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.

 

[Carolina Morales]

Despite wanting to dive right into focusing her learning on magical plants and taking care of them, Carolina was excited that day to learn their Herbology lesson was an opportunity to learn about the different tools available to them and most importantly a chance to dig into the dirt. Carolina liked to dig into the dirt in her own time partially from her own exploration of how the ground and nature worked but also to seek out bugs she used as bait to try and get a closer glimpse of birds. Rolling up her sleeves and with a determined expression on her face, Carolina listened intently to Professor Carter as he explained the competition, almost wasting no time to dig into the nearest pallet as soon as she was allowed to.

Carolina mixed her attention between different tools, mostly the hoe and the spade and occasionally the rake, moving any lifted dirt to a nearby wheelbarrow as fast as she could in an effort to find one of the eggs before anyone else did. Her arms were covered in the different kinds of dirt, and her fingernails equally caked with dirt as well but she was happy and in her element, reaching around the dirt with different tools after she cleared more of it away from the spot in front of her. Eventually she felt something round but delicate against her spade, what could only be an egg and she moved her efforts to almost excavate around it before she was able to lift the egg from the dirt, holding it above her head in triumph.

"Found one!!" She shouted, proud of herself and smiling wide as she looked over to the professor. Her heart was pounding in her chest with adrenaline, she was so excited and happy and felt accomplished in her effort to find one of the coveted eggs.​

 

[Julian Nightray]

Julian's eyes scanned the setup for the lesson as Professor Carter explained the treasure hunt. He didn't mind getting dirty when tending to plants but searching the dirt for eggs and money seemed quite juvenile. He stood next to a pallet, considering what to do. He was already familiar with the tools laid out in front of him. A rake would be perfect for loosening the soil, but it wouldn’t do much for retrieving the knuts or eggs. The spade seemed like the most versatile tool, but he would need to be careful not to damage the fragile eggs buried in the dirt. After a moment of thought, Julian chose the spade. He carefully poked it into the sandy soil, making sure to only disturb the surface. His goal was to sift through the dirt slowly. It didn’t take long for his effort to pay off when he uncovered a few knuts. Not that it interested him much. He decided to stick with the task until he had retrieved a couple of coins, earning a small pile of knuts and sickles. He was content enough with them, and he had just about it, digging in the soil instead of actually learning how to tend to more challenging plants - especially of the magical variety.​

 

[Angelo Dela Cruz]

Angelo eagerly entered the Herbology greenhouse, instantly confused by today's setup. It sort of looked like someone puked a school garden multiple times but also forgot to put in plants. He wasn't deterred though. The idea of a treasure hunt had him grinning and he was excited to know that there was actual money hidden within the dirt. Angelo would have willingly dug in the dirt with his bare hands but sadly that hadn't been the case. As the teacher introduced the tools, Angelo took note of each one: spade, mattock, rake, pruning shears, and more. His eyes widened as he realized just how many different tools there were for this game. The mention of different types of soil for different plants amazed him - he had never really thought about how specific types of dirt could affect plant growth before. He thought they just all grew similarly. When they were told they could start, he began by trying the sandy soil sifting through it. After a bit of digging, he uncovered a few coins - he wasn't sure which but that was a problem for later - and tossed them into his pocket. Smiling to himself, he moved on to the next pallet which needed more effort, but it also had more buried treasures. After some time and experimenting with different tools, Angelo managed to uncover a raw egg, bringing it to Mister Carter. “Ser! Here's my egg for you!” he yelled for the professor. He was a bit dirty and if he were home, his mother would surely fuss and get annoyed with him, but this was worth it.​

 

[Henri Fontaine]

Henri didn’t enjoy how much time his classes took. He was pretty determined to really not go along to them if he didn’t want to. If the weather was nicer he wouldn’t go. If things were just better elsewhere, he just wouldn’t go along. He knew his sister wouldn’t be happy if she heard him doing that, but Henri didn’t mind. She could have all the issues with it until she was blue in the face he wasn’t going to change. He headed out of the dorm room, knowing he’d decide at the last moment whether he’d actually bother with the class.

Henri walked into the herbology classroom and stood by one of the pallets. He looked to the man as the man explained what they would be doing, but it became pretty clear that he wouldn’t be getting to see the bugs which would be found in the various dirt which he thought was a missed opportunity and made the lesson boring. He did use items but he didn’t really care about it much at all. He was happy when the lesson did eventually wrap up and he was able to pack up and head out of the class.