Second Years, Lesson Three

Landon folded his arms as the students filed in and took their seats. He was in a good mood and felt that last lesson was rather enjoyable to watch. He gave a smile to the class, "Good morning guys! How are you all?" He gazed over the class and just kept smiling at them all, even after nothing but a couple of nods from some of the students. "Well, remember the last lesson, you repotted the Mandrake seedlings. It wasn't all too pleasant, was it?" He chuckled softly. "Their cry isn't fatal yet, but it will knock you out for a couple of hours in the seedling stage. As they mature though, they put up more of a fight than what you saw last lesson."

Landon leaned against his desk and continued, "Those Mandrakes right now are in the toddler stage, and will be in the Childhood stage soon. Then, they will acquire more care and attention. But for now, all they need to get through the days is your care." He paused. "They prefer damp soil, shade to sunlight, and occasional food. It may sound easy, but it will take a combination of all three to help them thrive. I would like you all to go and find your mandrake and give them some water. Then, over in the corner are some barrels filled with food pellets. Only a fourth of a scoop twice a day to keep them satisfied." The professor smiled as he watched his students all scurry over to tend to their mandrakes. "Oh, and you'll have to poke the pellets down gently into the compost or they will over stimulate themselves trying to get to the food."

Landon sat at his desk the whole lesson, watching carefully as his students happily fed and watered their mandrakes. When the lesson ended, Landon quickly reminded them about their journals. "Don't forget to keep record of your mandrake. You will name it, talk about the stage they are in, and what you did to help it grow that day. Have a good week guys!"

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Assignment: RP the lesson AND write a second diary entry about your mandrake for full marks. Both only have to be a few words.

 

[Primrose Kaster]

After the fiasco that was last lesson, Prim was going to make extra sure that her roommates, Eury and Susie, were as well equipped for this class as they could possibly be. Professor Carter hadn’t even addressed the issue of the earmuffs and it did upset Prim a little, but not too much because she still thought Professor Carter was the absolute best professor at the school. How could se not, he was her Head of House after all. She’d been glad to find out that the Mandrakes cry isn’t always fatal, not at the age they were at for the moment. It still didn’t make her feel any better about the incident, and she could only hope that Susie would take it easy this time. So when they’d headed into the classroom, she’d made sure she steered both Eury and Susie closer to her table so she could keep an eye on both of them. “Wouldn’t want a repeat of last lesson, right Susie?” She whispered in ther roommates ear. She’d almost died! Was she out here collecting Hufflepuffs? She’d seen Jonah struggle with the plant last lesson too, did she need to start a Herbology club? A Hufflepuff Herbology club maybe? “Jonah you can work with us too if you need to!” She whisper yelled over to him, just to make sure he understood she wasn’t excluding him.

She adjusted her own earmuffs, just so there would be no little accidents, checking both Susie’s and Eury’s as well (and Jonah’s if he decided to join them) before checking on Grumble, making sure he was doing okay. He wasn’t, because he was now a toddler and being incredibly obtuse. Ah, men, she was only thirteen and they were already throwing tantrums. Okay she didn’t really think that, it was just something Hazel had said to her before. Grumble’s little leaves twitched when she moved closer and she could tell he already disapproved of her presence. Well too bad, she had to do some things for him if he was gonna thrive in his little pot. And make all the lady Mandrakes go wild. She’d heard they threw parties. She rolled her eyes as she watered the soil around him, and he started pretending he was drowning, which actually did concern her for a moment before she realised he couldn’t drown, since he was a plant. She sighed, and rolled her eyes. Mandrakes. She dropped in the food pellets and then admired the way he moved whilst dancing. He was going to be a pretty little plant. “Happy?” He wiggled and she shook her head before turning to help Eury with her Mandrake (and then Susie and Jonah in turn if they also needed help, keeping a special eye on Susie just in case) Now all she needed to do was update her diary.
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Diary Entry #2

Mandrake Name: Grumble
Stage: Toddler
Care Notes: I watered Grumble and he did a little dance I think. He might have been trying to show off. he wasn't happy with my presence, but I think he's getting used to me now. I gave him some pellets - he's still Grumbly.

@Eurydice Nightray @Susie Lagowski @Jonah Edogawa​

 

[Elijah Edogawa]

Well, Eli was glad to see Susie was okay at least. He didn’t know her very well outside of classes though he believed she was a friend of Eoghan and Lili’s. He was at least glad to see she wasn’t dead, which could have certainly been the case if last week had been anything to go by and not being her roommate, he’d only had lessons to go one. Unfortunately he so rarely paid attention to other people in classes, and it was only Herbology and Transfiguration he shared with Hufflepuff. He hadn’t noticed her in Transfiguration last week, after Herbology, but that could have been because he was too focused on trying to talk to Professor Pirrip after class, and so he really only had now to know she was actually still alve. Good. That would have been a terrible end to the week.

He made sure his earmuffs were appropriately adjusted and then noted Prim pulling Eury away, and calling over to Jonah, his brother seemed to want to stay with him though, so he waved Prim off before taking Jonah’s hand and leading him over to a workstation so they could work together. The only time he seemed to get along with Jonah at the minute was in class, probably because neither of them said much to each other, but it was progress and some progress was better than no progress. He quickly headed over to Thorn, watching the little pain in the butt plant seem to cry at his mere presence. He sighed, rolling his eyes, honestly, same buddy. He poured the water over it and then dropped the pellets into the soil. Quick, easy, simple, he could make a fast exit this way. “Ah, you’ll live,” he told it, when it seemed to wail about having to be in his presence for longer than it wanted. He rolled his eyes. He definitely did not want one of these at home. He quickly headed back to his seat, finishing up his diary as he did so.

​

Diary Entry #2

Mandrake Name: Thorn (still a pain)
Stage: Toddler
Care Notes: Gave Thorn water and poked his food pellets into the soil. He squirmed like I was torturing him, but he ate anyway. Not sure if he’s just naturally dramatic or actually hates me. Either way, he’s still alive, so that’s a win.

@Jonah Edogawa

 

[Eoghan Blyth]

Eoghan thought it would have been more helpful if Professor Carter had told them last week that the cry wasn't fatal yet, given how long they'd spent debating whether or not Susie had died after the previous lesson. He got to work feeding and watering his Mandrake although he did have to wonder whether he really needed to be out here doing this twice a day. Sure they had a lesson, and he could understand homework, but this felt more like a job he wasn't getting paid for. This was better for the Wild Patch students to deal with, wasn't it?

Name: A
Stage: Toddler
Notes: He seems quieter than the other Mandrakes and I'm not sure whether that's a good thing. If he dies before the end of the semester, will it be my fault??