Ha! quasi-sentient! Violet knew it! Also the fact that it gave power to whoever planted it--it was a plot for sure, she didn't care how much the others twitted her about conspiracies. And....but wait...that part about the fog! Violet's heart sank--she had seen just such a fog out by the greenhouses the other day...
"But it's already started to put out a fog! Over by the greenhouses--I saw it just recently, it was leaking out from under the charmed barriers Professor Flamsteed had set up. It smelled awful--like something corrosive."