Herbology Lesson One - Years 1 & 2

Selena sat on her desk, swinging her legs. Lesson planned. Totally ready. She had even dressed up in her pretty dress. All she needed to do now was wait for the students to arrive. She LOVED Devil's Snare. It was one of the best lessons, definitely. At least, it was for her. Fun to teach and it wasn't the boring lectures the kids often got in the first couple of years at Hogwarts.

The woman was a while early because she needed to speak with her magic little helper boy from third year. It seemed he didn't know much about Herbology, but he didn't need to, as long as he wasn't completely thick. Oh, that had her worrying now.

Evan was preparing for his first performance as an assistant, making conversations with imagine students in his head, answering their questions and giving them tips. He had never attended Herbology before and he had never taught anyone. But main ingredient of success is preparation, and Evan was prepared better than perfect. Honking Daffodils. He read a lot of articles about them, practiced in Greenhouses, learned all his words and actions during the upcoming lesson by heart. He even thought about most of questions that could possibly be asked and found the answers.

If there was some quiz competition about Honking Daffodils, Evan would probably have the same chances to win as any Herbology professor, if not better. He could perform a Daffodil transplantation with his eyes closed, using only his right hand. (Evan was left-handed) He taught flowers to honk at his command and could even perform a couple of well-known tunes, using Daffodils as instruments. Evan was an absolute Honking flowers expert.

Now he just needed professor Skylar to give him the last instructions and tips about the lesson. Ready for anything, he entered the greenhouse.

YAY HER MINION HAD TURNED UP.

"Hi Evan! I'm Professor Skylar! Great to meet you!" Selena beamed. Just obvious, nice stuff. Unfortunately, you weren't meant to launch straight into a conversation without even saying hello. Life sucked when you were unsociable.

Anyway, she'd better start talking about the lesson, since the ickle kids were meant to start turning up soon. "We're going to be doing Devil's Snare. Have you covered that yet?" Oh wait, he hadn't done Herbology, the best subject ever, before. "And Incendio is the spell we'll use for light and heat," Selena nodded. He may have done that one in Charms, but it was easy enough to get the hang of if not.

"Hello, professor. It's nice to meet you too," Evan smiled, looking forward for making a great job as an assistant. But then his attitude changed. What? Devil's What? Snare? It has to be Daffodils! What's going on? "Well, I've read about it," Evan lied. Not that he completely lied, because he actually read a couple of words about it. And heard a couple of words too. Incendio! That's good. "As for Incendio, I'm quite proficient at it. Especially when one needs some plants burnt. Well, you may have heard about it from professor Henley. If not, don't ask, it's for the best, I think." Evan was quite good with the fire-making spell and had a lot of plant burning experience. However, he didn't like to recall this experience in his memory due to some negative events that followed.

"Okay, professor, I think I'm ready. Let's wait for the students to come then. Or is there something else I need to know?" Evan smiled anxiously. He, actually, was ready. Ready for something else.

Hunter made his way out of the castle and started in the direction of the Greenhouses. He felt a smile form on his face as he took a breath of the fresh air from the grounds. He wasn't sure what to expect from his first Herbology lesson, but having grown up on a farm he was certainly intrigued. What kind of plants did wizards grow? Part of him hoped that he'd learn enough to grow some simple wizarding plants of his own at home. He knew he wasn't allowed to do magic on holiday, so he couldn't show his family what he'd learned, but maybe he could show them magical plants!

He quickly found the greenhouses - he knew where they were located due to the fact that he spent most of his free time outside. He found the one that he was supposed to have class in and stepped inside. His eyes widened at the multitude of strange plants, and he almost forgot to say hello to the professor. He found his seat and turned his attention toward her - she was a cheerful looking blonde woman. A boy a little older than Hunter stood with her, but Hunter had never met the boy before. He smiled at both of them and offered them a cheerful "Good Morning," before unpacking his materials from his bag.

Aoife was really looking forward to Herbology. Surely magical plants couldn't be that different to the muggle plants she knew all about. And she was quite curious as to what sort of plants wizards did grow, whether they be similar or different to muggle plants.

When she walked into the Greenhouse, Aoife grinned at the professor and she raised an eyebrow when she saw Evan there too. Yes, EVAN. "Hi Professor, hi Evan!" she greeted happily before seeing her OTHER FRIEND HUNTER and going to sit at the desk next to his. "Hey Hunter-de-doo-dar!"

Seren wasn't sure how she felt about Herbology. It seemed to her like it would be boring compared to her other classes where she got to use her wand and do spells, but she figured that she would give it a shot. Maybe she'd like it... though her expectations weren't very high. She crossed the grounds and entered the Greenhouse. She wasn't the first one there.

She recognized two Gryffindors who were in her year, but she'd never talked to them before. She took a desk near them, but didn't introduce herself. She didn't want to bother them, and she supposed that class was going to start soon anyway. An older boy stood at the front with the Professor. Seren was pretty sure he was in her own house, but she'd never spoken to him either. She gathered her materials on her desk and leaned her head on her hand, waiting for class to begin.

Brendan was anxious to see Aoife. He hadn't since the sorting and was feeling homesick and hadn't made any friends. His loud, intimidating cousin might help a bit. As loud and intimidating as she was. He was glad he made it to Herbology on time, since he was planning on keeping out of trouble at first. Of course, Aoife had already got a detention and he didn't want to follow her example.

"Good morning, Professor," he smiled when he entered the greenhouse. Brendan saw a few unfamiliar faces and Aoife, talking to some boy. That was funny - she always used to say how disgusting boys were. Probably changed her mind and had a boyfriend now. He made his way over to those two and took a seat next to Aoife. "Hi! I'm Brendan, by the way!" The last bit was directed at the boy. Obviously.

Evan watched as students were entering the classroom. Aoife greeted him and Evan said "Hi Aoifee" to her cheerfully. He was listening what students said to know their names. Aoife, Hunter d'Dudar, Brendan. The only student whose name Evan didn't know was the Ravenclaw girl.

"Okay. Hello everyone. My name is Evan. Let's start our lesson. Here you can see a peculiar plant. Does anybody know how it's called?" Evan pointed his hand at a small patch filled with black and tentacle-like vines. "I think the professor will award you some points if you name some properties if this awful thing." Evan didn't like Devil's Snare at all and found it really obnoxious. He preferred plants that are either beautiful or eatable. Or both.

He turned to the class, waiting for an answer. Come on, Aoife, I believe in you!


((( OOC: Evelyn, I decided to put Devil's Snare into a patch. I think it makes sense since it's a greenhouse. )))

Seren watched as another boy entered the classroom. He went to join the Gryffindors. Guess I'm the only one who hasn't gotten a jump on making friends. It didn't matter, though Seren did wish a little that she'd sat nearer to them so that she didn't look so out of place. Before she could think on it any longer, the older boy at the front introduced himself as Evan and began to discuss the plant next to him. I guess he's helping teach.

Her eyes drifted to the tendrils that he was referring to. She instantly recognized them - Devil's Snare. Her father had brought one home once, but her mother had insisted he burn it because she was afraid one of the kids would get caught in it. Tentatively, Seren raised her hand. "It's Devil's Snare," she said. "If a person would fall into it, it would wrap around them and try to suffocate them. Like a Boa Constrictor..." She trailed off, falling silent, and lowered her head slightly. She didn't really want to draw attention toward herself, since she didn't know the others. Maybe she wasn't even right - a lot of wizarding plants looked alike.

Aoife grinned back at Evan and then he started the lesson. Wow, that was so cool. She wanted to be a teacher-y thing too when she was old enough. She didn't really mind what subject.

Before she could even put her hand up, another girl had answered the question. But it was okay! Because Aoife had something else to say! She'd read a bit of some Herbology book a while ago. Not much, but it was in alphabetical order so Devil's Snare was towards the start. "It...can't stand heat or light so you use a magicky spell so scare it off!" She was quite proud of herself for that, actually. Hopefully it was right.

Hunter grinned at Aoife as she took a seat next to him. "Hi Aoife!" Another two students entered the room before the lesson began. A dark-haired girl chose a seat a bit away from them, but a Hufflepuff boy sat easily next to Aoife. They must know each other. The boy, Brenden, introduced himself to Hunter. He seemed nice enough, so Hunter offered him a smile. "Hi Brendan! I'm Hunter."

Soon, Evan started the lesson. He must be a teacher's assistant or something. He directed their attention to some tendrilly thing in a box. It doesn't look friendly, Hunter thought to himself. It was a bit ridiculous that a plant could look unfriendly, but there was something about it that seemed dangerous. The dark-haired girl answered quickly, followed unsurprisingly by Aoife. Hunter eyed the plant curiously. He'd at least been right about it being dangerous.

The Ravenclaw girl answered Evan's question. Both questions, in fact. It was the worst case "convenience" scenario as Evan didn't know her name. Best case "House points distribution" scenario, on the other hand, as she was a Ravenclaw just like him. "You're absolutely right, miss," he said. He was sure that the girl called the plant properly, but had no idea about the properties part, because he didn't know them himself. Hm. If she's right I need to keep distance from this abomination. The only thing Evan knew was light and fire vulnerability, as he was told in about five minutes before the lesson started.Too bad it wasn't Aoife. But at least it's some points for Ravenclaw.

In the next moment, however, his Griffindor friend found something to add, and this time Evan knew it was right. "Right, miss Aoife," he said. It was much more comfortable for Evan when he knew name of the person he interacted with. He looked at Professor Skylar, waiting for her to make an earned House points announcement.

Evan was great! He should be a teacher when he grew up. It was sort of adorable and brilliant at the same time. Selena nodded as the Ravenclaw girl answered. It was good, for a first-year, but she didn't seem too confident. "That's absolutely right! Five points to Ravenclaw!" It felt great giving points to her own house. She wasn't biased, though. No, not at all. Seriously. She deserved it for that GREAT answer!

Then the Gryffindor student, apparently called Aoife, added onto the other girl's answer. Maybe she could be a little more technical, but otherwise it was right. "Five points to Gryffindor," Selena smiled. "We'll be learning about a spell you can use today." Hopefully Evan would take the hint and move on to that soon.

Points were given, and Evan could continue "his" lesson. The theory part was over, and it was time for the most interesting thing, fighting the Snare! "Okay. Now, thanks to Aoife, we know how to fight this horrible plant. So, let's give it a right trashing!" Evan had no idea how this lesson was meant to go. But he decided to make it as interesting and dramatic as possible. "But it won't be interesting to attack it from afar. It's not fair at least. And you won't get any real experience."

Evan came closer to the Snare and announced, "I suppose it would be great to fight it in a close range. You can learn what to do in case you accidentally get caught by it. I think this is the most important thing in this lesson, because the first thing you should learn about any evil is how to fight it properly." Evan made a dramatic pause, so everyone could feel the importance of fighting evil, and then added, "So, who's going to try first? Fun, glory, lots of points! Anyone?"

Hunter listened to what Evan was saying, grinning at the boy's choice of words. It won't be interesting to attack it from afar. That was definitely a good reason to get close to it! By the time the boy was done speaking, he'd made the task sound far too interesting for Hunter to turn it down. Besides, Hunter was always up for earning points for Gryffindor. So, with a shrug, Hunter volunteered.

"I'll have a go at it," he said, pushing out his chair and standing up. He made his way to where Evan was standing, closing the distance between himself and the plant. It looked like a harmless thing now - it was hard to picture the plant killing anybody. Still, he closed his fingers around the handle of his wand that was sticking out of his pocket. For a moment, Hunter wondered what would happen if the Snare did manage to get a hold of him. But there was a teacher there, so nothing too bad could happen, could it? Oh well, he'd already volunteered. No turning back now. "So, what do I have to do?"

EVAN SHOULD JUST TAKE OVER THIS JOB HE WAS GREAT.

Seriously, after that motivational speech, who wouldn't be desperate to try the Devil's Snare out? Unfortunately, Hunter got there before her but she was quick to follow. Hopefully that meant she could go next. Who cared if they almost died from the dangerous plant's evil awesome powers? It would be FUN! Totally!

Aoife glanced at the professor, who didn't seem to be that worried about the man-eating plant that Evan was letting them play with. "Can I go next?"

((( OOC: I have Hunter's permission to godmod him in this post. )))


Gryffindors. Evan wasn't surprised, because this House was famous for the bravery of its students. "Okay, we have two volunteers, good. As I said before, it would be quite boring just to shoot spells at this defenseless plant," Evan said, then looked at the plant and added, "Defenseless, yet obnoxious and evil."

Evan led Hunter closer to the Snare, and gestured Aoife to stay a little away. "The goal of every lesson is to give some vital experience, you know. Sooo..." Evan made a long 'o' sound to draw everyone's attention, and then suddenly pushed Hunter into the Devil's Snare. Its tentacles immediately got a tight grip on the boy, nearly preventing him from any movement. "So let's try something that can really save your life one day. Or your friend's life. Whatever."

Evan quickly walked to Aoife and said quietly but distinctly, "Don't panic. Listen to me. Listen closely. If you panic, you or your friends can, well, die." Evan knew that Aoife was probably angry at him, but this experience could save her life later. He was ready to sacrifice some of his reputation to help the girl. "You know that this plant is vulnerable to fire and you should be taught the fire spell as far as I know. Just burn the plant and don't burn Hunter. That's the plan. So easy, you know." If Aoife failed, Evan could use 'Lumos Maxima' and save the day. But she didn't need to know this, it was better for Aoife to think that everything depended on her. Saving her friend supposed to be a great motivation.

Hunter followed Evan closer to the plant, not questioning it when the older boy had Aoife stay where she was. Hunter had volunteered first, so naturally Evan would help him work with the plant before Aoife. He said something about gaining vital experience, and then trailed off a bit. Had he forgotten what he was going to say? Hunter was paying attention to Evan, but he was still caught completely off guard when the boy suddenly pushed him right into the man-eating plant!

"Hey!" Hunter exclaimed in surprise as the plant's tendrils immediately curled around his limbs and torso, trapping him. He looked up, his expression a mix between incredulous and angry, as Evan suggested that they work on something that could really save a life. Yeah, no worries if I die in the process, Hunter thought sourly, struggling against the vines instinctively. The more he struggled, though, the tighter the vines wound around him. He was trapped.

Evan went to Aoife immediately and began talking to her. He told her not to panic, and told her to catch the plant on fire without catching Hunter. "You're kidding!" Hunter said incredulously. "You want her to shoot fire at me?!" Of course, Evan hadn't put it that way, but that was basically what was happening. He took in a sharp breath as the plant wrapped more tightly around his chest, restricting his lungs slightly.

It's okay. Aoife's good at magic. She was much better than Hunter. But he still wasn't sure if he trusted her aim that much. Well, he'd have to. He sent a slightly pleading look in Aoife's direction, hoping that she would be extra careful not to light him on fire. He also hoped she'd free him soon, because the snare was starting to make it difficult to breath...

Just when she was thinking Evan would be a great teacher, he was shoving Hunter, her awesome best friend, into the evil, man-eating plant and expecting her to send fire straight at him! True, they'd done this spell in Charms and she'd just about mastered it, but her aim wasn't very good at all! She'd probably set his hair on fire! His beautiful, floppy HunterHair.

But BraveAoife she must be! To save her dear Hunter friend's life! "Don't panic, Hunter! It will make it worse!" Okay, now she needed to stop panicking herself. Otherwise she'd mess the spell up. Aoife glanced at the professor, who was standing up to take action, but there was no time!

"Incendio!" she spoke nervously. This time, she didn't burn any tables and the spell worked. "It's okay, Hunter-doo! I think it worked! I didn't burn your hair! Your beautiful, floppy hair!" She held out her hand for him to get up with, glaring at Evan at the same time. "Did you not think? You could have killed him! Or even worse, he could have lost his hair!" But she'd probably forgive him. Hunter was okay. Everything was okay.

True, Selena had been planning something like this for the lesson, but shoving an unsuspecting first year into a deadly plant without any warning? That was just not on. "Evan!" Selena gasped. But it was too late. The boy was already in the plant and the girl, who apparently seemed to care a lot about preserving his hair - it was very cool hair, she had to admit - was already using the spell to get him out of there. It was incredibly dangerous - if something bad happened, she could be fired for this. She wasn't the biggest stickler for health and safety, but Evan could have at least warned Hunter first.

Very luckily, Aoife's determination to save her friend had obviously given her the motivation to perform the spell successfully. Very well, for a first year, in fact. "Are you okay?" she asked Hunter and Aoife in a very concerned tone. It was very likely they would be in shock and need something to help. More Hunter than his friend, though. "Evan, please see me after the lesson is over. As for you two, five points to Gryffindor each for your bravery." Glaring at Evan as she said this.

"For the rest of the lesson, we will be taking it in turns to cast Incendio at the Devil's Snare. I think we've had enough excitement for today." That was a lie. More excitement and chucking people in the plant would be good, but it sounded like the sort of thing a responsible and sensible teacher would say. "Make a queue in front and wait your turn."

Aoife was talking to him. He was telling him not to panic. Easier said than done. It was instinctual to struggle against the constricting plant, but at Aoife's words he made a conscious effort to keep still. He didn't want to make it harder for her to aim. He winced unconsciously as Aoife pointed her wand toward him, already anticipating the jet of flame hitting him. But when she cast the charm, it hit the Snare just to his left, and he felt the thing loosening its grip.

He was free! "Aoife, you're brilliant!" He should have had more faith in her. Looking up at her, a grin spreading across his face, he took her hand and escaped from the man-eating plant. She was saying something. She was half-yelling at Evan. Oh yeah, Evan. Hunter had almost forgotten to glare at him for his stunt. She said something about killing Hunter or ruining his hair, which would be worse. At her last words, he couldn't help the laugh that rose in his throat. "Good to know that my hair is the only thing that keeps our friendship intact,"  he said comically.

Professor Skylar was addressing them, now. She was asking if they were okay. "I'm fine, Professor," he said. A little shaky, but fine. He didn't want anyone to make a big fuss over him now - that would be embarrassing. Then, she awarded five points to each of them for their bravery. Hunter didn't think he'd done anything particularly brave - not by choice, anyway. But he didn't argue. He turned and made his way back to his seat, sitting down and watching as the other students lined up to take on the snare. At least it will be a good story to tell later.