Lesson 2 - Herbology - A Start.

[Prof. Aislinn Power]

Aislinn had entered the Greenhouse full of joy and grace. She was happy to be smelling the fresh air as she felt the sun warm her skin like it was a nice summers day. Her hair was tied up in a graceful bun and her fringe was long and down one side of her face. Her hair was a dark brown today. She always had an interest in magical hairdressing since she was a little girl. She put some paper on her desk and her copy of the text book the class would be using. She also made sure of were the equipment she might need is. Of course she wasn't planning on doing a practical class today but she never knew how her plans could change.

The shrill bell rang which made her ears twitch. She looked up to see the students making their way to her classroom. She went and opened the door and greeted each one.

Good Morning Kids. Today will be an exciting day for us all. Please, please come in. Be careful not to touch anything. The Venomous Tentacula has been a bit hungry lately so don't go near that. Its the red spiky plant down the back by the way.''

She smiled and moved back to her desk as she waited for everyone to get set up before she started the lesson.

After a few moments she stood and cleared her throat and then smiled to the gathered students.

''Well today I wanted to start off with something simple. Just talk about Herbology in general. So...''

Aislinn moved to the black board and tapped the chalk with her wand and then faced the class. As she spoke the chalk rose and wrote the notes down on the bored for the students to copy.

''Herbology is the study of Magical and Mundane plants and fungi. In Herbology, students learn to care for and utilize plants, and learn about their magical properties, and what they are used for. Many plants provide ingredients for Potions and medicine, while others have magical effects of their own right. ''

''Herbology lessons in a student's first year at Hogwarts consist mainly of lectures relating to plants and their uses. It is not until their second year, when they move to greenhouse three, that the students receive a more hands on experience.''

She raised her hand when the moaning began and speak over the students.

''This does not mean that you will not be working with the less dangerous plants. So don't worry I will not bore you with the lectures. Hopefully you will find them quite interesting. Now I all hope you have your textbooks. I want you to look at this and read through them. Read as much as you like but please pick at least one plant for your homework and tell me what it is, how you would plant and grow it, include what equipment you would use and what uses the plant would be good for. Please write at least one paragraph. Class Dismissed.''

She smiled to all the students and then looked down and began to make note of who was present at the class so she knew what homework assignments to expect.

((You can choice to send me your homework if you wish, but I will prefer if you sent them by replying to the thread because this will get you involved in role-play and make things more interesting.))

Professor. Aislinn Power,
Head of Gryffindor House.

[Brooke Edwards]

Brooke waltzed in to Herbology for the second time with a smile on her face. She was excited to be doing her first real Herbology class. Her hair was brown again, but she had braided it that day. She had her favourite green eyes and her nose was a bit longer. She had been trying out changing her noses more and it seemed to be working out quite fine.

When she heard the teacher mention the Venomous Tentacula Brooke swiveled her head around and smiled at it. She then sat down near the back and pulled out her sketchbook to start sketching it. She found sketching it rather difficult because it kept moving and twisting all over the place.

As soon as the teacher began, Brooke turned straight to her notes right away. She scribbled quite fast and her wrist got really sore. Then the teacher told them about the assignment and Brooke pulled out her text book.

Any plant I want? She thought slyly. Then she began flicking through the book until she found an interesting one.

Mimbulus mimbletonia

This rare plant is native to the Middle East and Asia. It looks like a large grey cactus that is covered in boils instead of spikes. The boils are a defense mechanism that helps to defend the plant from predators. The Boils burst with Stinksap that can be used in many magical potions. The Stinksap burns the skin upon contact and stains the predators skin for over thirty-five days. In order to grow the Mimbulus mimbletonia, you need a warm environment with a lot of sunlight. You must wear very thick hide gloves while collecting the Stinksap, preferably dragon hide gloves. It takes many years for a Mimbulus mimbletonia to grow to it's full size, before collapsing. It is best to collect as a young plant, for that is when the sap is the most rich.

OOC: That's not the excert from the text book, that's the real paragraph.