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 covered in dirt, but he was deliriously 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.

 

[Ondine Physwick]

At last - a competition Ondine stood a chance of winning. Or at least, Professor Carter made it sound an awful lot like a competition. She rolled up her sleeves and got to work right away, moving decisively from pallet to pallet, shuffling dirt, and collecting coins. When she came across larger clumps of soil, she broke them apart gently with a trowel, keeping her eyes peeled for a glimpse of shell. It was sweaty work, especially with the sun slanting in through the greenhouse glass, but at last her hard work was rewarded. An egg! She brushed off the film of dirt and took it straight to Professor Carter, showing him proudly.

 

[Kairi Kennedy]

Kairi felt like she was having a nice time, settling in easier than she'd been hoping. Her dorm room was amazing, her roommates seemed amazing, and of course the common room was so comfortable and cozy. She liked to think part of that was having Daiki around- she felt like he was her support, the only support she really had anywhere. But that was alright, it just meant she would learn to be more self reliant. At least, thats what she told herself.

She woke up early, making her bed and braiding her hair. She felt ready for the day. Making sure she had everything, Kairi walked to class. She took her place with Daiki, giving him a smile. She turned her attention to the Professor then, interested in the project for the day. She meant to do ell, but honestly, she'd forgotten all about it as she just played with the different soils, comparing the feeling of it all through her fingers. Having had a good time, she started humming as she walked out.

 

[Jonah Edogawa]

Jonah walked into the greenhouse with maybe only a little bit of apprehension. After his last run-in with the professor, he wasn't exactly keen on spending any time here. But he didn't want Eury to be mad at him for skipping class. He was a little curious though at the pallets filled with soil that he apparently had to stand in front of. He listened a little as the professor explained the activity, and Jonah couldn't help but be intrigued. A treasure hunt did sound fun. He had to snort, though, at the absolutely priceless look on his cousin's face, but also felt a little bit bad for her. He knew what it was like to attend a class he didn't really like but have to do the work. If she'd been nicer to him in History, then maybe he would have skipped Herbology with her, but now they would both suffer classes they didn't like. Gripping a spade, Jonah started to sift through the pallet. He had a very awkward grip on it, though. Instead of Jonah experimenting on the tools to figure out the right one for the soil, it was more accurate to say that Jonah experimented to find one that he didn't feel awkward holding. In the end, he liked using the drawing hoe the most (not that he knew that it was the drawing hoe) since he just had to drop it and pull, and he would end up getting coins. It wasn't entirely the right decision (obviously), though, because as he was pulling it across the clay-like soil, he met resistance, which only made him pull harder. The result? A broken egg spilled all over the soil. That made him frown, and he decided that he was done. He had a good number of coins anyway. By the end of the lesson, he was sweaty and grubby, but he had a bit of fun.​

 

[Samael Styx]

Samael Styx managed to memorize the routes, and the best ones too, to class. The first week helped him out a lot, and he did not want to rely on his housemates for much of anything. They had done their job well, even though they were likely not aware of what they were doing for him. Samael was just talented like that. He smirked coyly to himself as he got ready for the day ahead. He was sure that since they were first years, he likely did not have to try too hard to succeed. Everything was easy, more so since he was a Styx. Samael had a lot of pride in his family after all. He would not make his parents disappointed in him at all.

Samael entered the greenhouses and stook next to a pallet when instructed. Samael nodded along when Professor Carter informed them of their duties for today. He looked over the different dirt, and felt the texture of each of them. They all felt different. While Professor Carter was talking, he saw something shiny in his. It clicked when his Head of House mentioned that they would be using the tools to do a treasure hunt. That would explain the shiny parts he was seeing. Using the tools, he looked around to find some money within the dirt while practicing with the tools. He did not use his hands, not even once. He was unaware of the whole egg thing, but in the end, he had not found one anyway.​

 

[Vikram Bakshi]

Vikram had fallen into an easy routine, having familiarized himself with the best routes around the castle. He'd figured out how to best keep his things in order to his satisfaction, and had even found a few ways to relax. Mostly just a few spots to lounge and watch the sky or the scenery outside. He was enjoying his school year. He picked up the bag he'd packed the night before and walked to class.

He turned his attention to the Professor.and listened to the man speak. Vikram winced as he found out what they were doing. Not keen to be involved, he instead found a seat nearby and observed the rest of them, taking a few notes. Eventually they were dismissed, and he spent a few minutes getting his notes sorted and back into his bag. He would need to make some friends in his house, he thought, hands in his pockets as he walked out alone.

 

[Nox Walden-Cade]

Nox was looking forward to actually doing something in Herbology so when he arrived at the greenhouse and saw the table was lined with pallets he was encouraged. The first words spoken by Professor Carter was the instruction to stand by a pallet which Nox did. Professor Carter explained that they would be learning about the various tools they would be using in Herbology and proceeded to go through each of them, listing them first and giving them a general idea of what they were and what they might be used for. Professor Carter seemed to have determined that a treasure hunt was the best way to go about having them learn to use the tools and it sounded like fun so Nox was all in.

Once the task had been explained Nox got to work digging through the pallet in front of him, using the various tools at his disposal he managed to find several knuts and sickles but that was about it. A few of the students around him were finding eggs, Nox clearly hadn’t gone deep enough into his pallet because he hadn’t found anything of the sort. By the time the lesson was over Nox had only found a handful of knuts and sickles which he stuffed into the pocket of his robe. He wrapped up his tools and put them away and once they were dismissed he made his way out of the greenhouse.

 

[Forrest Kaster]

Forrest entered the Greenhouse, his eyes immediately drawn to the large wooden pallets filled with different types of soil. He loved the earthy smell and the promise of getting his hands dirty. When Professor Carter instructed them to stand by a pallet, Forrest eagerly picked one and listened attentively to the list of tools and their purposes.

The idea of a treasure hunt in the soil excited Forrest. He was thrilled at the prospect of learning about the different kinds of dirt and how they affected plant growth. As the activity began, he picked up a spade and carefully started sifting through the soil in his pallet.

The treasure hunt was challenging yet fun. Forrest managed to uncover a few knuts and even found a sickle buried deep in the dry soil. His heart raced with excitement every time he heard the clink of metal against his tool. When he moved to a new pallet, he picked up the spading fork, finding it surprisingly efficient for the light, dry soil of the bouncing bulbs.

Towards the end of the lesson, Forrest spotted an egg partially buried in the heavy clay soil. Carefully, he used the draw hoe to gently excavate around it. His concentration was intense as he tried not to break the fragile egg. With a steady hand, he managed to retrieve the egg intact and proudly brought it to Professor Carter, earning himself a galleon.

By the end of the lesson, Forrest was grubby and sweaty but immensely happy. He had learned so much about the different types of soil and tools, and the treasure hunt made the lesson memorable.

 

[Cleo Huynh]

Cleo entered the greenhouse, humming to herself happily. The professor being her head of house made her a little more comfortable in this class compared to the others, simply due to familiarity. Everything else was still new and strange. She observed the pallets curiously and listened as the professor explained what they'd be doing that day. Cleo wasn't dirt's number one fan, but she was wearing her school uniform and she didn't really care about getting that dirty, so it was fine.

Cleo loved treasure hunts. so this lesson already felt more like a game than learning. She quickly got started on the task and was determined to uncover some treasure. She was having an absolutely delightful time using the most inefficient tools for what she was doing, because she found it interesting trying to see how challenging it would be. It made her a lot slower, however, and Cleo realised the lesson would end soon if she didn't do things properly. She only found a few knuts and sickles at the end of the class, but she was more interested in how the different types of dirt had felt over any coins.

 

[Susie Lagowski]

Susie already liked Herbology, but her ears pricked up at the mention of a treasure hunt. There was no mention of whether they were allowed to keep the coins they found, which, in Susie's mind, was the same thing as permission, so she got to work quickly, afraid that all the better ones would be gone before she even reached the pallets. Dirt flew everywhere, including into the neighbouring boxes, and over other people's robes; Susie was not one to be separated from money for very long. By the end of the lesson, she had learned absolutely nothing about the different soil types, but she had a good handful of slightly grubby coins. Success.