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Post by Helga Artemis Hufflepuff on Feb 14, 2011 19:44:24 GMT 1
It was Thursday morning and Helga Hufflepuff was feeling a bit nervous. Today would be the first practical session of the year and she wanted to make it special for the students. During breakfast she started toying with her food, not really feeling hungry. All of a sudden she remembered that she had not told the students about the change of venue. Helga passed a hand through her golden locks and turned to her follow founders. "I need to make a quick announcement," she said. Helga stood up and stepped around the staff table.
The youngest founder stationed herself behind the wooden podium and drew out her wand. She pointed it at her throat and said, "Sonorus." When she started speaking, her voice was magnified and it reached the entire Hall. "Attention Herbology students. Today's practical lesson will take place near the Black Lake. May I remind you that the lesson starts at two in the afternoon sharp. Thank you." Helga lifted the spell and scurried back towards the staff table. She glanced around the Great Hall, catching some confused expressions which made her feel uncomfortable.
... Later that day, Helga went down to the Lake and started preparing for her class. She conjured two black boards of equal size; on one of which she drew a seaweed and labelled its fronds 80 to 100 feet long. Once done with the drawing she waved her wand and a long table appeared on the grass. Seconds later, two house elves appeared beside Helga carrying jars of a jelly like seaweed. They placed them on the table, bowed at the founder and disappeared from her side. Helga's gaze lingered in the direction of the lake and she took a deep breath.
It was almost time for her lesson to start and she wanted everything to be perfect. Helga drew out her wand and whispered, "Expecto Patronum." A badger instantly appeared before her and she gave it a message for Alexandra Duboise, the school's healer. She knew that her students would be prepared for the task she was about to assign them. Nonetheless, she felt it was her duty to have the healer present just in case. Helga felt sore and tired. She started rubbing her back and decided to sit down until her students starting showing up.
Ooc: None of my student characters will be participating in this thread. You will see why when Helga sets the students the task. Enjoy :] |
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Post by alexandraduboise on Feb 14, 2011 22:44:06 GMT 1
Alexandra stood from her seat, at seeing Lady Hufflepuff's Patronus, she followed the silver badger to near the lake. "Is everything okay, Lady Hufflepuff?" she asked. She sat by the Professor, waiting. "May I ask why I am needed?" she asked softly. She tied her hair back into a plait, tying the ends with a dark green ribbon.
Roxanna made her way down to the lake, having heard the announcement. She had tried to tell as many people who had missed it as possible. She smiled and pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "Hello Professor Hufflepuff" she smiled sweetly. "Hello Healer Duboise" she said, looking a bit confused, she wondered why the schools healer would be there. She looked at the board, and pulled out her quill and parchment, she looked around and sat on a seat quickly, stumbling over her own feet.
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Post by amelie on Feb 15, 2011 7:42:37 GMT 1
Herbology classes were normally conducted in the greenhouses. The change of venue got Amelie thinking about that day’s possible lesson. Professor Hufflepuff, for seven years now, always made the class interesting and first day of classes with her were always memorable. Actually, all classes she had with her were not going to be erased from her memory for she always struggled with the subject. Lucky her, the professor was patient enough to handle the sticky situations she always got with the plants.
She shuddered as she remembered the horrible incident she had with a mandrake back in her third year. She threw the screaming plant, unintentionally, at the professor. Fortunately, it landed on the founder’s foot, not on her face. And, unfortunately, the shoes of the founder got bitten by the plant… The seventh year shrugged the memory off, knowing that she had to think positively. The new year just passed and one of her resolutions was to try her best at Herbology. Plus, it was her last year at Hogwarts. For crying out loud, she ought to leave a good image behind.
She arrived at the lake a couple of minutes before two and found that the professor was already there, along with the school nurse. The presence of the school nurse made her wonder what their lesson would be. She hoped she would not end up spending quality time with the nurse in the infirmary after class. “Good afternoon Professor Hufflepuff and Madam Alexandra.” She smiled at the two adults before taking a seat beside the only student present. “Hey there, um Roxanna?” She grinned at the younger student, not really sure if that was her name but she guessed anyway.
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Post by alariclarsstouner on Feb 15, 2011 9:55:27 GMT 1
Alaric found himself wondering why the Herbology Classes had a change of venue. He never took Herbology seriously because he was good with plants; however the change in venue made him wonder what could the practical lesson be about. Realizing that he had to whet his curiosity, he went to the venue earlier so he could figure it out.
When he arrived, he saw that there were only a few students present there. Since it was early, he figured that they may already arrive eventually. However, what made him anxious was the fact that the Healer was present also. This made his curiosity stringer than before. He greeted the professor and healer with a slight nod then proceeded to find a seat. Suddenly, a familiar face came into view.
"Great guns, Amelie you actually attended the practical lesson," he greeted casually, before sitting next to her. He then looked at the other student and greeted, "Good afternoon Roxanna." He then took out his quill and parchment and waited for instructions.
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Post by roxannakendall on Feb 15, 2011 21:59:50 GMT 1
Roxanna smiled at the older girl, and the boy in her year. "Hey... Amelie" she said unsure, "Hello Alaric" she said smiling, she knew his name. He was a prefect like her, for his year but for Ravenclaw. Roxanna ran a hand through her long hair, she waited for an instruction, wondering why the sudden change of venue. She sighed and pulled her legs up underneath her, so she was sitting on them.
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Post by justinlaw on Feb 16, 2011 6:36:46 GMT 1
As Justin made his way to the lake, he realized that he did not sign up for Herbology Class. However, he heard that Lady Hufflepuff accepted students who did not sign up during the first lesson and so he went. He was thinking if Helena would be there, he would have someone to talk to.
When he arrived at the venue for the first practical lesson, he saw that aside from the professor, Madam Duboise, the Healer was also present. This made him wonder about the true nature of the lesson they will have. "Good afternoon, Lady Hufflepuff, Madam Duboise," he greeted cordially. He then proceeded to find a seat. When he was nearing the back row, he caught sight of a guy a year older than him giving him a dagger-like stare. He was surprised then he remembered that he took DADA with him also. He merely nodded at him and sat on the seat at the back.
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Post by sly on Feb 16, 2011 6:47:48 GMT 1
Sly woke up in his bed in a hurry, looking over his stuff, was everything alright, was all his things there? He looked for a while to see if his herbology books were present, everything seemed to be in order, he put his robes on and left the hufflepuffs common room. Even while Sly was running he was still sneaky, mostly because of his thief attributes, he opened the large door and just left the castle, running to the herbology class, he hoped he wasn't late, this would be bad, first getting caught stealing from someone and then being late for Helga's class, the fact she was the founder of his house stressed him out if he arrived late. He was about to run to herbology house until he saw a small group near the black lake. He decided to run there to see what it was about.
When he arrived he saw Helga, the students and also the healer, he looked a bit confused as to what she would be doing there, he was confused as to why they were near the black lake, seems like he should be there to pay more attention to news but he always remained in his common room, he then looked at the students and recognized Amelie, bowing his head to greet her.
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Post by monique on Feb 16, 2011 11:43:56 GMT 1
Monique was so excited about the Herbology classes, since she'd always loved Herbology. The third year ran down the stairs and across the courtyard to get to the lake on time. She could hardly wait to see what kind of task professor had prepared for them. Mon reached the lake in less than 5 minutes.
Odette got to the lake a couple of minutes after Monique. She smiled at the other students who had arrived there before her and nodded her head to Professor Hufflepuff and Healer Duboise. "Good afternoon." she said with a large smile.
Lily didn't actually feel like going to the Herbology class, she didn't even know why she'd signed up for it on the first place. However, she remembered her grandma's words that every witch had to know the herbs. There were many people around when she reached the lake. She recognized a couple of other students, the Ravenclaw boy from her year and a couple of Slytherins. There were also some people to whom she'd never spoken to. Lily sighed, waiting for the class to start.
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Post by Helena Albertyne Ravenclaw on Feb 16, 2011 16:12:24 GMT 1
After having an incident with her pumpkin juice at lunch, Helena took a nice long bath for one and a half hour. It was so long and so nice that she almost forgot about her Herbology class. Not wanting to start the year late, she hastily went out of the bathroom; performed a drying charm on her hair after combing it; slipped on her Ravenclaw uniform; sprayed her perfume that smelled of marshmallows on her self; and got out of the Ravenclaw tower.
It took her roughly ten minutes to get to the lake. On her way there, she wondered what the professor planned for the class. Her wondering ceased as she took in all the people who were there. She nodded politely at the professor and the healer. Why is the healer here? She noticed Amelie and smiled at her. The Hufflepuff was surrounded by people as usual and Helena felt insignificant, once again. She sighed when she saw Monique and scowled when she noticed annoying boy glaring at Justin. Dear Merlin… What the hell is his problem now? She thought as she approached Justin. “Hey Justin.” She called out.
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Post by justinlaw on Feb 16, 2011 16:30:36 GMT 1
Justin smiled as Helena called out to him. He then pointed to the seat next to him. “It’s empty, you can sit here if you like,” he said. He wanted to ask her about the guy who glared at him earlier since she seemed acquainted with him. Also, he noticed how her face fell when she saw the 7th year Hufflepuff surrounded by a lot of people. He supposed that she might be one of her close friends. “You’re acquainted with him right? Do you know why he’s staring at me like that?” he asked, pointing towards the guy.
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Post by Prudence Campbell on Feb 16, 2011 17:22:14 GMT 1
Prudence slept at six pm and woke up just in time for Herbology class. Thanks to her roommate who shook the life out of her. She could not believe one can sleep that long. After muttering a sincere thank you and giving her roommate a smile, she took a quick shower, dressed up and fixed herself a little bit. As she looked at herself on the mirror, her reflection surprised her. She looked healthy and fresh that day. Her eyes were free of dark circles and her face, once again, had color. She smiled, she had been looking haggard for a while now and she was happy to get her healthy glow back.
After twenty minutes of walking very slowly, she reached the lake. She saw that a lot of students were already there and was relieved that she was not late. When she saw Helena Ravenclaw’s scowl, she surveyed the crowed to look for the receiver. Lars? She raised an eyebrow as she realized he was glaring at… Justin Law? She shook her head and strode toward Alaric. “If looks could kill, he would have dropped dead before I even got here.” She elbowed him. “What is this, a prefects’ meeting?” Prue jested smiling at Alaric and Roxanna, feeling really light that day. And, when her eyes landed on Amelie, she stepped back and said in a teasing manner. “Since when did Celeste become head girl?” She stared at the seventh year, a smirk on her face
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Post by alariclarsstouner on Feb 16, 2011 17:33:47 GMT 1
As Alaric realized that Helena had already seen what he did, he lowered down his gaze. He knew that she was totally livid with him for giving her love interest Justin such a killer-like stare. However, he knew the real reason behind the glare. He’s the guy that Prue seemed to be confused over.
He was startled by a sudden elbow and he looked up to see that it was Prue. He merely laughed at her statement about how looks may kill. “Well apparently he’s not dead yet so I guess I can still do that to him,” he said, as he was about to prepare to stare at him again, he then heard her talk to Amelie. He suddenly looked crestfallen, as though he was guilty of murder. He willed himself to look away from the both of them. He then turned to Roxanna and said, "I have weird feeling that it would be a water plant that we would be studying today," he said.
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Post by Helga Artemis Hufflepuff on Feb 19, 2011 18:03:19 GMT 1
At the sight of Alexandra, Helga heaved a sigh of relief. She greeted the healer with a warm smile and said, "Thank you for coming on such short notice Madam Duboise." When asked if things were alright, Helga gave a nod. "Yes of course. It is the first practical lesson for this year and I wanted to be cautious." They were soon joined by Roxanna followed by Amelie, Alaric, Justin, Sly, Monique, Odette, Lily, Helena, and Prudence. Helga checked her register to see who was missing; Sirius, Amanda, Dimitri, Catrina, Amelia, Desiree, and Nero.
She waited for a couple more minutes before clearing her throat and catching the student's attention. Helga moved towards the boards and pulled out her wand. She gave it a light flick and words started appearing on the still empty board while she spoke. "Nilgu is giant brown seaweed. As you can see from the diagram it has fronds 80 to 100 feet long. Its fibres are used for cloth, rope and nets." She paused and searched the faces of her students; hoping they were understanding. Helga cleared her throat and stepped in the direction of the lake.
"Nilgu is more commonly found in lakes. In fact we have an abundant supply in our own lake." Helga took a deep breath and blurted out, "Your task today will be collecting this seaweed from the Black Lake." She pointed at the long table beside the boards and continued, "In those jars you can see another type of seaweed, known as gillyweed." Helga started walking amidst the students and asked, "Can someone tell me the use and effects of Gillyweed?"
Ooc: The above does not fully outline the task.
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Post by alariclarsstouner on Feb 19, 2011 18:39:07 GMT 1
Lars’ attention suddenly shifted when he heard the professor speak. His hand flew furiously over the parchment as he struggled to copy word per word everything written on the board. He was indeed right; they are studying a water plant right now. He was fascinated with how long the fronds of the Nilgu are and when he heard that the task for the day was to collect some of it from the lake, his face hardly shown any surprise at all. He was good with staying underwater for long periods however, he does have limits. He then wondered how they could manage to stay underwater for so long. His question was answered when the professor pointed toward the jars of Gillyweed. He nodded in understanding and when she asked a question about the use and effects of gillyweed, he then raised his hand. “The gillyweed is native to the Mediterranean. This water plant looks like a bundle of slimy, greyish-green rat tails. When eaten, it gives a person gills to breathe underwater and gives them webbed hands and feet for swimming,” he said. From: harry Potter Wiki |
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Post by Helga Artemis Hufflepuff on Feb 19, 2011 18:47:08 GMT 1
Helga turned in Alaric's direction. As he answered her question she smiled and nodded her head. "Correct Mr Stouner. Ten points for knowing your plants." Helga walked back to the front of the class and asked, "Would anyone like to add something to what Mr Stouner just said?" |
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