Finally the class began and the first question was an easy one. Having lived with her grandmother who made a living making potions and such Nell was fully able to answer the professor's question.

"An herb is a plant whose stem above ground does not become woody. They are usual prized for their medicinal, flavor, scent, or other properties."

James thought about herbs. Herbs are plants. They are used for healing, potions and some are eaten.

Presley had never been that great at Herbology, but she was pro at definitions. She raised her hand high. "An herb is a plant used for flavoring, food, medicine, or perfume." In essence, herbs had distinct flavors and scents. She dropped her hand, hoping she hadn't sounded too much like she was quoting the textbook.

Herbology.

Need Elijah say more?

Herbology was probably thee most useless subject at Hogwarts for him. The only time Elijah is likely to need Herbology when he starts his modeling career, is when he is doing a nude photoshoot and needs foliage to hide all those personal areas. But that's about it. Plus, Herbology was just WRONG. Anything that gets you as dirty as Herbology can should be banned from the face of the Earth.

When Professor Bentley asked the first question of the class, Elijah had been busy staring into space and practicing his best model pout. He probably still would have been doing that if he didn't actually have something to contribute. Raising his hand he offered, "Herbs are plants that I can put on my pizza," and if there were herbs that weren't put on pizzas, then they were rude and were of no interest to him.

Sooo many new people!! Sophie looked at each of her classmates as they spoke up. There were MANY students she had NO idea who they were. Hogwarts never seemed so packed! Wow!

Right, right. Sophie also had her own idea of what herbs were, so she raised her hand. "Professor, herbs are plants - or... parts of plants - that can be used as ingredients." Simple like that...? Maybe... "As everyone's saying, they can be used in cooking, brewing potions, making some stuff like medicines, perfumes and... cleaning products..." Right? "Oh, and sometimes people like to chew on herbs too." Yuck.

"I kind of relate herbs to chemistry stuff." Aaand to potion brewing. Probably because they were often used as ingredients. Sophie liked how certain things could react when combined with other stuff! It was cool!

Alyssa listened as everyone gave their version of what they thought a herb was. As they spoke, she wrote down what they said. Basically it seemed liked everyone had about the same definition. So Alyssa sat back and tried to think of her own definition that had something to add to what was already said.

Alyssa raised her hand and answered.

"Professor an herb is commonly defined as a fleshy, leafy seed flowering plant."

"However, some American Botanists have defined herbs, not just as the common small perennial leafy plant, but also any tree, shrub, annual, vines, ferns, mosses, algae, lichens, and fungi."

"Herbs are commonly used in flavoring when cooking, for their medicinal and healthful properties, and even for their fragrance in perfumes. They can also be used to make pesticides and colored dyes. Parsley and Thyme are two examples of herbs."

Okay. She knew that she had given more than just the definition but Alyssa had decided that just saying that it was a plant was just too boring.

Minerva had gotten to Hogwarts late after begging her grandparents to let her come back. She knew she had already missed a few classes, but knew she would get them caught up at some point. No one really knew she was back and she was okay with that, because the way she left right after the last term was not the nicest way to leave the people that you cared about. Most thought she would never come back, but neither did she until just a few days ago.

Looking around the greenhouse she couldn't help but smile, she felt like she was at the only home she knew. This felt right finally for the first time all summer she felt right again. Looking at Professor Bentley she smiled, "Hello Professor, I hope you are doing well." She then turned and found a place in the back where she could gather her thoughts and get comfortable being back in classes. Taking a deep breath she got her materials ready to start the lesson.

Minerva put her hand up as the first question was asked. "Professor when thinking of herbs, the first thought that comes to mind is plants that we can grow and then pick to help us with potions, medicines, spice up foods, and some even help in perfumes." She placed her hand down feeling good about answering a question. She enjoyed being back where she was comfortable and where she felt normal.

Raising her hand high in the air, she said, "Herbs are plants that can be used as ingredients for different things, such as potions, food, medicine, and stuff like that." That seemed to be what everyone else was saying. Cleaning supplies, as well. So basically, they put herbs in soap? Ooohkay. And for chewing on?!?! Unheard of!! Hopefully they were given a good washing beforehand. Otherwise, you would be eating dirt. Double eeewww. No one likes to eat dirt. That would make you siiiick!!

Emmaleigh still had a smile on her face was Professor Bentley welcomed everybody. It really was nice to be back in a familiar setting. She nodded when the rules were mentioned. She had skimmed over them, but the rules always tended to be the same. Raise your hand, no talking out of turn, stay in your seat, respect. It was always that sort of thing. She wondered if anyone had ever included some silly rule like everyone must wear their robes backwards just to see if people were paying attention.

Herbs? Em’s nose crinkled. She had spent all of last year learning about herbs. They had been pretty mundane ones too. She hoped that the ones they were going to learn about this year were at least going to be exciting. Raising her hand, she answered with some of the knowledge she had gained the previous year. “In America, the term herb is used to refer to any non-woody flowering plant, at least when speaking botanically. Usually am herb is plant that’s seed, leaves or even flowers are used in culinary, in medicines, or even in fragrances. So thyme and rosemary are considered herbs even though they have woody stems. But a lot of the plant like potions ingredients that come from the apothecary are herbs. Wolfsbane is one such example.”

They were studying herbs this term? Not flesh eating flesh plants?

That did mean they were going to eat in class, right?

At least Anya wouldn't have to worry about getting eaten. She was pretty sure running away from a flesh eating plant didn't rank highly on the attractiveness scale. And, as someone in a new relationship, she had to worry about things like not getting eaten in herbology.

Speaking of Jake... how did Tag get in his spot? Did she really have the capability of losing a person between the door of the greenhouse and her current spot? And the answer was.... Jake was behind her now. With her book. Awesome. She might need that.

Now, what was the question again? Oh yeah. Something about herbs.

She raised her hand, "They're something useful. Like... in cooking... or traditional medicine... or perfumes."

You know... if you were in to smelling like lavender. Which, she wasn't. She was more a strawberry type girl.

Penelope had noticed Dora wave to her as the Ravenclaw made her way to a seat beside West, and Penelope waved back with a small smile. And then she saw more of her friends enter - Anya, Tag, and Jake - but none of them seemed to have noticed her, and instead went to sit by Alice. Well...okay then. Class started almost immediately after, so she couldn't get their attention now. Guess she'd be alone then.

Penelope was relatively familiar with the class rules, though she probably couldn't recite them or anything. She couldn't say how exactly an herb was defined either, and for the moment, she didn't feel like guessing at it. Maybe she'd answer the next question.

Heh, Tag beat Jacob to it. He couldn't help but smirk a little bit as he faced Professor Bently and paid attention to her. An Jacob had to stand behind Anya, Tag didn't know why he found that so funny.

"Professor, don't doctors use herbs as medicine. Say, someone was really sick but they didn't want to take medication pills in fear that they might make the illness worse.Some people like having the more safe, and organic route, don't they? An.. aren't some herbs used for tea too?" Tag said with his hand raised.

That's the best he could remember from watching his mom in the garden at their house sometimes.

Define a herb? Well, that was an easy enough question. A herb was just a... A herb was just... It was...

Now that she though about it, Selina had no idea how to define a herb. They had been working with herbs since Selina's very first year at school, but now that she was faced with defining what a herb was she was at a loss for words. It should have been easy. And yet, she was not a dictionary like some of her classmates always seemed to be. The redhead was coming to Hogwarts to learn. She didn't always know the answer.

So instead of raising her hand and giving a dizzying response, Selina simply say there and listened to the other answers. She knew that a herb was a type of plant, but beyond that she could not specify. Hopefully, Bentley would inform her of the correct answer. Because the sixth year did not know.

Define an herb. Well that was easy enough.

Landon raised his hand and said, "An herb is a...er-plant of sorts. Doesn't it have some smell that comes out of it too to heal or is that with medicine? I think so...-yes, that's my answer." He nodded and looked around, listening to his classmates answer. Eh, he was close enough. And if he was completely off, it was the first lesson anyways. He was a quick learner.

Although, would they be learning about herbs? Most likely, but he hoped it would be dangerous. Like flesh eating herbs like the flesh eating plant...or was that the same thing? Either way, he was up for it.

Jen raised her hand
"Wouldn't herbs be used for healing?"

What was a herb? Juliete wasn't exactly sure. She knew the uses, but an actual definition was beyond her. She may be smart, but she wasn't a human dictionary. However, she did read certain parts of her Herbology textbook when she got bored last night to prepare for this class, so it couldn't be that far off. She htought for a minute and gasped when she thought she found the anwser. Raising her hand, she hoped that she was right as she said her anwser. There was always the chance she was thinking of something else.

"Isn't a herb some kind of plant that seasons food and heals things?" Juliette asked.

Oakey was at the back of the class to the nearest exit in the Greenhouse, Professor Bentley by now would understand why poor old Oakey always stood there. He again found himself in a class he did not want to take if it weren't for his OWLS this year. He didn't hate the class, but the exotic plants that Bentley kept in here they were always Man-Eating.

As the Professor asked the first question he was a little suprised. "Ma'am Oakey called out from back so thatshe could he re his answer " a herb is a plant that has no flower at the top. You can use them for medicines and potions." Hopefully Professor Bentley heard him from all the way back here.

When Professor Bentley started class, Gideon's full attention was on her and the question that was asked of them. Right...what was a herb? That was something he used or was exposed to a lot, either in potions or his mother's cushions so he raised his hand to answer, the seventh year doing his best to think of a good answer that might have something others didn't mention.

"A herb can be anything from small plant, usually not more then a few feet tall, that has no woody stem and made up of flexible leaves and growths, to a tall woody tree or even mosses and vines" he answered at first before adding a little bit more for good measure. Vi's answer had outdone them all but he didn't want to not participate. "It usually has leaves, seeds, berries, bark or flowers used for culinary, medicinal, or spiritual purposes such as seasoning of food and in potions and medicines. Though sometimes not in its original form but rather dried or other such treatments."

Good. The Professor didn't seem to mind the fact that she was standing so close. This was good because it meant that she had the best source of protection standing next to her and she would be the most likely to survive--take that survival of the fittest!

So now she could focus on the lesson...though her eyes did keep shifting to the entrance. Somewhere deep in her mind she still saw the dragon coming at them. SIGH.

Focus Lex.

The Professor began the class with a question--just like in Astronomy, thankfullythough she didn't see the need for pictures that Lex couldn't make out. What was a herb...? Some of the students had already begun giving their answers and they all sounded pretty right but if you asked her it all reminded her of that movie her father told her not to watch with that wizard who cultivated herbs and used them to infest the brains of the muggles. Her father said the movie was offensive--but that wasn't the point! The movie had taught her something about herbs!!!

"Umm, based on a very reliable source, I'd say that a herb is a plant--the ones in the movie were small so we'll add that to the definition. They have these things in them that can affect people...like chemicals maybe...right--oh but my Daddy uses the ones at home for cooking sometimes... so I think they can also be used for that."

Then she added a nod and a smile, that was all one needed to do when they thought their answer was a bit off.

Half of these kids sounded like they had regurgitated a textbook. Logan shook his head at all the information overload, and raised his hand to answer. "A herb is a flowering plant whose stem above the ground doesn't become woody. Herbs are used in cooking and medicine, and give flavour to things
" Or at least that was what he thought. His knowledge on herbs was a little sketchy.

Dylan was standing there looking at all the plants that he was interested in when he suddenly felt a presence next to him. He looked over to see that Lex was standing there, he listened to what she was whispering. He raised his eyebrows, something was up? he looked around as she said to keep his eyes peeled. What was she talking about? he was about to ask her when he saw that she had gone and upon looking around he saw that she was off talking to another student. He wondered what had happened to Lex, she was acting all strange! He would have to ask her at the next available opportunity, he needed to make sure she was ok.



He listened as the Professor started talking, yeah see he was right her name was professor Bentley! He continued to listen as she explained what they would be doing this term which was... herbs? herbs? boring old herbs? so he was here wasting his time over herbs when they could be looking at loads of other plants. Like that one with teeth or whatever it had, why couldn't they look at those? Man he was so looking forward to looking at some dangerous plants and here he was stuck with... herbs!

He raised his hand as he answered the question with a little frown on his face, disappointed that the lesson was not exactly upto his expectations .. yet "Herbs are plant thingys, that taste horrible but I think they can be used in some very awesome potions! Maybe likes one thats blow up or cause an explosion" he said starting to get his smile back at the thought of blowing things up.. preferably not in his face though but yes really awesome potions.

An herb? Didn't they usually have something to food? Or, at least, she was pretty sure they did. "Herbs are plants used to flavor food, for example garlic or basil," Emmanuelle answered, hand high in the air. And hopefully, they were about to plant some, because the Hogwarts food could certainly use some. Just plain salting and peppering couldn't cut it all the time, after all. Nope.

Herbology! Asher's favorite subject. And why not? Magical herbs for potions, Muggle herbs for cooking. There was also playing in the dirt, which he was getting way to old to be making mud pies. But anyway......

To Anwser Professor Bentley's question. He raised his hand, "Herbs are leafy plants, that are used in potions, medicine and cooking."

Annabelle greeted the professor with a smile and was glad that class was starting. "Hmm how would i define an herb." Belle thought in her head. Belle thought it out first before she said it out loud to the class. "Professor i think an herb is used in some cooking recipes and also it can help you when you are sick i believe. It is a natural plant used for remedies too, especially my grandma uses herbs to cure things." Belle said when she raised her hand.

Having a new-found confidence with the fact that Elliot was beside her, Cora smiled. She didn't have the chance to say hello before the professor began class, though. Hmmm, what is an herb... Cora knew what herbs were, well, of course! They were used in so much, in teas, medicines, food...

Obviously, Cora would not normally be the first to answer anyway. She knew it all, but was a bit intimidated by the sheer number of students in this class. She would NOT be one of those students simply repeating word for word what everyone said. Herbs are leaves. Plants. Used in medicine and food. On and on.

Cora took notes quickly. Nice, neat, perfect notes. But she didn't respond about what they were saying. Eventually, she remembered what her mother had told her: "Herbs contain anti-oxidants, vitamins, and phyto-sterols, which help to fight against all sorts of diseases, injuries, and curses," Cora replied, trying to remember anxiously if something like that had already been said.