Professor Walton still obviously liked her. She’d been able to tell from his reply to her greeting, but then she’d resigned herself to hand cramps as the discussion had started. Dying plants and everything were just icky, and she hadn’t bothered to answer the first question. She’d still been thinking about her apple core at that point, anyway. That and taking notes the best she could without letting her hand cramp up before the discussion was over. Being uncomfortable was not something she liked, and she didn’t know how to charm her quill to write for her either. That meant she’d just have to suffer, and inwardly sulk about that.

She raised her hand at the second question, though, relieved at the break from writing. “Crazy weather. When it changes randomly that can make plants sick or even die,” she answered. It wasn’t climate, not really. This was her own personal answer and she wasn’t repeating anyone else. Plus, she’d seen it happen before. California weather wasn’t as normal as people might have thought it was.

She raised her hand. “Professor there are many different ways a plant can become diseased or die, many the other students have already mentioned.” Justine said, resting her head on her fist, her eyes having spent the majority of the lesson on the Professor, she now allowed them to wander idly before returning back to him. “Another is a lack of proper care, sunlight, under watering that sort of thing… “ She nodded, probably not the answer he was looking for but Justine didn’t have much energy today to think of something cleverer.

Why did everyone keep saying fire? And what was with the lawnmower talk? That was just plain stupid, what was wrong with these kids? Did they have no common sense or proper way of thinking? Yet another reason Justine was eager for this nightmare term to end.

Dot was pleased as punch that her answer was right, but it made her incredibly grumpy that the professor was being rude about how Kyroh and Dima answered the question. Those were her boys, gosh. They needed encouragement.

'Sides, she really didn't know how how to take care of plants. Or how they got sick. What did her book say? She slid down in her seat to surreptitiously pull her book into her lap and flip through the pages, looking for something that hadn't already been offered. How... did plants get sick? Merlin, she was NOT a Healer. Still. Yet. Whatevs.

Finally, she just thrust her hand up and waved it around. "Maybe they get lonely from neglect." That made people and animals sick, so, chances are...

Got. Sick plants. She was hurriedly writing things about sick plants. This was science Eden could deal with. Biology...and stuff similar simply fascinated her. Hmph. And she was glad she had been right again. Being right just felt so...nice. And Ravenclaw-y. Just reaffirming the hat's decision with her and whatnot.

Now. What ELSE could cause sickness to a plant. Eden thought for a minute..and raised her hand timidly. "Professor--I thought I read somewhere that some plants respond positively to human interaction--like voices, and just being in an area with other living things--" she said softly. "So I think the lack of that...for SOME plants, of course, could make it be sick and stuff." Yep. She was trying to think out of the BOX, okay? And she really head read an article about this. "I've also read that plants MIGHT just have feelings." So maybe that article was a little weirder, but whatever. Eden didn't know. "Which could have to do with why some plants thrive in public places and stuff...the amount of positive energy.." Was she sounding like a HIPPIE? She totally thought she might sound like one.

Plants might have feelings...might?

Cutty was smiling. This Walton bloke was actually quite funny and he'd probably continue to be so in the years to come. Especially given his vindictive and vengeful side. So serious. So deadly. These were Cutty's favourite Professors.

He listened and watched and in particular watched Sophie Brown work. Veela or Siren or Djin. Something in her bloodline. Speaking of which, that hadn't been mentioned yet. Cutty threw a hand up and offered the following: "Sometimes it's in a plants genes. They're weak and just end up basically killing themselves by not having what it takes to survive." He was making that up, but tell that to the Mount Lip Phalenopsis whose leaves had a tendency to grow in a deformed fashion and put the plant at a disadvantage for absorbing light, releasing water and other vital tasks that the orchid required to live.

Zander let out a small huff. Clearly Professor Grumps hadn't understood what the Gryffindor was trying to get at. So instead of answering the next question, Zander just sunk low in his seat. Hmph. Herbology was so much more interesting with Beautiful Bentley in charge. It was so much cooler. This was dumb. Professor Walton was dumb.

HMPH.

Also the way the horrible man told Kyroh he was wrong?! R.U.D.E. And the other little Ravenclaw too. SEE, this man had no manners.

Ethan had to stop himself from rolling his eyes at Cutty's answer. Where did he even get the idea? Genes? Really? The Slytherin sunk lower in his seat as he took down notes about how a plant could die. Ethan grinned at Dot's answer about neglect. Yes, her answer was really spot on. How could a plant survive if you neglect it? How will it be a good, healthy plant if it is unloved?

Just like that other Mordaunt kid over there. Was he unloved too? Was his uncle Adonis unloved by his grand father that's why his offspring's upbringing was questionable to him? He's got questions, but not related to Herbology. Therefore, he'll just scribble down answers that made sense to him, as well as the notes that magically appeared on Walton's board.

If ever they get to diagnose a plant today, Ethan's mood just might improve a bit. Investigative stuff always does the trick for him.

Woah. His answer had been right? But he had just said something! He realised he had a talent for this. Just saying whatever and the answer was usually right.

At the next question, Kevin thought for a moment. He had heard about types of diseases on plants before. But which ones? He thought...and thought, looked around as if trying to find inspiration anywhere but nothing. He sighed as he looked at his hands ....and thats when he got it. "Vein Banding?" that was one right? mweh if it wasn't.

Lots of information was being provided--information Beverly had a feeling she'd need in the future. Potions required plants therefore, she needed good enough plants for potions. Still jotting things down from the board, Beverly raised her hand. Almost done...almost...almost...there we go!

"Too much of anything they don't need. Some folks think that by doubling a need they'll make a plant grow faster or bloom faster or give more product, but they're actually just killing the poor thing." Like that one time she had shared her pumpkin juice in excess with one of her dad's plants when she was six years-old.

Ah, the good old days.

Nodding his head at the students, he drew out his wand and tapped the blackboard and started talking, "Yes. Too much water or too little water. The first would cause moss to grow the later would mean yellow leaves," He paused allowing chance for students tp write on their textbooks. "Then we have not enough sunlight or the opposite. If we see burned spots or really dark spots then the plant is getting too much sunlight. But if it looks weak and limp it needs more sunlight," Pause. Did they get it? Were they writing things down? This was ALL important.


Good answers here. "Every plant does have a specific climate and weather in which it prospers and grows. So any change in that would cause problems, yes," He said to the class emphasizing on the students' answers. "And like Mister Tempus said. If we notice a certain area where plants are getting ill. It means there is something wrong causing the problem which could be either the soil or pests or even wind," He was going to elaborate on that but waited to see if someone was going to mention anything about it first.

"True, any plants will get sick and eventually die if it received no care," He said. "It is very important to keep watching plants as well as providing all necessary elements to their survivor. Sunlight, water and nutrients. " Which were the most important things. There were also fertilizers and other things but he only mentioned the common knowledge that anyone who wasn't a specialist could preform.



Very good points, Andrew was pleased. He kept nodding his head at the students to go on. Then he turned to the blackboard again waved his wand and started talking. "Soil is very, very important," He said then paused to look at the class to let them know HOW important it was. "If suspicious it is always best to analyze the soil. There could be chemicals that are harming the roots and preventing them from getting the required nutrients. Also there are types of soils and it's essential to know the suitable type for each plant," He moved away from the blackboard and closer to the table. "Keeping in mind the size of the plant that it will grow into also must be known in order to provide the pot with the suitable size. " He nodded at Whitlock how brought this up. Good point.

"And of course, sometimes the soil can't provide the required amount of nutrients. Which is why we use fertilizers. In an accurate quantity of course because like miss Carrington said too much fertilizer has negative effects," A nod at the Hufflepuff.




Hmm. So these didn't have answers. WERE THEY ASLEEP?

Andrew's eyes flickered to their faces to make certain they were fully awake. With open eyes and all. Yup. Awake. Which was good.


"Very good, both of you," He said to the two girls. "There are many important things to provide. But doing that alone wouldn't do any good if everything wasn't in the right quantity. Everything should be balanced," He said stressing on the last word.

"Correct," He nodded. "Pests can cause diseases, something in the soil or even the wrong kind of fertilizer can do that, too." Nod. Nod. "Insects can also harm the plants in many ways. Like eating them which slows down the growth, stops it, too," A BAD effect of course.


"A healthy plant shouldn't be harmed by bending," He said. "But violent twisting or ripping out stems or leaves is certainly harmful." The boy only needed to reword his answer to make it better.



Pause.

Did they not understand the question. "I asked about sickness. Fire will kill plants," He told them. Though, it was good to remind everyone of how dangerous fire was.

Someone was in their very own world it seemed. "Yeah. Animals do the craziest things," Because they know no better.


Everyone was providing good and true answers. Which Andrew nodded along to. Well, except for some who only got weird looks. Like those who talking about ATTACKING plants. Two Gryffindors, the Valentine girls. "That's called killing the plants." Had absolutely nothing to do with sickness or being unhealthy. Walton frowned at the thought.

See, he still couldn't figure out what was wrong with this particular boy. Andrew just stared at the boy for a bit then said. "What?" And the Hufflepuff prefect seemed to think there was a book concerned ?Whatever that meant.

He listened to the Ravenclaw and considered her answer."There are a lot of theories on this topic," Was his response. They could discuss it for the rest of the class and wouldn't be done. So he left it at that.

NO HE DIDN'T!

Andrew would have GASPED. But he wasn't the type of person to have a strong and visible reaction. Although once he heard what the boy had said, the scowl on Walton's face was some serious and alarming one. "The plants are the reason you are alive," Well, not Andrew's plants actually. The world's plants but eh, whatever, the man was angry. Rude and MEAN kid. Even the Grumpy mean Professor would never wish that on anyone's plants.

Andrew scratched his chin and paused before saying anything. "I wouldn't say it has to do with genes," He told the boy. "But yes, some plants just start weak and unable to develop. We'll be talking more about that in a bit," Close to the previous point Miss Brown mentioned.

It seemed like anyone who had anything to say had already said what they wanted to. The Professor walked back to the blackboard after having been walking around the table. He waved his wand and more writing appeared. He'd obviously written them up there before but they weren't visible.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blackboard

First step: Noticing the problem

• Change of color or structure of leaves, stems, roots.

Leaves: Yellow, brown, burnt, holed, limp, curled up.
Roots: Brittle. Mushy.
Stems: Brown. Brittle. Mushy. Easily broken.

Second step: Determining the problem

• Over/under irrigation
• Diseases
• Soil problems
• Climate/weather
• Stupid behavior
• Too much/too little sunlight

Third step: Fixing the problem

• Trimming off yellow/dead parts
•

"So now we learnt how to declare that there's a problem and what might the problem be." He said turning back to the students again. "For each problem there is a solution. Today we will be focusing on only two of them," He said as he walked further from the table and closer to the covered plants. He paused for a bit then waved his wand and a couple of pots were visible. The man bent down and picked one up. "This is a plant that hadn't been getting enough sunlight. Which is why you will see yellowed leaves," He said holding the plant in the small pot up and walking around the table so that everyone got a good look at it. Once he made sure everyone got a good look, he started talking again. "What we'll be doing is cutting the yellow leaves from the plant. Of course the plant needs to be out somewhere where it'll get enough sunlight. But what I want of you is to learn how to cut off the dead or yellow leaves using the Severing charm," He walked to the further end of the table and placed the pot on it. "Diffindo," He said aloud for everyone to hear moving his wand slowly so that everyone can see the wand movement. "It might look too easy but it needs concentrating. It is very important to cut only the base of the leaf and not the stem or anything else," He walked back to where he picked up the pot and picked another one. "That plant had small leaves which made the job harder. This one has bigger leaves which makes trimming easier." He placed the pot on the opposite end of the table for those who were too far away to see properly. Again, he moved his wand uttering Diffindo and the yellow leaf dropped.

"So, what you have to do now is practice the severing charm," He could not risk them trying it on the plant right away. "Remember the wand movement is an incomplete 'W' shape and the incantation is Diffindo," He spoke the incantation slowly to make sure they all got it correctly. "You will find pieces of wood under the tables. You may practice on those. Be very careful. Do not harm yourself, your classmates or the tables," He would MIND if the number of tables increased after class.

ooc: You will only need one post to do this. If you want to make more it is totally up to you. Older students may help younger ones. Please do not let your charrie die or something. The spell isn't that hard. If you have any question do not hesitate to ask me or Andrew. I'm way nicer though Next post will be in like 20 hours roughly. Hopefully.

To say Maddie was disappointed in Walton's reaction would be an understatement. NOT that she WANTED Kyroh to get in trouble or anything but STILL, she'd expected something more serious to come of her freckled friend's comment. This did show her something, though. The plant man was quite good at keeping his emotions in check. She wondered if the man had a sort of mental list of people with strikes and when you got three, you got to see the real angry face. She wasn't willing to test this theory but she would keep an eye on those trouble makers around her to see if they could provoke the man to such a point. It'd be something to do while she was waiting for the next question or assignment during the lulls in class. A side project of sorts. Sounded fun.

As for the severing charm, Maddie was familiar. One of the ones she'd practiced on her own after reading about it. She'd nearly cut her finger in the process but she'd learned, at least enough to be able to perform the charm on some wood. More practice would definitely allow her to perform it on a sick plant.

Reaching underneath her, the brunette felt around until she located a piece of wood. She set it down in front of her and then picked up her wand, opting to work on a small slice at the end first. The middle was thicker and would take more power and the second year should probably start small.

Making the w-esque shape with her wand, Maddie said clearly, "Diffindo." She concentrated the whole time, eyes on what she was doing. And sure enough, she was slicing through the wood.

Adi so badly wanted to laugh at the looks AJ and Angel got for their answers but he just pressed his lips together and held it together. As for Benny...Professor Plants was obviously still confused by him. Hopefully his best friend would be back to normal by the next Herbology class.

The Hufflepuff-er bent his head to scribble the additional notes as he listened to Plants continue but he did pause to look up at the plants they were being shown.

Right. Time to practice. Adi practice the incomplete W movement a few times then as he muttered the incantation, got a few pieces of wood from under the table. "Here, Benny.'' He set a couple of pieces in front of the boy. "You heard Professor Pla, I mean Walton. If you need help, let me know.'' Merlin. He was baby sitting his tea obsessed friend like a little kid. He wondered what Benny would think of that if he realised.

Anywaaay..."Diffindo!'' Cue the incomplete W movement. Adi's spell was mediocre and all that happened to the wood was a little chip in it. Meh. "Diffindo!'' Excellent! The wood was cut into pieces.

He hadn't said her answer was wrong. Plus Eden was very proud of it being DIFFERENT. She smirked a little and sat up a little straighter, glancing at the plants as he spoke about them and jotting down notes in her notebook. it was a mess. She took terrible notes. Oh well. She'd still be..okay, right? For her OWLs?

She reached under the table and pulled up the piece of wood. Diffindo. Hadn't they done that in another class? Was it potions? Probably. Eden knew it wasn't her first time doing it, though, and this made her less nervous to try and do the spell. HMPH. She practiced the 'w' motions and whatnot...

Now to practice how to SAY it. "Duhfendo!" she said, quickly, an then siiighed. Okay. So. She had said it tooo fast...and pronounced it kind of wrong. "DI-ffendo..." she said, more slowly, and figured that she might have to just be sloooow. She straightened her piece of wood in front of her...and took a deeeep breath before eyeing it...picture it as having done something WRONG so that she could SLICE through it smoothly.

"DIFFENDO!" she cried...kind of dramatically, too--and the wood cut in half. Smooth cut, too.

WHOOOOH!

Eden fist pumped smugly. YEAAAH! She got it. She could even HELP younger ones...you know, if they asked and stuff.

Dorothy blinked at the stick thing she was supposed to be waving and picked it up with a shrug. Hi Wand. She was gonna use you to cut stuff up. She copied the W shape with her finger and muttered the weird word thing under her breath. She could do this, right? Everyone ELSE was. Aunty Em would be so proud. She pointed the stick at the other stick she was supposed to be cutting, waved it in the shape of a W, and said "Diffindo" just like all the other kids were. To her surprise, the piece of wood was cut just as promised. WOOOOAH. She stared at the stick. Could she use this magic stick thingy to make some ruby slippers appear? That'd be more useful than cutting stuff.

Alright time to practice the Diffindo charm. He remember doing this charm probably like in his previous years. He smiled and was looking at the little first years if they needed any help but it he wanted to do it first just to see if he could do it. He copied down the wand movement and it was just a simple W movement. That didn't seem to hard. He even pronounced the charm for a bit.

"Diffindo....Diffindo.....Diffindo....Diffindo.... Diffindo.....Diffindo....Diffindo...Diffindo.." There he seemed good. He did his wand movement and then the incantation and said, "DIFFINDO!!" and he cut the piece of wood in front of him in half! YES! He did it! He was quite pleased. He actually loved seeing his mother use the charm at home to cut wood. I guess he picked it up fast. He was pleased with himself.

The Mad Hatter was trying not to bounce in his seat, it was hard to stay in one place for too long. But the man had seemed to be dangerous so he was struggling for his safety. When he was starred at for his answer, he nearly flinched, holding Dormouse just a little closer to him almost unconsciously. "Well it di---" He was about to answer the WHAT but the professor had already moved on without any harm done to him or threats so he relaxed.

Well as relaxed as the Hatter normally was which was bouncing. The man completely oblivious to whatever instructions were being given to the class. Eventually in stopped moving as if reacting to Sir's words to get his attention.


"Huh?" he questioned staring ahead, having just barely heard his name. "Professor Walton?" he questioned quietly before shaking his head as if to clear it and looking around. The boy seemingly surprised by the greenhouse walls that surrounded them. When had they returned to herbology class? He certainly didn't remember coming to the lesson.

Hearing Adi beside him casting the cutting spell, Benny couldn't help turning to his friend, the look on his face one of pure confusion. "What...what are we doing?"

Poor Benny. Look at him holding Dormouse Gus like that like a shield. Adi didn't know why Hatter was so worried about. Professor Plants wasn't going to hex him or anything. Plants be a cool man. LOL.

Adi was pretty pleased about not having trouble with the spell. Then again, it was just like practicing a spell he had mastered already. Practice on another piece, yeah?

He positioned one of the pieces he had cut in half directly in front of him then raised his wand. But then... O_O Why was Benny asking THAT? Surely he knew because Plants had just explained. The Hufflepuff EYED his friend. This Benny was not bouncy and bright and hyper. And the tone of voice was normal. Cue the frown from Adi. "Use Diffindo on these pieces of wood.'' Adi pointed to the wood in front of Benny. "We're practicing for now.'' Pause. "You okay?''

Okay so Puck had been right about her suggestion about the soil. She hadn’t actually expected that to be the case at all. Speaking of Kace, she glanced up and watched as Kace tried the spell and kept casting and casting and casting…or well no he was pronouncing that looked smart.

Diffindo. That wasn’t hard right? “Diffindo. DIFFINDO” she pronounce-yelled as she practiced the motion with her empty hand. Finally she picked up the and directed it at the piece of wood. Moving her hand in the W-shape she spoke the incantation “Diffindo” and look! It worked. Her piece of wood was in half. She didn’t see any damage to the table either (yet) which was good right?

The weird, judging looks made by the professor did not go unnoticed. Her answer wasn't exactly a sickness, but it was something that could kill a plant. That was real life. Not everything dies of sickness. There were such things as accidents... just saying. Not that she really cared about the plants and their issues.

Moving on...

AJ scribbled down notes, and paid careful attention to the next step. Ah yeah, they were going to cut up some wood. Now, it was getting interesting. First things first, she needed to practice. The W movement was practiced several times. Then she placed her wand down on the table, and practiced the incantation. "Diffindo...diffindo...diffindo."

Wood time. AJ grabbed her a piece and went to town. "Diffindo." She made the W movement, and nothing. Boooo.... this was really getting old. "Diffindo." A tiny mark was made, but that was about it. Ugh, ugh, ugh.

Hearing AJ repeating the spell, Adi leaned forward so he could watch her across Benny. Gosh, she was extra beautiful when she was concentrating. Hehe. But no time to stare at her.

"Spell kicking your butt, AJ?'' he asked with a smirk. "Already got the wood sliced neatly here.'' He held up the two pieces for her to see. "Maybe you should try again with more intent. Want to bet I'll slice one of these pieces before you do yours?''

Cue another smirk.

A spell for cutting things sounded dead useful. For real reasons, not for weird ones... like maybe for cutting threads or trimming hair. Maybe not trimming hair. Cutting right up by someone's face was a dangerous sort of thing.

Dot nudged at Dima with her elbow before grabbing up her wand and mimicking the incomplete W the professor had made. Easy enough, she supposed, although she drew it a couple of times, end to end to end to end. More like a magnificent zig-zag in the air.

There was a bit of wood under her table, and Dot brought out both the pieces - one for her and one for Dima. Did they have to practice on the wood, or could she try it on something else that she wanted cut? Like the loose thread on her robe, or someone's shoelace... or something? "Diffindo," Dot whispered, but she didn't try out the spell. Yet.

Sitting with Grayson and Ruby was totally great. Except for the fact that he had to hold in his laughter at one point, but hey, it woke him up a bit. Not enough to try to answer, but they and the others in class took pretty good care of that so David mostly focused on jotting down some notes.

And then came a more practical portion. A relatively easy one at that. Diffindo wasn't too hard after all.

So once he'd finished up the last bit of notes, he pulled out his wand and went ahead and practiced the wand movement anyway. Kind of a weird one, wasn't it? Who came up with these things?

After a few practices, he picked up the piece of wood, focused, and did the sort of W-shaped movement. "Diffindo." And success! The wood was cut in half.

Go him.

Benny listened to the answer he was given yet it didn't much help his confusion. Yes, he knew the spell. Yes he could use it on the wood that he saw in front of him when he followed Adi's point towards it. But the rest was just a blur to him. Like what had happened before. Surely the professor didn't just set them all on the assignment of cutting wood without some discussion beforehand...right?

And why was he holding Gus...in class?

"Um...here," he said, offering the creature to his friend once he finished speaking with AJ. The toad was better with his human. Especially when he wasn't exactly sure if he himself was okay. "I...don't know," he answered his friend truthfully. Ben looked at the wood pieces again and wondered if he should just practice for now. He slipped out his wand from his pocket and his hand at trying to focus on what to do.

They would learn how to cut the yellow leaves from a plant, using the Severing Charm. That was a good thing to know, in Jasmine's opinion and she was ready to practice. First she repeated the incantation a few times, just as a little warm up. "Diffendo, Diffendo, Diffendo." Then Jasmine practiced the wand movement, making an incomplete W over and over. When she felt comfortable with both parts, she figured she was ready.

Reaching under her desk, Jasmine retrieved several pieces of wood. Setting them on the table, she placed one directly in front of her. Jasmine took a moment to get her focus and concentrate on what she would be doing. When she had visualized cutting the wood, she took out her wand. Directing her wand toward the piece of wood, Jasmine made an incomplete W. At the same time, she said, "Diffindo" The piece of wood had been cut into two pieces and she was happy about that. Just to make sure it wasn't a fluke, Jasmine repeated the spell with the remaining pieces of wood. Whether or not she was ready to tackle something more delicate, like a plant, remained to be seen.

"No, it's not." Yes it was. She was just too stubborn to admit it. AJ didn't have to look to know that Adi already had his wood cut, and perfectly. "Rubbing it in?" she asked playfully.

More intent, right. That was always a thing. A competition eh? That immediately made her ears perk up. "You're on." Game face was on.

"Diffindo." Her wood was the exact same. "Diffindo." This time she said it loud and proud, but she still wasn't getting the desired results. Not good enough. "DIFFINDO!!!" Perfect form for the wand movement, annnnd her wood was sliced. "It worked, Adi." Did he manage to get anymore wood cut?

Leave it to Adi to help her accomplish the tasks. He was the best motivator there was. Oh, and look... Benny was back to normal. She leaned over to him and whispered, "Welcome back, Benny."