.
When Harry approached, the door opened. Several vines peeked out from inside. It was Devil's Snare!
Harry recognized the identity of the vines and immediately felt his hair stand on end. Just as he thought he would be dragged in by the Devil's Snare like last time, the vines of Devil's Snare waved in the air for a bit, and finally formed the words "Please Enter."
Harry was stunned. He blinked, making sure he wasn't seeing things. The Devil's Snare's vines had indeed formed the two clear words "Please Enter" in the air, even with a hint of elegant curvature.
Perhaps seeing Harry standing frozen, the Devil's Snare even gave him a gentle push with its vines. "Thank you, Mr. ….Err..Devil's Snare."
The scene inside the door was the same as before, situated in a greenhouse. Those plants of unknown species filled the entire greenhouse.
"Harry, welcome back," Adrian's voice came from ahead. He was standing in front of a patch of field, which was filled with a row of identical green "grass." What was noteworthy was that the "grass" was a bit taller than Harry.
Seeing Harry's curious expression, Adrian explained: "This is dittany, a medicinal plant for making potions, with strong healing properties."
However, the dittany that Adrian planted was obviously different from the ordinary ones. Ordinary dittany could at most grow to half a meter high, but the ones before them were at least one meter tall.
Adrian concentrated, and the information about the dittany appeared in his mind.
[Ability: Gigantification]
It seemed to be growing well. Adrian nodded. This was, of course, also the effect of his "mutation" ability. A bit of special potion plus his unique magical guidance could create this kind of dittany with the "gigantification" property. According to Adrian's tests, the dittany essence made from this kind of dittany was also somewhat more effective than the ordinary ones.
Adrian broke off some dittany leaves, held them gently in his hand, then half-forcibly pulled Harry in front of him and rolled up his sleeve. His arm was covered with purplish bruises.
"Hmm," Adrian frowned and said, "Honestly, it's much worse than I imagined."
Harry lowered his head, his voice almost inaudible: "How did you notice, sir?"
"For a wizard, this isn't much," Adrian replied with a smile. In fact, he had observed Harry's physical condition through the Wisdom Tree.
[Occupation: Wizard (Juvenile State)]
[Status: Minor Bruising]
"This might hurt a bit."
Adrian crushed the dittany leaves and covered the injured area on Harry's arm. Harry felt an itching sensation on his arm, as if countless tiny ants were crawling lightly on his skin.
"It's a bit itchy..." Harry said with furrowed brows. Some green smoke rose up as the dittany was taking effect.
"The effect is quite good," Adrian nodded with satisfaction.
Harry nodded. Although it was a bit uncomfortable, he could feel the pain in his arm rapidly disappearing. He looked down at his arm; the purplish bruises were gone, without even leaving a trace.
"This... is amazing," Harry couldn't help but marvel.