An active, character-driven Hogwarts experience set in the early 2000s. Unique items, plots, and features. Non-canon; this isn't Harry Potter's story, it's ours.
Post by Jonathan King on Jun 9, 2021 3:28:55 GMT 10
Joe's hair was dry by the time he arrived at the Student Greenhouse. He had taken a quick shower after practice but now that that was over and a bit of the tension had left him, he suddenly thought it may have been a bad idea to clean himself only to go gardening.
Nevermind, he was here now and wanted to check on the growths process of his seeds in peace now before he would go and try to find his best friends Toby and Ryan. He hoped they would want to spend some time with him and keep his mind a bit off tomorrow's game, which he if he was being honest, still felt rather unprepared for.
When he arrived at his pot he was amazed to find a monurk berry had grown. So that had been in the mysterious seeds! He could not wait to plant some more once he had harvested these.
Post by Arthur Hocking on Jun 9, 2021 5:55:25 GMT 10
The Greenhouse was great. Arthur did need to find Professor Sprout, though. He hoped she wasn't teaching or otherwise busy, since he hadn't looked at what the other students were doing, and he wasn't quite a mind reader, though that would be a fun skill to have. He was pretty sure that was something magical people could do.
He was excited to help her harvest the plant that they'd worked with earlier, though he was a bit nervous, too. He tried his best to impress the professors when he could, and it wasn't often that he got the opportunity. Especially in classes like Transfiguration, he thought as he winced. He looked around for Professor Sprout.
Stems of the berry plant were strong, but simple to deal with. A charm or some nearby sheers would help snip the ingredient free, even as the plant's leaves tried to make it harder to spot the berries, but sometimes a hands-on approach worked just as fine too.
--
Meanwhile, Professor Sprout entered with a potted cactus in arms - humming some unfamiliar tune or another. She wandered by Joe and his Moonurk plant, then picked a spot for the cactus not too far from Arthur. She glanced at her Hufflepuff and smiled, wondering if he needed something or was simply waiting on the younger Ravenclaw to finish.
Post by Arthur Hocking on Jun 10, 2021 4:11:55 GMT 10
"Professor Sprout!" Arthur called out with a smile on his face. He was glad she was in, he didn't really feel like walking back to the castle yet to find her. It was nice to spend time in the Greenhouse, after all.
"I wanted to check in and see if that plant we worked with earlier was ready to harvest?" he was happy to help out, especially if it was related to gardening and Herbology. Plus, it gave him something to do while he waited to here from Elara about how Quidditch practice went.
Post by Jonathan King on Jun 11, 2021 16:52:35 GMT 10
Joe briefly turned when Professor Sprout walked by him, wishing her a good afternoon before he looked around to find some sheers. Finding some nearby he took them in his left hand while he traced his right one along the stem, pushing leaves aside for a better view.
He smiled at the plant, quietly humming to it and himself as he harvested the berries. It was a song he had heard on some muggle station on the radio. The original was rather fast paced and danceable yet he hummed a slower version of it as if soothing the plant.
Once he was done he put his extra pot next to his first on and planted the yellow seeds in #12 and the new blue seeds into #13. He patted the earth, still humming the song as he discarded the rest and fumbled his wand out of his pocket.
"Aquamenti!" He summoned a slight stream of water to wetten the soil and help the seeds grow. There was something peaceful and homely about tending to plants that he liked.
Joe was almost disappointed when he was done and looked around curiously at the Hufflepuff and professor Sprout. Tip-toing closer he wondered wether there might be anything the Herbology professor needed help with, yet he hung to the background, not daring to disturb the older student.
'Of course. It certainly is.' Professor Sprout smiled at Arthur. She led him towards the corner where the giant plant still claimed as its spot.
'You'll need to use that spell I just taught you, to trim back the leafy vines it'll sprout to attack you with,' she explained, having her own wand at the ready just in case. 'Then make a grab for the golden fruit - it's hidden under some leaves.' Sprout pointed below the huge flower, to an almost torso-like area.
You can free-RP the spell's progress / success - how many times it takes him to trim the vines, if he gets hit by them first, etc. Your grab for the fruit will be modded.
Post by Arthur Hocking on Jun 22, 2021 9:02:18 GMT 10
Arthur nodded and looked at the massive plant. He recalled the pruning charm he'd learned last time he'd helped out with the plant, so he prepared his wand and approached cautiously. As she said, the plant sprouted vines to attack, but he was prepared.
"Flordisciendo!" Arthur said trimming the vines. He wasn't quick enough when it came to reaching the location to grab the fruit, though, and had to back off again when a vine hit him. He performed the spell again, this time making it closer to the fruit, or at least where the fruit was. With a slight huff of frustration, he rolled up his sleeves.
"Flordisciendo!" The vines were trimmed and Arthur made it to the area, and attempted to grab the fruit just as Professor Sprout had instructed.
The fruit was partially hidden under some more leaves, but well within his reach now he'd trimmed back the overgrowth. His reflexes were decent, but the plant reacted faster in determination to keep the fruit from him.
The plant's flower puffed minty fog into his face. It was harmless for the most party, but very thick and needed to be cleared away before he could attempt another grab.
Post by Arthur Hocking on Jul 4, 2021 4:27:46 GMT 10
Arthur coughed on the minty fog, glancing briefly towards Professor Sprout. It was probably harmless if she made no move to get him to the hospital wing, so he considered ways to get it out of the way. If only he had a Muggle gas mask or something similar, he'd be able to ignore the fog. Or maybe not. He wasn't quite sure how well Muggle stuff and magic stuff mixed.
He tried to clear it away by waving his hands around to move air with no fog more quickly through the area he was trying to get at. He felt rather silly, waving his arms around, but he couldn't really think of something else to do. Maybe there was a wind spell of some type, but he didn't know it.
'That's it, just fan it away,' Professor Sprout encouraged.
She'd have assisted him, but the minty fog was harmless if not a bit weird against his skin and cold to inhale. It was Arthur's task to achieve, so she maintained her duty as supervision. Knowing the fog was easily fanned away even with just his hands, Arthur could proceed to make another attempt o grab the fruit without further delay.
Post by Arthur Hocking on Jul 9, 2021 2:25:02 GMT 10
Arthur continued to fan, even going a little faster now that he knew he had Professor Sprout's encouragement. It was weird to feel the fog, which he expected to be somewhat warm even if it was minty. It did come from a plant, after all. He was momentarily curious as to how it felt so minty and weird, but figured it was probably just some magic thing.
He hurried to attempt to grab the fruit, hopefully before another weird thing could happen. What other tricks did the plant have up its sleeves? Probably nothing too dangerous. He couldn't see Professor Sprout letting him risk his life completely.
This time, Arthur's reflexes were faster than the planet's response time. When he harvested the golden fruit, the plant settled down and became quite subdued.
'Well done,' Sprout praised him, accepting the fruit. 'This will do nicely with an experimental potion Professor Snape is working on. Thank you.' She nodded.
The task was complete, so she stepped back to see if anyone else needed her.
Stage 3 complete!
+ 8 house points + 7 Galleons + 160 Defence exp + 160 Herbology exp + Herbology grade: E
Congratulations, you've completed the Herbology quest!
Post by Jonathan King on Jul 11, 2021 22:19:19 GMT 10
Joe had wanted to ask if professor Sprout needed any more help around here but she seemed to have all the help she needed with the older Hufflepuff. Feeling like he was superflous here he quietly turned and walked past his pots, checking on them once more.
The soil felt wet enough to him and he did not quite know what else to do here so he left. Hopefully he could find Toby and Ryan to spend the afternoon with!
Post by Arthur Hocking on Jul 19, 2021 7:00:22 GMT 10
Arthur's eyes went a bit wide at the mention of Professor Snape. Would Professor Sprout mention that it had been him that had helped her harvest this fruit? He hoped she would. He did want Snape to like him, after all.
"What kind of potion?" he asked, a bit curious. He could think of lots of potions with many different effects, as well as some with effects that were pretty much the same. Arthur wondered what kind of properties the fruit he had just harvested had.
Professor Sprout glanced at the Ravenclaw boy who left the greenhouse, then gave Arthur her attention when he asked about the potion. She smiled at his curiosity, though gave a sighing shrug in answer to his question.
'I haven't the foggiest, really,' Sprout said. 'Professor Snape is quite particular about his experiments, but I do know it's for a good cause and in the name of Potioneering advancement. This fruit is particularly difficult to come by, as well, so rest assured he will be appreciative of your assistance.'
There was a kind glint in her eye as if she suspected he'd find that reassuring.
'Is there anything else I do for you, Hocking?' Sprout asked, tidying up some dirt from a nearby counter.
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