Fifth Years: Lesson Three

“Good afternoon, fifth years!” Angel greeted from his usual spot reclining at his desk as the class settled in. “Hope you’re ready for a little hard work today, we’re going to be getting very hands on,” he said, slowly drawing himself onto his feet and wiggling his fingers, motioning the class to join him by the far greenhouse wall were a line of today’s plants were set up to be potted.

“We’ll be looking at Bouncing Bulbs today, note the distinctive purple bulb,” Angel said, beckoning the class a little closer. “Now these plants are at least partially sentient, they tend to uh, attack, when they feel threatened so watch yourself. These younger bulbs are small enough to be handled while they’re growing and a quick knockback jinx or shield charm can keep them at bay, but you’ll need to be very careful once these get bigger.” Moving the bulbs into the greenhouse in the first place had been quite a mission in itself, and Angel had already repaired one broken window today. He’d known there was a chance the kids could get hurt today, but Angel didn’t consider the plant much more dangerous than letting the students play Quidditch, so they’d be fine. Besides, what better way to remember a plant than having it beat it into you.

“They’re calm now, but be prepared once you get your hands on them you’re gonna need to keep that grip. Watch me,” Angel said, flexing his own gloved hands a few times before grasping the bulb firmly. The bulb flinched as Angel moved forward before springing to life, roiling in his grasp as he tried to wrestle it into its new pot. “The secret is quick, strong move-” Angel was cut off with a grunt as the bulb made a sudden move towards him, managing a stinging glancing blow before he finally slammed the bulb into the dirt, quickly burying it and packing the dirt tightly. “Quick, strong movements,” he finished with a sigh of relief, panting, before straightening up and smiling at the class. “No sweat, right?” Stepping back and brushing some loose hair away from his eyes delicately, Angel motioned to the class. “Your turn!” He said, dusting the dirt off his hands before stepping back several feet to stay clear of the ensuing carnage as the students got started.

----
RP the lesson and repotting your bulb, have fun, they’re feisty.

 

[Aurora Chase]

Sentient plants were not on her list of things she felt she needed to learn, and she was suspicious enough of them as it was. She regretted getting out of bed this morning if this was what she was greeted with. These things were a menace - anything that could hit back was firmly sitting in the “so not worth it” category of plants to be honest. She would have just walked out if she weren’t trying to make a good impression on Professor Castillo, and she didn’t think walking out of his class was going to be a very good impression. She sighed inwardly, rolling up her sleeves to keep them out of harms way and then yanked on her gloves to deal with her assigned bulb. The moment she so much as touched it, the thing erupted with movement, trhashing about wildly in her grip. “Oh, for-!” she hissed at it, trying to get it to stop bucking in her hands. It was clearly trying to escape but she wasn’t about to be beaten into submission by a plant. She grit her teeth and kept a hold on it, barely ad she tried to strong arm it into the pot. It managed to get her right in the face though, and Aura whirled back, hands at her nose. Was it broken? It felt broken, she couldn’t tell. She didn’t care, this was absolutely the worst plant ever and she wasn’t about to let it bludgen her to death. With a frustrated growl she quickly wrestled it into the soil, packing it in tightly so it coulnd’t escape. There, you little menace. She leaned back against the wall, wiping the sweat that had gathered on her head as she had wrestled it. She could feel the blood on her chin, but the for moment she didn’t care. She needed a breather. Small victories. She looked around to see if @Teddy Pirrip had noticed, because that would be just what she needed of course.​

 

[Lucy Montague]

Lucy didn't know how she felt about their herbology professor. There was something a bit laissez faire about him, but it didn't bother her, it just made her feel a little on edge. She paid close attention as he talked about the plant they'd be studying as well as he demonstrated how to repot the plant in question. Lucy was a bit nervous to get started, but tried to steel her nerves. She got the bouncing bulb out and immediately had to wrestle to keep it in her hands. It tried its hardest, but luckily for Lucy quidditch practice was keeping her fit and her throwing arm in particular was rather strong. She struggled with the bulb, trying to put it in the new pot but it wasn't having it. "Come on, come on," she muttered to the plant, wrangling the errant bulb until after a ten minute struggle she finally had it in place. She gave a sigh of relief, then realised she needed to get the dirt back to the right level for the plant. Once done she patted off the dirt on her gloves. That was rough. Lucy really hoped that wouldn't come up in exams because she wasn't sure she had that one on lock.

 

[Teddy Pirrip]

Teddy stood in the greenhouse watching Professor Castillo struggle with the demonstration and trying to gauge exactly how hard this task was going to be. When it was his turn, Teddy pulled on his gloves and grabbed hold of the bulb. It immediately started thrashing and Teddy tightened his grip, but it wasn't enough to stop it twisting and escaping. The bulb launched itself upwards then came back down to the table and was about to bounce up again. Teddy caught it by throwing the weight of his torso onto the desk on top of it, then eventually getting it into a position where he could slam soil over it. It was hard work and Teddy was panting and a little bruised by the time he finished. He wiped his forehead and looked over at @Aurora Chase, "Merlin, you look a mess!" He commented, he thought he looked bad covered in dirt, but she was another level. He grabbed a cloth nearby for her, "Here, I'll take you to the hospital wing."