Lesson 1 - Raskovniks (1 - 4th years)

Subject: Lesson 1 - Raskovniks (1 - 4th years) Thu May 01, 2014 5:39 am

The first Monday of school dawned warm and stuffy, promising rain later. Excitement was palpable after the start of term feast and it seemed everywhere Azalea went, students young and old were greeting each other with enthusiasm. It made the witch glad to see such energy and good cheer. Salem had always been home to the witch and now was no different. Students, staff, elves and ghosts ran from place to place making the entire school buzz with energy.

Which meant the lesson would have to be interesting enough to keep the young ones occupied and not looking longingly out the greenhouse doors.

Once again, the greenhouse had been cleared of the usual teaching paraphernalia save a few tables in the middle of the room. Each table contained a glass tank of three by three containing leaves of various shades of green and no particular note. Beside each tank was an object that would arouse more curiosity - a heavily chained lockbox complete with a fist sized metal padlock around the chains.

More curiously still, A wired cage took place of prime on the desk where the American witch usually sat awaiting her students. The cage contained about a dozen noisy, squabbling Nifflers Azalea had borrowed from Evelyn for the afternoon and the which now stood beside the cage, smiling softly as the small creatures fought and squabbled over a Gallean she had placed in the cage to keep them from digging their way out. Nifflers were very apt at escaping places, unless said place contained a glint of gold.

Watching the Nifflers try to get to the coin, Azalea waited for the students to start trickling in after lunch.

Guest

Although Janique normally liked classes, she found herself not wanting to leave after lunch, although she had already eaten her fill. Herbology was an interesting subject, however, and it took quite a while of debating to finally decide that the lesson would be worth the awkwardness being in the same room with Professor Harrington would bring.

Entering the greenhouse, she took a seat in the front row, displeased to discover that she was the first student. "Afternoon, Professor," she muttered. She could not get over the fact that the older witch had seen her when she was vulnerable, for it was something she never let show except when she was alone.

Switching her attention to the glass tanks in front of her, she studied them intently, trying to figure out why they were there and what that day's class would be about. And what exactly was in the locked box? She gave it a little push to see if she could hear any noises. She could not understand what any of these things had to do with nifflers.

Guest

How do you make a Wormwood the most happiest girl in the world?

It wasn't a joke in Victoria's mind, as she navigated the school in her new preferred method of navigation. Skipping. Ever since Victoria had found herself capable, she had been skipping everywhere. A warm smile was insistent on her lips, and Victoria had every reason to be happy. A new school year, new prospects, and the capability to walk.

Many people had been astounded by her progress, but her she was, living proof that there was hope for everyone in the world.

Victoria reached the greenhouse to see someone had beaten her to the class, but not to be deflated by this news, because it was Janique. Opening the door, Victoria waved happily to Azalea. "Morning professor!" She called happily, moving to stand beside Janique. "Hi Janique, good summer?" Victoria asked happily before taking in the scenes around them.

"Well this looks like its going to be thoroughly amazing!" The young witch announced, looking around to try and work it all out.

Nightshade Sixth Year Posts : 65 Join date : 2014-03-21

As Callum made his way down to the Herbology, he was excited for a new year at Salem. Very excited. He could tell it was going to be very eventful, and he looked forward to it. He entered into the room and saw that Janique and Victoria were already there. He casually strode over to Janique, smirking, and went into hug her "How's it going Jani?" he asked. He looked back at Azalea and Victoria and nodded to them in acknowledgement.

Nightshade Fourth Year Posts : 81 Join date : 2014-02-11

Jaden was running to make sure that she was going to get to class on time. It was strange that her sister wasn't going to be in classes. But she knew that Sadie was the school healer. When she looked around she at least seen that she wasn't late. Which was always a good thing. She couldn't help but wondered when Brayden was going to be there. The boy was on her mind a lot. But that was because he would always make her smile. She then waited for the professor.

Belladonna Fourth Year Posts : 104 Join date : 2014-02-11

Brayden thought he woke up late but he didn't and he was extremely grateful for that. Brayden made his way towards the Herbology class and walked in. This was a new year and he was no longer a first year who needed help trying to find their way around the school, he knew his way around and now he was completely ready for whatever classes were going to throw at him. "Hello" he greeted.

Subject: Re: Lesson 1 - Raskovniks (1 - 4th years) Thu May 01, 2014 8:22 pm

Ares wasn't sure if he should take this class or not but at the last minute he decided to go ahead, it gave him more classes and his parents would be proud of him for what he is doing. Yes he was a prankster but he was also someone who didn't want to get stuck going to another boring summer camp because he did something he wasn't supposed to do. For Ares that was every other day.

Subject: Re: Lesson 1 - Raskovniks (1 - 4th years) Fri May 02, 2014 7:42 am

The very first student to enter was Janique, making Azalea wonder if she had left something of an impression on the young witch when they had met last at the hospital. Seeing the girl also made Azalea realize that she had completely forgotten to book another appointment with Healer Derwent. Still, that was something she would worry about later.

"Hello Janique, nice to see you," she greeted just as Victoria skipped into class. The young Wormwood seemed to have taken to skipping everywhere these days and Azalea was happy for her. "Hi Vic," she responded with a smile as the younger Newbury took her place.

The next person in was new but one Azalea did not have to look up in her roster because she had committed all her Nightshades to memory at the start of year feast.

"Mr. Hunt, welcome to Herbology," she smiled and watched him go to stand by Janique. Romance seemed to be in the air early this year.

"Wow Jaden, you grew taller," Azalea remarked as the third nightshade entered the greenhouse followed by a Belladonna boy Azalea did not know.

"Good Morning Mr. Count," she greeted politely before extending a similar greeting to the Wormwood that entered next. "And to you Mr. Oxton, I hope you guys like the class."

Wih the greetings done, Azalea decide to start class, figuring that any late comers could join in as they came along.

"Now, today we're studying Raskovniks as you may have worked out," she began with a conspiratorial wink. "In front of you is a glass tank full of leaves and beside you is a lockbox, heavily chained. This should give you an idea of what we're looking at."

Moving to her desk and the cage of Nifflers, she winked at the class. 'So, who can tell me what a Raskovnik is and what it does? Lets see if you guys have done your reading."

Guest

"Hi Janique, good summer?"

Turning to find the Wormwood there, she nodded. "Very good summer," she told her, smiling at the thought of Callum. "You?"

A few more people entered, and Janique didn't do much more then glance at them, until Callum walked in. She waved at him and waited as he came over and gave her a hug, which she returned. "It's so nice to have so many classes with you," she said softly, smiling up at him and letting a small blush light her cheeks.

Before she could add anything, Azalea had begun class. "So, who can tell me what a Raskovnik is and what it does? Lets see if you guys have done your reading."

"Well," Janique immediately said, for she had already gone through their textbook for that year. "Raskovnik is a magical herb. It has the properties to unlock and uncover locked items. They are also hard to recognize-" she paused, realization suddenly dawning on her. "And it is said that only certain earth-dwelling animals can distinguish one from other plants!"

Guest

'So, who can tell me what a Raskovnik is and what it does? Lets see if you guys have done your reading."

Victoria raised her hand to answer, but it seemed they were allowed to shout out as Janique passed an answer over to Azalea. The Wormwood nodded, to show she agreed with the answer that had been given. Once the Nightshade had finished however, Victoria's hand remained up.

Once called upon, Victoria continued. "The Raskovnik plant looks very much like a four leaf clover, which is more closely related to luck, if you believe the Irish folk stories. So, everyone should be very careful how they chose their plants. Luck might find you the key to a lock, but finding a Raskovnik plant will save you a lot of hassle. I would hazard a guess that we will be using the Nifflers to dig the soil for us, but we will have to extract the plant ourselves, because Nifflers are more interested in gold."

The explanation was simple enough, Victoria just hoped she had gotten her facts correct.

Belladonna Sixth Year Posts : 199 Join date : 2013-09-04

Aphrodite didn't like being late to anything, it sucked for her and that wasn't who she was at all, she loved being on time and on point, but obviously that wasn't the case today. When Aphrodite realized that she was late, she was hoping and praying that Azalea didn't say anything to her. The blonde walked into the class and immediately saw her little brother and went to be by him. "Sorry I'm late, it won't happen again I swear."

Subject: Re: Lesson 1 - Raskovniks (1 - 4th years) Sun May 04, 2014 7:11 am

"Very good Janique, Victoria, take five points each," the witch complimented. But before she could move further, a very familiar blonde walked into the green house, both late and frazzled.

"Sorry I'm late, it won't happen again I swear."

"Its alright Aphrodite," Azalea reassured the part Veela., She knew the Belladonna was an outstanding student and would never be intentionally late. "Just take a seat, you haven't missed much so I'm sure you'll keep up."

Once Aphrodite had settled down next to her brother, Azalea turned to the class at large.

"Now that we have a pretty good idea of what Raskovniks look like and how we can find them, lets try it out ourselves, shall we? Please make your way over to the desk and pick out a Niffler from the cage. How to handle these creatures is written and drawn out on the blackboard. Make sure to hold them with both hands. Once you've secured a Niffler, take ti back to your seat and place it in your glass tank full of leaves. Eventually, it will resurface with a leaf and you will use that leaf to try and open the chained lockbox beside your tank. Just shake the leaf over the lock, if it's a Raskovnik, the lock will pop open, easy as you please. If it isn't, send in your Niffler to try again."

The professor waited a moment before adding "It is important not to get irritated with your Niffler. The little thing might not get the right leaf on the first try but tapping the glass or being angry at it will not help. Please treat these creatures with kindness and respect."

Guest

When Victoria was awarded points for her answer, the witch grinned at Azalea, putting her thumb up in a way of saying thank you to the older witch. The explanation as to what they were going to do had Victoria nodding eagerly. Nifflers were not a problem, she'd worked with those many times over the years, so she wasn't worried about that.

As soon as they were set to work, Victoria moved to the front, first to the cage of Nifflers. When Azalea opened the cage, Victoria reached in and took hold of one of the Nifflers around the middle with both hands, cooing it softly to keep it calm. "We're going to find us some Raskovniks, yes we are." She told the small animal, hurrying back to her seat. Once there, the Wormwood reached up and placed the Niffler carefully in the tank. "Go on little man, go and get me a plant!" She coaxed gently, watching as the animal looked to her for a moment and then set to work.

She'd always had a way with animals, and if these were the school Nifflers, which she was pretty sure they were, then they were all too familiar with her. Waiting for the animal for a few minutes, Victoria stood on tippy toes watching it work, a fond smile on her lips. How long she waited the witch didn't know, but as soon as the creature resurfaced with a leaf, she took it happily and gave the Niffler a pet behind the ear. "Good boy!" She applauded, turning her attention to the lock. Waving the plant in front of it, Victoria held her breath.

And nothing happened.

Turning back to the cage, Victoria looked at the Niffler. "Try again, and this time you get a treat!" She told the creature, a smile blossoming on her lips anew when the animal turned and started to hurriedly dig in to the soil. Once again leaving Victoria to wait for its results to come back.

Guest

Listening to the instructions, Janique nodded, showing that she was listening, although she didn't move once Azalea had finished. If she had wanted to interact with some stupid creatures, she would have taken Care of Magical Creatures, not Herbology. Still, the idea of a plant being able to unlock something was rather interesting. After watching Victoria go first, she stood up and moved to the cage. Not bothering to read the instructions on the board, she copied Victoria's style of picking them up, finding they were softer than she had imagined.

It was squirming around, trying to get free, and, holding it out at arms length, she rushed back to her desk, dumping it into the cage. "Please treat these creatures with kindness and respect," their Professor had said, and she saw no reason to, but she had to obey instructions. A few minutes later, the niffler emerged from the bottom of the soil with a leaf. "Finally," she muttered, reaching in and taking it. Moving towards the lock, she passed the leaf over the lock and gave it a few shakes. Almost immediately, there was a click and the lock popped open.

"Uh, Professor, what do I do with the Niffler?" Janique called out. "Am I suppose to return it to the cage?"

Subject: Re: Lesson 1 - Raskovniks (1 - 4th years) Mon May 05, 2014 12:16 pm

Azalea watched the students hurry to obtain the Nifflers and get to work. Some were more efficient at handling the small mammal while others were uncertain, but at least all were trying to be gentle with the animal.

The witch threaded through her students, taking in the varying degrees of progress they were making. She didn't expect anyone to get it on the first try which was why she looked up in surprise when Janique achieved exactly that.

"Uh, Professor, what do I do with the Niffler?"

"Well, for one thing, you aught to give your little Niffler a treat," Azalea grinned, glad to see her students getting the hang of her lesson. "And you can either spend the rest of the lesson sketching the plant or, given your skills with Niffler handling, help one of your classmates locate a raskovnik too," the Nightshade Head suggested lightly.

Belladonna Sixth Year Posts : 199 Join date : 2013-09-04

Aphrodite was glad that Azalea wasn't upset with her, the blonde wouldn't know what to do with herself had she accidentally made a Professor upset. Aphrodite went over to the cage full of Nifflers and genteelly grabbed one with both of her hands. The Belladonna went over to her seat once more and placed her Niffler in the glass tank full of leaves. The Belladonna/Veela waited for her Niffler to resurface and when it did, she grabbed the leaf and shook it over the lock. When it didn't work, she sent her Niffler back into the tank full of leafs.

Belladonna Fourth Year Posts : 104 Join date : 2014-02-11

Brayden listened carefully to what was being said, he didn't want to be the person who screwed everything up just because he missed one small detail. It doesn't matter if its the smallest detail, every detail is important. When Azalea finished speaking, Brayden went over to the cage and got a Niffler. It took a few seconds for it to actually come to him but eventually it did. Brayden took it back to his seat and let the Niffler in the tank full of leafs. The Belladonna waited for the Niffler to resurface and when it had, he waved the leaf over the lock and watched it unlock. It caused him to smirk.

Subject: Re: Lesson 1 - Raskovniks (1 - 4th years) Wed May 07, 2014 9:43 pm

Ares observed his older sister and knew that she was better and this kind of stuff then he was. It was a little hard to live up to but he managed it just fine. Ares got up and went towards the Nifflers, he eventually got one to come to him before he walked back to his seat next to Aphrodite. Ares placed the Niffler into the tank full of leafs and waited for it to come back up. When it finally did, he tried the leaf by waving it in front of the lock and nothing happened.

He sent the Niffler in three more times and finally came out with a winner.

Subject: Re: Lesson 1 - Raskovniks (1 - 4th years) Thu May 08, 2014 8:44 am

Threading her way through the younger students, Azalea observed for the most part, noting how they handled the Nifflers and treated the leaf they found. Aphrodite seemed to know her stuff and the young Belladonna seemed to be as lucky as Janique, getting it on his first try.

The Wormwood student seemed to be struggling at first but he also managed to get his lockbox open.

"To those of you who've already opened your lockboxes, feel free to help others. Or you can take notes or even play with your Nifflers, they like the added attention," the witch called out, her voice carrying in the greenhouse.

"Just make sure not to hurt the creatures, they need to be safely returned to Miss Kira."

Guest

Victoria watched her Niffler working hard in the dirt, she had surmised that Azalea had given the box with the fewest specimens of the plant because her Niffler took quite a while to resurface for the second time. Either that, or this Niffler was having trouble. Perhaps he needed a check up, Victoria thought, watching the animal for a moment to see if there was any evident signs of illness.

Taking the second leaf from the mammal, Victoria thanked the Niffler with a pat on the head, before throwing in a treat like she'd promised. To her, if didn't matter too much about winning in a game of luck such as this task. It was how you worked with your tools. Waving the leaf in front of the lock, the mechanism unlocked and Victoria grinned to herself.

"I got it, Azalea!" The witch called, moving to open her box.

Nightshade Sixth Year Posts : 65 Join date : 2014-03-21

Callum listened to Azalea explain what they'd be doing in the lesson and got up from his seat. He was over and picked up a niffler, making sure to hold it with both hands as she had instructed and walked back to his glass tank. He let the niffler slide in, watching it shuffle around amongst the leaves until it surfaced, holding a specific leaf that he took to be the Raskovnik. Smirking to himself, he took the leaf, making sure to give the niffler a treat, and he went to unlock his box on his desk.

Subject: Re: Lesson 1 - Raskovniks (1 - 4th years) Mon May 19, 2014 11:48 pm

"I got it, Azalea!"

"Well done," the older witch praised, looking at Victoria and her opened lockbox. All the other students seemed to have gotten the gist and most of them had even managed to open their boxes.

The brunette's gaze flicked up at the clock, taking in the time. "Oh wow, looks like I lost the time," she announced, looking back to her students. "I was supposed to dismiss class five minutes ago. Nevermind, your reward for staying late is no homework," she compensated with a smile.

"Those of you who didn't manage to open your boxes, don't worry. I grade you on how hard you try, not whether you succeed or not," she reassured them. "I'll see you all next week.

With that, the witch dismissed her students.

Subject: Re: Lesson 1 - Raskovniks (1 - 4th years) Wed May 28, 2014 9:41 pm

Ares was glad that he got his box open and had to admit he was proud of Aphrodite as well. He knows how hard she tried and knew that she did deserve getting Student of the Year along with his older brother, but he knew it was a long shot for him, he was never as good as them and he would always be the disappointment in his parents eyes even if they won't admit it out loud. When Azalea dismissed them, he sent a wave to Azalea and walked out with his older sister.

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