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It was such a nice day outside, the weather was mild, not quite warm but not cold either. Just the way Seren liked it. Unfortunately the lesson wasn’t being held outdoors, no, it was being held in Greenhouse One, where the air was cooler, and the smell of damp soil filled the air.
As you enter the greenhouse the first thing you notice are the stools arranged to the side of the greenhouse by the door, and directly opposite these are stools of a different variety. That’s right, toadstools! While they may look harmless from a distance it’s not wise to get too close to them just yet, after all you wouldn’t want to be sent to the Hospital Wing before the lesson has even started.
Waiting patiently for the students to arrive, Professor Bentley stood by the door to welcome them as they entered; Though she was careful to position herself near the seating area so that she can keep an eye on any mischief making. Standing slightly to the side of the toadstools, was Professor Bentley’s old blackboard, neat and tidy cursive writing slowly appearing on its surface- as if by magic!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Blackboard
Herbology Lesson One
A warm welcome back to the familiar, and a warm welcome to the new!
The lesson will begin shortly, take a seat and please keep the chatter to a bare minimum – you wouldn’t want to disturb our subjects.
OOC: The lesson has OFFICIALLY started, DO NOT post your character arriving late- or else... also please DO NOT chat- that would be rude. If you haven't done so already then please read through the Herbology Rules and Expectations and the SS Site Rules. All SS Board Rules apply. IC rule breaking will result in IC punishment, OOC rule breaking will result in OOC punishment. Please behave appropriately and most importantly... have fun. If you have any questions don't hesitate to send me a PM.
Great. Biting Toadstools, just her luck. Plus it involved using a charm when she was struggling with her magic. Olivia pulled on her dragonhide gloves, took hold of her wand and prepared to cast a numbing charm.
She moved her wand in a jabbing motion and said the incantation, "Viro Torpeo." It didn't work. Try again. "Viro Torpeo." Nope. Nothing. It was horrible not being able to get it right. Maybe they'd made a mistake and she was actually a Muggle. Nothing seemed to be working right. She was even useless at Herbology, one of the classes she thought she'd actually be good at. Screwing her face up in concentration she tried again. "Viro Torpeo."
This time it worked. Olivia smiled with relief and prepared for the next part of her task.
Hufflepuff where they are just and loyal they are patient, true and unafraid of toil
Penny was relieved that 'Declan' would not feel any pain as she prepared herself for the next part of the task... the yucky part.
Taking a firm grip on the toadstools cap, being extra careful not to bruise it. She grabbed the first long fang and in a swift movement she yanked downward... and to her great surprise, the fang came out !!!
Anna put her gloves on and pulling out her wand, she made her way over to the toadstools. She needed all her focus on the toadstool! Anna gave her wand a jab in the big-teethed toadstool's direction. "Viro Torpeo!" And to make sure the spell worked, she began lightly jabbing it with her wand. Spell right to work and Anna was glad of it.
o_O Was the toadstool starting to move now? Eeek. Daphne had better pull out the other fang..as soon as possible.
She immediately placed her hand on the cap of the toadstool and pulled out the fang with a tug. Eeep. She finished the task successfully.
She placed the fangs in the jar before she removed her gloves. "I've finished, Professor." Dapne called out before walking back towards her seat, holding the jar in her hand proudly.
Right! They were into the action. She carefully put on her gloves, taking longer than usual. Mabye all the toadstools would be taken?
She turned around. Nope, there was one right there. Moving around, ready to bite her.
She moved slowly forwards, wand in hand. If this thing bit her, she'd sue. She made the jabbing movement she practiced so much and clearly said "Viro Torpeo!" The toadstool slowed down considerably. She laughed a bit. It reminded her of her sister when she'd had one to many firewhiskey's.
Anna watched the numbed toadstool with interest. She just copying the way that the Professor did it, she gripped the toadstools cap carefully. Holding one of the fangs at first, she hesitated at first. Anna then remembered it had a numbing charm on it, and she quickly gave a hard pull at it. Although it was tough, she managed to pull it out. Now to pull out the other fang... She took a deep breath and continued to work.
Although he had asked a question, Ashley figured the smart thing to do would be to finish the task at hand as quickly as possible. Just one more fang to go, anyway. He sort of pet the toadstool, partially just because he had the urge to, and partially to make sure it was still under the effects of the charm, and then he repeated the steps he'd taken before. With a quick, strong pull, he removed the other fang, just as surprised at this one as he was at the first. He'd thought the whole thing would be much more difficult, especially for someone who had never done it before.
Now that he was done, all that was left was to deposit the fangs into the jar, which he did before heading back to his seat, peering over at the toadstools to see when and/or if they would begin to come around again.
He was aaaalmost done. Just needed to harvest the last fang. With the first fang in Hugo's right hand, he gripped the cap firmly. Then, quickly, he yanked the second fang out. And there it was. Easy as that. Nice and easy does it... And stuff. With the first fang in his right hand and the second fang in his left hand he walked up to the stool with the jar on it. "I'm done, professor," he kindly smiled and dropped the fangs in the jar before returning to his seat.
Back at his seat, he took out his notebook, ink and quill. He dipped the quill in the black ink and started writing down everything he'd learned.
SPOILER!!: notebook
Toadstools -Similar to that of a mushroom
-Usually inedible
-Usually poisonous – though not always
-They can be either magical or mundane
-They come in various colours and sizes but are usually characterised by an umbrella shaped cap and a thick stem
-Used in potions – frequently healing potions
-Frequently mentioned in muggle folklore as being magical and are often depicted as being a decorated seat for toads
-Often attract the company of magical beasts such as pixies and fairies.
Harvesting Biting Toadstool fangs:
1. Ensure the toadstool is numb, and cannot feel pain. (You will know it is numb when it doesn’t appear to be in control of its movements.)
2. Get a firm hold of the cap – but not too firm.
3. With your other hand grasp hold of one of the fangs, and yank!
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 for the next fang.
And now to wait for the next part of the lesson... Yes.
Justin quietly entered the greenhouse and found the nearest stool to the door and tried to catch up with the lesson. After reading the blackboard he quickly looked up the lesson subject in his textbook to learn everything that he had missed so far. Once he was satisfied that he was able to continue Justin watched what the other students were doing. And having figured out that everyone was harvesting the fangs he too began to try it as well.
Sage turned to look at her toadstool. Okay, fist I need to numb it using the spell. "What was the spell again, Viro Torpeo? Sage muttered to herself. Sage shrugged. It was worth a shot.
She took out her wand and jabbed her wand outwards, "Viro Torpeo," She said, but instead of her wand stopping infront of the toadstool, it smashed into it. The spell having to effect on the toadstool made it quiet angry. Sage was surprised to see the toadstool bitting the end of her wand! Out of frustration, she hit it on her desk a few times before it finally let go of her wand.
Sage studied it a bit. It looked a little groggy, but that was probably from hitting it on the desk. Okay, lets try again....
"Viro Torpeo," Sage said, but this time her jab was just stort of hitting the toad stool. The toadstool had slowed down. It worked!
Vanessa the Snot Girl l Rachels Rule | rock,tumble,&roll ❆ adorable coffee bean
Oooh. Time for an activity. This was going to be fun. Indiana was exited to see what they had to doo. She nodded, listening to the professor intently. She wanted to make sure that she didn't miss anything, because then she would probably do it wrong. After the professor had finished speaking, Indy pulled on her gloves. She didn't want the toadstool biting any off any of her fingers. She needed all of her nice fingers. So good thing the gloves fitted her nice and snug. She then walked up to an biting toadstool. This was going to be interesting. Indiana had a feeling that she might not be able to do this the first time. she hadn't been using that magic that often, so wasn't quite sure if she'd be able to master the incantation and spell just yet. She'd need a lot of practice.
Smiling, she pulled her wand out, and pointed it at the toadstool. She hoped iut would work. "Viro Torpeo!" She spoke, making the correct wand movement. She waited a few moments, but decided that maybe it hadn't worked. The toadstool was still moving around, so she decided that she would need to have another go. Hopefully the professor wouldn't mind that much. She was only a first year afterall. "Viro Torpeo!" She spoke it a bit louder, doing the wand movement. She frowned a little. It hadn't worked again. Mann. She wasn't very good at this.
"Okay...one more go." She nodded, as she pointed her wand at the toadstool one more time. She really hoped that this would work. "Viro Torpeo!" She spoke it with a lot of force, but it seemed to have worked. For the toadstool didn't seem to be in much control of it's movements. Oh. Finally.
__________________
It's the end of the show. Of the historemix. We switched up the flow. And we changed the prefix
But we want to say. Before we drop the curtain. Nothing is for sure. Nothing is for certain
Ok here is the real test Rose thought. She put on her dragonhide gloves and pulled out her wand. It should be easy enough if I just concentrate she thought. She moved her wand in a jabbing motion and stated clearly "Viro Torpeo" She blinked a couple of times and looked at the toadstool. She couldn't believe it, she actually managed it the first time.
After getting the toadstool numb-ed, she then put on her dragon-hide gloves. She grabbed the cap of the toadstool firmly and yanked out a teeth and put it besides her.
"Sorry, mushroom..."
It must have hurt-- when it's still alive... *smirk*
MJ looked up from her toadstool. A Hufflepuff student seemed to be enjoying pulling the poor things' teeth out - she was smirking. Eurgh, how awful! MJ and her friends had been concerned about the poor things. How about we start pulling students' canines out and see if they like it? She thought crossly. And that charm doesn't look comfortable at all either. MJ sighed and placed a hand on the toadstool again - it moved a bit, but the charm still held sway, so she pulled the other fang out as quickly as possible. She (pathetically) patted her toadstool, as if to say "There, there dear,".
MJ picked up the fangs and made her way towards the jar. Her sisters had said she was pathetic over plants. They always laughed at her for her obsession with plants and her owl. Her older sister would certainly corner her in the common room that evening to ask about her first Herbology lesson. Ah, but here was the jar. She popped the two fangs into it and gave the Professor a smile, before going back to her toadstool. It still seemed a little sluggish. She had been quite forceful with her second attempt at the charm. She raised her hand; "Um, Professor Bentley? Err... How long is the charm supposed to last - I think I may have over-done it a bit? It didn't work the first time, so I tried again a bit more, um, enthusiastically, and err..." Please tell me my toadstool's alright and my charm wasn't awful!! Please tell me my toadstool's alright and my charm wasn't awful!!
After Sage had successfully numbed her toadstool, she looked up at the blackboard for the next instruction.
2) Get a firm hold of the cap – but not too firm.
3) With your other hand grasp hold of one of the fangs, and yank!
Sage pulled her gloves a bit higher up before talking hold of the groggy toadstool. Shgot a firm grip on it before using her other hand to grab hold of the fang.
On three....1.......2......3!
Sage yanked down on the fang forcefully, maybe a bit to forceful because the fang came flying out! Sage stubbled a bit before finding her balance. In her hand she was holding her first fang! Yes!
I'm just one of those pretty little liars... | | I'm held down in this starless city...
Deeeeep breath.
...
This was so not going to end well. At least that's what Nora kept thinking about. Yes, she liked to banish the negative thoughts all the time, as far away as possible, but now... why did they have to do this? And wouldn't it hurt for the creepy toadstools?
...
Alright.
First of all; gloves. Now she'll know that she'll have all her fingers at the end of the lesson... hopefully. "Viro Torpeo," she said with a jab towards a toadstool.
And now... what?
Not really knowing what to do, she followed professor Bentley's example and wiggled her finger above the toadstool, which acted... uhm... numb enough. That was all? For the first part?
Superfan of: Minerva, Severus, Albus, Hermione <3 Travelling/ History geek/ TV show addict
Suddenly remembering why she wasn't a fan of Herbology (dangerous plants, for one) Ariadne needed a few moments to prepare herself for the activity at hand, even though most of her classmates had already started. When she felt she couldn't postpone the task any longer without risking Bentley to get upset, Ari put on her gloves and read the instructions again.
Right. Incantation and wand movement first. 'Viro Torpeo!' and a jab of her wand. Nothing happened. Oooops, that might have been because she wasn't even pointing the wand towards the stupid mushroom. Another try, then. 'Viro Torpeo...' Still, the charm didn't seem to have the desired effect. Again. 'Viro Torpeo!' Ariadne repeated, starting to get annoyed. Luckily, this time the toadstool seemed to have calmed down, and looked dizzy , on the way of becoming numb. Step 1, finalised. On to step two...
I'm just one of those pretty little liars... | | I'm held down in this starless city...
Now that the toadstool was numb and actually funny, in Nora's opinion, she supposed it was time for the unpleasant part, for both Nora and the toadstool. You know, she felt like one of those muggle dentists she'd heard about.
Next, she got a firm, but not too firm - according to the blackboard - grip on the toadstool's cap (could she name her toadstool?), and with the other hand held one of the fangs and...
EEEEK SHE COULDN'T DO IT!
Deep breath.
After a few moments, she gripped it again and closed her eyes and...
Super Slytherin Buddy | | ⅓ She-Snake Trio | | a normal girl with normal knees
Hmm, who would've thought that biting toadstools had teeth? Wouldn't it be nice during one of these days, when they were dealing with plants that bite, that the plant didn't actually have some dangerous teeth that could pierce one's skin? Hmmm? Evelyn thought that would be marvelous.
After a few 'Viro Torpeo' practices, quietly of course, she watched the demonstration Bentley was doing to retrieve the fangs from the toadstool. Well now, that didn't seem so hard at all. She had her dragonhide gloves so everything should go smoothly, shouldn't it? While she was rather apprehensive about this whole dealing with a plant that fed of flesh, it wasn't like she could leave the lesson. There was more than one reason for that...
Pulling out her gloves from her bag, she put them on snug tight as she took her wand out of it's holster and made her way over to the toadstools. Preferably one that didn't look like it could actually chew through her gloves.
This one perhaps?
"Viro Torpeo." she said slowly as she jabbed her wand in the direction of the toadstool. PokePoke. Well, it seemed all slow and whatnot. Was it really!?
If it tried to bite her, she would burn IT. Not really, but she had an imagination didn't she? A very, vivid, imagination.
Rose was sure that her toadstool was numb because not only did it not seem to be in control of its movements, but it looked like it was drooling. "Can toadstools even drool?' she murmured to herself. Ok Rose focus she told herself. She got a firm hold on the cap, grabbed a fang with her other hand and yanked....and nothing. Ok now is not the time to be a sissy she thought. She yanked again and this time she managed to take a fang with her. "Alright" exclaimed Rose. This is just the confidence booster she needed.
I'm just one of those pretty little liars... | | I'm held down in this starless city...
Nora felt like a murderer, because of what she was doing to the poor toadstool. Yes, it still was creepy, but she STILL felt bad about yanking its fangs out. It wouldn't be a biting toadstool for a while, would it? This was like... plant cruelty. Hmph.
Unfortunately, cruel or not, she still had a fang left to take care of.
Grip on the cap... The second fang in her other hand and...
... out it was.
Finally!
Glad that the torture was over (and Nora felt as bad as the toadstool must've felt), she walked over to the fang-jar and placed the two fangs in there, then got back to her seat. And no, she didn't take her gloves off. Just in case the toadstool wanted some kind of revenge.
Seren listened intently as the students made their suggestions, guessing at what the curious 'stools were. "Talking toadstools, no... Fly Agaric, no ........... Amantia Muscaria, no.......Poisonous, no.... Leaping, no."
And finally....
"Biting toadstools! Correct!"
Seren turned to give the 'stools an appreciative look. They really were magnificent.
"Now don't be alarmed, these toadstools - while they do feed on flesh, they don't have near enough of an appetite to take a chunk out of you. The worst injury you get is a little uncture or a scratch.... But that's why you have you dragon hide gloves with you." She eyed them all. They did remember to bring them, did they not?
"Now as your aware, toadstools are often used in potions, though we generally use caps, stems and spores, Biting toadstools offer us a different ingredient."
"Fangs!"
She waited for the reality of what was about to happen to sink in. "Today, we will be harvesting biting toadstool fangs. But only the fangs."
After a brief pause, taking the time to make eye contact with each student, she continued, "The biting toadstool is blessed with the presense of many teeth, which you will see around the underneath rim of its cap. There are, two fangs which protrude a little further than the rest of the teeth. These are the ones we will be harvesting."
"But before we do that, you need to familiarise yourselves with a numbing charm. This will ensure the toadstools aren't in any pain when we.... so nicely yank them out."
Sort of like dentistry.
"You are to repeat the incantation after me." She paused, then flicked her wand at the board.
"Viro Torpeo", she said in a loud clear voice. "Incantation only."
"Viro Torpeo."
OOC: Practice the incantation only. We will practice the wand movement shortly before continuing with the activity.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hera
So... the students seemed to be responding quite well. And they had questions too! Questions were always welcome.
“Ok, now get out your wands,” she instructed, holding her own in front of her. “We’re going to practice the wand movement WITHOUT the incantation.” She said this in a stern voice- well as stern as she could... it wasn’t really her style.
Demonstrating, she jabbed her wand forward. Almost looking as if she was going to spear a student, but of course she would never do that. “The wand movement is a jab,” she said, repeating the movement. “But do not make physical contact with the toadstool when you do this...” Otherwise you will regret it, though she didn’t say that bit out loud.
“Practice that a couple of times, and then I’ll show you how to harvest the fangs.” Because like everything, there was a process, sort of.
OOC: The activity will begin in approx 3-4 hours.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hera
Seren watched as the students continued to practice the incantion and the wand movement... seperately of course.
“Ok now I understand you haven’t practiced the spell yet... but you will be doing this on the toadstools.” Yes... first time’s a charm? She hoped sp. She didn’t want them to suddenly become Blaze Again Buttons. “Remember to speak very clearly, and calmly... don’t rush it.” Pause.
“You will know that they’re numb when they no longer have control of their actions... so they’ll be a little... all over the place, and slower than usual.” Seren took a few strides toward one of the Biting toadstools, pulling on her dragon hide gloves as she went.
“Viro Torpeo,” she said jabbing her wand in the ‘stools direction. Of course it had the desired effect. Seren wiggled her finger around the toadstools cap, as it squirmed around trying to get its teeth around her glove and failing. It seemed to be a little groggy.
“Now as I’ve already mentioned we will be harvesting the fangs so that they may be kept in the potions stores cupboard for later use.”
She positioned herself behind the toadstool, facing the class. Demonstration time.
“Start by getting a firm grip on the toadstools cap, be careful not to get too close to the teeth. ... And don’t grasp the cap too tightly, or you’ll risk damaging the plant.... “ she demonstrated by placing her hand on the top of the cap and holding it in place. “Do not... under any circumstances use a Freezing Charm, otherwise the fangs won’t come out cleanly and you’ll run the risk of them not growing back.”
She gazed around at the students’ faces to make sure they understood. “ Then you need to get a good grip on the fang... one at a time... and yank in a downward direction.” Gripping one of the fangs, Seren did just that. With a sharp, clean yank, the fang came out. The toadstool didn’t protest... much. “Try to do this in one swift movement, it’s the quickest and the most efficient way to get them out... otherwise you’ll be pulling a little while.” Either way, they would get them out. Eventually.
She held it up for the class to see. Quickly she repeated the process, then held up the second fang to show the students. “Once you have successfully harvested both fangs from your Biting Toadstool, please place it in this jar.”
Seren held up a fairly big jar and placed it on a spare stool beside the blackboard.
With a flick of her wand, the instructions appeared on the board.
“Right, make sure you have your gloves on. If for some reason you forgot to bring them with you... or have misplaced them, you will find spares in the cupboard by the greenhouse door. Please return them at the end of class if you borrow them.”
And without further ado, Seren stepped aside, motioning for the students to approach a Biting Toadstool. Let the fun begin!
“Once you have completed the activity you may return to your seat.” OOC: PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING
For this mini-activity you need to post a total of 3 times to be eligible for maximum participation points. This part of the activity will be open for approx 18hours, or longer, depending.
Post 1: Perform the Numbing Charm, and make sure it worked- you don’t have to get it right the first time. Post 2: Harvest the first fang. Follow the process. Post 3: Harvest the second fang and deposit them into the jar.
Please Indicate in the title section of your post – or at the top of you post, what the number of that post is. E.g. Post 1 ... Post 2... Post 3 (you get the drift)
DO NOT DOUBLE POST, thank you! (:
Elsie after regaining her composure moved onto the second step. Removing a fang. She looked back up at the board for the instructions. nervously she gripped the fang, making sure her fingers were not in any danger. She said to pull down, swiftly and strongly down. Five, four, three, two, one.. Elsie yanked her hand down attempting pulling out the fang. It didn't move at all. Elsie frowned, she obviously didn't use enough strength. She tried again, getting a stronger grip. Five, four, three, two, one. Elsie's hand went down, with fang in hand, right to the ground, the whole movement made her fall over. Okay maybe a little too much force that time, she thought. The fang was still in her hand and after a quick inspection seemed fine with no damage being done my the tumble. Elsie looked around to see if anyone else notices. A few people were looking at her strangely but most people seemed to peoccupied to notice. Okay next. Step three.
Now that Rose had one fang under her she was sure that she could do the second one. She took hold of the cap with one hand and with the other she grabbed the fang, and yanked. This time she was able to extract the fang on the first time. She beamed from ear to ear. She was starting to feel loads better about magic. She placed the fangs in the jar and made sure her area was nice and tidy. She looked around and watched the other students with their toadstools. She was still beyond stoked that she had done so well. She waited quietly and patiently for the professor to give them further instructions.
Salima put on her protective gloves, and took out her wand at the ready. Staggerd towards her toadstool, thinking to herself Ok Salima you can do this.
Pointed her wand out infront of ther to the toadstool "Viro Torpeo!" Damn she thought "Viro Torpeo".
It worked for the second time Ok now for step 2
Superfan of: Minerva, Severus, Albus, Hermione <3 Travelling/ History geek/ TV show addict
Taking a deep breath, Ariadne eyed the toadstool. Now she was supposed to get hold of its cap and then pull out one of the fangs. Eeeek! 'I can't do it, I can't.' the girl panicked, being on the verge of yelling that out loud. She was concerned that maybe the numbing charm hadn't worked properly and the vicious mushroom would attack her. But it did seem numb, so there was no reason to drag it any further.
'Here goes...' The second year Gryffindor grabbed the toadstool by its cap whilst yanking a fang with the other hand, as quickly as possible. And then...it was out. Nothing bad happened! Letting out a sigh of relief, Ari reminded herself that half the work was done. Only one more fang left to pull out.
The Greenhouses: Herbology Lesson One 
x6 
x4
