Herbology Lesson 3 (Years 1-3)

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His first lesson was also to be the last for the school semester, and Damien had no idea what he was supposed to be doing. There had not been many notes about what the previous Professor had covered, and he decided it was best to start with the bare basics. The Greenhouses were beautifully set up - although not as full of plants as he wished, and he soon settled right in. After getting the permission from Mycroft, he transferred a whole range of species from his own private Greenhouse in Ireland over to Hogwarts, intending to use them to teach with.

Behind him was a single Cherry tree, sectioned off by a length of string that circled it, leaving a large empty space in which it sat. Glancing down at his watch, he noted that his second batch of students - the younger ones - were due to arrive any time soon. Students arriving at the Greenhouse would be directed behind it, to the area he was now in; he saw no point in teaching Herbology in a classroom setting, much preferring to be outdoors. The Greenhouses he used to store plants, not much else. Thankfully, the weather had been rather accommodating, with no rain having wet the grassy area he was standing on. Leaning against the wall of the Greenhouse, he waited for the students to arrive.

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Hogwarts was a big place, very big when you were a first year, and boy did Finley know it as he walked out in to the grounds and down to the Herbology greenhouses. His little legs were moving fast due to the hill that he was heading down to get to the greenhouses, almost forcing him to move quicker in that moment. By the time he'd gotten to the Herbology door, the Ravenclaw was out of breath and he had to take a moment to get some oxygen back in to his lungs.

Fitness was not something Finley had ever boasted, and he doubted he was going to either.

It was then that Finley saw the note and after reading the instructions he set off along the length of the greenhouse. The professor was trying to kill him before class even began, Finley had decided a moment later. However, he seemed to find the man not long after and with a nervous smile towards the man, Finley took a few moments to catch his breath properly. "G-good morning, p-professor." He managed a few moments later, hoping that he wasn't going to have to do too much more physical stuff this lesson.

Hufflepuff Fourth Year Posts : 273 Join date : 2013-12-17

Violet saw that Herbology was back on the list of subjects at Hogwarts, and decided to take it, purely for her grades. She never found it particularly hard at all, so she knew she could ace it with minimal effort. She walked to the Greenhouse at a leisurely pace, and upon noticing the note on the door, and walked through it to the back, behind it where class was being held, dropping her bag to the floor with a dull thud and didn't bother with any acknowledgements, waiting with her limited patience for class to start.

Ravenclaw Third Year Posts : 101 Join date : 2014-02-24

Natasha was excited for Herbology, of course. She found all plants, magical or not to be rather fascinating, and certainly worth her while to study. She made her way to the Greenhouse, and once reading the instructions on the door, followed them to find class being set outside. She gave a small smile and nod to the new Professor when she approached them "Morning sir," she said quietly as she waited for class to start, eagerly.

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He still remembered his first Herbology lesson, the first time he had ever received anything for being good at, well, stealing. To be fair, it was also his only time, but it still held a special place in his memory. When he learnt that Professor Harrington left, he was naturally disappointed - she was one of the better Professors, in his eyes. The other step-in teachers had not been particularly good, although with Herbology being a core subject, he had no say in the matter. So when the announcement came that a new Professor for the subject came, it made very little difference to Tristan - that is, at least, till Brooke sought him out after her first lesson with the man.

Curious, and also a little hesitant, he walked down to the Greenhouses, unsure what to expect. The note on the door directed him to the same place Brooke had said her lesson had taken place. Only, instead of the plants she mentioned, there was a single tree. His new Professor stood against the wall of the Greenhouse; a few other students were already there. Using the time it took him to reach them, Tristan studied the man, trying to put characteristics to the face.

Odd. Interesting but odd, was what Brooke had said, but he couldn't see it in the face of the man. Maybe when it came time for him to actually teach, Tristan would get a better sense. "Professor," he said, standing somewhere in the middle of the space, not too far away, but not too close to the man.

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There were fewer students in this class than the other one, for which he was thankful. Less students meant less problems to look out for, but he was looking forward to the lesson, for he was going to cover one of his favourite creatures. Hopefully they would be interested in the class he had planned as he was. Checking his watch once more - he had done so every few minutes until it reached the time class was supposed to start - he noted he was exactly 5 minutes behind time. That didn't matter; Dami had purposely done so to give some of those perpetually late people a chance to show up 'early'; he had discovered that it was the habit of some from his previous class..

Seeing no other students hurrying around the corner of the Greenhouse, he cleared his throat. "Good morning. My name is Damien Elson-Robin Peat. You may call me whatever you please. It doesn't matter to me."

"From the student list, I already know your names, but I would prefer hearing you tell me, so I know what to call you," he continued, waiting for someone to begin.

After everyone had done so, he smiled. "Great, now we can move on to the lesson!" Here Damien grew more lifelike and much less awkward; he was in familiar territory. Plants, he knew, would never let anyone down. "What can you tell me about the Diffindo spell and Bowtruckles? One answer each about one or both of those; give others a chance to answer too. No need to raise your hand, either."

Hufflepuff Fourth Year Posts : 273 Join date : 2013-12-17

"Good morning. My name is Damien Elson-Robin Peat. You may call me whatever you please. It doesn't matter to me."

And so was the first mistake of his teaching career. Of course, Violet would take full advantage of being able to call a teacher whatever she pleased, the guy bought it on himself for saying so. Naturally, she was going to take the opportunity. As the teacher went on, seeming to grow more and more excited about the lesson as he spoke, Violet waited for him to get on with the topic they were learning about today.

"What can you tell me about the Diffindo spell and Bowtruckles? One answer each about one or both of those; give others a chance to answer too. No need to raise your hand, either."

"Bowtruckles are small creatures that live in trees and eat wood lice and fairy eggs," Vi answered immediately "Generally in trees used for wand wood," she added, not bothering to go into much detail that others could add "Violet, by the way Robin," she said dully.

Slytherin Third Year Posts : 13 Join date : 2014-11-12

Desdemona cautiously came into class, blushing slightly. It was rare that she was late, and she had no good excuse. She had just lost track of time in the library. She listened as the last couple of students introduced themselves and frowned as the Hufflepuff girl answered about Bowtruckles. "Diffindo is a Severing Charm. It's used to cut things, and with good accuracy." She figured someone should answer his second question, at least. "I'm Desdemona Vega, by the way. You can call me Desdemona." Now that she was here, Desdemona was actually kind of glad she had come to class today. She took a look around at her fellow students, realizing that she and one other boy were the only Slytherins in the group.

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The class started a few moments later, and Tristan at once understood what Brooke meant. The man before him was indeed 'odd', but not in a way that was easily explainable to others; it was more of a 'you-have-to-meet-him-to-know' kind of thing. He waited for someone else to reply - going first was not something Tristan liked - before he himself supplied an answer.

Just as he was about to offer up something, a latecomer interrupted him, and he turned, but didn't really recognize her. After she finished, he took a few moments to gather his thoughts. "I'm Tristan," he introduced, getting that part over with first. "Bowtruckles," he paused. What did he read about them previously? "They normally mind their own business, but can get violent if the tree they live in is damaged." At least, I think they do... he added mentally, honestly unsure if he was even thinking about the same creature.

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Finley had stood silently, looking at his shoes for the most part and checking they were clean. Well, they had been, but from the run down to the greenhouse, they were a little muddy now. He sighed inwardly, knowing he was going to have to clean them again now, like his mum had shown him so he didn't get told off for being scruffy.

Those thoughts were all pushed away as class began, however, with Finley concentrating on the subject they'd been given.

Each time he opened his mouth to answer, however, someone beat him to it. Much like most things in life, Finley didn't make himself known until he was... well, much too late, really. Listening to each answer, Finley waited long enough for everything to fall silent around him, taking in the names of the others before raising his hand and waiting to be called upon.

The moment he did, he could feel the eyes turning to him, and he felt like he was being suffocated a little bit. "M-my n-name is F... Finley." He introduced himself, trying to ignore the slight shake in his body as well as his voice as his nerves grew. "And... the b-bowtruckles are literally stick men. W-well, sort of. They're m-made up of b-bark. W-with sharp fingers, t-two on each hand if I'm n-not mistaken. And t-they're r-roughly the size of y-your hand. Insect-like t-too." He supplied, hoping somewhere in there he'd given the right answer, though he couldn't really be sure.

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As the students took turns to answer, he nodded along with them, especially pleased with the last one he received; the stuttering he wasn't bothered with, because he honestly did not know to care otherwise. Some of the Herbologists Dami had worked with previously also had the same problem with speech, although that was mostly because they hardly interacted with other people. "Thank you, those are spot on answers," he said, smiling at them. "Take five points each for your houses."

"As Finley has told us," he continued, moving closer to the tree but stopping behind the rope, "Bowtruckles are small, wood creatures - very good on the detail, by the way, I appreciate it - with two fingers on each hand. They, as Violet pointed out, live in trees and eat insects, and are usually non-violent. However, when their home tree - that is to say, the tree that they live in - is under danger, these creatures take it upon themselves to protect their tree at all costs. This usually involves their so called fingers, and the eye of said attacker. Unfortunately, as the trees are usually wand wood trees, this can get in the way of wand makers who need to gather wood. This can be avoided by an offering of wood lice, which keeps them busy long enough for wood to be collected."

Stopping to let this information sink in, he gave them a few moments before he slipped past the rope, still maintaining a distance from the cherry tree, but removing his wand nevertheless. "There is one other way to get past them - the diffindo spell." Stepping forward, he tossed a rock he had pocketed earlier towards the top of the tree - almost at once, a small stick-like man came flying out of the top, towards Damien, who waited for it to come nearer before giving his wand a flick and clearly pronouncing the spell. He didn't need to, because in the real world, this would take up to much time, but he did so for the benefit of the students. The moment the spell made contact with the Bowtruckle, it sliced through, decapitating the creature. Turning back to the students, Dami nodded at himself.

"Do not worry, they do not feel pain, and they are numerous in number. Believe me, I would not harm them if it were not so. Now, I have kept them separated and confunded so as not to have more than one at a time, so as not to overwhelm you. When it is your turn, I will remove the spell on one of the Bowtruckles so that it will be free to act of its own accord. Your task for today is to approach the tree, disturb it - by throwing an object, please do not get too close or you may not have the time to perform the spell - and take out the Bowtruckle. I will be right next to you in case of any problems. Who would like to go first?"

OOC: Points will be given according to realism and writing. It does not matter if your character performs well or not.

Slytherin Third Year Posts : 13 Join date : 2014-11-12

Desdemona took a look around at her fellow students and then at the professor. "I guess I will," she said bracingly, stepping forward and gripping her wand tightly in her fist. She felt the flutter of nerves, but told herself to cut it out - she was going to be just fine. Bowtruckles weren't anything she couldn't handle. She stepped towards the tree and felt herself jump when a tiny stick man came jumping out at her, waving its long fingers threateningly at her. "Diffindo!" she cried at once, pointing her wand at the tiny stick. The small creature fell to the ground and did not move. She smiled in triumph; she had done it! Desdemona turned her back on the tree and walked back towards the rest of her class, her heart going just a little too fast with excitement.

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As a Slytherin volunteered and stepped into the area, Damien hung back to let her do what she needed to, his grip on his wand loose but ready for action. Frowning as she went closer and ignored his clear instructions to throw an object at the tree instead of approaching it, he was about to call out when the Bowtruckles made its appearance. Raising his wand, he prepared to confund the creature when the Slytherin managed the spell.

As the creature fell down, Dami chuckled to himself, flicking his wand and sending the creature away. Calling the girl back, he said, "Not bad, although you didn't quite get the spell right, but that doesn't matter. Practice makes perfect, so keep trying!"

Giving his wand another slight twitch, he released another Bowtruckles from the spell and moved to the side with a nod to the remaining students. "Who's next? And, please remember, keep away from the tree. Use a stone or stick to attract the attention of the Bowtruckle."

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Finley was happy when he got told he was right, happier still that he'd gotten his answer right. The smile on his lips showed that he was happy about this fact. When they were told what they would be doing, Finley's expression turned a little worried, had he done that spell before...

Hoping someone else would go next, Finley looked around but it seemed his luck was out. With a soft sigh, Finley stepped forwards, looking at the professor with an expression that was already apologising. Taking out his wand and fumbling around on the ground for a stone, Finley took one more step closer to the tree and tossed the stone aimlessly up in to the air. A moment later, a bowtruckle appeared and Finley waved his wand. "D-Diffindo!" He called out, watching for a moment hopefully, but nothing happened and the bowtruckle was gone.

Looking to the professor, Finley asked, "C-can I try again?" After being given the permission to do so, Finley picked up another stone and tried again. The arc of the throw he watched and once more he tried to perform the spell. Sighing softly as it didn't work yet again, Finley moved back to the group, feeling thoroughly put out about not being able to do it.

Unsorted Posts : 397 Join date : 2013-06-25

This class is officially closed. Thank you for attending. Points are as follows:

Allen, F = 30 pts (attendance)
Lynch, V = 30 pts (attendance)
Stonem, N = 30 pts (attendance)
Vega, D = 30 pts (attendance)
Walters, T = 30 pts (attendance)

Total:
Hufflepuff = 30 pts
Ravenclaw = 60 pts
Slytherin = 60 pts

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