Wade had no idea what Tom was thinking. He was fully focused on tending to the mutated Venomous Geranium seed.

The growth rate of that mutated seed was far slower than Wade had expected.

Even with the aid of nutrient solution, after an entire week, it had only just sprouted a tiny, tender shoot...

Completely different from the Mimbulus Mimbletonia, which could grow rapidly with the same nutrient support!

Since it was still just a seedling, for now, the mutated Venomous Geranium didn't look any different from a regular one.

Still, the seedling seemed healthy enough. Wade planned to transplant it to the wizard tower in two days.

Over the past week, Wade had already instructed Toby to construct a similar greenhouse over at the tower, matching the specifications of the one here.

When it came to this kind of task, house-elves were ridiculously efficient...

As for the current greenhouse, it only needed daily watering and occasional nutrient supplements.

…

"Tom! Run! We have to finish watering the entire field before three o'clock this afternoon!"

Wade, holding a set of Herbology tools, came flying down from upstairs in a billow of black smoke using a Flight Charm.

Meanwhile, Tom-cat was lugging two large iron buckets filled with nutrient solution, thudding down the stairs after him...

Yes, this little guy was becoming more and more human-like—and surprisingly strong too. He could easily carry two heavy buckets, over twenty pounds each, and sprint at full speed with one in each paw.

The only problem was that running with buckets inevitably caused some of the nutrient solution to spill…

So, Tom—who had been peacefully sitting in the living room reading—ended up getting a bucketful of nutrient solution dumped right on his head!

"You little—!"

Tom hadn't even finished swearing before Wade waved his wand. "Scourgify!"

"Ugh…" Tom couldn't say a word.

"Tom, why are you so fierce with him? He's just a cute little kitty! What evil thoughts could he possibly have?"

The cat, hiding behind Wade, bared its sharp little fangs and nodded in agreement.

"Pah!" Tom spat out a mouthful of foam that reeked of cleaning solution. "Cute, my arse! And why the hell did your cleaning spell shove a mouthful of bubbles down my throat?!"

"Sorry, haven't practiced much lately—my spellwork's gotten a bit rusty… Anyway, enough talk. We've got work to do!" Wade said as he bolted off with the cat.

Tom stared after him, face dark. Spellwork rusty? Like hell it is!

A wizard who spends every day farming instead of studying magic?

I really want to see what the hell you're so busy planting all the time!

Tom grabbed his wand with a scowl and followed after him.

Wade's greenhouse was tucked away in a corner of the garden.

Tom approached slowly, planning to lift the flap and sneak a peek.

Just as he got close, he heard Wade's anxious voice from inside.

"Wait… Tom, what exactly did you water it with?! Was that even the nutrient solution? Hiss… Bloody hell! No way! You idiot! You grabbed the wrong—"

Just as Tom was wondering what had Wade so panicked and pulled open the greenhouse door—

A streak of red whooshed past his face!

He felt a sudden chill on one side of his head…

Before he could even raise a hand to touch his head, he was stunned to see that right in front of Wade and his cat—

There was a bizarre-looking plant!

Its leaves stood upright, petals spread open and flipping outward—like a gaping maw filled with sharp teeth!

The most outrageous part was that the "fangs" inside that gaping mouth were being rapidly fired in Wade's direction!

Thunk thunk thunk!

Almost all of them were blocked by Wade's Shield Charm… except for a few that slipped through...

And the one that hit Tom earlier? Pure collateral damage—because Wade had been standing with his back to the greenhouse door!

"Wade! What kind of crazy thing are you messing with now?!" Tom was completely numb.

Thinking back to that streak of red just now—there was no doubt about it, that had been one of those "fangs"!

If it had veered just a little more to the left, it would've nailed him in the face! Even if it didn't kill him, it would've scarred him for life!

Tom immediately cast a Shield Charm on himself too, then backed out of the greenhouse, still rattled.

As he exited and shut the door, a few more "fangs" thudded into the door behind him!

"Petrificus Totalus!" Wade shouted from inside.

The thunk thunk thunk of the fangs abruptly stopped.

Wade and the cat stepped out of the greenhouse, wiping sweat from their brows, both visibly shaken.

"Wade! What the hell are you doing?!"

"Sorry! Tom, I—pfft!" Wade burst out laughing the moment he saw Tom's appearance.

"What are you laughing at?"

"Tom, your hairstyle's… pretty unique!" Wade said, still chuckling.

"Hairstyle?"

Tom, confused, leaned over to look into a nearby water barrel.

In the reflection on the water's surface, he saw that his once-flowing black hair had been completely sliced off on one side!

"Huh? My… my hair? Bloody hell! Where's my hair?! Wade! I'm gonna kill you!"

...

....

"Pfft… cough cough…" Wade rubbed his face hard with both hands, trying not to burst out laughing again.

At the moment, Tom was sitting across from him, face dark as thunder.

Except… the once-flowing black hair he had was now completely gone.

And one side of his scalp was yellowish, the other pale white...

From a distance, he looked exactly like a marinated egg dipped halfway in soy sauce.

"What are you laughing at?!" Tom exploded, pointing furiously at his bald head. "This is all your fault!"

"Sorry, I've had professional training. No matter how funny something is, I won't laugh… unless… unless I can't help it… pfft—"

"You're still laughing?! I've had enough of you!"

"My bad, my bad, this time it really was my fault," Wade said, struggling to keep a straight face.

This time truly had been an accident.

The mutated Venomous Geranium had been growing just fine, needing only regular watering with nutrient solution.

But that damn cat, Tom, had accidentally brought down a potion he'd brewed for himself and poured it directly onto the geranium!

The nutrient solution Tom-cat had brought down was technically also a nutrient mix, but… it was meant for magical creatures!

For some reason, when that magical creature-specific nutrient solution landed on the Venomous Geranium, the plant—originally growing slowly—suddenly shot up in size within ten seconds!

Not only that, it started moving like an animal! As soon as it spotted Wade and Tom-cat, it began firing venomous fangs at them!

Wade reacted quickly, casting a Shield Charm.

Tom-cat, hiding behind him, was unharmed.

Unfortunately, Tom himself had the brilliant idea to open the greenhouse door at just the wrong moment.

And then—wham—his hair got nicked before he could react.

The good news was, it only grazed his hair.

The bad news… was that the fang's venom turned out to be corrosive!

Although it hadn't touched his scalp and Wade treated it quickly, half of Tom's hair was still eaten away.

Having hair on one side and none on the other looked utterly ridiculous, so Tom just shaved his whole head…

The only problem was that, due to the lingering effects of the venom, one side of Tom's scalp was still stained yellow!

"Pfft—Bahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

______

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