Catch The Snitch

OOC: This class is held in the greenhouses toward the end of the first term. This particular greenhouse has a spring-like climate through the use of charms.

For fifth years, Professor Fah has offered admission to those who are hopeful to take N.E.W.T-level Herbology courses the remaining years of school, and who happen to have a free hour to attend. Absences from their normal schedule would not be accepted.

For sixth and seventh years, Professor Fah has experimented with combining the two years to test new lessons with more dangerous plants. They will be splitting back into their years the second half of the year.

The following letter was delivered to all fifth-year studentsin their common rooms:


Dear Fifth-year Student,

I am pleased about the opportunity to invite you to an experimental Herbology lesson provided for my N.E.W.T.-level students in the advanced years. This lesson provides you with insight into the types of subjects offered for those who earn, at minimum, an Exceeds Expectations on their O.W.Ls.

For this lesson, you will need your dragonhide gloves and goggles for safety as we extract the pus of bubotubers. Potion vials are highly suggested, as a portion of successful extractions will be offered as a reward. This should prove invaluable for those who prepare for the lesson ahead of time by reading up on bubotubers in their textbook, One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi.

As a reminder those who attend this class are doing so on their own volition during a free hour and not at the expense of another class. Points will be deducted for any student skipping another class, regardless of how much more tantalizing the subject of Herbology may be.

Professor Fah


Professor Fah looked around the long greenhouse table at the bubotubers in their pots, all bespeckled with protrusions ready to be squeezed and their pus extracted. Each station had a set of tools spread out infront of the pot, a typical place setting of sorts for the class. Among them were tweezers, scalpel-like blades, clamps, sheers, extractors, and larger glass phials. While not all of the tools were used every class, they were always present to test the knowledge of the student fortunate to be in the class.

As the class began to fill, Professor Fah offered a dubious smile to the students. Dubious, because students knew it was a set up. Camellia Fah loved her plants, but it was no secret that she took pleasure in the carelessness of her students. It was also understood that there was always reading or research assignments for homework, even if the professor herself didn't say it directly. A simple 'In the next lesson, we will examine X,' was more than enough information to know what to study.

As the final students entered and the clock on the far side of the greenhouse presented the top of the hour, Professor Fah held up a delicate, gloved hand to signal it was time to begin. "Hello, students, and welcome to our special Herbology class. Today we have some of our fifth year students with us to participate and take note of the lesson in preparation for their O.W.L.s at the end of next term. As a reminder to them, a grade of E, or Exceeds Expectations, is required to take the advanced levels. Those with A's, or Acceptible, marks will be allowed admittance at my discression to fill any empty seats."

Professor Fah gestured toward the bubotuber plant infront of her, the signature smile still on her face. Camellia's appearance was prestine in stark contrast with those witches and wizards who spent hours working with plants. Nary a speck of dirt appeared on her person outside of her gloves and apron. She had paused her lecture for a brief moment to let her explanation sink in before continuing. "Bubotubers are a rather dangerous plant when not handled properly. Gloves and gear on," she instructed with a bit more authority in her voice. Her gloved hands pulled down the goggles over her eyes and gave them a little adjustment before continuing.

"The Bubotuber's pus is a prized ingredient in potion making. It is used in many healing potions and one ointment that I can see many of you would benefit from which can help with acne and pustules on the face. Just a few drops of this pus with a solvent, such as water or a creme, can be applied to the face. Too much, however, can leave boils on the skin. I'm not telling you that one part bubotuber pus to four parts ointment base is a basic formula provided in Witch Weekly a few summers ago, but should you try it, maybe your blotchy red faces will be smooth and clear by Valentine's Day. Or maybe not. " With a quirk of her brown and an sly grin, Professor Fah moved on. Was that the real formula? Surely there were more ingredients! Or maybe there wasn't. She gave them the details needed to find out on their own, but there was also someone impatient or lazy that would answer the unspoken query for the rest of them.

She moved on and began to demonstrate and explain how to extract the pus from the slug-like plants. The distinct smell of petrol began to fill the air, though not enough to affect breathing. Using her tweezers, Professor Fah pulled the sac enough to open it before using the broad size of the tweezers to squeeze the pus into her phials. Gloved fingers would work fine for the extraction, but if the sac was subborn, the pus could shoot out and land on unprotected skin. She left that part out since her demonstration and explanation explicitly instructed the students to use the tweezers or scalpel to create an incision. "For this lesson, I want you all to extract the pus from the bubotuber plant at your station. For those who manage to finish before the end of the lesson, I will allow you to take half a potion phial with you for using in Potions class or... any practice you choose to do before Valentine's Day." With that, she stepped away from her instruction station and began to pace around the long greenhouse table, the smell of petrol filling the air more and more.

With a spring in his step and a confident – almost smug – grin on his face, Thaddeus arrived at the greenhouse a few minutes before the commencement of the lesson. He had timed his entrance to be early enough to appear respectful, but not too early to seem overly eager… which he was. Though he was too proud to admit it, he was in truth utterly pleased for the rare opportunity to learn alongside the N.E.W.T.-level students.

As he entered, he nodded a greeting to Professor Fah. The professor was looking as good as ever, and her attire was spotless save for a bit of dirt on her gloves and apron. She probably didn’t know it, but Thaddeus had always looked up to her, partly due to her immaculate appearance. For some reason there was this incorrect notion that one’s skill in Herbology (and to a certain extent, Care of Magical Creatures too) was proportionate to how dishevelled they looked, and that there was no way anyone as fastidious as Thaddeus would take those subjects seriously. The fact that Professor Fah defied that stereotype made him feel vindicated and believe even more strongly that others should not question his proficiency in and passion for those two subjects simply because of how neat and tidy he looked.

Walking towards an empty seat, he noted that a few of his fellow Fifth-Years were already present. He recognised some of the older students too, in particular a Seventh-Year Muggle-born Slytherin who was patching up his beat-up gloves with a Mending Charm. Despite his unrefined technique, his familiarity with the charm was apparent, as was the reason behind said familiarity.

Before long, the last of the students arrived and Professor Fah started the lesson on the dot. After extending a welcome to the Fifth-Years, she instructed everyone to put on their protective gear and proceeded to demonstrate how one could extract the pus from the protuberances that dotted the surface of the slug-like plant. Thaddeus already knew how it was done in theory, but he gave the professor his full attention nonetheless, picking up on all the little details like how she held the squirming plant steady and how she utilised different parts of the tweezers. Based on the book he had read, he was also aware that sometimes the pus would shoot out violently from a squeezed sac, and reminded himself that he would have to keep the sacs pointed downwards and away from anybody.

As the practical session began, Thaddeus got to work immediately. First, he set down a large phial with a glass stopper and a smaller one within easy reach. A smaller phial was much easier to manage while extracting the pus, and the issues posed by its small capacity was easily circumvented by simply transferring any extracted pus into a larger receptacle before moving on to the next protuberance.

Selecting the same tool that Professor Fah had used earlier, he held the bubotuber gently but firmly so it wouldn’t wriggle free from his grip, and angled one of the protuberances downwards. With the tweezers, he pried it open slowly, keeping his movements controlled and deliberate. A strong and distinctive smell hit him as the sac yielded and revealed its treasure, a thick yellowish-green substance that he carefully extracted into the smaller phial. Once that was done, he emptied the pus into the bigger phial and moved on to the next sac, working in an unhurried but efficient manner.

It was fairly early when Kyle showed up for class. Taking advantage of the abundance of empty seats, he instinctively plonked himself near the back, and used his backpack and notebook to reserve the two seats on either side of him.

There was another reason why he had arrived ahead of time. Retrieving his battered dragonhide gloves from his backpack, he put them on and inspected them for any signs of damage. Sure enough, he could see his hand through a couple of holes and undone seams. Here we go again, he thought to himself as he took off the gloves and drew his wand and pointed it at the edge of one of the holes. Dragonhide was well known for being extremely tough and impervious to most spells, and those very properties that it were valued for also made it difficult to repair anything made from it. “Reparo,” he uttered, his brow creasing in concentration as he focused the stream of magic emitting from his wand into an intense beam powerful enough to affect the highly resilient material… but it didn’t seem to be enough. Come on… Coaxing more magic out from his wand, he kept at it for a while longer, and sure enough the material began to knit together until the hole was no more.

One down, three more to go. Glancing at his watch, he saw that he still had some time left before the class started, so he pressed on and began patching up the other holes. He was about to get started on the last seam when Professor Fah started the class on bubotubers. With a sigh he put his wand aside and started scribbling down what she was saying, while resolving to fix that seam after the class. At least it was at the outer side of his hand, and if he was careful he reckoned it shouldn’t pose any problems.

He was still diligently noting down the formula described in Witch Weekly when Professor Fah slyly noted that the mixture might work… or it might not. Wait, what? Confused by the information, he stared dumbly at what he had written as it sunk in that the whole chunk of text might not have been correct after all. But there was no time to ponder over what to do, for Professor Fah had moved on to her demonstration. Drawing a box around the formula, he added a huge question mark beside it; he’d double check that after class.

For now, he focused on jotting down her explanation on how one could safely extract the pus from the bubotuber. Create an incision, squeeze the pus out into a phial… It seemed simple enough, though Kyle knew from experience that things were rarely as straightforward as what Professor Fah might have them believe.

There was bound to be a catch somewhere… but what was it? There was only one way to find out. Adjusting his goggles and gloves one more time, he picked up a scalpel and ran the sharp blade across one of the sacs. Immediately he was hit by a familiar and nostalgic scent that he found oddly pleasant as the yellowish-green pus was released, and he wasted no time squeezing it out of the sac and into a phial.

Moving on to the next sac, he did the same thing as before, but the walls of the second sac proved to be thinner than expected. The sac burst open prematurely, and the sticky pus splashed messily onto Kyle’s gloves, and a few droplets landed uncomfortably close to the undone seam. Taken aback by the near miss, he cursed involuntarily as he hurriedly tried to salvage the situation and transfer as much of the pus on his gloves into the phial.

Nova was early for the class but not necessarily because she was eager, but more the plants in the greenhouse were fun to draw and always gave her some interesting ideas for her designs. Her gloves for class definitely had some embellishments on them as she set them on the table, waiting for instructions. She did notice her fellow 7th year trying to mend his gloves though. She'd make him a new pair with some studier stitches.

As the class started, Nova put away her sketch pad and listened closely. When Professor Fah mentioned the Witch Weekly, she smirked. She had read that edition and knew there was more to the recipe, but she too was a bit curious to see if anyone would actually bother looking first. She'd made some for her little brother when his acne kicked in, but she'd been blessed thus far.

As the demonstration started, she watched carefully, not wanting to make mistakes with something like this. Before she started to work on the plant herself, she made sure to pull her hair back before hearing Kyle cursing. She gave a little shake of her head, set down what she was doing, and went through her bag. She found an extra set of gloves, a less personalized pair, and walked over towards his station, setting them down as she pretended to lean onto the counter, "If you use that scraper you might have better luck getting it off the glove," she smiled before turning and going back to her own station.

While she didn't have an "O" for this course, she knew what she was doing well enough, it was just usually her lack of focus that created a problem. But this was not a plant that allowed her mind to wander. So she went about following Professor Fah's instructions carefully, taking her time. While she'd like to be able to take it to Potions next time, it wouldn't do any good to take a bad product or get this stuff all over herself. The smell didn't seem to bother her at all, she'd worked with some interesting things in trying to make new and interesting designs, including some not-so-pleasant-smelling materials.

Annabelle was one of the first ones in the room when the time came. She absolutely loved working with plants. Knowing what all of them could do was something she found fascinating. She tried not to feel awkward seeing there weren't a lot of people around when she first arrived. She hadn't done much to dissuade anyone from knowing she was a bit of a nerd who loved learning, but still, sometimes she didn't like she wore it on her sleeve. Didn't win her many favors when it came to making friends. She smiled at the fellow Hufflepuffs in the room but went to find herself a spot to set up, getting out her materials.

As the lesson began, Anna felt her heart nearly soar. She found the way the Professor taught to be fascinating! She bit her lip to keep from grinning as she watched her and put her gloves and goggles on when instructed. Though hers were a bit worn from using them before coming here, they were still sturdy and well-cared for. An artist is only as good as their tools, right?

When it came to be their turn, Anna had to force herself to not leap at the plant. It wasn't going anywhere and no need to look more like a nutter. She'd read up on these plants before but had never had much experience handling them. Maybe it was something she would have gotten to do with another year at Ilvermorny.... she shook her head, shaking the sad thought away, and forced herself to focus on the plant. This was not the time to be distracted. The smell was certainly piercing enough to help her maintain focus as she sed the scalpel to create an incision, tilting her head this way and that as she worked. She had to avoid sticking her tongue out like she usually did when she was focused. That could be disastrous in this case.

As she squeezed the pus out of hers into a vial, she glanced around to see what the others were doing and how far they'd gotten. She did see some of the younger ones struggling, but it seemed a good number of the older students had a good handle on it, except maybe the one who swore...

She looked back to her plant and couldn't help talking, "I'll have to look up the healing potions this can be used in, I imagine they'd have to be potent."

Zeke walked in to the class riiiiiight before Professor Fah started to speak and slipped up to an open space, trying to act as if he hadn't just gotten there, quickly, but discretely getting out his things. When he looked up, he noticed the younger Gryffindor Hawthorne looking at him with a look of "You're not slick". He shrugged and turned his attention to the professor. He'd gotten an "O" on his test for this, so he was pretty confident in his knowledge of Herbology. It wasn't exactly that he found the material as a whole interesting, but there were some plants that might be fun to use for not so nice purposes.

As the petrol smell filled the air, he scrunched his nose. Why did it smell like that?? He thought for a moment to just breathe through his mouth but then the notion of "tasting" the smell crossed his mind and he pressed his lips together. He continued to watch the professor as she showed them how to get the pus out and then realized....he'd forgotten any extra vials. Swearing a bit, he looked around and then looked to Hawthorne, "Hey," he whispered, "Help?" he gave a pathetic smile. She rolled her eyes but gave him one of hers, "I owe you," he grinned and started to get to work when it was their turn.

He didn't have potions class this go round, so he didn't need this for anything, but he was still curious about it's less than helpful properties. Something that smelled this rank could be used in a stinkbomb or something, surely. He smirked at the thought and leaned in a bit to try and watch what he was doing, buuuut not too close. He looked around to see if Lag was there, or rather, where he was, wondering how he was doing on this. He started to squeeze the pus into the vial he'd borrowed from Amelia, figuring he could give her the results of it if Professor Fah let him keep it.

Amelia had made it on time, though she was nervous about the way this session had students from the upper years too. That meant she had to be on her game, she didn't want to look like an idiot in front of them. She had her things out on the workspace, shoving her textbook back in her bag, having thrown in some last-second studying. She was just looking up to the professor when she saw movement out of the corner of her eye. She glanced over and saw Zeke and gave him a look that said plenty. He of course acted like he didn't know what the problem was. Typical. They were on the quidditch team together so she was used to some of his antics, but still.

She thought that would be the end of his shenanigans but then it turned out he had forgotten his own vials. How did he get an "O" on this exam exactly? She let him have one before starting to work on her own plants, talking idly with whoever was standing next to her, "I don't know if it's a good thing or not that this is not the worst plant to work with," she murmured, "I think I'd take this stink over the shrieking of the Mandrakes," she scoffed a bit, "You can always cleanse your nose later, takes hours for the ringing to stop, even with earmuffs," she shook her head.

She was mostly talking to help herself be focused. This was proving more difficult than it had seemed watching Professor Fah. She definitely wasn't going to finish in time...

Anwen was overly excited to attend Herbology. It was, after all, her favorite subject and something she planned on pursuing after Hogwarts graduation. She made her way into the class a large smile on her face as she walked to an empty seat. She was only a few minutes early as she had some last-minute things to do before coming to class. She stopped next to Kyle and smiled down at him as saw his books and things on one of the seats next to him. "Mind if I sit?" She grinned before gently picking up his things knowing the answer would be yes. She sat down next to him and watched as he did some last minute mending on his gloves. She chewed on her lip and was about to reach into her bag when Professor Fah started talking. She frowned and removed her hand from her bag to pay attention.

After the instruction, and the odd little fact about the creation of the skin treatment that wasn't exactly right. With the studies that Anwen had done, she knew that the dilution depended on the substance used to dilute and the ratios were off. She really hoped for the sake of the other students that they didn't try it without first doing their research. She smiled awkwardly as she looked down at the tools at hand.

She watched Professor Fah with intent as she extracted the pus from the Bubotubers. Then, after the professor finished she picked up her own tools. First donning her protective equipment and then gripping the Bubotuber tightly. She nicked the first pus sac with her scalpal and then grabbed her tweezers and gently squeezed it into the vial. She looked over at Kyle when he cursed and she remembered she had something for him. She set down her items and a small smile played at her lips as she grabbed the dragonhide gloves from her bag. It was the errand she had to run before coming to class. She had the gloves made for him and even put his name near the opening. She was about to hand them to him when another student walked up and set a pair down in front of him. Her heart sank and she let the gloves slide back into her bag before letting out a soft sigh. "Are you okay, Kyle." She muttered.

When she realized he was, she picked her Bubotuber back up and slit another pus sac and squeezed it into her vial. She was extremely disappointed but she didn't allow it to show as she didn't want to hurt the other students' feelings nor did she want Kyle to think that she was trying to show off.

With just a minute to spare, Trent casually slipped into the greenhouse and scanned the classroom for Kyle, who always saved him a seat. Today, the greenhouse was more crowded than usual, and as Trent's gaze landed on several unfamiliar, younger faces, a fleeting thought crossed his mind - had he possibly mixed up his timetable and wandered into the wrong lesson?

Trent had been about to duck out of the greenhouse before Professor Fah could call attention to him when he noticed Nova's distinctive fire-red hair among the crowd. Reassured that he was indeed in the right class, though still slightly confused by the presence of the younger students, Trent took a closer look around the room. Finally, he spotted Kyle situated near the back of the room with Anwen on one side and an inviting empty chair on the other.

Heading towards his seat, Trent passed by Nova, engrossed in her sketchbook. Lightly bumping her shoulder with his fist to get her attention, Trent laughed and dodged her playful retaliation before joining Kyle and Anwen at their station. "Hey," he greeted the pair of them, dropping his bag onto the floor and settling into his seat just as Professor Fah called the class to attention.

Following the professor's instructions, Trent ducked down to rummage through his bag for his protective gear. With his head lowered, he listened as Professor Fah explained the uses of Bubotuber pus, and laughed at her cryptic remarks about the acne formula. By now, Trent knew better than to take her words at face value, but he appreciated her subtle warning, especially for the fifth-years who weren't as familiar with her teaching style.

With his protective gear securely in place, Trent focused on the Bubotuber plant in front of him. His interest in Herbology was minimal at best, and the prospect of extracting pus from these plants was far from appealing… but at least they wouldn't attack him. Respecting the dangers of the undiluted pus, Trent closely followed Professor Fah's demonstration. Using a scalpel to create a precise incision, he carefully squeezed the pus into the glass phial. It was a messy, pungent task, but he managed it quickly without any mishaps.

Finished with his task and waiting for the next set of instructions from Professor Fah, Trent took the opportunity to scan the crowded room for Isobel. His back was turned when he heard Kyle swear, and by the time he had spun around and processed what had happened, Nova had already appeared with an extra set of gloves. As Trent wordlessly handed the scraper to Kyle, he flashed a grin of appreciation at his friend for her discreet rescue.

Feeling as though Kyle had the situation under control, Trent resumed his search for Isobel among the crowd. Instead, he found himself making eye contact with Anwen, who was discreetly slipping a pair of gloves back into her bag, her disappointment evident. Understanding what this meant, Trent did not comment but offered her a sympathetic smile before returning his focus to scanning the room

As one of her favourite classes, Sam was always punctual for Herbology, but lately, her early arrivals had been a strategic choice rather than a habit. Although she normally excelled at Herbology - earning an "O" on her O.W.L. the previous year - the recent combination of the sixth- and seventh-year classes had thrown her off balance. It was the only class she shared with Kyle Winters, and as his proximity seemed to make her unusually prone to mistakes, Sam wanted to secure a station that avoided his line of sight.

Sam settled into her seat, her interest piqued as she examined the workstation before her. Professor Fah had arranged a set of tools in front of a pot containing a Bubotuber plant, a clear sign that today's lesson would be hands-on – her favourite kind. Before fully immersing herself in the class, Sam cast one last sweeping glance around the greenhouse. Satisfied that her chosen seat made it difficult for her to see Kyle and vice versa, she began to relax and felt genuine excitement for the upcoming lesson.

Seconds before the class was called to attention, Zeke Smith, a fellow sixth-year and member of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, quietly slipped into the empty chair next to her. Not wanting to speak over the professor, Sam turned and mouthed a silent “hi” in his direction, but preoccupied with unpacking his belongings, Zeke did not appear to notice her greeting.

Sam was in the process of adjusting her goggles when Professor Fah’s comment about students having blotchy red faces caught her off guard. Her hands paused, hovering near her face as a flush of embarrassment crept up her cheeks; she had woken up this morning with a large, painful red spot in the centre of her forehead. Reminding herself that she was not the only student with acne, Sam dismissed the comment but nevertheless arranged her fringe to cover the blemish before donning her dragonhide gloves.

With her protective gear in place, Sam picked up her Bubotuber plant and examined its protrusions. Using the blade, she carefully cut an incision into the Bubotuber and was about to transfer the pus into the phial when Kyle’s expletives caught her attention. Driven by curiosity, Sam couldn’t resist looking in Kyle’s direction, but her chosen seat limited her view. Still nosily craning her neck, Sam forgot all about the Bubotuber in her hand and accidentally squeezed too hard.

In a state of horror, Sam swiftly turned back to the Bubotuber just in time to witness a gush of pus erupting from it, completely missing the phial and instead shooting directly towards Zeke. Knowing the dangers of undiluted Bubotuber pus, dread churned in her stomach, but luck was on her side when the pus landed on the table instead of Zeke’s unprotected skin. Lunging for the scraper, Sam began to clean up the mess, fervently hoping that no one had noticed.

Isobel enjoyed Herbology, although it wasn't her favorite class. To work with plants wasn't her dream but she knew, in order to help the magical creatures she would need to know a thing or two about them. It was a special day, as the students were sort of thrown together. Years five through seven would attend the class together and hopefully make for a very exciting lesson. She had set her books on the floor beneath her feet and sat across the room from most of them. Her eyes fell on Trent almost immediately before she looked away quickly, hoping he hadn't see her gazing at him.

She donned her protective gear as instructed before grabbing the disgusting thing in front of her. Drain pus from a plant to use as a salve. It sounded just...grotesque. She gripped the thing and tried to cut into its flesh before a bit sort of squirted out onto the table, barely missing her face. She quickly stepped back and dropped the plant onto the table. She shook her head, disappointed in her inability to complete the task at hand. She groaned and picked the stupid thing back up, trying to focus herself on gently cutting it open and not allowing it to squirt into her eye or something equally as bad.

With her blade in hand and vial next to her, she tried again, this time it oozed out of her and she felt very sick to her stomach. Perhaps eating three pumpkin bars before class wasn't such a good idea. She grabbed the vial next to her and started to place it in there before she set it down and started working on another. She had made a fool out of herself, but at least she hadn't hurt herself or anyone else for that matter.

Fashionably late. That is what Laguna coined his entrance as being. It wasn't like he was so late he'd missed anything terribly important anyway. This particular class he sort of kicked himself for being late to, at least for a short moment, as he noted it would've been incredibly entertaining to observe this lot as they mindlessly ogled at one another and strategically chose their seats. The rumors swirling around some of these people were relentless in their travels between the groups of giggling girls in the corridors. In his case, he didn't seem to have the issue. In fact, it was rather easy to spot where he should be making his way to as he saw at least two of the Gryffindor quidditch players were sitting in close proximity. "Perfect," he said, strutting toward Zeke and Amelia.

He nodded and flashed bright smiles to any of those along the way that seemed to glance in his direction. Once he'd made it to his spot, he slid in and set his bag to the side, looking over the table before making a face. "What's this?" He asked, the smell repulsive. However, he did see the value in this if it wasn't anything incredibly toxic. His blue eyes glanced toward Amelia then settled on Zeke. Of course Zeke's take on this would be more valuable as he was certain that Zeke could also recognize the potential in the prank department.

The possibilities were endless, but in particular he was thinking about how funny it could be to set this off in the Slytherin locker room or, better yet, somehow convince a firstyear to smuggle something 'harmless' into the common room. His lips curled into a mischievous grin as he began plotting. "Also hello, sorry I'm just a bit late. Was busy..." He'd intended to make up an excuse as to what he was busy with but that was a fleeting effort and he left his thought where it was.

The other students got to work too, using the available tools with varying degrees of finesse to extract the valuable pus within their bubotuber’s protuberances. The Seventh-Year Slytherin with the beat-up gloves almost got the pus onto his bare skin, and Thaddeus would have offered his spare pair of gloves himself had another Hufflepuff – Nova Harte – not stepped in to intervene before he could.

Kyle Winters was not the only student who seemed to be in need of some help. Perhaps distracted by the older students’ not-so-discreet swearing, another one of the students – Sam Turner – almost caused another accident as she nearly launched a glob of pus at her fellow Gryffindor, Zeke Smith. Fortunately the pus landed on the table instead, but Thaddeus felt the need to address this breach of safety protocols.

Getting up from his seat, he glided over to Sam and cleared his throat as a way to subtly make his presence known to her, lest he scared her and caused yet another incident. “You might want to angle the protuberance downwards next time before cutting it open,” he advised. “That way, the pus wouldn’t fly and hit anyone accidentally.”

A few minutes before the class started, one of the two people Kyle had saved seats for arrived. A dorky grin of a boy in love spread across his lips as he looked up from the gloves that he was mending to greet Anwen. “I would mind if you didn’t want to take the seat I reserved for you,” he said playfully to her, awfully chuffed that they were in the same classroom. Though they took mostly the same subjects, they were a year apart from each other and thus seldom had the opportunity to attend classes together. “I’m really glad Professor Fah decided to combine our classes for the first half of the school year,” he added. “If only this arrangement were permanent.”

The class was due to begin anytime soon, and still the other person Kyle was waiting for hadn’t shown up. He was beginning to feel anxious on his friend’s behalf, when Trent finally arrived at the last minute. “You made it just in time,” he whispered to Trent right as Professor Fah started the class.

Kyle’s little mishap during the practical might have gone unnoticed by his classmates had he not sworn a little too loudly and attracted their attention. As he was scraping the pus off his tattered gloves, someone suddenly leaned in towards him with a piece of advice. “I… er… yea, thanks,” he fumbled, not expecting it to be Nova Harte. And it was only after she had returned to her seat did he find that she had left behind a pair of gloves. And he was about to call out to her when it dawned upon him that Nova hadn’t forgotten to take her gloves with her, especially since she was currently wearing a more embellished and personalised pair. Though he understood and appreciated her kind intentions, he couldn’t bring himself to accept the gloves.

Anwen’s voice broke his train of thought. “Yea, I’m all right,” he replied with a reassuring smile. “Um… I’ll be back in a jiffy.” With that, he grabbed the gloves Nova had left behind and headed over to her workstation. “I… er…” he began haltingly, not quite sure how to return the gloves without seeming rude. Should have thought of what to say first, he mentally chided himself, though that ship had already sailed, and the only way left was to wing it. “Um… I appreciate the kindness, but my gloves are still serviceable.” Right as the words left his lips, he realised how stupid it must have sounded to Nova, since she had offered him the pair of gloves because she had deemed his unserviceable. “After a quick repair, I mean,” he added hastily, hoping that would pre-empt any protests from her.

Professor Fah looked up from her work to see the students beginning their lessons. Hopefully, some of the older classmen had been reading ahead to know more about the Bubotubers and the necessity of a pure container of the pus. The slimy membrane found on the outside of the the plan could contaminate the phial, resulting in botched concoctions. Fah set her tools down and began to walk throughout the greenhouse classroom, watching the students as they worked.

""Excellent work so far, Mr. Egerton. Some of these older classmates could learn from your patience with the process." Her gaze turned to the Winters boy as she made the statement. She gave a shake of her head and continued around the room. "Fine work, Miss Sinclair." She observed the sixth year as she filled her phial for a moment before standing upright and addressing the class. "As you all may have noticed, this process is about taking your time and paying attention to the plant. Don't think you can rush the process. It would be quite a foolish mistake."

As she approached the two Gryffindors, her lips pressed together in disappointment. Had a sixth year N.E.W.T.-level Herbology student really come to class without phials, an item on the supply list for the term? "I'm in a good mood today, Mr. Smith. Coming to my class unprepared warrants a deduction of points from your house, but I'll overlook it for now. I do hope this isn't the example you are setting for the younger students in Gryffindor. At least you were astute enough to remember your protective gear."

Her gaze turned to Hawthorne, "Miss Hawthorne, you should be commended on your preparedness. I hope Mr. Smith learns a thing or two before the our next class. Maybe next week we'll work with adolescent Mandrakes. I do hope he'll remember his earmuffs and ear plugs." She gave a smirk to the Gryffindor and continued about the room. Was that a hint for the next class? Maybe. Maybe not.

She reached the back of the room with Anwen and Trent. She looked between the two's work, noting the distinct difference between the two's work. "Exceptional work to you both Miss Sawyer and Mr. Innes. But what can be said about Mr. Winters? Did the puss melt him into a puddle?" She looked over the table with a hint of sarcasm before noting that he was talking to the Harte girl. "Carry on."

As Professor Fah continued around, stopping in her tracks as the sound of pus squirting out and hitting the table nearby next to Zeke. She looked in the direction from which it came and saw Miss Turner, giving a bit of a disappointed frown. "Miss Turner, what could be so important that you couldn't be bothered with paying attention to the plant in your hand? And perhaps if Mr. Smith had come prepared to Herbology, he could have caught your errant pus in one of his phials." Fah shook her head and looked to the class once more. "Pay attention, everyone. As we progress this year, the plants will come with greater risks. Taking your time and dedicating your full attention will be paramount -- on top of coming to class pepared, having read the requisite material and having your standard supplies, of course." She gave an approving node to the Egerton boy's advice. Someone clearly did their reading.

Camellia paced around to see the Evans girl struggling with her plant. A look of horror fell on her face as she saw the manner in which the girl was handling the plant. "Miss Evans, you have that poor Bubotuber in a choke hold. This isn't a race and if you aren't careful, someone is going to get painted in pus! Take your time and, I don't know, bring a clothes pin to cover your nostrils or something! Be gentle." She gave the girl a look before moving on to Miss Harte and Mr. Winters.

"Mr. Winters, I'm going to take a wild guess that the mess in the back of the greenhouse is your doing? Perhaps if you spent more time focused on your studies and less on the ladies, this sort of thing wouldn't happen." Camellia took note of the gloves. "In the future, Miss Harte may not be here to save the day with a spare set of gloves. Back to your seat. I'd like to see at least half a phial filled before class is over. Surely one Slytherin can prove to a room full of Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors that Herbology isn't a totally wild concept. You lot are making it look like I O'd you in out of pity!"

Professor Fah noted the Lestrange boy coming in late. It wasn't hard to note who he was. With a surname like his, noting a deviation from historical sortings in his family tree wasn't exactly a hard thing. "Mr. Lestrange, we are honoured you could grace us with your precense today. Like Mr. Winters, I do hope you could bestow upon us half a phial of Bubotuber pus before the end of class."