Herbology Lesson Two - All Years

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Nirek was not, and never had been, the brightest student in the year. That reward probably went to the stuttering Finley Allen. But Nirek was also not a stupid boy, he knew what he needed to (or rather, what interested him) and the rest didn't matter. He was also more practical than a bookworm, so the answer to Professor Samuels' question was not one he knew at all.

It was, therefore, not a surprise that he didn't answer.

Instead, a Ravenclaw answered - typical bookworms, Nirek thought to himself - and the professor took the liberty of explaining what they would be doing that day. Nirek wasn't much fond of the idea of looking after baby plants, but he knew they had little and less choice on this matter.

Wondering who he should partner up with, Nirek had forgotten the witch beside him, until she spoke. The question made him give a small nod. "I don't see why not." The boy replied, pulling his ear muffs over his ears like the professor had insisted they should. It took a moment for the all clear to be given by the professor, but when they'd been given it, Nirek moved the new plant pot closer to them, cupping his hands in the compost bag, the Gryffindor got on with the task, seeing as it was in his ballpark.

But, his eyes kept flickering to the Ravenclaw boy that he disliked more than anything, wondering if he could... well, get rid of the boy's earmuffs, would be fun.

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At his agreement to pair up with her, Lux put on her earmuffs and got to work. Since he'd started filling the new pot with compost, Lux figured it was her job to dig the baby mandrake out of the old pot. She pulled it toward her and glared icicles at it wishing she could freeze it to death.

Taking a deep breath, she stuck her fingers into the pot and began digging around the mandrake. Predictably enough, the thing started screaming and crying. She couldn't hear the disgusting thing but could tell by the way it's mouth opened and it's eyes scrunched up. Oh, shut up! If it had been one of the babies at the orphanage, she'd have given it a tight slap to it's bottom but seeing as she couldn't do that with the professor around, she contented herself with thoughts of causing extreme pain.

She'd freed the baby monster to it's waist when she glanced at her partner to see how he was doing with his task. Surprised to see that he had his gaze elsewhere, she surreptitiously studied him and noted that he looked in the same direction each time. She let her eyes wander to the object that held his interest - a Ravenclaw boy whose name she didn't know or didn't care to know.

Lux returned her attention to digging the creature out as her mind worked to discover the meaning of her partner's interest in the boy. Only two things came to her mind. Love or hate. Those were the only two things she knew of that would keep diverting a person's attention to one person in particular. She ruled out love since she didn't think it quite fit. That left hate. Though it would be fun to do something terrible to the Ravenclaw - Merlin knew she loved making and watching people suffer - Lux didn't know her partner well enough to plan something with him, much less trust him to carry it out properly. So, she kept her mouth shut.

Once she'd gotten the mandrake freed to it's ankles (she'd kept one hand on the plant above to keep it from moving around too much ) she turned to her partner and said, "You ready with the new pot?"

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Nirek wasn't truthfully paying much attention to the witch beside him. After all, they couldn't exactly talk, and if she did - through some stupidity - manage to mess this up, he was sure he could correct it. It was only moving the plant from one pot to the other, anyway.

With the sounds of the greenhouse muted behind his earmuffs, Nirek continued with his work in silence. The professor was doing his own pot, by the looks of it, but Nirek wondered if he would notice a spell heading across the classroom.

Most probably.

Sighing to himself - which was weird with earmuffs on, so muffled and unsatisfactory - Nirek finished patting down the base layer of soil in time to see his partner's attention back on him. Managing to read her lips - though only just - Nirek gave a short nod, pushing the new pot close to the older, smaller pot for the witch to move the plant between.

Then, it would be all hands on deck making sure the bloody thing didn't run away. This, was not something that Nirek was looking forward to, but it seemed he had a competent partner, if nothing else.

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With the task set out for them, Finley turned to his obvious choice of partner for this lesson, Naomi. Giving his best friend a smile that showed his excitement, Finley pulled his earmuffs in to place, taking a moment to make sure they were definitely not going to allow him to faint.

That, Finley knew, would be completely embarrassing, and he really didn't want to have to spend the evening in the Hospital Wing.

Looking at the things before them, Finley picked up the trowel, and scooped some of the compost out of the bag in to the bottom of the new pot. Did they need to pat it down..? Looking up, and around them, Finley tried to take note of what everyone else was doing. Gardening was quite dirty, and Finley wasn't much of a fan, so when he saw people using their bare hands, he couldn't help but feel a little... well, uneasy at the thought.

His eyes trailed around the table a short while longer, before noting that someone was staring at him. Finley didn't need to look twice to know it was Nirek, and his gaze fell instantly, his body shrinking a little in a manner of saying he submitted to the boy. Looking back to Naomi, he gave her a quizzical look towards the pot, hoping she would understand that he wasn't sure how to continue in this instance, and hoping she wouldn't dislike him too much for that.

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At his nod, Lux took a steadying breath and braced herself for the creature's reaction. It was squirming enough already, it's movement scattering dirt over the table and onto her. Really, if she wasn't in a class with a professor, she'd have killed the thing a long time ago. Didn't they have pacifier thingies? Sticking one of those into babies'mouths seemed to work that it surprised Lux they couldn't use one for mandrakes. Handcuffs would be good too or maybe an anesthetic. That would knock it out for good and make their job so much easier.

Making sure her grip on the plant above the mandrake's head was extra tight, she lifted the monster out of the old pot, her other hand coming down to grip it's legs so it would quit kicking. But that didn't stop it's pudgy arms from flailing everywhere. She could hear some noise coming from the thing and surmised it was screaming it's head off. Oh, plug it up! It's not like I'm hurting you.

Once she'd gotten it over to the new pot, she made sure it was in the center before glancing to her partner. "Fill it up!" she all but yelled as she felt her fingers beginning to grow numb from holding on so tight. He better do a quick job of transferring that dirt into the pot. Merlin knew how long more she could tolerate the disgusting baby.

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Naomi pulled her earmuffs on, excited. Mandrakes were really interesting plants and she couldn't wait to work with them. She hid a grin at Finley's lost expression, but gave him a thumbs up. He had the basic start down.

Taking over, Naomi sprinkled some water over the compost to dampen it, then patted it down lightly with her hands. She didn't mind getting them dirty, sine she was already used to it at her garden at home. Next, she watered the Mandrake thoroughly to make sure it would slide out of its pot, then pulled it out easily. It was odd to see the plant obviously wailing, but hearing no sound. She placed it in the new pot and motioned for Finley to hold it in place.

Once her friend had a tentative grip on the plant, Naomi pulled the bag of soil over and poured it around the Mandrake, cutting off its cries. She made sure the soil was packed in firmly so the cries wouldn't be heard through the pot. After watering the plant, she gave Finley another thumbs up to show that they were done.

Guest

Working with the witch beside him seemed to have been a good call on Nirek's behalf. She was good at what she was doing which meant they had gotten the work done pretty effectively.

As the Slytherin transferred the Mandrake to the pot, Nirek quickly surrounded it with earth, making sure to pat it down to stop the damn thing from escaping. It took a few minutes to finish the job, but when they were done, Nirek was pretty happy with what they'd done.

Once more, he glanced across the table, looking to see how the blithering Ravenclaw was getting on. It seemed they were getting along much to easily, truth be told, but Professor Samuels was keeping much to close an eye on everyone to make sure nothing went wrong.

Contenting himself with the knowledge that he'd have to try another time, Nirek looked to his partner and gave her a small smile of thanks. At least they'd finished, and hopefully earned their houses a decent amount of points.

Guest

As her partner filled the pot, Lux kept her mouth shut tightly to keep the bits of dirt the monster sent flying into the air out of her mouth. It wriggled and squirmed as if it has worms stuck up its rear end and Lux was sure she had clumps of dirt splattered on her face and clothes. Merlin knew her hands and arms were covered in filth. She'd have to clean up before the next class and take a good long shower once she was done for the day. Stupid brat!

Once the pot was filled with dirt and the mandrake's screams were silenced, Lux dusted off her hands the best she could and returned her partner's smile with a nod of her own. He was a decent worker and for that, she was grateful. She'd worked with students who were nothing but pain-in-the-neck blundering idiots. It had been fun teaching them a lesson of her own and watch them whimper helplessly under her merciless tutelage that had nothing to do with studies whatsoever.

Seeing that the other pair were done with their mandrake, Lux crossed her arms and cocked her hip, waiting for permission to take off her earmuffs. She studied the boy Ravenclaw and wondered what it was that make her partner dislike him. Lux scoffed mentally. Who wouldn't dislike him? To her, he was a goody-two-shoes, can't-break-a-rule kind of guy. Lux had hated and demeaned people for less. But who cared? She only got close to people just to use them for her benefit and amusement, break them then dump them. She didn't need him just yet, but if she ever did, she guessed he'd be an easy target.

Guest

OOC: Pre Attack-Thread - Adam is still alive at this point! To avoid confusion.

Adam watched the group do the task carefully, making sure no one tried to take off their ear muffs to early. Once the whole group had finished, Adam waited for people to look to him, and then motioned for them to take off their ear muffs.

"Well done today everyone, I hope you have enjoyed the experience." The professor explained, giving them a warm smile. "The mandrakes will continue to grow in the greenhouse, so if any of you would like to come down after a lesson and see how they're getting on, please don't hesitate, I'm usually here until dusk." The man continued, his enthusiasm for the subject quite clear.

"There isn't any homework this evening, so use the time well to read up on mandrakes. Next lesson we'll look at something else, hopefully you'll find that just as exciting. Until then, see you all next week." With that, Adam waved the students off.

Class Now Closed.

House Points
Nirek Kapoor = 10 points for attendance + 15 points for participation = 25 points.
Alfie Fawkes = 10 points for attendance + 5 point for answer = 15 points.
Evelyn Kovak = 10 points for attendance
Finley Allen = 10 points for attendance + 10 points for participation = 20 points.
Naomi O'Hare = 10 points for attendance + 10 points for participation = 20 points.
Lux Bailey = 10 points for attendance + 15 points for participation = 25 points.

TOTAL:
Gryffindor: 25
Hufflepuff: 0
Ravenclaw: 65
Slytherin: 25

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