First Years, Lesson Three

Landon walked into the Herbology greenhouse rather early for his third lesson of the semester with the first years. Last lesson had been quite fun and he was surprised with how successful each of his students were with the treasure hunt. Lucky for them, they would be going outside today and he was very excited to see how well they would do with their first harvest. They seemed like a trusty bunch and so he was confident that today's lesson was going to be yet another success.

"Morning first years!" Professor Carter exclaimed when he was sure everyone had taken their seat. "We are going to jump right into it today so there is plenty of time for the fun stuff. What's the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Halloween?" Landon pointed to a student near the back of the room. "Pumpkins!" they said excitedly, already beginning to get an idea of what they were going to be doing. "Yes, exactly right! 3 points to your house. We will be planting some pumpkins today. As I said before, I would like to get right into it, so..." With a flick of his wand, Landon watched as the board began writing notes by itself. "Once you've finished copying down these notes, come with me outside."

* The Pumpkin is believed to have originated in North America, where the Native Americans dried strips of Pumpkin and wove them into mats.

* The original name for the pumpkin was Pepon, which was Greek for large melon.

* The Pumpkin is widely known for being served at feasts as Pumpkin Pie, but its notoriety comes from its established tradition at Halloween.

* Pumpkins can also be used to celebrate good harvest, and at Christmas and thanksgiving where it is typically roasted.

After everyone was finally done copying down the notes, the professor slipped on his leather black gloves and walked outside with them. His tools, a spade, a watering can, and a rake were waiting for him at his section. The dirt looked ripe and eager for planting which Landon smiled at as he observed where his students would be working. Each station was in the shape of a huge rectangle. Landon pulled a bag of Pumpkins seeds from the inside of his robes and gave each of his students a seed for their own use. "Be sure your soil is tilled, or rather soft. I have tilled the soil already so that shouldn't really be a problem. Your pumpkins are to be in the ground and ready to grow by the end of today's lesson."

Landon flicked out his wand, "Watch what I do. You will be doing this in regular labour." A smile formed on his face. His spade hovered in the air. "Get down on your knees, since it's easier to reach the dirt. Take your spade and dig a small hole in the ground and drop the seed into the hole." His spade did exactly that, and Landon dropped the seed into the hole. "Refill the hole and then pat the soil lightly and don't compact it." Landon's spade gently patted the ground like he instructed. "Now, give it a generous amount of water." His watering can poured water over the dirt. "And now do exactly as I did."

After everyone was finished, Landon smiled. As much as he wanted to teach them the muggle way of planting, he knew that they couldn't wait too long until harvest, so he took out his wand once again and spoke to his students. "Now, in order for the pumpkins to grow a bit faster, a spell will need to be involved. Please take out your wands and repeat after me." Landon waited until all of his students had retrieved their wands and stated clearly, "Sementis medicates." He then waved his wand in a loop over his planted pumpkin seed. The sprout emerged from the ground, thickened into a vine, twining and extending its vine, waiting for the others to grow. A small bud flowered, then bloomed yellow before the petals fell away and a small, light coloured melon was clinging to the vine. "Great job guys!" the man exclaimed when he looked around to see that everyone had successfully practiced the spell. "Once you are all packed up, you may leave. Have a good week!"

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Assignment: RP the lesson. First poster please answer the question. For extra credit you may write a paragraph about the pumpkin.

 

[Sayuri Edogawa]

Sayuri entered Herbology class, hoping that this class would involve a lot less dirt than the last. Of course, it was expected that they would be interacting with soil in this class in general, but the last class had involved purely dirt and not really any plants so… While she appreciated that this class incorporated practical work with the lectures, she thought that it didn’t need to all be digging in the dirt. Thankfully, they really would be learning something today. And though Yuri knew the answer to the question, she didn’t think pumpkins were really something to be all that excited about as her classmate was about them. She supposed this was at least more productive than digging randomly in dirt. She took down notes though she somehow doubted most of it would be needed. Who even needed to know this much about pumpkins?

It was not surprising to Sayuri that there was a practical in this lesson since it seemed to be so far, an ongoing theme. She adjusted her gloves as she followed the professor and watched closely as he demonstrated what they needed to do. She chose to work closer to her sister as she knelt down on the ground then proceeded to dig a hole for her pumpkin seed. The process was quick since the instructions were so simple. Dig, seed, cover, water. Once that was done she took a step back as she removed a glove to pull out her wand. She focused on the seed she just planted and said, “Sementis medicates.” Unsurprisingly, a sprout emerged from the soil. Satisfied with her work, she left the class once they were dismissed.​

 

[Victoria de Lacey]

The game of tug-of-war was supposed to be just a game, but from what Tori had seen, there was something else going on. Eury had said she wanted to join the boys and honestly, Tori kind of wanted to echo her sentiment. Not that she was giving up on the girls, but... since the introduction back in the first weeks of the school year, she hasn't even spoken to her assigned sister and she's spent more time with Veronica than Rose has. She's not even completely sure Rose knows who Veronica is - does that makes sense to anyone? Tori doesn't want to suggest that maybe there are too many girls all in the same room together, but... well the management could maybe use some sprucing up. She doesn't want to say anything against the leader but there seems to be a theme she's not exactly happy with - not that she's got any say in the matter at all.

She follows along eagerly, excited about learning things with Pumpkins, especially when it connects the muggle and magical worlds so clearly for her, like this does. They're honestly a perfect example of that. When the professor hands her a seed, she kneels on the soft soil with s smile, and follows his demonstration as best as she can. Watering it is strangely satisfying, almost like she's nurturing this thing. She's always been the kind to especially appreciate the practical stuff so she loves this. Her heart skips a beat when she casts Semantis Medicates and nothing happens at first, but soon the cine springs to life, twisting and blooming right before her eyes. She watches on as the tiny pumpkin stars to form, proud of her contribution. Whilst she's packing, she wonders what they're going to do with the pumpkin, since Halloween is over now.​

 

[Winnie Calida]

Winnie walked into the herbology greenhouse and took the same spot as she had in the week before. She glanced at the professor as the man got started, but was a little too slow to answer the question, it was also not something that she would’ve thought of. The slytherin then took her notes and wrote down what was on the board. She was one of the first done and headed outside to where the professor was now stood. The rest of the class joined them, the professor ran through what they were to do, and she was most excited about the magic part of it. She got to work when the professor let them, doing each spell and then when the time was right she grabbed her wand and said. ”Sementis medicates,” She cast it a couple of times and then it worked. She was able to then wash her hands and head out of the room.

 

[William Potter-Cade]

As dull as the activity might have been, William was grateful that so far Herbology was proving to be the practical lesson he had hoped and it was proving a reprieve of the otherwise theory heavy lessons that filled his timetable that semester. He made his way into the greenhouse and listened to Professor Carter as he got things started. Pumpkins was the main thing on the agenda, the talk of Halloween was odd as it had passed for the school year so if they weren’t cultivating pumpkins for the Halloween feast, what would they be used for? William shrugged off his own question, it didn’t really matter. After writing down some of the information they had on pumpkins he turned his attention to the practical portion of the lesson which would take place outside.

William followed Professor Carter outside and watched his demonstration. Once the demonstration was over, William got onto his knees and started the process of planting his pumpkin just as the professor had showed them. After watering it he took out his wand and held it over the spot he’d just planted his pumpkin. “Semetis medicates,” He said in a firm, clear voice. Once it was done he returned to the greenhouse to clean and pack up then left the greenhouse.