Fifth Years: Lesson Four

The fifth years had a lot to cover this year for their OWLs and if Angel was being honest, he hadn’t exactly managed his time very well this semester. He was hoping to make up some lost ground by squeezing in some extra plants today after finding shy little flitterbloom in one of the back greenhouses.

Smiling at the fifth years as they entered the greenhouse, Angel motioned everyone over to the two plants he had set up for today, hoping to cover everything quickly so they could get onto to the practical side of things.

“Alright, we’ve got two plants to go over today, this lovely Flitterbloom here and also the Flutterby bush,” he said, motioning to the flitterbloom in front of him and then the flutterby bushes set up about the greenhouse for each student. “Flitterbloom is often mistaken for Devil’s Snare, note the tendrils,” Angel said as he held his hand out to the flitterbloom, letting it timidly reach out and grasp one of his fingers. “However, they are far less dangerous or aggressive. You’re welcome to come say hi to this one later if you’d like.”

“Our other lovely plant today is the flutterby bush. Most extraordinary plant, it only blooms once a century,” he said, lifting up one of the plant’s glossy leaves and watching as the plant juddered in response. “The blooms are said to adapt their scent to be whatever is most appealing to the observer.” Angel was glad he'd gotten to experience a Flutterby blooming a few years ago, though he doubted he had the patience to wait for another one to come into bloom anytime soon. “We’ll be working on trimming and pruning them today, which as you might imagine requires some care. Watch me, we’ll be trimming away the overgrown areas and any dead leaves, just be careful with those shears,” he said, picking up his own shears and demonstrating by trimming back a small section. It certainly required some careful accuracy as the plant shook and shuddered and Angel decided he’d complete the rest of the pruning later perhaps.

“Right, your turn now. Try not to get too overzealous with the shears, and watch your fingers,” he said mildly, retreating to a chair to keep half an eye on the class as they began their own pruning projects.

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RP the lesson. No homework, though feel free to speculate on what the flutterby flowers might smell like to you.

 

[Savannah Walters]

Savannah was really focusing, now that the quidditch season was over, and there were no more school events that she had to decide about, the Ravenclaw knew that she had to knuckle down and just work. Revise, revise, revise. She couldn’t come out with this, with anything less than EEs, and she didn’t want to consider the possibility of it. Savannah was getting herself together, getting her notes and books, making sure that she had everything she could need for the day ahead, with the idea that immediately after class she would go revise. The ravenclaw was getting herself together. Making sure that she had everything before heading to class.

Savannah walked into the herbology greenhouse and took her usual spot in the room. She glanced at the professor as the man got started and they were looking at two plants that day, ones with similar names but not that similar in what they were. She took notes, clearly marking what each one did and what each one looked like, keen to not end up even accidentally confusing them. She then watched as the professor showed them how they were to trim the flutterby and then they were allowed to do it. Savannah took the shears and slowly trimmed the bush, making sure to not be overzealous with the pruning. She worked away until she was happy with it, at which point she was able to pack up and head out of the room.

 

[Cassius Styx]

Cassius Styx entered the greenhouse, his expression already conveying a mixture of boredom and mild annoyance. He took his place among his classmates, listening with half-hearted attention as Professor Castillo introduced the day's lesson. He noted the tendril-like qualities of the Flitterbloom and the supposed rarity of the Flutterby bush's blooms, filing away the information with detached indifference. As Professor Castillo explained the tasks, Cass raised an eyebrow at the mention of the Flitterbloom's friendliness compared to Devil's Snare. He watched with mild curiosity as the plant timidly interacted with the professor's finger, though he made no move to approach it himself. When the Flutterby bush was introduced, Cass couldn't help but roll his eyes at the romanticized description of its scent-adapting blooms.

As the practical demonstration began, Cass observed Professor Castillo's careful trimming of the Flutterby bush. The plant reacted sensitively to the shears, shaking and juddering with each cut. Cass noted the precision required and inwardly scoffed at the idea of wasting time on such delicate tasks. When it was finally time for the students to begin, Cass approached the Flutterby bush with languid movements. He picked up the shears with a nonchalant air. With a careless snip, he attempted to trim away a section of overgrown leaves. By the end of the session, despite his initial reluctance, he had managed to complete the task without further incident. He returned the shears and gloves. Once everyone else was done, they were free to leave. ​

 

[Ruto Vernier-Raison]

Roo was glad that she was halfway through the semester. It was getting a little tiring, and the Ravenclaw just couldn't wait for the classes to be over. It also meant that the big exams were slowly creeping up on everyone, but Roo did not feel the pressure at all. She actually felt quite content and confident that she would be able to pass her OWL exams at the end of the semester.

Roo's next class was Herbology, and so she made her way there. She entered the greenhouse, hoping that they weren't going to handle anything too strenuous again. Instead, the professor had two plants to show them, one of which was called a Flutterby bush. They would be pruning the Flutterby bush today which seemed easy enough and Roo was excited to have a go at it.

When instructed, Roo put on her gloves and took out her pruning shears. As she leant towards the plant she could smell what she thought was sticky dry paint, and green tea leaves. She thought this was quite odd, until she realised that it produced a different scent to different people. She smiled at the thought of this, liking this plant the most out of all of the plants she had ever learnt about.

At the conclusion of the lesson, Roo had done quite a thorough job of the pruning and was quite pleased with her work. She much preferred this lesson to the previous one. When dismissed, she thanked the professor for the lesson before heading straight to her next class.