Tuesday, April 27 @9:30am

Attendance

☑ Frank Sellaphix
☑ Dione Sayer

Since the beginning of the year, the students of Herbology have been actively engaged under the singular tutalage of Professor MacDonough.  However, as the ides of March approached, there was a brief intermission in their studies and the result has been a change in instruction.  Their new professor is Professor Branwen Strangely. So far this semester she's proven herself to be a touch awkward children on separate encounters expecting over adult aptitude and on others she had babied them too much. 

"Good good, get in, get out of the dank."  Branwen waved in the students at the slight bottleneck at the green house door.  They came in from the chill and the rain, they stomped their soggy boots, they doffed their wet robes and coats.  Their hair glistened with cold moisture.  Some looked morose, others determined.

Today was the day that they'd present their findings on a small research project.  Research projects for 11-year-olds was essentially an introduction to a basic thought structure.  Ask a question, look for the answer, and share it.  In the cases of school and academia it could often feel like and actually be a futile, tedious exercise.  But in the best case scenario...this type of formulaic curiosity made the world go round.

"Sit sit sit! Get out your discoveries! If you've got a plant at the back, go and grab it and bring it back to your table.  Quickly now, the sun waits for none of us and despite the fleeting passing of the days being  meaningless in the eyes of Great Nature, I do want to get through all of your before the class is out."

She smiled and clapped her hands to urge them on cheerfully, drive them to complete their quest.  Of getting seated.

Frank took his seat, sitting bolt upright on the edge of the chair.  He looked determinedly forward and only gave quick glances to anyone greeting him.  His upper lip was stiff, his note cards were sharply aligned in his hands, his toe tapped with anticipation.  He. Was. Ready.

He'd been waiting for this.  A chance to do real research! He'd spent every night on the project in one way or another, sometimes alone, sometimes with Sophia Knight.  The librarian had helped him find books, their Head of House has proofread a his paper, and the professor had given him the go-ahead on his topic three times because he wanted to make triple sure.

As soon as class begun, Frank thrust his hand into the air.  "CanIgofirst?"  He asked it so quickly it became one word.

"As I was saying...we'll take volunteers first and then it'll be the lottery..." Professor Strangely proceeded slowly with an eye on the younger Sellaphix as she'd intended.  Then, when she was ready, she opened the floor to the eager Ravenclaw.

Frank nearly tipped his chair as he skittered to the front.  There was laughter but he tried not to be phased.   His hands shook a little as he looked at his first card.

"Biting Plants," he said.  And swallowed a lump in his throat.  He was so excited and nervous! He'd definitely imaged being far more cool about this.

"Biting Plants," he repeated.  "Biting plants are common.  But what you may not know is that very few biting plants have teeth.  You may also not know that most biting plants are not dangerous to people - only insects and arachnids and worms and etcetera.  Some biting plants bite other plants.  My paper is about five kinds of biting plants."

He switched cards. 

"The Venus Flytrap is a type of biting plant without teeth that is not dangerous. In fact, Venus Flytraps very rarely bite, and if you make them bite too much, they'll die."

He switched cards.  And so this continued.  Frank presented about five facts per plant, for each of five different biting plants.  He ended on a big one:  The Amazon Maw which ate monkeys.

When he was done, his classmates gave him half-hearted applause.  Thrilled at having presented his first scholarly paper, he stood for a few moments too long in front of Professor Strangely. 

"Thank you.  Sit now," she said. Not offering the extra praise he was looking for.

Sitting with her back straight near the far wall, Dione rolled her eyes at Sellaphix's oh-so-eager leap into the fray. As if there were anything interesting to say about plants, let alone biting plants. She kept her lips pressed tight all through his presentation and did not applaud. The rain had put her into a foul mood which she did not care to improve -- if there was anything she disliked more than Herbology, it was oral reports.

At least it seemed that her classmates, for once, shared her sentiments. No one seemed eager to chime in for their turn even as Professor Strangely searched the room for volunteers. Finally, Dione decided to get the torture over with. She stood without waiting to be called, collected a bundle of pale purple flowers off her desk, and walked to the front of the room.

With a silent flick of her wand, she levitated the bundle at a level where the room could see and quickly spelled out a word with one hand.

"Lavender," said the gem at her throat, sounding flat and stiff as ever. As she continued, Dione kept her eyes straight ahead and made sure her signs came crisp and clean. Despite her disadvantage, she would not give anyone a reason to laugh, and anyone who dared was liable to be hexed right on the spot.

"A flowering herb of the mint family, known to wizards since Roman times. Name comes from Old French and Latin, refers to the use of plant infusions. One of the earliest known potion ingredients. Essential oil may be used to prevent infection, prevent inflammation, create good smells. Smells treat headaches. Dried, with honey, becomes soothing tea. Prevents dandruff. Treats acne. Used in a variety of potions, such  as..."

She carried on like that, pausing only to wave her wand on occasion and send the bundle of dried lavender around the room. As research papers went, this analysis of a single plant -- mostly on its uses as a potion ingredient like that -- aught to satisfy the ridiculous requirements of the class without requiring excess effort in terms of research. Dione would never permit her grades to fall, of course, but nor would she waste her time digging around in dreadful mud, which would soil her clothes and damage her translation artifact.

Once she'd finished, she Summoned the lavender back and handed it to Professor Strangely, along with a rolled parchment which contained a more eloquent version of the report, complete with the full sentences and Latin terms that British Sign Language couldn't provide. As she passed the parchment off, Dione was especially careful not to touch the older witch's dirt-stained hands.

Dione Sayer's bland effort was something that Branwen had come to expect.  She was a surly thing most of the time, but more or less obedient to the class's fundamental requirements.  Her classmates had been far more used to her mode of communication than Branwen was when she arrived at Hogwarts in March, but that didn't entirely stop them from being rude. 

The report was the bare minimum and her marks would show it, but Branwen couldn't expect every student to light up like Frank.  But whether or not Dione dove into the assignment headlong, she'd still have gained something.  A basic skill.  A twinkling of understanding of how knowledge could be gained. 

After a few more students had gone, Branwen had some general comments for the class.  She stood from her place at the side and came to the front.

"Well done so far, little ones, well done.  You know, I have a radical notion for you to consider.  As much toil as this may have been for you, consider that you could do something akin to this process on your own.  Understand me, should you find yourself curious, industrious or wishing to prove a point, these research skills are at your disposal.  I assure you, there's no spell that keeps you from reading books and poking around in the brush without a say-so from a professor!"

There was a titter of laughter and a smattering of groans - it was still beyond most of the students that anyone would do something like homework for fun. 

"You see? I knew you wouldn't believe me, but I assure you it's true.  Who's next?"

The rest of the volunteers took their turns and then came the long pause before Branwen began sending up the stragglers one by one.

There was a report on morel mushrooms,  on pigs that searched for truffles, the Venemous Tentacula, noted herbologist Pomona Sprout, and a particularly well done report on magical plants muggles use.

The stout professor came back to the front with the paper portions of the reports in hand.  The students were varying degrees of bored, relieved, and still nervous. 

"You all made it out alive, I'm happy to say.  Any lingering adverse effects of having done research will fade in no time at all.  Nearly all of you should be proud of yourselves for both your efforts and results.

"I'll have marks for you early next week and for the rest of the term we'll be reviewing so that you'll be prepared for your final exam.  Fear not - you'll all be ready, I personally will see to it.

"Now get on with you! Dismissed."

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Thanks! House points will go up soon.