André looked at the two with confusion.
"Why did you suddenly stop? Hurry up, let's finish this task as soon as we can so we can get back!" André urged, seeing the two of them standing still and glancing around.
"According to Professor Slughorn's notes, there should be some wild Venomous Tentacula growing over that way," Wade said, as if he hadn't heard André at all, pointing to the left side of the path.
"Venomous Tentacula? What's that?" Tom asked.
Right now, Tom was a bit one-sided in his studies and hadn't yet developed much knowledge in Herbology.
"You haven't read your Herbology textbook? The fangs of this plant can be used in potion-making, and its leaves are also…"
Tom impatiently said, "There are plenty of plants that can be used in potions..."
"But Venomous Tentacula is poisonous and difficult to harvest. A single leaf can sell for five Galleons in Diagon Alley! That's about the same price as unicorn hair…" Wade explained.
Tom instantly grew excited. "Why didn't you say so earlier?! What are we waiting for, then! You do know how to harvest it, right?"
André watched the two of them, utterly stunned as they discussed and prepared to head off the path.
"You two! Where are you going?" he shouted.
"We're going to gather some potion ingredients. You can go on ahead," Wade replied.
"What?! Do you two even know what you're saying?" André was almost losing his mind.
Even now, walking along the supposedly safe path, he was still on edge. And these two actually wanted to leave the path and wander off to look for potion ingredients?
Wade smiled. "I know exactly what I'm saying, André. Slughorn is aware of this too; otherwise, how would we know where those plants are?"
"But... but…" André stammered.
"Shafiq, you're not telling me you're too scared to walk on your own, are you?" Tom frowned.
Wade said, "That can't be right, didn't he just tell Mr. Ogg that if it were just him, he could keep himself safe even in danger?"
"Afraid? Haha.. ha.. haha.. I'm not afraid. It's just… if something happens to you two, I'll be in trouble too!" In truth, André's voice was already trembling.
"Alright then, how about this? Why don't you come with us? You can 'protect' our safety," Wade said with a smile.
"Why… why should I go with you?" André protested.
"Suit yourself," Tom replied, already stepping off the path.
Wade chuckled and followed after him.
He had come to the Forbidden Forest precisely for these "local specialties." Otherwise, why would he bother to spend the middle of the night serving detention in the forest? Wouldn't it be much nicer to be asleep in the dormitory?
André watched the two of them gradually disappear into the darkness, gritted his teeth, and hurried after them.
Though he claimed he wasn't afraid, in truth, he was terrified. Rather than walking alone, it was better to follow those two!
Anyway, if something happened, it wouldn't be his responsibility. It would be those two's fault for wandering off!
He had clearly come to bring them back!
"Woof? Haah! Haah!"
Originally leading the way, Bock, the hound, seeing the group veering off the path, sensibly followed after them as well.
Sure enough, Slughorn's notes didn't lie.
They had only gone about fifty meters off the path when they spotted, in a clearing between several large trees, five or six clusters of Venomous Tentacula.
Wade pulled two pairs of gloves from a small pouch he carried with him.
"These are dragon-hide gloves. They'll keep us from getting bitten by the Venomous Tentacula."
"Where did you get dragon-hide gloves?" Tom asked, puzzled.
"Online shopping," Wade answered offhandedly.
"What?" Tom was completely confused. He had never heard of that word.
"Uh, I mean, I used an owl to buy them from shops in Diagon Alley. Professor Gallic recommended a few good ones to me."
"Your preparations are as thorough as ever..."
Under Wade's guidance, the quick-witted Tom quickly picked up the knack for harvesting Venomous Tentacula.
Watching them leisurely picking the plants, Andre was already on edge, anxious beyond measure.
This wasn't the safe main path from earlier—this was deep inside the Forbidden Forest!
Who knew how many dangerous creatures were hiding nearby!
Just standing here for a single minute already made Andre feel like he was sitting on pins and needles.
"Can you hurry up? What if—"
"Shh~ We can't rush this. These plants are highly toxic—why else do you think they're so expensive?" Wade replied as he carefully packed the harvested leaves and fangs into a box.
"Your bag looks so small, how is it holding so much?" Tom finally noticed something odd.
That little bag, after holding two pairs of dragon-hide gloves, still managed to fit such a large box?
"I had Professor Hicks help me with this. Just a little Undetectable Extension Charm. Of course, you'll have to keep this a secret. The Ministry doesn't exactly allow private use of such enchantments."
"I want one too..."
After another five or six minutes, Wade and Tom had finally finished harvesting nearly all the Venomous Tentacula they could.
"Can we go now?" Andre was practically on the verge of breaking down.
"Of course, let's go," Wade replied.
Hearing this, Andre felt as though he had been granted a royal pardon. "Then let's hurry back to the main path—we've already wasted too much time."
"Wait a second!" Wade's sudden call made Andre's heart leap into his throat once more.
"Wh-what is it now?" Andre asked, his voice trembling.
"Look, Bock's found something," Wade said as he walked over.
Sure enough, just ahead of Bock, there was a pile of something black.
"This is unicorn dung. And it's still fresh, meaning the unicorn must be nearby," Wade observed after inspecting it.
"How do you know that?" Tom asked.
"Because there's also a unicorn tail hair right here!" Wade replied, using a branch to lift a long white strand of hair.
"Hmm... you just said, how many Galleons is a unicorn tail hair worth again?" Tom asked.
"The current market price is five Galleons per strand," Wade replied with a grin.
"Let's go. I imagine you also happen to know exactly how to collect unicorn hair?"
"Muhahah Tom, this is where I shine!" Wade laughed.
Andre was on the verge of losing his mind. These two lunatics actually planned to go even deeper into the Forbidden Forest?
"Bock, lead the way!" Wade said excitedly.
"Woof woof!" Bock trotted ahead, with Wade and Tom following closely behind.
Seeing even the hound go along with them, Andre had no choice but to follow as well.
Before long, just as expected, they spotted a unicorn, its coat pure white, slowly licking moss from the roots of a tree.
"Let's do this!" Wade immediately cast a nightmare spell, and the unicorn was instantly caught off guard, falling into its own peculiar dream.
Then, the two of them calmly walked right up to the unicorn.
Wade picked up a branch and transfigured it into a pair of scissors.
"Here, take this. Cut the hairs from the base of the tail and collect them all. Remember, don't hurt its tail."
Tom no longer bothered to question where Wade kept pulling these tools from.
Wade's gaze greedily drifted toward the unicorn's horn, but it was a pity — if you cut off a unicorn's horn, it couldn't grow back. They had to wait for it to shed naturally…
If you forcibly took the horn, the unicorn would suffer grievous injuries, so Wade had no choice but to give up on that idea.
After all, harvesting some materials was fine since they could regenerate, but actually injuring a magical creature would definitely get them into trouble.
Still, a unicorn's entire body was full of treasures. Besides the horn, there were plenty of other valuable parts.
Wade used Transfiguration to turn another branch into a large syringe…
Unicorn blood, after all, was worth a hefty sum too!
"...T_T"
André stood by, completely dumbfounded by what the two were doing.
"We are supposed to serve detention in the Forbidden Forest.. Why are these two treating this like a supply market?..T_T"
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Poor André XD
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