First Years, Lesson Two

After reading carefully through the introductory quiz he gave his students on the first day, Professor Landon Carter was feeling very confident that he would have a good year this year. Many of the students seemed eager to learn which lifted Landon's spirits up. The man was at the front of his classroom lining up each and every tool that they would be using throughout their time in the course on the table at the front of the room. He knew that going through each and every tool individually would be boring and time consuming and so he wanted to make it fun. To do this, Landon had set up a game for the students to play. A great section of the Greenhouse had been cleared of plant rows in favour of wooden pallets that were filled with many different kind of dirt and sand. There were six in all, each measuring two by two meters. If the children did not find this fun, he would not know what else to do.

When everyone started filing in group by group, Landon greeted them all with a smile. "Please stand next to a pallet each." he told them as they made their way inside. Once he was sure that everyone was there, he began his lesson. "Today we are going to be learning about each and every tool in Herbology. With me here I have a spade, a mattock, a spading fork, a draw hoe, a rake, pruning shears and a few little wheelbarrows." Landon pointed to each one as he said them, making sure that the students knew which ones were which. "In each pallet in front of you there are different kinds of dirt. Every different kind of soil has nutrients and densities perfect for the plants that grow native in them. Sandy soil is better for shrivelfigs, heavy and clay-like for Mandrakes, light and dry for bouncing bulbs and so on. We're going to get to know the soil and the tools we use for Herbology by going on a little treasure hunt." Looking around the room, the man could see some of the student's faces light up, and he just smiled at them all, glad that they were already liking the sound of the day's lesson.

There were no rules as such, but there were some interesting prizes and results. Buried beneath the pallets were a mixture of knuts and sickles, the latter being further down in the piles and harder to reach. Also in the soil, however, were twelve raw eggs spread between the six pallets. Professor Carter instructed the students to attempt to retrieve as many knuts and sickles as they pleased using the tools. Successfully rescuing an egg from the dirt and returning it to him would grant the lucky student/s one galleon. There was a catch; each witch and wizard could only touch the dirt with the tools. By experimenting with each set with each soil and finding out which worked best, everyone had a chance of winning the knuts, sickles and perhaps a galleon or two. Landon encouraged the students to rotate around the pallets to work with different tools and soils. By the end of the lesson there were many grubby, sweaty and happy students.

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Assignment: Roleplay the lesson, and have fun! The first five people who take the time to have their character find an egg will receive extra points in lieu of actual money.

 

[Elijah Edogawa]

As Eli entered the greenhouses for a second time, he immediately noticed and was intrigued by the setup before him. The rows of plants had been replaced by large wooden pallets filled with different types of soil. Professor Carter's enthusiasm was infectious though, and Eli felt a little spark of curiosity and interest as he approached one of the pallets. He couldn't say that Herbology was going to be his favourite class, he was far more of an academic than he was someone who liked a lot of practical stuff. He knew Herbology was definitely far more practical than it was theory, but knowing something about plants wasn't a bad thing was it? He was sure it would be good for future reference. Standing next to his assigned pallet, Eli listened as the Professor explained the tools and their uses, the array of spades, mattocks and all manner of other things they would need being available to them to use as necessary for the rest of class. He did like the idea of a treasure hunt though, that sounded like it would be pretty exciting!

As the instructions were given, he noted the challenge of not touching the soil with his hands. He picked up a spade and carefully began to dig into the sandy soil in front of him, his mind already whirring with thoughts about the different nutrient levels and densities Professor Carter had mentioned. That was something he could focus on because it was more academic. As he moved the spade through the sandy soil, he could feel the texture, enjoying it immensely. He worked methodically, keeping an eye out for any glint of metal or the shell of an egg. After a few minutes, he spotted a Knut and carefully manoeuvred it onto the spade before putting it in his pocket with a satisfied grin. Switching to a draw hoe, Elijah moved to another section of the pallet. The sandy soil was yielding and easy to sift through, but he knew the real challenge would come with the denser soils.

After some time, Elijah decided to try his luck with another pallet. He approached one with clay-like soil, picking up a spading fork to start digging. The heavier soil was more challenging, and he had to use more force to break it apart. He felt a thrill of determination as he dug deeper, knowing that the sickles and eggs would be harder to find in this tougher terrain. His persistence paid off when he spotted the edge of a sickle buried deep within the soil. With careful precision, Eli used the spading fork to lift it out, feeling a rush of accomplishment as he added it to his collection. With his success, he continued to rotate between the pallets, experimenting with different tools and soils. Each new section offered a unique challenge, and he relished the opportunity to test his skills and knowledge. He was focused, determined to find one of the elusive eggs. Finally, as he was using a rake in the lighter, dry soil of another pallet, he saw a faint, rounded shape buried just beneath the surface. His heart raced as he carefully used the rake to uncover the fragile shell of an egg. With utmost care, he managed to lift it out of the soil and held it triumphantly.

Eli made his way to Professor Carter, presenting the egg with a proud smile. By the end of the lesson, the first year was grubby and sweaty, but immensely happy. The treasure hunt had been a fantastic way to learn about the tools and soils of Herbology, and he couldn’t wait to see what other adventures awaited in Professor Carter’s class.​

 

[Eurydice Nightray]

Eurydice should have skipped class. Was it really too late to owl her parents to take her back home? She doubted her mum would allow it but Eury was seriously considering the merits of trying. She stood in front of her pallet of dirt very unsure. The treasure hunt did seem fun but she was very put off by the whole had to get on the dirt part of the whole thing. Sure they were not allowed to touch to soil with their hands and only use the tools but the soil would get on the tools. And on her clothes. And that meant they could get on her hands too. Even watching Eli was not making her any more eager to do the whole activity. She instead grabbed what she thought was the rake and began to half-heartedly sift through the sandy soil, careful to not move it around so much lest sand get underneath her fingernails. She could see the other kids having fun and Eli seemed to be determined while Eury was just determined to leave. She continued like this just moving the sandy soil idly with her "rake" until her cousins were satisfied with their work and she could leave with them. Penniless but at least she didn't feel icky. She made sure to not stick to her cousins though as they walked out together since they were quite sweaty and dirty from the activity.​

 

[Eoghan Blyth]

Upon hearing that today's Herbology lesson could result in them getting dirty up to their elbows, Eoghan wished he'd called in sick. Of course he could put his uniform in the wash and take a bath, but he'd already done that once just a few hours ago, and now here he was about to go grovelling for the sake of using some instruments. He took the tools they were given and headed to one of the pallets, trying to keep the irritation of his face. He wanted to enjoy his time here, wanted to know and learn as much as he could, and while he knew that it wouldn't always be an easy ride or the things he wanted to do, he had to tell himself he had to make the most of what was given to him. Eoghan began digging with the tools, careful not flick any of the dirt over himself or other students. He'd rolled up his sleeves too in the hopes of sparing it, but it was long before he was bent over the pallet and getting soil all over his white shirt. Perhaps if they'd be prewarned for this last week he would have known to wear something he didn't care about as much. After managed to pull out a few coins and an egg, Eoghan stopped digging before he made things any worse, and waited for the rest of the students to finish up.

 

[Lyra Gates]

The classes hadn't been too hard and Lyra was sure she could handle them. The problem was that she was such a dreamer that most of the Professor lecture was going right past her. Today she was thinking about a plant she had spotted in the yard. A purplish one with blue dots. It was peculiar and a tad bit strange. Its colours were nothing like she had ever seen before. The walk to the Greenhouse went on very uneventful and Lyra smiled to the her Head of House.

She managed to stand somewhere were she wasn't in someone else's way and then waited for all of the other students to come in. Twirling a piece of twine alongside her narrow fingers. The Professor started his lesson and Lyra was still thinking about the plant she had seen before. She rolled up her sleeves when everyone else did so. She had heard half of the explanation, but she was sure she knew the gist. Lyra bent down on her knees and started digging with one of the materials provided. The soil provided rather hard and she swapped out for something more suitable. She then managed to dig out a couple of coins and then she spotted something else deeper down.

She had somehow found an egg. She had no clue what to do with it and asked another student what the usage of the egg was. In the end she understood that it was something for extra points. Thus she gave it to Professor Carter.

 

[Daiki Saito]

Daiki walked into the herbology greenhouse and moved to stand next to a pallet, ensuring that Kairi stood next to him. He then looked at the professor as the man began describing the different types of things and dirt with herbology. This was pretty interesting and he was a little disappointed that he didn’t have his notes out to take some of this down, both useful for a future exam and useful for just if he ever wanted a garden. He had signed up to the wild patch with Kairi, so there was some merit in it. Eventually the professor just let them dig into the dirt, and Daiki took his time with it. Ensuring that he tried most of the items, and most of the soils. He didn’t find a whole lot, but he wasn’t really aiming for that. He worked until the professor wrapped things up and then headed out of the room.

 

[Lilith Ilves]

Lilith strolled onto her second ever Herbology class, excited to see what today held. What she had not expected however was a treasure hunt, the idea of such sent a thrill through her bloodstream and made the objective of digging through different sorts of dirt's a little more appealing. She had never been much of a gardener, she'd rather sit back and watch her grandmother or mother do those tasks, while reading her book. It wasn't that she didn't like it or had something against such tasks, she just found herself more inclined to read. Throughout the introduction the young Ravenclaw made sure to write notes of each tools name and the soils too, as well as which plants would best thrive in those soils.

When it came to the actual objective Lilith wasted no time, eager to see what she could find amongst the sands and soils. She found a little bit of everything and right before the class ended one of her tools hit something slightly bigger. Excitement ran through her at the thought of finding something bigger. As she lifted her tool, sweat dripping on her forehead she looked at what looked to be an egg. Right, she made sure to clean her tools before returning the egg to the professor. "Uh, I hope the egg won't be too upset, I tried to be careful about getting it out." She said as she placed the egg onto the desk. Well then, that second class was a success, she thought as she walked out with everything.