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.

 

[Aaron Dela Cruz]

The spring weather was really coming in, but it still felt quite cool to Aaron who was used to the more sweltering temperatures of Manila in the Summer. The heavy robes weren't helping though, since they were supposed to help ward off the slightly cooler weather of Spring and they were only serving to make Aaron overheat a little, so he pulled up the sleeves. He was still adjusting to the sheer absurdity of Hogwarts life - magic, robes, and lessons like Herbology, which felt more like a quirky gardening class his mom would sign up for. Sliding into his seat, Aaron listened as teacher kicked off the lesson with an animated discussion about pumpkins. When the notes began writing themselves, Aaron’s eyes narrowed in fascination. Automatic note-taking? he thought. Why don’t they just digitise this into an app? Dutifully copying the notes despite his skepticism, he followed the class outside.

Once stationed with his tools, Aaron knelt by the tilled soil, glancing at the pumpkin seed in his hand. “So… this is basically farming,” he muttered, rolling his eyes but mimicking the teachers actions. Digging a small hole, he dropped one of the seeds in and patched the soil down lightly. He wasn't really used to gardening, his mum was a marine biologist, not an agriculture expert. His dad was a professor, the closest he'd ever been to a garden was the one in the building and they paid people to look after that. By the time it came to the spell, Aaron hesitated, his hand gripping his wand awkwardly. “Sementis medicates,” he recited, looping his wand as instructed. His eyes widened as the sprout shot up and twisted into a vine, transforming before his eyes. The sight made him pause. Okay, fine. That’s cool.​

 

[Carolina Morales]

Carolina had been looking forward to each of her herbology lessons, the lessons being the highlight of her week and the chance for her to experience magical plants in the ways she had always dreamed of. Granted, the lessons were relatively beginner and she was yet to really observe a magical plant properly, but she understood this as necessary before they dove into their proper learning. Smiling to herself, Carolina arrived to the classroom and took a seat near the back of the room because all of the seats near the front were already taken. She paid close attention as Professor Carter introduced the lesson and raised her hand to answer his question, happy to be the one chosen this time. "Pumpkins!" She exclaimed in answer, smiling proudly when the professor granted her points.

Eager to get outside and actually begin to plant something, Carolina tried her best to scribble down the notes on the board as they wrote themselves. She wrote as neatly but as quickly as she could, failing somewhat knowing her notes would be unreadable to someone else but also in a way she could understand if she decided to copy them down later. As soon as she was done note taking Carolina rushed to the front of the class as they headed outside, choosing a spot at one of the planters and accepting the pumpkin seed that was offered to her. She inspected it slightly for any signs of something odd and magical but determined this was just a regular pumpkin seed.

As instructed she ensured soil in the planter was soft and soon dug a hole and planted the pumpkin seed. Carolina refilled the hole gently and added water, only really pausing for a moment when she knew it was time to cast the charm. She couldn't help but feel a little nervous and worry the charm would go wrong, but took a moment to properly steady herself and breath before she mimicked the wand movement and incantation. "Sementis medicates." She uttered gently, watching as the plant did begin to grow, a vine sprouting from the soil and eventually a small, light green, baby pumpkin. Carolina watched in a mix of awe and disbelief, but soon snapped herself out of it and left the class feeling proud and accomplished once again. She couldn't wait until her next herbology lesson.​

 

[Angelo Dela Cruz]

Angelo eagerly made his way to Herbology class, excited to see what Mister Carter had planned for them today. When he heard they would be planting pumpkins, his excitement grew—this was his first hands-on gardening experience with magic. Well, maybe his first actual gardening experience. Living in a condominium didn't exactly offer many opportunities for keeping a garden. He copied down the notes about pumpkins with fascination, his pen flying through his trustee notebook as he learned about their history. They celebrated Halloween back home but it was sort of sandwiched in all the Christmas things, so it wasn't as big as it seemed to be here. As they moved outside, Angelo admired the prepared soil and neat tools laid out for them. He carefully held the pumpkin seed given to him, determined to do a good job. Following Mister Carter's instructions, he knelt by his assigned rectangle of soil and started digging a small hole with the spade. It was a little tricky at first but he quickly got the hang of it. Dropping the seed into the hole, he gently covered it with soil and patted it down, mindful not to compact it too much then poured water over the spot. When it was time to perform the spell, Angelo felt a little nervous. He hadn’t mastered many spells yet - or like any at all. Holding his wand steadily, he mimicked Mister Carter’s loop motion over the soil and repeated, “Sementis medicates.” His eyes widened as a sprout appeared and vine grew, twisting and thickening. "Whoooooa, pre pre, looooook it sproooouteeeeeed!"

@Aaron Dela Cruz ​

 

[Daisuke Kaster]

Daisuke walked into the Herbology greenhouse, maybe just a little bit looking forward to today's lesson. The last lesson had been a bit interesting. He didn't have a natural green thumb, but he enjoyed working on plants and working on Herbology here in Hogwarts was sounding less and less intimidating. Today, it seemed like things would be a bit interesting as they would be planting pumpkins in preparation for Halloween. He diligently copied down notes that appeared on the board while the professor discussed the origins of pumpkin and their significance in Native American culture. When the professor started to bring them outside to plant pumpkins, Daisuke couldn't help but feel a little apprehensive. He was sure he wasn't going to mess it up but the thought did occur to him momentarily. After receiving his seed and following the instructions carefully, Daisuke knelt down and dug a small hole in the soft soil. He dropped the seed into the hole, covering it up and patting the dirt gently as instructed. He then watered it generously. Daisuke watched closely as the professor demonstrated the spell, a bit nervous but he held his wand with determination. The nice lady at Ollivanders said he had a good wand for Herbology. He could do this. “Sementis medicates.” He focused on the spot where his pumpkin seed had been planted. Slowly, a small sprout emerged from the ground, growing into a vine, and he couldn’t help but smile just a little. The yellow bloom and tiny pumpkin that followed were a balm.​

 

[Julian Nightray]

After the last class, Julian was slightly apprehensive about attending Herbology. While he'd succeeded previously, he didn't really find digging in just dirt enjoyable. Now learning to tend to magical plants and spells relating to them, now, that was something he'd want to learn. Thankfully, that seemed to be the case today. As the professor explained the lesson, Julian's mind was already on the task that they would be doing for the day. He had a good idea of what needed to be done, even without much magical experience in the subject. Once they moved outside, Julian got down and prodded the soil with a spade. He smiled, perfect for planting. After receiving the pumpkin seed from Professor Carter, he worked carefully: dig a small hole, drop the seed inside, refill the hole, and pat it down lightly. When it was time for the spell, Julian grabbed his wand, focused on the incantation, and followed the professor's lead. “Sementis medicates.” He watched as the pumpkin sprout grew quickly into a vine, its leaves unfurling and a small pumpkin beginning to form. He breathed a sigh of relief, looking forward to harvesting the pumpkin in time for Halloween.​