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 Lindsey Bryce on Apr 2, 2022 22:43:52 GMT 10
Lindsey pulled on her gloves after she pushed the letter into her bag and tried to put aside the thoughts of her family for now. She would write home as soon as she could, but her parents were in the Americas, so they would likely be like her and worried. She rubbed the back of her neck and decided she would send a letter to her magical aunt who would be able to tell. Picking up the sheers, she went for the berries first and worked fast to grab what she needed. Having done this a few times, she knew exactly how to grab and where. Once the berries were pried off, she went to the next one.
The Furpod was very wiggly and she had placed the sheer out of the way to prevent any accidents with sharp objects. This had been a battle before too and she just dove right in. After a few missed attempts, she finally shook her head clear of the worry and grab the beans. She gave a good firm yank and tossed them in her bag. She was flustered and aggravated and she huffed at the pot that had been previously been for the Furpod.
She glared at the Puris Pod and before she attempted it, she pulled out her scarf from her bag and wrapped it around her face. The heat from her scarf already causing her to hate the idea, but it was a way to block out some of the stink. As was careful, but as she tore off the pod, the gas was still awful and she blinked her eyes to clear her vision as she placed the pod down away from the pot. She grabbed the table and stabled herself, eyes wide as she tried to regain some of her composure... After a moment, it was done and she looked at the next one.
The last pot had put her very close to the Firemint and she sighed before she headed over. She pulled her gloves a little tighter and looked in her bag for the one jar she had left. She smiled when she saw it and pulled it out before going over towards the firemint. Carefully, she tilted the leaves towards the jar and began to collect the sap. For a moment, she looked at the leaves and wondered... Were the leaves useable for anything? She let her gloved fingers rub the leave for a moment before she continued her task.
With everything harvested, she pulled out her two advanced pots and cleaned them out from their use prior. After that, she pulled out her three new pots and filled them with dirt before she grabbed the seeds from her bag. She inspected the seeds for a moment. The Pink, Red, and Light Green seeds she put into a regular pot. The Brown and Pale seeds she put into her advance pot. Removing her wand, she pointed it at the pots.
"Aquamenti," She felt the water come from the wand in a stream and smiled as she watered all the pots and placed them back in the same spots as before, which were numbers 41 to 45. With that done, she packed up her things, organized her ingredients and left the greenhouse. After taking a glance to the sky, she realized how strange it looked and felt an uneasy feeling, so she headed inside the castle.
Post by Oscar Tinkle on Apr 3, 2022 18:51:59 GMT 10
Oscar once again had his pot hidden under his scarf, protecting it from the weather, when he finally made it to the greenhouse.
The walk outside had been about as horrible as he had thought it would be, leaving Oscar to wonder if his plans for the day had really been worth it. Visiting Fang (and Hagrid!) had been nice though and if he could get Professor Sprout's permission then he could have some fun like he would at home with his gran. Plus he would be able to write in his next letter to his parents that he had not completely wasted the holidays doing nothing!
First he had to get permission to use the greenhouse though, which would hopefully happen! He didn't think that he had done anything terrible to annoy the professor into saying no lately. ...Unless using the common room fire as a bin counted. Did that count? Oh no, did she know? Had he braved the weather to get told off instead of getting to plant something? He really hoped not!
"Professor Sprout?" he called tentatively, his mind now full of various small things that he was obviously going to get told off for.
Oscar moved further into the greenhouse to look around for the professor. The various plants dotted around distracting him from his thoughts. He dared not touch anything, but some were really cool to look at.
'Oh, sweet Merlin.' Professor Sprout gasped, surprised anyone would be calling out for her on a day like this.
She peered around a red, leafy plant to see who... ah, one of her badgers. What a lovely surprise. She gave Oscar a welcoming smile, headed over to wish him a Merry Christmas.
'Is everything quite all right?' She asked, concerned though she did notice his pot. 'What can I do for you?'
Post by Oscar Tinkle on Apr 5, 2022 0:31:29 GMT 10
"Happy Christmas, Professor," Oscar greeted her with a shy smile, his eyes flicking between her and the red plant in curiosity before he managed to properly drag his focus onto the professor. He was curious about what the professor had been doing (what was the plant for?) but he had something to ask so he had to focus!
"I was wondering, er.. hoping really, if I could use the greenhouse for a bit, please?" he asked as he hefted his pot up slightly higher. "Hagrid let me borrow a pot."
Ignoring that he still had his scarf tucked over the top of it, he was really hoping that having a pot ready would help to push her to say yes.
'I only grant access to those willing to put the work in,' Sprout said, though smiled at his request and was pleased to hear of his interest. 'Having access to the Student Greenhouse and making use of it in you free time... that's quite a commitment. Are you sure you're up to the task?'
Oscar needed to convince her he was serious about it and the work involved.
Post by Oscar Tinkle on Apr 15, 2022 0:21:48 GMT 10
Oscar was already nodding his head in agreement before the professor had finished speaking. He was eager enough to get started that he would probably agree to do anything right then.
"I think so," he said slowly, thinking carefully about what he wanted to say. He had to get this right, he did not want to mess up and somehow get banned from the greenhouses for the rest of forever. "Back home I would help my Nanna in her garden and it was always calming. There was something about working with the plants that helped.. kind of sort through worries, I guess?"
He hoped that he was explaining himself well enough, because he was not sure that he really understood it himself. All he knew was that back home when his Nanna first noticed him getting overly worried about something when he was tiny, she had led him outside, given him a little shovel and told him to start digging alongside her. And that it had helped.
"I know we learn about different plants here, but it's the same sort of thought, right?"
Oscar shifted about on the spot, his shoulders lifting as he ducked his head down, his embarrassment about having to try to explain his thoughts catching up to him.
"I promise I would come and look after anything that I plant," he finally said. "I just think that there's something neat about seeing something grow like that."
He hoped that the professor would put him out of his misery.
Sprout smiled warmly at him, nodding. 'Before I give you access, I'd like you to prove yourself and show you're willing to put the work in,' she said.
She aimed her wand at a plant on the nearest counter, and water sprouted from the tip like a hose.
'The Water-Making Charm,' she explained. 'Watering cans also do the job, but this spell is how it's done here. If you'd like to grow your own plants and use this greenhouse, you'll need to know this spell.'
She made a gesture, taking her time to teach teaching Oscar the wand motion.
'Concentrate carefully,' Sprout said. 'Consider the need for water, and say the incantation: aquamenti.' She moved aside to give him easy access to the plant. It would take a few attempts, but she was confident he could do it.
Free-RP is allowed; success and progress are determined by you.
Post by Oscar Tinkle on Apr 15, 2022 1:28:29 GMT 10
Oscar perked up as the professor took the time to walk him through the charm. Did that mean that he was going to get her permission to use the greenhouse? Awesome! He carefully placed his soil-filled pot on the bench out of the way and pulled out his wand to copy her movements.
He had not expected to get an impromptu charms lesson but he was definitely going to make the most of it for such a useful sounding charm.
"Aquamenti," he whispered to himself, memorising the word as he kept moving his wand in an attempt to get it down to muscle memory.
When he thought that he had the movement down well enough, he decided that it was time to attempt to cast it. He was well aware that the professor was still there and did not want to disappoint her by failing, nor did he want to waste her time.
"Aquamenti," he said, trying to sound confident about casting it but even he could hear the doubt in his voice. It was no surprise that he did not manage it the first time.
What was it that the professor had said? Consider the need for water? Okay, he could do that... He just had to want the water. Imagine the water. He liked water, so how hard could that be?
"Aquamenti," he said again, this time focusing on the image of water sprinkling down on leaves from his Nanna's favourite watering can. He wanted to replicate that. Water was important and the plant needed it to survive. He wanted the plant to survive and so he needed the water too.
A couple of drops of water dripped down from the end of his wand.
That was not quite what he wanted, but it was closer than nothing! He could do this.
"Aquamenti," he said for the third time as he waved his wand at the plant. The image and the need at the front of his mind.
Oscar grinned as finally he got the steady sprinkle of water that he wanted from his wand. He made sure that he moved his wand around the plant to water it evenly before he ended the charm. He had managed it!
"Was that alright, Professor?" he asked, fidgeting with his wand now that he did not need it to cast a spell.
Last Edit: Apr 15, 2022 18:09:14 GMT 10 by Oscar Tinkle: italics
'Yes, well done,' Sprout praised. 'Eight points to Hufflepuff. I'd say you're ready.'
She then gathered supplies to get Oscar started, which included some seeds.
'You may use this greenhouse any time during the day, unless it's mealtime,' she said. 'It'll be locked at night, so don't get any ideas.' Sprout gave him a moderately stern look.
Post by Oscar Tinkle on Apr 15, 2022 20:12:13 GMT 10
Oscar smiled and thanked the professor for the house points. Sure Hufflepuff winning the cup seemed liked a bit of a pipe dream, but every little bit helped, right? And who knew, maybe a few more points going in their pot might make an innocent little first year, who had yet to have their dreams of the cup crushed, smile. Oh to be young and have dreams..
He held his new seeds in one hand, staring down at them as if they would offer a clue on what they could produce. The seeds offered him no answers, so he decided that the best thing to do would be to plant them and find out what the professor had been nice enough to give him.
"I won't, Professor," he easily agreed. Why would he break in during the night when he could simply make use of it during the day? Why would anyone? ... It was a Gryffindor, wasn't it? They had to be why that was singled out. Was that mean of him to think?
"Thanks for giving me a chance," he said, distracting himself from his thoughts of what rules had been created because a certain house did something daft. "I'm just gonna.." he trailed off and held up his seeds, his head tilted towards his pot. "Bye!"
Oscar picked up his pot and shuffled away to a free counter space.
He placed his pot in slot 50, deeming that far enough removed from any others to not cause a problem for people, and went about carefully making a hole for his blue seeds. He placed his seeds in the hole, covered them with some soil and then pulled out his wand once more.
"Aquamenti," he said, concentrating as he did earlier. He couldn't help but to wiggle out a little happy dance once the spell had finished watering his pot, happy that he had managed it once more. And this time it was going to be his own plant that he had helped grow!
He was about to pack up and head back to the castle to find something else to do before dinner, when he reached into his pocket and remembered the other seeds that he had. He could not plant them all, but maybe..
Oscar pulled out his advanced garden pot and placed it in slot 49. He was tempted to try to grow the same seeds in that pot to see if the different pot made them grow any differently, before he settled on his pink seeds instead. That experiment could wait for a different time, he was more curious about finding out what all of the different seeds could produce first.
"Aquamenti," he said once more with a wave of his wand after he had packed the second lot of seeds into some dirt in his second pot.
Did him already having a better pot mean that technically he had cheated Hagrid out of a pot earlier? That was not good. Oscar would have to find some way to make it up to him!
Deciding that there's nothing else for him to do, he cleaned up around his pots as best as he could and headed out of the greenhouse after double checking the dampness of his soil. They didn't seem too damp nor too dry, so hopefully they would sprout something soon.
He shivered as the wind outside hit him. The weather really was no fun at the moment. He did not approve. Oscar hurried up his walking to try to make it back to the castle as soon as possible.
Post by Arthur Hocking on Apr 18, 2022 5:17:05 GMT 10
The weather outside seemed a bit odd to Arthur, but he hadn't heard any warnings from teachers to stay inside, so he thought it was still probably alright for him to head outside and harvest his moonurk berries.
As he headed to the greenhouse, he took special care not to knock over anyone's pot. He'd let Autumn back into his room, since he didn't think she'd enjoy the cold of outside any more than he did. Still, he could sometimes be a little clumsy, and he didn't think anyone would be happy if he damaged their plants.
Finally, Arthur located his moonurk berries. He put on his gloves and started attempting to harvest the berries.
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.
After harvesting was complete, nothing of value remained – including the ordinary clay pots that were cracked and no longer usable. Though the spaces of counter were free again, if having more seeds and supplies to start over with. Then all that was left was to clean up the workspace. Professor Sprout would appreciate it.
Post by Arthur Hocking on Apr 19, 2022 12:09:07 GMT 10
Arthur mostly remembered harvesting moonurk berries before, so he had an idea of what to expect and quickly grabbed some shears, the Muggle instrument he was more familiar with. Of course, that made him think about his family and whether or not they were okay. He still hadn't got a letter back, but he hadn't expected any owl to fly in the strange weather.
He felt a bit of guilt in his stomach. Maybe if he'd been home instead of staying at Hogwarts, he could've warned any of the Muggles about the dangerous gifts. The thoughts stayed on his mind as he managed to collect the moonurk berries from the plant.
Once that was done, Arthur set down his advanced gardening pot again in slot 01, but this time he planted his purple seeds. "Aquamenti" Arthur said, watering the seeds. Once he was satisfied that everything was complete, he left the greenhouse.
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