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 William Doren on Oct 31, 2023 19:38:24 GMT 10
After he spent the rest of his morning studying, William decided it would be a good idea to visit the Greenhouse again after lunch. He knew from classes that the plants would be ready for him to harvest from.
He was mostly intrigued to see what would grow from those multicoloured seeds he had planted.
William entered the Greenhouse and moved towards his pots immediately. It seemed as though he might be the first person to come in this afternoon. He nodded, pleased with his efficiency and knew his parents would be pleased.
Well, perhaps not that he was playing around with plants but if he explained how it helped towards his Potions and Herbology skills maybe they would feel better about it.
He looked at his pots and wondered where to begin...
After harvesting was complete, nothing of value remained -- including ordinary clay pots that were cracked and no longer usable. Spaces of the counter were free again, unless 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.
Sheers and spells weren't any use against the Furpod plant. It kept wriggling out of the way, surprisingly fast and flexible. The only option was to do battle with it, seizing the twin bean and yanking until it came free. Breaking the stem that way wasn't hard, no -- the hard part was grabbing it fast enough.
Rewards (per ingredient): 2 house points. 60 Herbology exp
The Fyire plant stem was thick but easy enough to snip with some sheers, yet its response to being threatened was to burst into flames. It didn't harm the plant in any way, and would die down once the Fyire flower was securely picked.
Wearing gloves made of Taffen Hide meant hands were unharmed, though a few hairs slightly singed and hopefully their face wasn't too close to the heat to suffer a similar fate. Without them, the burns would be quite painful yet not as extreme as an actual open flame. Skin would still blister and need immediate medical attention.
Rewards (per ingredient): 2 house points. 60 Herbology exp
The flowers of the mystery plant smelled of burnt toothpaste and a hint of citrus. The leaves were so coarse they resulted in a temporary rash if touched by bare skin. The brightly blue spores got their glow by absorbing light -- such as candles, the wand-lighting charm, or other nearby plants.
Flowers are to be picked, which releases a dark mist that induces extreme sound sensitivity and to exhale bubbles through the nose. The more bubbles released, the quicker sound sensitivity fades.
Post by William Doren on Oct 31, 2023 23:22:00 GMT 10
Facing the three plants in front of him, William thought about Kamari and her dislike of such things. He wasn't terribly thrilled about dealing with them either but needs must. If he wanted to collect the necessary ingredients for his potion then he had to face these things.
William was glad to be inside the warm greenhouse and not out in the snow and dealing with the plants.
He decided it would make most sense to just tackle them in order so he studied the Furpod plant first. It seemed very wriggly and any initial attempt William made to grab for it was useless. He decided to roll up his jumper and shirt sleeves and prepare himself for a struggle.
And a struggle it was.
William wasn't terribly athletic or co-ordinated so it was difficult for him to anticipate where the plant would move to when he reached for it. There were plenty of empty grabs and he just grew more frustrated.
"Stupid plant, keep still now." William muttered, reaching for the twin beans again and missing once more. He knew he couldn't use magic on gathering ingredients since it would compromise the viability of said ingredient but it was very tempting to just blast this stupid thing.
He took a deep breath and tried to calm down. William Doren? Letting a plant get the better of him? Surely not.
The plant wriggled some more and William waited, watching to see if there was some kind of logic or pattern to how it moved. He frowned because after a few moments it really did seem like he could figure out where it would move to.
Using his left hand to feint the plant, he grabbed the beans with his right and was successful in doing so.
That was just half the battle however and William soon had to grab on with both hands as the plant seemed to grow more wild in its movements now he was touching it. He wasn't about to lose, however and he held on with all his might.
It was good few tugs but William let out a huff of triumph as he got the bean pod free and was able to set it to the side. William wiped his brow when he was done and pushed his hair back into place.
At least that was one plant taken care of.
The second seemed just as troublesome now he studied it. William held out a hand to touch it and it immediately ignited into flames.
He took a quick step back and hissed under his breath. If he had been stupid enough to lean in for a look, he would have singed off his eyebrows and Isadora would have taken one look at him that evening and decided against being his date.
William clicked his tongue and then remembered his had gloves in his school bag. He dug through for them and pulled them on, glad to have them. At least they would offer from protection from the flames.
But still he hesitated.
A plant that self-immolated was very troublesome. William let it continue to burn as he studied it carefully and saw where his opening would be. It seemed like a good idea to grab some shears so he did just that and aimed for the flower. William leaned back as far as he could manage and snipped the flower off.
As soon as he did that, the flames stopped and William let out a sigh of relief.
He had begun to worry about how to store a flaming flower. This was a lot simpler. He set the flower to the side to join the bean pod from the first plant and finally turned his attention to the third plant.
William moved to stand in front of it and frowned. What was that smell...? Was it coming from the blooms? He leaned in and carefully sniffed (just in case this plant had some nasty surprise as well) and yes, it was definitely this plant.
It was a minty scent with a burnt undertone. He gave the Fyire plant a suspicious glance but no, this burnt-mint smell was just coming from this flower. William kept his gloves on but touched one of the leaves.
Nothing happened so he picked a flower and then the catch to this plant was revealed. A dark mist was released and immediately there was a high-pitched noise that made William put his hands to his ears. He flinched and ducked down, risking a moment to use a shaking hand to grab his ear muffs.
They were something he had got in second year but still carried around -- just in case. He was glad he had them now. William put them on and the sound seemed to stop... He rose to standing straight and looked around.
There wasn't anyone else and no one else to confirm if the noise had been a result of the mist or something else.
William calmed himself after the shock but still felt on edge. He collected more of the flowers and noticed that bubbles were forming around his nose as well. This was definitely one of the worst experiences of his life.
He would have to warn Kamari about these multicoloured seeds if her, or her sister, ever had to plant some.
The ordeal seemed to end when the last flower was picked but William didn't want to risk taking his ear muffs off just yet. Instead, he wore them while he cleaned everything up. There wasn't anything else he wanted to plant today so he made sure the spots he had used were free of any mess for someone else to use.
He put his collected ingredients into his Potions Kit and then left the Greenhouse again.
By that stage, he forgot he was wearing the ear muffs and continued to wear them as he head back to the castle.
Post by Oscar Tinkle on Nov 1, 2023 0:06:06 GMT 10
As much as he wanted to head straight inside to find warmth after the long trek to and from Hogsmeade, Oscar decided not to. To head inside meant that it was time for the remedial potions session.
Oscar would do anything to put that off for five minutes longer.
Which was why he opted to divert his feet back to the student greenhouse instead.
It was not bad of him to avoid potions for that little bit longer, right, if it was for other educational based things? That was the reasoning that he used anyway, and he was clinging to it.
He knew that he had only planted his seeds not long ago, but magic truly was a wonderous thing.
As he walked over to his pair of pots, he hoped that it had worked its wonders for him once more.
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.
Rewards (per ingredient): 1 house point. 40 Herbology exp
The mysterious mushroom draws attention to itself and the surroundings fade away in comparison. When stared at, its vibrant colours induce a trance-like state -- during which its smoky, pine scent changes to mimic something the entranced person finds comforting or enjoyable.
The mushroom then turns to ash, breaking the trance.
Post by MJ Birdwhistle on Nov 1, 2023 6:20:27 GMT 10
MJ made sure she was wrapped up extra warm this time as she didn't want to disappoint Madam Pomfrey. She headed for the Student Greenhouse since it had been a while since her last visit and decided she would plant a bunch of seeds today.
She went to a row that didn't seem too busy and lined up four ordinary pots in slots 6, 7, 8 and 9. The in slot 10 she placed her deluxe garden pot. It had been an extra expense but MJ felt it was worth it.
After all, it was advertised to come with mystery seeds and that seemed awfully exciting.
In her first pot, in slot 6 she added some soil and then planted her light green seeds, covering them up with some more soil. The process with the soil she repeated with her other pots to save time.
In slot 7 she planted her dark green seeds and in slot 8 went her brown seeds. MJ was pleased with her progress so far and made sure she didn't make too much of a mess.
Of course, it was to be expected that she would spill a little soil here and there but she'd clean up everything before she left.
In slot 9 she planted some pale seeds. She was curious to know what each set of seeds would grow and was excited to see them tomorrow morning -- what a great way to kick off her Christmas Holidays!
Of course the deluxe pot was used for her mystery seeds. MJ planted them with care and then took out her wand. She hadn't attempted the spell in quite some time now but felt fairly confident she could handle it.
"Aguamenti!" She drizzled water over the first pot and was relieved to see she hadn't lost her touch.
"Aguamenti, Aguamenti, Aguamenti!" MJ made sure the next few pots were given the same amount of water and not too much! Her Granny would often warn her at home that plants could be drowned if given too much water.
She had never wanted to test if it was true and would rather listen to her Granny on this one.
For the last pot, MJ gave her wand a little extra flourish as she cast, "Aguamenti!"
With a smile, she put her wand away again and cleaned up the workspaces. MJ didn't want Professor Sprout to find fault with anything she had done and lose out on being able to access the Greenhouse!
Once she was satisfied she had done everything she needed to do, MJ picked up her satchel again and headed out of the Greenhouse. She had a potion she wanted to brew!
Post by Oscar Tinkle on Nov 1, 2023 9:13:16 GMT 10
When Oscar saw that his plants had grown in his absence, he approached them with the thought that he would get the simple berry plant out of the way first before he even attempted to figure out what the unknown mushrooms could be.
That was his plan anyway. Things didn’t really work out as he planned them.
Instead, as he approached the table, he found his eyes drawn to the bright mushroom.
Could he be blamed for that though? The vibrant blue capped with swirls of pink and purple.. It was very eye-catching.
So pretty.
Oscar did not want to look away.
His eyes were busy tracing the alternating colours, following where one stopped and the other started as he swayed closer to the mushroom.
Berry plant? What berry plant?
As far as Oscar was concerned right then, there was just one pretty little plant in front of him. Just one thing that was important.
He didn’t notice anything odd. Not even when the scent of the mushrooms shifted from the smoky, pine smell to something that had his shoulders relaxing.
Pastries being freshly baked. With just a hint of something chocolatey underneath.
Was that-? It was. Thick, creamy, oh-so-tasty hot chocolate simmering on the stove.
Oscar swayed toward the mushroom again, wanting to be closer to the familiar smells that flashed him back to his kitchen at home. Such nice smells. Such fond memories.
It was whipped cream on his nose, and flour on his cheeks.
It was laughter and love. Comfort and warmth.
It was family.
It was home.
And it was gone.
Oscar blinked back into reality as the smells vanished, one hand reached out in an attempt to catch the plant even as it disappeared into ash.
What was that?
He could have sworn for a moment then that he really was back at home. That at any moment he would have heard his Mamma’s warm laughter, or felt the large hand of his Dad settle on his shoulder as he explained something or other that Oscar had not understood previously.
Instead he was still in the student greenhouse. He was still at school. And he would not get to see home until summer.
Oscar quite suddenly felt like bunking off Potions and going to hide in his dorm. Preferably with a warm blanket and that morning's delivery of treats.
Those treats were supposed to be for getting him through studying though. And Oscar did not want to face the rest of the holiday with the remorse of eating them all in one afternoon.
Boo. Looked like it was Remedial Potions for him after all, lest he give in to the temptation.
First though, he should probably deal with his remaining plant. He did not travel to the greenhouse just to gain a sudden helping of homesickness. He had things to do.
Oscar sent one last sad look at the ash of the mushroom, allowing himself the moment for one last wish for a little longer with those familiar smells, before he straightened up and got back to work.
A berry plant. Right. That was easy, he could deal with that.
Oscar walked over to the equipment storage to collect a pair of shears, and then proceeded to silently snip away the leaves so that he could collect his berries. He was all business in his actions, not sparing the time to delicately brush any of the leaves out of the way.
He just wanted to do his job, and so that was what he did.
He soon had a pile of berries and the remains of a plant to add to his sad pile of mushroom ash. Both of which he wasted no time in cleaning up and then dumping on the trash heap with his broken pot.
He then cleaned out his remaining pot and tucked it away in his bag. He did not feel like planting any more seeds for the time being.
Instead he simply gave the counter one last brush and then headed back out into the snow, tugging his scarf up over his mouth as he went.
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