One change makes a world of difference

Several seconds went by where nobody gave an answer. I was already flipping through the textbook about three seasons yellow barbed trees. I already knew about crimson trees.

They were found deep in the southern forests of Japan. They were rather common plants due to their vibrant physical appearance and their abundance of life force that attracted a lot of herbivores to the area. Their leaves were also used to cure burns, rare sicknesses and were even identified as an ingredient for the werewolf potion that lupin used.

The most lifeforce was actually found in the roots dozens of meters underground. Normal animals couldn't even reach that far and magical beasts were rarer. There was actually a magical beast that had a symbiotic relationship with the tree itself though.

The beast fended off the animals attempting to prey on the plant and in return, that beast would have the ability to eat some of its exposed roots. It was neither harmful to the tree nor detrimental to its longevity. But the beast would be nice and healthy ready to protect the plant once more.

A surprising fact I discovered while reading through its information.

But the three-season yellow barbed tree was different.

Found in the German forests, they were only able to produce medicinal effects in three seasons out of the four. Those being summer, winter and spring.

The lifeforce was found in their bark compared to the crimson tree's roots. The only useable part of the three seasons tree is its bark. The leaves were poisonous, and the roots were as hard as steel and made people sick with only a mere touch.

Yet the bark provided even more lifeforce than the crimson tree. But there was a catch. That lifeforce, for some reason, would dissipate in autumn but return during the other seasons. But during that period of time where its lifeforce disappeared, it would gain barbs and turn yellow compared to its vibrant blue. While also gaining the poisonous trait. Hence the name it was given.

Bang!

The cane smashed down onto my desk, landing on top of the book that I was reading.

I raised my head to see Professor Brambleton staring at me with a firm gaze.

"Mr Knight, would you be so kind as to give me the answer?" he asked.

I nodded slowly before standing up as required when answering a question. This was not a school rule but a rule Professor Brambleton himself enforced in his classroom. For obvious reasons, it made sure that if you got the answer wrong, you could see everyone laughing at you. Honestly, a cruel method but personal preference was just that.

Percival told me that he had suffered multiple times because of it.

So, I wasn't exactly surprised when I was chosen. For whatever reason, this teacher liked to single me out. But I wasn't about to fall for his petty tricks. My memory came in clutch once more.

"The difference between the three seasons yellow barbed tree and why it isn't used even though its healing properties are stronger than that of the crimson tree's is that it's currently autumn. As the name suggests, the three seasons yellow barbed tree only blossoms three out of the four seasons. In autumn, it loses its highly praised medicinal properties and gains a poisonous one. If we are to use it nonetheless, we would be creating a completely different potion. Namely, the death sickle potion used and invented by Alexander Fredrick in 1856 during the small-scale war between two non-maj states. He thought it was best to test his creation on the innocent parties involved. As the results show, both sides showed massive casualties. So severe in fact that both parties ended up helping each other in order to save themselves." I responded.

The Professor nodded the whole time, his eyes even lit up by the end as a small smile surfaced on his stone-like face. He clapped slightly and walked back to the front of the class waving his wand along the way unsealing our cauldrons.

"Good response Mr Knight, you even gave us a history lesson. It seems that Professor Vaicent would be very happy with such a studious student, 5 points to you. Now, everyone, as you have heard, that is the reason why we don't use this material during this time of year. A simple change of season is enough to create a potion capable of killing thousands with a mere whiff.

Now, on to the next step, stir your cauldrons for 2 minutes in a clockwise direction using your wands. This calls for precise movements and careful control over your magic input. Too fast and you destroy the balance you have created. Too slow and run the risk of your materials decaying." He directed loudly and strictly.

Percival leaned over with an incredulous look on his face, "what the hell? What did you do to make him like you all of a sudden?" he asked, causing the professor's voice to fall into the background.

I was a little speechless myself, to be honest. I wasn't expecting him to actually praise me, I was waiting for him to ask me a question about something I wasn't knowledgeable about for the potion we were doing. But that didn't happen.

"I-I don't know man," I said while shaking my head.

I focused back on the Professors words. Even if he praised me this time, I wasn't about to mess it up and give him the chance to yell at me. Hell, give him an inch and he might take a mile. Maybe this is his ploy, to get me to drop my guard before slamming me into a wall with his out-of-the-blue questions.