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kayquilz · 06-11-2018, 10:13 PM

Professors Noble and Myers had been patiently trying to schedule this lesson for a few weeks, and had both been relieved that it’d been possible to do so when all the students were back from the Christmas break. Outside, it was an icy January day, but inside Greenhouse 4 the temperature was balmy, tropical even. Lush green plants filled the flowerbeds, vines hung down from the ceiling, and there was a particularly pungent smell on the air. By the door was a pile of face masks and a number of white MagHaz suits hanging up on hooks. A note explained their use:

Face masks or bubblehead charms recommended, though you may proceed without - don’t say we didn’t warn you! Anyone with severe allergies is expected to don a MagHaz suit, due to the varied nature of plants in this greenhouse.

Being a joint lesson, the clearing where class was held was laid out a bit different to usual. The workbenches were laid out in a horseshoe shape focused on one large plant, and each held burners and tripods sat ready for cauldrons. At the front, the two Professors couldn’t have more different demeanors if they’d tried: Myers donned a particularly thick, knitted poncho with as much vibrancy as one would expect and wore an equally as festive smile because holidays always put him back in a good mood; Noble wore a furrow upon his brow as he paced impatiently, bubblehead charm already in place, hands folded behind his back and navy blue robes sweeping behind him.

SPOILER!!: Lesson Progression

TeafortheSoul · 06-16-2018, 11:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kayquilz

“Weeeellll the frilly bit is actually called a spathe...I guess you could call it a petal, almost. It encases the innermost bits. The pistil and the fruits when the fruits come out. But most do call it ‘the frill.’” He explained. “The spike is also part of the bloom. The pistil part.” He wondered if he needed to go over flower anatomy...again….maybe it would have been a good refresher for some of them?

A nod from Bel, obvious interest on her face as she equated what she knew about flowers already with the corpse flower. "Spathe." Bel repeated. "Bonza!" And the spike being the pistil made sense, it was just that it looked so different to the pretty flowers that she was used to.... not that she'd say that out loud. Wouldn't want to offend it or anything. She took down some dutiful notes as the professor gave more information as other kids spoke and then turned her attention to the potions professor.

Quote:

Originally Posted by hermygirl

There was a glimmer of amusement playing on Noble's lips as he surveyed the class from the back of the clearing. They looked a right motley assortment, between the bubbles, masks and bodysuits. And it was somewhat reassuring to know that the students didn't only bring their incompetence to the potions classroom to grate on his nerves. Surely by fourth year they should have got the basic anatomy of a flower down?

Grumbling happened. Especially when Prefect Eagle decided to chip in. Of course there were plenty of parts to harvest (here's looking at you, Maddie) and use in potions. Eye-rolling happened, and he was glad Paul deflected the question for now. Sure, it was interesting to see how his eccentric colleague approached teaching, especially with a philosophy so far down the opposite of the of spectrum to his own, but Noble wasn't just here to look pretty at the back.

But at least Ronan took the hint. A smile curled on the corner of his lips, although truth be told, he had to wonder of the boy wasn't ill. He'd seemed to have lost his usual wreckless spunk. It was almost disappointing not to have yet taken any points from the Gryffindor. Of course, Alec had yet still to get suited and booted.

And why, exactly, were Derfael and Maxton edging away from the plant like it might suddenly grow teeth and chomp on them? Noble grunted at the two of them. The mask and suits were for the smell, not anything worse. Seriously...they did notice Paul was comfortable enough to not even use a bubblehead charm, right? "I suggest you plonk your butts back on your seats at your desk," Noble said, a snarling tone in his voice. Really. What had happened to the standard of Prefects between leaving school and returning as a professor?

He couldn't fault his co-instructors excitement at how cool it was for a plant to heat up, but he could grumble at the man for trying to make light of the first year's inattention. Noble was ALL for making the girl run up to the castle and back, whether to just the potions classroom or the Ravenclaw common room. He considered it for the moment, gaze on Myers. "Fine," he said with a grunt and pulling out his wand and silently summoning one from the lab. "But five points from Ravenclaw." And Myers would have to open the door or a window or something for it to come through, because he was about to lead the next question and would hate for glass to rain down on them all.

He made the move to the front of the class now, tucking his wand back in his holster as he did so. "From the fact I'm here for this lesson, I hope it's obvious that the corpse flower does have a number of uses in potions." He eyed certain people. He supposed they could have been making a potion for the flower, but it stuck him as a much less parsimonious theory, given the plant looked perfectly healthy. "What properties do you hypothesise a corpse flower might infuse in a potion and why?"

What a corpse flower could do as an ingredient in a potion wasn't something Bel knew either, but as usual she was gamely willing to give it a shot, and began thinking about all the bits of information she'd already collected. She put her hand up. "Maybe something that you want to have like.... a time-release effect? Something you don't want to have work immediately as soon as you take it? You know, because of how you have to be patient with seeing it bloom." What else? "Or maybe... because it doesn't have.... like an annual cycle that's always the same, you could use it in a potion that you want the effect to be more.... random?" .... well. She was trying anyways.

sweetpinkpixie · 06-16-2018, 02:18 PM

ABRAXANS!? WHERE?!

That was really all he had taken from Professor Myers' initial outburst and had zero context for it other than his own fantastical assumption that there were some of the creatures nearby - for fertilizer purposes? - only to be extremely disappointed when it finally clicked that there were none and it had just been an expression. Cruel, Myers. Very cruel.

Though what was not cruel was the confirmation that the plant was not carnivorous, which brought a small boyish smile of relief to his slightly paling features. However, in the next moment the Potions Master effortlessly shifted that to rigid embarrassment when he - oh hey there Maxton! - was chastised for leaning on his flight instinct just a bit. A herbologist's comfort level around plants was, well, nothing that the fifth year could base much on. His own mum having an unnatural affection towards flesh eaters. Though just HOW wappish the man was made him think about Zoryn's suggestion and, yes, he was 1000000% on board with her plan now! Love WAS the most powerful magic, you know?

And, honestly, there were bigger things to be grumpy. Hogwarts needed perspective, seriously.

"Yes, sir," the Hufflepuff nodded obediently and promptly found his seat again like a well trained crup.

As to the question itself...well, Derf really wasn't the most gifted with potions and making connections between flora based ingredients. Though the strong smell made him think that there was a connection there...but all he could come up with was a joke potion that made one's flatulent quite deadly. Something told him that Professor Noble would not appreciate that sort of response so he ruffled his hair and had a bit more of a think about it. Though he did raise his hand eventually. "A...corpse lacks circulation...," he began. Yes, off to a great start here. "...and with the plant's initial slow budding period...does useage of the plant have a slowing or shrinking effect? Sorta like...how dittany speeds healing and has powerful restorative properties...does a corpse flower, perhaps, slow bleeding?"

Anna Banana · 06-16-2018, 10:35 PM

Hold your...Abraxans? Professor Myers had made that little outburst right after Maddie's answer, but she had no idea what it meant or how it related to what she'd said. She just nodded along and tried to take mental notes of everything the professor was saying.

The lesson changed its focus back to Professor Noble, which prompted Maddie to think about how very different the two men were. It was daylight and dark. Having them both teach a lesson together was like changing moods every other minute. It was sort of confusing in a way.

Seeing as Maddie knew little to nothing about the plant in question, the only thing she could do was take wild guesses about what they were asked. Well, wild guesses in an educated sort of way. She raised her hand. "Well, Professor Myers said the plant can raise its temperature to mimic a dead body," she recalled. "So maybe there's ingredients in there to help change temperatures?"

She was starting to have a funny feeling about this potion. CORPSE flower...DEAD body...berries that could kill you. O_O.

Cassirin · 06-17-2018, 02:19 AM

Professor Noble was such a hoot, and Chloe found herself dead amused by him. Even his playful chiding of Derf and other classmates was so classic Noble dry wit. Chloe chortled quietly to herself as she listened to her classmates hypothesize about the potential uses of the corpse flower.

Other than their stink, like the Head Boy suggested? "I would think they'd make a rather potent addition to a dung bomb, sir, although that's not really a potions use as much as a mischief one. But I guess, since the plant is singularly long between blooms and also quite large, it might be good for time release or delayed release in potions... or some enlarging type potions." She wrinkled her nose in thought. "Or an insecticide, since it would be great at attracting bugs to the poison."

DaniDiNardo · 06-17-2018, 11:43 AM

"You're such a tease." Was her only response to Professor Myers, because yes, she could tell he'd deflected her question and she wasn't too pleased about it for the fact it meant Professor Noble was likely to answer it--oh, no, he was gonna make them answer it.

Brilliant. Questions when she wanted answers. Terrific.

"Maybe it can help you mimic the dead. Like the draught of living death does, sorta. Because of what Professor Myers said about it regulating it's own temperature to be like a dead body. I suppose it might be able to give you the same ability to also pretend to be dead for whatever reason you think it might be necessary to pretend to be dead, of course."

She wouldn't be telling people how to live their lives.

Briefly she glanced over at Derf after the Professor ordered him back to his seat. She wasn't aware he wasn't......a fan of plants, already making these lessons difficult. He seemed fine for now though, so she'd just keep an eye on him in case.

No, but really. When where they gonna get to the actual things that this plant could do. She needed to make a decision on how vital such a plant was to her further education and it was hard to make such a decision while remaining in the dark.

Life could'a been a whole lot easier if Professor had just...say....come on over and whispered the answer if her ear if he was that worried about ruining the surprise. Already being done the Hogwarts syllabus, there wasn't much that was a surprise for her anyway. He shouldn't have felt free to spoil away.

Waterloo · 06-17-2018, 12:31 PM

Max gulped and promptly turned a bright shade of tomato red when Professor Noble called him out for being a big wimp. He nodded and attempted to put on a brave face but honestly.... he still didn't trust this flower. Not one bit.

And as for its properties in a potion?

Before he had time to think things through properly, Max's arm shot in the air. "Could essence of corpse flower turn someone into a zombie?"

There was a lot of discussion about corpses and death and yeah.... that was his instant thought.

hermygirl · 06-17-2018, 10:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lazykitty

Wait, had someone really suggested eating the berries of the plant? Something that smelled that awful? He would've thought that both the name and that smell would've served as enough of a warning but okay.

And the next bit of information......ugh. Hopefully, the plant wouldn't pull that when he was reaching for whatever part of the plant they would be having to harvest. Because it was obvious that that was where this lesson was heading. Especially once Noble took over. And was that a smile on the professor's face? Well, he was so glad he was enjoying this because the Gryffindor wasn't. At all.

"The ability to kill," Ronan stated flatly. "thanks to the toxicity of the berries. Also, an awful smell." Wasn't it obvious?

Well, he’d asked for hypotheses, and he’d certainly got a wide variety of them. Some a little better thought out and closer to the mark than others. Noble couldn’t say he was too surprised that Ronan was the first to mention the toxicity, given what Peeves had mentioned in the lab. “It can be used as a poison, yes,” Noble replied with a nod. “But it isn’t the most potent, so given the rarity of the flowers, and fallible process of pollination to produce the fruits, it’d be a highly expensive way to produce a poison.” It certainly wouldn’t be his first choice. Belladonna was much more readily available. “The smell will be of use of us today though.”

Quote:

Originally Posted by Birchwoodmom

As suspected, she was mostly wrong about the plant. Not a big deal. Professor Myers was always kind about how he let students know they were on the wrong track, and she was thankful for that. She did learn a lot from the other students answers though and was glad she had been taking notes as they spoke.

Then Professor Noble spoke. There was something about the man that always made her feel a bit sick to her stomach. Like she was in trouble for something, but she could never figure out what it was. She left her eyes glued to her notes for a few moments, trying to work up the nerve to toss out another answer. It took a good deal of bravery on her part to want to even try and answer a question that she was almost certain to get wrong. Especially when Professor Noble was the one she was answering.

Her slightly shaking hand went up in the air. “Sir, Professor Myers said there were berries on the plant. Would you be able to use those in a potion? Isn’t there a potion called Draught of Living Death that makes people sleep as if they were dead?” Her mouth clamped shut, realizing she was asking more questions instead of answering his. He had asked about the properties, not what potion. “I mean, since the plant only blooms every once in a while, and smells like death, it would stand to reason it could be used in a potion that would need to make the effects last a long time or appear dormant or dead.” Unsure of what she was saying, she once again clamped her mouth shut and stared at her parchment.

The young Hufflepuff had no need to quiver; her reasoning was decent, albeit for the wrong part of the plant. “Not for simulating death, no. But dormancy is a great answer. We can use the juice of the corm, the part of the plant that stores energy for its dormant period, for that.”

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tegz

A nod from Bel, obvious interest on her face as she equated what she knew about flowers already with the corpse flower. "Spathe." Bel repeated. "Bonza!" And the spike being the pistil made sense, it was just that it looked so different to the pretty flowers that she was used to.... not that she'd say that out loud. Wouldn't want to offend it or anything. She took down some dutiful notes as the professor gave more information as other kids spoke and then turned her attention to the potions professor.

What a corpse flower could do as an ingredient in a potion wasn't something Bel knew either, but as usual she was gamely willing to give it a shot, and began thinking about all the bits of information she'd already collected. She put her hand up. "Maybe something that you want to have like.... a time-release effect? Something you don't want to have work immediately as soon as you take it? You know, because of how you have to be patient with seeing it bloom." What else? "Or maybe... because it doesn't have.... like an annual cycle that's always the same, you could use it in a potion that you want the effect to be more.... random?" .... well. She was trying anyways.

Bel got nods too, as she took what he’d alluded to from Emmalyn’s answer a bit further. “Exactly. Varying the amount of juice added, allows us to control the time-release effect of certain potions.” Not all of them though, by any means. He was starting to look a little impressed, the Hufflepuffs were on good form today.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sweetpinkpixie

ABRAXANS!? WHERE?!

That was really all he had taken from Professor Myers' initial outburst and had zero context for it other than his own fantastical assumption that there were some of the creatures nearby - for fertilizer purposes? - only to be extremely disappointed when it finally clicked that there were none and it had just been an expression. Cruel, Myers. Very cruel.

Though what was not cruel was the confirmation that the plant was not carnivorous, which brought a small boyish smile of relief to his slightly paling features. However, in the next moment the Potions Master effortlessly shifted that to rigid embarrassment when he - oh hey there Maxton! - was chastised for leaning on his flight instinct just a bit. A herbologist's comfort level around plants was, well, nothing that the fifth year could base much on. His own mum having an unnatural affection towards flesh eaters. Though just HOW wappish the man was made him think about Zoryn's suggestion and, yes, he was 1000000% on board with her plan now! Love WAS the most powerful magic, you know?

And, honestly, there were bigger things to be grumpy. Hogwarts needed perspective, seriously.

"Yes, sir," the Hufflepuff nodded obediently and promptly found his seat again like a well trained crup.

As to the question itself...well, Derf really wasn't the most gifted with potions and making connections between flora based ingredients. Though the strong smell made him think that there was a connection there...but all he could come up with was a joke potion that made one's flatulent quite deadly. Something told him that Professor Noble would not appreciate that sort of response so he ruffled his hair and had a bit more of a think about it. Though he did raise his hand eventually. "A...corpse lacks circulation...," he began. Yes, off to a great start here. "...and with the plant's initial slow budding period...does useage of the plant have a slowing or shrinking effect? Sorta like...how dittany speeds healing and has powerful restorative properties...does a corpse flower, perhaps, slow bleeding?"

Well they had been, until the Prefect chipped in. It was an interesting idea, but one not formulated in much formal potion theory…if any. At least the boy had made it back to his seat though. “Afraid not, Derfael. It wouldn’t do much for bleeding at all.” Except perhaps add toxins into the bloodstream, which would be less than healthy.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cassirin

Professor Noble was such a hoot, and Chloe found herself dead amused by him. Even his playful chiding of Derf and other classmates was so classic Noble dry wit. Chloe chortled quietly to herself as she listened to her classmates hypothesize about the potential uses of the corpse flower.

Other than their stink, like the Head Boy suggested? "I would think they'd make a rather potent addition to a dung bomb, sir, although that's not really a potions use as much as a mischief one. But I guess, since the plant is singularly long between blooms and also quite large, it might be good for time release or delayed release in potions... or some enlarging type potions." She wrinkled her nose in thought. "Or an insecticide, since it would be great at attracting bugs to the poison."

A hint of amusement flickered across Noble’s lips, resulting in a smirk. “You’d be correct on both accounts, Chloe.” It would make a decent addition to a dung bomb, but no, he wasn’t looking for that as an answer. “Delayed release I’ve already covered…but I want you to hold onto the idea of attracting bugs.”

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaniDiNardo

"You're such a tease." Was her only response to Professor Myers, because yes, she could tell he'd deflected her question and she wasn't too pleased about it for the fact it meant Professor Noble was likely to answer it--oh, no, he was gonna make them answer it.

Brilliant. Questions when she wanted answers. Terrific.

"Maybe it can help you mimic the dead. Like the draught of living death does, sorta. Because of what Professor Myers said about it regulating it's own temperature to be like a dead body. I suppose it might be able to give you the same ability to also pretend to be dead for whatever reason you think it might be necessary to pretend to be dead, of course."

She wouldn't be telling people how to live their lives.

Briefly she glanced over at Derf after the Professor ordered him back to his seat. She wasn't aware he wasn't......a fan of plants, already making these lessons difficult. He seemed fine for now though, so she'd just keep an eye on him in case.

No, but really. When where they gonna get to the actual things that this plant could do. She needed to make a decision on how vital such a plant was to her further education and it was hard to make such a decision while remaining in the dark.

Life could'a been a whole lot easier if Professor had just...say....come on over and whispered the answer if her ear if he was that worried about ruining the surprise. Already being done the Hogwarts syllabus, there wasn't much that was a surprise for her anyway. He shouldn't have felt free to spoil away.

There seemed to be some fixation from students on corpses and death. They realised it was just named for the smell of decomposition, right?! Not that Noble should have been surprised from Jessa, given the reading material he’d found of hers last year. “There has been work to see if some of the flesh could be used as a vegetarian alternative to the sloth brain in the Draught of Living Dead and other related potions,” Noble’s gazed moved to Stasya and Derfael, before returning back to Jessa, “but so far no significant progress has made made.”

Quote:

Originally Posted by Waterloo

Max gulped and promptly turned a bright shade of tomato red when Professor Noble called him out for being a big wimp. He nodded and attempted to put on a brave face but honestly.... he still didn't trust this flower. Not one bit.

And as for its properties in a potion?

Before he had time to think things through properly, Max's arm shot in the air. "Could essence of corpse flower turn someone into a zombie?"

There was a lot of discussion about corpses and death and yeah.... that was his instant thought.

A zombie? The expression on Noble’s face was somewhere between deadpan and eyerolling. “No,” he responded simply. “Although you may have heard of corpse powder, which is derived from the corpse flower.” And he’d leave it at that for now, unless others asked for specifics.

And with no other suggestions, Noble clapped his hands loudly to get attention of anyone who’d taken the warm classroom as an excuse to drift off. “I’m disappointed more of you didn’t touch on the pungent smell of this plant as a use.” It was surely the most obvious feature, and he gave a wry shake of the head to Myers. ”Perhaps you should all take your masks off for a few moments to fully appreciate it, as that’s the feature we’ll be making use of today.” He gave them a nod, showing he expected to do that now. Breathe it in folks, it won’t poison you. “We’ll be using it today for a herbological purpose, to make a particular type of pest deterrent. One that discourages unwanted visitors, including animals and humans, whilst still attracting those all-important insect pollinators. First though, you need to harvest some of the spadix and spathe.” He looked to his colleague to hand over. Professor Myers?”

griffin · 06-18-2018, 05:49 PM

So the smell was going to be the focus for now, for use as a pest deterrent. At Professor Noble’s suggestion, Isa removed her mask to get a whiff of the pungent smell from the flower. Sure, it smelled bad, but this was likely a once in a lifetime opportunity. Did everyone realize how special it was to actually see a corpse flower blooming? Never before in her sixteen years of life had she seen one blooming. She had heard about the smell of this flower but never been able to experience it in person. With the plant only blooming about once every ten years and even then only sustaining the flower for a day, it was a rare treat to witness this. You know what? She was just going to keep the mask off for the rest of the lesson unless instructed otherwise and breathe all the scent in, because she probably wouldn’t get a chance to see or smell a corpse flower blooming again anytime soon.

It made sense to use the plant in pest deterrent given that the stench of the corpse flower was likely a deterrent against unwitting creatures looking for plants to snack on. At the same time, the smell was what attracted the flies as pollinators. ”Will our pest deterrent smell like the corpse flower, or will it just have the effect as a pest deterrent without the smell?” Important questions here. Wouldn’t want to use the pest deterrent made from the corpse flower on, say, the potted plants in her dorm if it smelled like this.

emjay · 06-18-2018, 07:12 PM

Gunnar continued to stare at the giant corpse flower behind his face mask while he vaguely heard his classmates' answers. He didn't know all that much about this plant and that frustrated him slightly, considering what he knew about herbology from his father. But he supposed that's why he was in school to learn.

Yes, it was rather large and strangely shaped, but he was more taken with the smell of it. Specifically, why did it smell so badly? The thirteen year old heard some of the answers his classmates had given about the purpose of the smell, answers that he could have easily concluded himself. But he was more interested in how that particular scent was created in this old plant. He could figure that it was likely a similar chemical reaction that caused flowers to smell pleasantly, but this smell was really rancid and quite potent. And without anything actually decomposing or rotting within the plant, it was kind of curious to the boy.

Gunnar hadn't ventured any guesses to the questions posed by the professors, but he found the confirmation of facts given by Professor Noble especially to be really interesting, and he managed to focus his attention long enough to take some notes. Ugh... they were actually expected to breathe this nasty smell in now? Why did they even have the masks then? He wrinkled his nose a bit, then did as he was told, pulling the mask down enough to be able to inhale the odor of the plant.

Nyx · 06-18-2018, 08:13 PM

Lydia's enthusiasm wilted as Professor Noble directed the lesson. Of course the corpse flower would have uses in potions, but Potions was not her forte. And if she were being completely honest, Professor Noble scared her a bit. He just always seemed so stern, so foreboding, so completely unlike the cheerful Professor Myers. In fact, the pair of them working together reminded her a bit of that old muggle show her dad liked, The Odd Couple. Lydia stifled a giggle. She hoped Noble didn't notice.

While waiting for Professor Myers to continue the lesson, Lydia mulled over what they had to do. Gathering the spadix and spathe of the flower didn't sound too bad, if she could stand the smell working that close to the flower that was; she'd learned the parts of flowers from her Herbology textbook. It made sense that the flower could be used as a pest repellent. Its scent was certainly enough to repel most of the students in the class for one thing. Lydia was also fascinated by the knowledge that the plant could change its temperate to resemble a dead body and also that it took so long to flower. Nature could be so full of surprises and mysteries at times; she just loved studying it.

lazykitty · 06-19-2018, 03:25 AM

Uh, yeah. Considering the fact that he'd had been one of the ones who'd mentioned the smell, the first in fact, he wasn't going to be removing the helmet. It was also the most like him action that he'd pulled in a few days, so enjoy it, folks. But seriously, there was no way he was smelling the thing again, having gotten enough of the smell when Noble had made him put on this stupid suit.

No thank you.

Bazinga · 06-19-2018, 03:52 AM

The class was moving along quickly and Chloe was trying her hardest to keep up. Her little hand going super fast trying to write all the notes and her ears straining to make sure she caught every word.

She had smelled the flower and was glad she had the mask on so the full thing didn't hit her has hard, though it was still stinky. Chloe bounced in her seat getting more and more excited as the Professor did too. She clapped with him as loud as she could. They would be working with a rare plant, she couldn't wait to tell her daddy!

MORE POINTS FROM RAVENCLAW! What was with this girl? Why did she have to be in her house? Chloe was not okay with this. She gave Quinn looks and then turned her attention back to the professors.

Was anyone else a little afraid of Noble or was that just Chloe? She stared at the man as he spoke, but she didn't know the answers. Wiggling in her seat she wrote as fast as she could on the potions other people spoke about and the properties.

There was no way she was taking off her mask. The plant was AMAZING and she was excited, but she didn't like the smell, so no thank you Noble she was going to sit and keep her mask right where it was.

PhoenixRising · 06-20-2018, 12:21 AM

Distracted, yessss, yessss, she was VERY distracted. No matter how hard she tried to focus, even with Myers' loud voice, the seventh year's thoughts kept drifting back to the Christmas Holidays. To the stresses of her studies and waiting to hear back from universities. To just trying to figure out herself, her desires, who she even was? So yesss, very distracted Myers and thank you for not really pressuring her for greetings.

Why were corpse flowers special? Cause they were like the living dead? At least that was HER assumption. Of course she didn't say anything because lots of people answered and she was unfocused and deep in thought to find the proper words. Waitttt .... what???? She stared blankly when Myers seemed to say something raising the temperature to mimic a dead body? But didn't ... dead bodies go cold? not hot? Squinting, she scribbled that note down to research later. When she was studying her notes.

As Noble moved on to talking about properties a corpse flower might infuse in a potion? That probably went along with what made the special, about the living dead?

Wait, pungent smell of the plant was a use? How could a smell be a use? Oh, Noble explained ... pest deterrent, which probably made sense? But no, she didn't care to remove her bubblehead charm to appreciate the smell, as the potions professor suggested. Even if the smell might have awakened her senses and thus her focus, she was good.

Spadex and Spathe? She watched and waited for more instructions on the harvesting

2111jen · 06-20-2018, 04:31 AM

Waaaaaaaaiiiiittttt. So what was going on? Skyler had nooooo idea. She slowly blinked with that. What was it called? Dear in headlights look?

Kimothy · 06-20-2018, 01:22 PM

Eh. Well... Vivian figured it was no surprise that they were tackling the most disgusting part of the plant's features today. It was what left a significant mark in her mind, after all. The stench. Terrible as it is, the blond could still remember how it smelled like even with a bubblehead charm on herself.

She wasn't removing it within a five meter radius of this greenhouse. Heck, no.

And a tiny grimace of cringe on her face too, as she waited for the hands-on part of their lesson today. Doing it faster meant she could leave earlier, right?

Birchwoodmom · 06-20-2018, 03:03 PM

Take off her mask? She eyed the professor, then watched as a few other students removed their masks. She knew it would be a horrible idea for her to do so. She had always been extra sensitive to odors, and was afraid she would lose what food was in her stomach.

Trying to not get into trouble, she took a very deep breath, held it, then quickly lifted her mask. She counted to ten before putting the mask back on and taking another breath. Even with moving quickly and not breathing while the mask was off, some of the putrid odor had seeped in and she instantly gagged from the horrid smell.

Fighting with her fear of asking Professor Noble questions, she finally got up the nerve to ask her question. Timidly, her hand went up "Professor Noble, sir, if it smells so bad and you are going to use it on plants, how far away do the plants need to be from people? I mean, if you were to put it on plants near someone's house, they would be smelling that awful smell all of the time."

Kolyander · 06-20-2018, 04:52 PM

While she may not have answered that last question she was most definitely listening and taking mental notes. Everything being said was stored away in her head for further thought and use later on. Clearly they were being asked about what could be used in potions pertaining to the corpse flower because most of the plant could be used one way or another. That was her opinion at least. If she really thought about it she could probably find a reason that any element of the flower could be used in a potion.

The scent was this lessons focus. Made sense since the smell was enough to turn most peoples stomachs. They would be making a pest deterrent. That would come in handy at home for her garden... maybe. It it kept people and creatures away that was helpful but what about those stubborn creatures... ones that didn't care and got into everything? Removing the mask from her face as requested by Noble she sucked in a slow breath of that foul stench that was the lovely plant. Rather than put the mask back on, Rylee raised her hand her nose crinkling only slightly as she spoke, "Professor, is this pest deterrent safe for creatures and people if they were to get some on them or say a very stubborn creature was to eat a plant that had the mixture on it?" Surely the smell of it would keep them at bay as Noble had said but one never did truly know anything for absolute certain and it never hurt to ask.

kayquilz · 06-21-2018, 02:51 AM

As for Miss Prichard’s question, Paul though he could very well answer it. “Well...no. That’s the whole point of the potion, m’dear. This plant can kill you if you eat it’s berries...and any animal. This potion does not. Also, the potion can be stored and kept for a loooong time...and these plants are rare.” Did they all see the value of the potion now???? Also, was he right, Noble???? Looking at you, mate!

“NOW to get the parts we need...we need to get close to the plant. It requires a little eh….eeeeelbow grease.” He smirked. “Now the trick is...we cannot harm the entire flower. We can’t take a biiiiig chunk of either the spadix--” He pointed to the spiky middle part of the plant, “Nor the spathe.” And he gestured at the frilly bit around the spadix. “So listen very carefully to me and follow ALL directions to a T.” He raised an eyebrow and looked at all of them in turn. “To harvent some of the spadix, the middle part, you need a small blade of some sort. We have these tiny nifty little scrapers--” he held out a bucket and handed it to whoever was closest to him. “EVERYONE take a scraper...you will need to scrape the spadix and hold these little plastic measuring cups underneath--” And he was passing around the plastic cups, too. “Scrape the spadix until the cup is about half full. Then...scrape the SPATHE--THE FRILLL-- until the cup is ABOUT ⅓ FULL.” WERE. THEY. PAYING. ATTENTION. “The little...shavings? I guess of each part will be used in the potion. If you do not wish to endure the stink of the plant, wear your masks, suits, and bubble charms!” Did everyone get it? “Any questions? GO!”

Wasn’t too hard was it? No magic, even! Not yet.

Oh, also! "You MAY have to get very up close and personal with the plant to do this part! Don't be afraid to get close! It will not do anything to you!" They couldn't even MOVE on their own.

Holmesian Feline · 06-21-2018, 06:37 PM

Well duh!

What would be the point of a joint class if the topic of the lesson wasn’t a part of both disciplines. A plant used within a potion. Septimus’ train of thought had gone with most of the other classmates…the corpse flower seemed most appropriate in a poison or killer or something similar to the Draught of Living Death though a pest repellant did actually fit with the theme. Even if by repelling pests it was trying to get rid of things by NOT killing them. Or not killing them all the time. Thankfully he wasn’t a pest.
And he wouldn’t be eating any berries.

Septimus listened to Professor Myers as he went on about how to harvest what was needed, demonstrating as he went. The spadix…the spathe. Someone could have named them something a little less similar and confusing if you asked him. As the bucket of scrapers was passed around the greenhouse, the Ravenclaw took one of them for his own use. And a measuring up as well it seemed, the second item going around as well.

Geared up, he double-checked his mask was secure, the second year went to work. Close but not wanting to get too close. He could scrap from the spadix, and later the spath, without getting ultra friendly with the plant. It did help to be small at times.

DaniDiNardo · 06-21-2018, 08:48 PM

So then......it really was of no use to her despite the name. Shame really, it'd sounded like it could've had so much potential.

Jessa looked from the Potions Professor back to Professor Myers, not thinking the smell enough of a deterrent for her to have drawn the conclusion he'd thought so obvious. Again, she'd been around a ton of dead things, this smell though obnoxious wasn't by any means the worst she'd ever had to deal with in her lab. It was simply one of those things that came with the territory.

Openly far less enthused than she'd been a minute ago, Jessa accepted one of the scrapers and the measuring cups.

Up close and personal wasn't an issue either.

With another subtle wrinkle of her nose, Jessa reached in very close to the plant and began scraping away at the spadix as directed. She was focused in her efforts, not being able to turn that quality off despite her personal disinterest. Precision was important when it came to these sorts of things.

At half cup, she moved to start scraping at the frill. Her nose must have wrinkled at least twice more but call it stubborn determination or just a lack of inclination to be clumped in with everyone else who likely only ever saw the inside of their cauldron when they sat before Professor Noble, she was remaining without covering.

Almost there....and....there. 1/3. Both cups were now in hand while she waited for further instruction.

Birchwoodmom · 06-21-2018, 08:52 PM

As she listened to Professor Myers give the instructions, the bucket full of scrapers came to her and she grabbed one before passing it along. Not sure of how sharp it was, she was careful hold just the handle and not fidget with it too much. No need scraping any parts of her hand off before the activity started.

Once the cups made their way to her, she grabbed two, passed the stack along, then slowly made her way towards the vile plants. Her eyes worked the plant over,, trying to figure out exactly what part the spadix was before she started scraping. Since most of the middle of the plant looked the same to her, she began scraping, just hard enough to get little bits into the cup.

“Sir, does this hurt the plant? I mean, can the plant feel us scraping it?” That would be simply awful if they were hurting the poor plant. She reached up and readjusted her mask after asking the question. The movement from talking seemed to allow more of the stench to make its way inside.

Her cup hit the halfway full mark and she turned her attention to finding the spathe. It seemed to be a little easier to get to and her scraper went back to work, filling the cup new cup one third full.

Holding both properly filled cups and her scraper, Emmalyn made her way back to her seat. She wanted to be away from the plant, not only due to the smell, but to let the other students gather their bits more easily.

kayquilz · 06-22-2018, 03:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Birchwoodmom

As she listened to Professor Myers give the instructions, the bucket full of scrapers came to her and she grabbed one before passing it along. Not sure of how sharp it was, she was careful hold just the handle and not fidget with it too much. No need scraping any parts of her hand off before the activity started.

Once the cups made their way to her, she grabbed two, passed the stack along, then slowly made her way towards the vile plants. Her eyes worked the plant over,, trying to figure out exactly what part the spadix was before she started scraping. Since most of the middle of the plant looked the same to her, she began scraping, just hard enough to get little bits into the cup.

“Sir, does this hurt the plant? I mean, can the plant feel us scraping it?” That would be simply awful if they were hurting the poor plant. She reached up and readjusted her mask after asking the question. The movement from talking seemed to allow more of the stench to make its way inside.

Her cup hit the halfway full mark and she turned her attention to finding the spathe. It seemed to be a little easier to get to and her scraper went back to work, filling the cup new cup one third full.

Holding both properly filled cups and her scraper, Emmalyn made her way back to her seat. She wanted to be away from the plant, not only due to the smell, but to let the other students gather their bits more easily.

A VERRRRRY GOOD QUESTION by Emmalyn. Paul smiled a little, and...nodded, looking a little sad but not too sad because it was all okay. "Plants can actually feel...this kind of thing. It isn't like our pain...their signals don't work like ours. But yes, they can feel the scraping. Whether it is pain they're feeling...well...no one knows enough yet. It hasn't been studied on these guys because they're SO rare. No one wants to experiment on them, really, and I don't blame them. But humans, too, sometimes need things scraped off them for their benefit...or someone else's. And we do just fine. It does not cause harm to the plant so to speak."

Hopefully that wouldn't turn man of them off of the activity. It was ethical, don't worry.

Anna Banana · 06-22-2018, 04:34 AM

Well, elbow grease, Maddie could handle. It was the uncertainty of the plant she didn't know about. It was extremely stinky and pretty much unknown to her. She had no idea what she'd be reaching her hand in there to. She hesitated for a few seconds and decided not to dive right on in. Figuratively speaking, of course.

Spadix? Spathe? ... Was she supposed to know these terms?

The third year stood on her tippy toes and watched to where the professor pointed. Okay, those parts...right. Big chunks were off limits! When the bucket of scrapers made its way to her, she carefully grabbed one then moved out of the way for the next person. As she whirled around, a bucket of cups came her way, and she grabbed one of those, as well.

She had all her materials, and all the directions had been given, so this was it! Time to get up close and personal with a plant. She reached her hand, the one holding the scraper, toward the spadix of the plant. When it was close enough, she began scraping away at it.

*scrape scrape scrape*

Maddie watched the pieces spill into her cup. She moved around trying to get more and more pieces of the plant, all the while checking her cup to see when she had half of it filled. "Got it!" she finally said to herself, and then she backed up to take a better look at her cup. Awesome.

lazykitty · 06-22-2018, 07:49 AM

Actually, no he didn't see the value of the potion, especially after Noble had pointed out the expense of making a poison out of the berries of the plant due to the rarity. Wouldn't the same concept apply here too? Also, what were the toenail clippings for? Ugh, this was why he'd never be a potions master. The logic was severely messed up.

Anyway, Ronan carefully picked a scrapper from the bucket coming around and a couple of the little plastic cups. Approaching the flower, he very carefully scrapped from the spadix until the cup he was holding under it was half full, then did the same with the spathe, this time stopping when the cup was a third full. That done, he returned to his station to await further instructions.

Waterloo · 06-22-2018, 12:15 PM

So they were going to use this stinky plant to make pest deterrent? Honestly, he thought his zombie idea had been more fun. While Professor Myers was explaining things about spadix and whatsits, Max sat quietly in a little world of his own imagining zombie plants that looked like completely innocent flowers that would get you when you ventured too close…..

If there was ever a zombie apocalypse that was definitely how it was going to start.

Attack of the daffodils.

The Slytherin came spiralling back to reality when he felt movement around him and realised that some of the kids were approaching the plant and scraping at it……?

He glanced around nervously. Ummm… what had he missed?

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