Second Years, Lesson Six

Landon had taken some time off for personal matters. And whilst the outcome wasn't what the man had hoped, he still wanted to head back to Hogwarts for the student's last lessons before their exams, just to make sure they were all on the right track. It was also a great way to distract himself. As the class walked in, Landon put on a smile before greeting them, "Welcome everyone. Your mandrakes will all be fully grown by now. I came in last night to feed and water them and caught them trying to move into each other's pots." He chuckled a little. "Today will be your last lesson with them, so make sure to say your goodbyes." The man let out a small sigh as he looked over the faces of his second years. Some of them looked very sad at the thought of leaving them after they had been taking care of them all semester and it made Landon feel sad too. He tried to brighten the mood. "It's alright guys. These Mandrakes will hopefully be used to save some people lives in the future, so there's no need to worry!

"Today we'll be repotting the Mandrakes before they are sent off to St Mungo's. Put on your dragon hide gloves and work robes, and ladies if you need to tie back your hair, I have extra ribbons laid out by the earmuffs." He put his earmuffs around his neck. "This will be very much like when you first repotted your Mandrakes. Except now, they're all a lot stronger and they won't want to be repotted. You will have to use a lot of force, but make sure to be gentle with them too. I'll demonstrate with my mandrake and then you may begin." He put on his gloves, then said sternly. "You will all have to wear your earmuffs. As an added measure of safety, I have placed a silencing charm on all of your Mandrakes. Put your earmuffs on now please." He waited for them to do so, then pulled up his earmuffs.

Professor Carter grasped the leaves base firmly, tugged upwards with a steady, hard pressure then with a slight pop, his mandrake came out of his pot. He wrestled, kicked, tried to bite and it took Landon ten minutes to get him into the larger pot of soil. He quickly put the soil around his head until only his leaves were visible. Once the man was done, he waited for his student to get theirs repotted.

It was a hard process and took some time. Once they were done and their tools were put away and the Mandrakes were fed, watered, and in the sunlight, he spoke. "Good job today guys. I know it was hard, but I'm proud of you all for completing this last task. This was a crucial part of your lesson over Mandrakes in Herbology. If any of you plan on pursuing a career in the medical field, you will need to get used to doing stuff like this. Unfortunately, you will also need to learn how to chop them up which is always a horrible process." Landon was glad that he didn't make his students chop up the mandrakes this time as it meant that they could be spared the pain of doing so. "You may now be dismissed now that we are done with our mandrakes. Make sure to study for your exam. I wish you all the best!"

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Assignment: Post attendance. Good luck in the exams!

 

[Victoria de Lacey]

Tori enjoyed herbology for the most part, though there were definitely aspects of it she found herself disliking, like bloody mandrakes. When she’d called hers Rory, she hadn’t realised how much she was going to miss her brother every time she thought about it. When Professor Carter learned that they would one day have to chip up mandrakes, the smile she’d been wearing disappeared off of her face entirely. She didn’t think she could stand having to chop up Rory - and even if she didn’t have to chop him up herself, she wasn’t sure she could stand the thought of someone else doing it either. They had parties and they danced and Rory gave her little gifts by flinging dirt in her face every time she saw him. She wasn’t sure she’d consider him a friend, but he was someone she’d felt like she could look after and care for, and this information sort of felt like a betrayal, even though, she supposed, she’d known it would come eventually. She knew mandrakes were used as potions ingredients and that it wasn’t really alive… was it? She didn’t know and she decided that she didn’t actually want to know this information. She followed the instructions as Professor Carter laid them out, and tugged on her gloves properly so she could tackle Rory for apparently the last time. That kind of made her sad too. Once everything was finished, she stood back and dusted herself off, giving Rory a quiet nod. She would ace the exam for him, both of them.​

 

[Winnie Calida]

Winnie had been trying to stay at school over the break. Her parents seemed to be rather against it, but she was pulling out every argument that she had for it. She just didn’t really want to go home, there wasn’t anything for her there, not compared with what was there for her at the school. The slytherin put those thoughts aside and then headed out of the dorm room and to her first lesson of the day, keen and eager to have a good and productive day.

Winnie had enjoyed caring for her mandrake, but she could admit she was looking forward to no longer having to. She stepped into the greenhouse and took her spot in the room. She nodded as the professor told them they’d be repotting them before handing the mandrakes off to st. mungoes who would presumably kill them for the pieces they needed. She could understand why the professor didn’t show them this in the class. Winnie put on her ear muffs and then watched the professor demonstrate it one last time before she did it herself. Repottng her mandrake and then giving it food and water and leaving it where it would be collected. She packed up her things and then left the room.