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.

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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."

 

[Callie Cardoso]

Callie walked into the herbology greenhouse and took her usual spot in the room. She was pretty eager to get started, she had a soft spot for herbology and for what the class taught them. Callie took her books and notes out and placed them down in front of her. She glanced at the professor as the man got started. They would be dealing with bouncing bulbs. She watched the professor demonstrate the bouncing bulbs and how to plant them, though it appeared to be a struggle. She looked at the bulb when it was her turn and then went to grab it. It immediately slipped from her hands, and she had to quickly grab it, trying to have a stronger grip and following the instructions of quick, strong movements. She wasn’t particularly good at it, but she managed it. She was glad when she did. With that the lesson was wrapped up and Callie packed up her things and left the room.

 

[Enoch Goldewyn]

Enoch walked into the herbology greenhouse and took his usual spot in the room. He knew what they would be working with immediately, it wasn’t the first time he had seen bouncing bulbs. He listened along as the professor talked about them, and then showed them what they were to do. Immediately when they were allowed to get started, he did. He took the bulb and then with a tight grip and strong movements made seemingly easy work of getting it potted, though the exertion was clear on his face. He was pretty pleased to have done it quickly and then the teen was able to just pack up and head out of the room.

 

[Elodie Wynshaw]

Elodie was halfway there- just a few more lessons between her and time at home. She was running a little late that morning (she'd been caught up reading a book) so she walked to class without her tie and with her hair twisted into a quick messy bun. She slid into the nearest available spot, offering a sheepish smile as the class began almost immediately after.

Today was bound to be a mess. She took a breath, trying to prepare herself. She was hardly a fighter, and had no idea how this would go. Badly, it would seem. She'd no sooner than grabbed a bulb than it had twisted away from her, and for the next who knew how many minutes she was chasing after the silly thing. knocking into several things (and several students) until with one last pounce, she'd captured her boucing bulb.

Of course, nothing was ever easy- she knocked into the table as she caught it and the movement knocked her pot over. Dirt spilled over her head, blinding her. She spluttered, but didn't release her bouncing bulb. "Okay, a little help please?" She asked, eyes squeezed tight. She wasn't sure if the Professor or anyone else were nearby, but she was sure there was someone.

 

[Dominic Owens-Lee]

Dominic still had a few weeks of the semester left, and so he was looking forward to whatever his classes had in store for him. He had been trying to keep up with everything, especially with his responsibility on the quidditch team. It was proving to be difficult, and all Dominic could do was try his best not to stress out about it too much. He often contemplated heading to the library to find some meditation books, but it just stressed him out even more as he supposed he could have been using his time to do better things. Trying to keep all of the thoughts out of his mind, Dominic made his way to his classes.

Dominic entered the Herbology classroom, trying his best to keep focused. He watched as the professor showed them a plant called a bouncing bulb. It was quite large and a little dangerous, and the teen wasn't sure how he was going to be able to repot them. A little nervous, Dominic put his gloves on and cast the knockback jinx on the plant, feeling a little guilty as it worked. It was a lot of work, but eventually Dominic was able to grasp it firmly and transfer it into its new pot. He thanked the professor for his help before heading back to the castle at the end of the lesson.

 

[Audrey Beauchamp]

Audrey was more than happy to do something hands on. She'd been working out her frustrations with beater practice but she could certainly stand to wrangle something. Bouncing bulbs were going to be a fun challenge, and Audrey was quick to roll up her sleeves and get started. If nothing else, she could always rely on her arms. And her arms, thankfully, did not fail her. She just grabbed onto the bulb and refused to even give it an inch. Perhaps she had one that wasn't as feisty as the others, or perhaps it was the strength she'd cultivated over basically an entire life with beater's bat in hands, but the bulb stood almost no chance against her. She did have to react quickly to wrestle it in place a couple of times as it tried to break out and attack, especially as she sought to cover it in soil. But when the rest of the class looked like a warzone, Audrey hardly looked troubled save for a few errant streaks of dirt. Honestly, she was a little disappointed she didn't have any bruises to show for it, but by the same token she could use it as bragging rights. What, like potting a bouncing bulb is hard?

 

[Marley Owens-Lee]

Marley quickly made her way to the herbology classroom and took a seat, as she waited for the professor to begin the lesson. So far, Herbology had been interesting, but it still hadn't really been her favourite subject or something she was keen on, but she was still willing to learn. The Hufflepuff moved her attention towards the professor as the professor began the lesson. It turned out they were going to be learning about Bouncing Bulbs and how to transfer them from one pot to another. She watched as the professor demonstrated to them what they needed to do. Marley seemed to be holding her breath as she watched the professor struggle a little to move it, and the Hufflepuff was worried she wasn't going to master it. She knew a lot of her classmates were probably going to be doing way better at this than herself. It wasn't long before it was their turn to do it. Marley did as she was told, she got a hold of the bulb, though it seemed to move within her grip, and it wasn't long before it managed to slip, though she managed to catch the bulb quickly, before managing to put it in the new pot, despite it wrestling in her grip for ages, before she managed to put it in the pot, quickly burying it in the dirt.

It wasn't long before the lesson had come to an end and they were dismissed. Marley put away her things as well as tidied up her area. She then says a quick thanks and goodbye to the professor before heading out of the greenhouse with her friends and the rest of her classmates.

 

[Millie Walden-Cade]

Millie headed into the greenhouse and adjusted her gloves carefully. She had known they would be working with Bouncing Bulbs this lesson and she also knew that they could be… feisty, but like Veronica. She wasn’t especially strong, but she braced herself and kept a tight hold as she reached for the one in front of her. The plant lurched, trying to escape her grip almost the moment she’d touched it, thrashing about wildly in her hands. She grit her teeth, trying to keep a tight hold on the bulb and also trying to make sure it didn’t have an plans on knocking her out. She was determined not to lose control, so she quickly moved to the pot to place the bulb and forced it into the soil. She took a deep breath as she somehow managed to come away unscathed and wiped some of the dirt off of her face. Not ideal, but she’d managed.

 

[Veronica Walden-Cade]

they tend to uh, attack, when they feel threatened

It wasn’t the most encouraging thing to hear from your Herbology professor, but at least she wasn’t having spells cast at her like her cousins and younger siblings were in defence against the dark arts. Thank goodness for small mercies. Today they would be working with bouncing bulbs, whatever they were. Veronica watched as Professor Castillo wrestled with the bulbs and stressed the need for quick and strong moves. She was sure she had the skills needed to be quick, she was a quidditch player after all no matter what Teddy might think. After the demonstration she got to work, the first bulb she tried to grab lunged for her so Veronica cast a knockback jinx on it to slow it down and quickly slammed it into the dirt and packed it in tight. She repeated it a few more times until the lesson as over then she cleaned up and made her way out of the greenhouse.