[botanique] bibbidi bobbidi boo [september]

first week of september

Bérénice was lost in thought, gazing at a dew-laced spider’s web that stretched from the stalk of the pumpkin on her desk. Footsteps brought her out of her daydream and she glanced up with a soft smile. It was a cool autumn morning, and her lesson plan for the day was designed to ease her students back into the school year.

As everyone filed in, arranging themselves around the long benches that filled the greenhouse, Bérénice stood at the head of the desks and adjusted the little pile of slate to her left. “Good morning,” she beamed, drawing her hands out from the pockets of her pinafore and folding them together in front of her lap. “I hope you all had a wonderful summer and are ready for a new year.”

“Today we will be selecting your pumpkins for the festival next month,” she rested her hand on the small (magically ripened) squash she had brought along. “There will be both magical and mundane varieties available — and you can choose a gourd, squash, or courgette instead if you like. Seeds were planted during the summer so they’re already growing out in the pumpkin patch to give you all a head start.”

The witch picked up a slate marker, about sinx inches long and two inches wide, with a pointed end to stake into the ground. “Please take a marker and write your name using the soapstone chalk provided, then — without running — head to the patch outside and choose your plant.”

Some people began to shift and she held a hand up. “There’s a small catch,” she smirked. “You will need to use your knowledge, or your textbooks, to help you identify the right plant for you. You must write, after picking your fruit — yes, they are fruits, not vegetables — what variety you have chosen, and if it has been grown entirely using moldu means or if it has been helped along with magical tonics, charms, and so on. If you get this correct, the plant is yours for the competition. If you get it wrong, you need to start again.”

“Now, you may begin.”


ooc:

please post your character heading out to the pumpkin patch and choosing their pumpkin. they can get it right first time or get it wrong - if they get it wrong, the slate marker will wipe itself clean. this wikipedia page may be helpful. if you would like to come up with some magical varieties (if there’s a chinese chomping cabbage, makes sense that there might be a peruvian purple pumpkin?) please feel free!

once your character has correctly identified their pumpkin (or squash, gourd, etc.) they can tend to it, if they want to actually win something at the festival, or they can slack off. i may post bérénice checking in on your character's progress, and of course she is available to help if requested.

It was her OWL year, and Lijsbeth was determined to do well. Unlike some of her housemates, she knew exactly what she wanted to do when she graduated and that meant she needed good grades. While magical veterinary work wasn't quite as competitive as becoming a healer, she still had two years of hard work ahead of her before even being accepted onto a graduate course and thus every subject mattered, even the ones she didn't consider particularly important. Botanique of course was one of the more important subjects and thankfully one of her favourites, so she was hoping a top grade here was achievable.

Thus the sixth year had arrived early and was already seated near the front of the room reading her textbook when Professeur Bonaccord began the lesson. Immediately the girl's head snapped up, her heartrate increasing slightly as the familiar anxiety made itself known. What if they were doing something entirely new today? What if she didn't understand and everyone laughed at her? What if she failed? What if... One...two...three...four...breathe in...one...two...three......four...breathe out...one...two...three... Lisjbeth recognised the catastrophising thoughts before they managed to take a proper hold and began her breathing exercises, concentrating on calming herself while their teacher made the standard new term greetings.

Okay. Pumpkins. "I can do this" she thought. Not only that, but the Bellefeuille loved growing things and was rather good at it. She was already mentally listing her favourite varieties when she heard the familiar shifting of seats. Some of the more eager students were no doubt going to run out to the pumpkin patch and try to claim the largest squashes before anyone else got there. She suppressed a smile as Professeur Bonaccord halted their premature exit. She'd been expecting a twist like this. It wasn't going to be as easy as first to the pumpkin patch picked the biggest one. Picking up her wand, Lijsbeth summoned one of the markers (she only had to whisper the charm now, another few months and she'd be able to cast that one wordlessly) and neatly wrote her name, year and house on it, as if she expected there to be other Lijsbeth Westbroeks who might contest her ownership of whatever she selected. A few students who had scribbled their names were already rushing outside, but she flicked briefly through her textbook to check the exact name of what she hoped she would find out there.

Only then did she leave her seat and force herself to walk sedately (her instinct was to run, but she suppressed it) to the pumpkin patch. Already the ground was covered with a variety of gourds; most with large, almost circular leaves and several still sporting bright yellow flowers. "butternut squash...pattypan...regular pumpkin...ooh..." she paused briefly near a black zucchini which was already at least twice the size one would expect it to be, but then shook her head. Using magical methods to force a moldu variety had mixed results, and she didn't want to risk choosing something that exploded a week before the competition. Aha! There - that was the one she wanted. Currently fairly small and unassuming, with pale aquamarine skin that was almost the exact colour as her Bellefeuille scarf. Lijsbeth crouched beside the plant and examined it closely. The variety was easy enough to identify, but she wasn't certain how it had been grown, aside from the obvious... she carefully examined the leaves, fingered the tendrils which were unresponsive to her touch. No charms, then.

After a couple of minutes she turned her marker over to the clean side. Crown Prince Squash, fed enhancing tonic to brighten skin she wrote, and then hesitated. The writing remained, but did that mean she was correct? After a moment, she pushed it carefully into the ground beside the plant and waited expectantly, but nothing happened. Okay, that was good, she hoped. She got to her feet and looked around thoughtfully. "Professeur Bonaccord, I forgot to ask. Are we allowed to use charms on a pumpkin that has so far only been raised without magic?"

It was safe to say that herbology wasn't Dino's strong point. He enjoyed it well enough, when it involved digging in the grounds or pruning back dead wood, but when it came to growing things he certainly lacked green fingers. The pumpkin festival was always a high point of the autumn term, but by now the boy knew he was never going to win any of the categories, unless they invented one called 'Pumpkin that singularly failed to grow at all' or 'Most riddled with slugs'. Twice in the previous four years Dino hadn't even managed to grow something that was good enough for display, let alone to be eaten.

So his hopes weren't high, but his enthusiasm was undiminished. He was already on his feet when he realised he'd been a little premature and was supposed to wait for instructions. Muttering a quick "sorry" he sat down again, frowning as he tried to remember the names of some of the different varieties of pumpkins. Naturally, he had forgotten to bring his textbook which, with the best of intentions, he had been reading at breakfast this morning and had accidentally left by his seat where he would find it, neatly folded, when he returned there for lunch later on. He craned his neck and tried to see the book of the boy opposite, but at that moment the book as slammed shut and the boy leaned on it to write his name.

Trying to look more confident than he felt Dino walked over and collected a marker and wrote his name, then ran out to the pumpkins, hoping to simply pick the biggest one he saw. There! A huge orange one, aleady at least a foot in diameter! He wrote 'pumpkin' on the marker, which immediately vanished. Wait...what? It was a pumpkin right? Oh...it must have been charmed. 'pumpkin - growth charm' he tried again, but that vanished too. Discouraged, he wandered down the rows until he spotted something else 'Marrow - no charms' he tried, but that too vanished. oh, well - he didn't really want to grow either of those, he told himself. He tried what he thought was a yellow courgette and something that looked like a patty pan but apparently wasn't, until he spotted the most hideous squash by far. Looking like a mutant, or a goblin wearing a truly ugly beret - but the good things was that he actually knew what this was! Turban squash he wrote on his marker, and then punched the air with a delighted exclamation when that didn't immediately disappear.

So far so good. Dino got to his knees and examined the plant. It wasn't much bigger than those around him, and the squash wasn't huge yet either, so that probably meant it hadn't had any charms performed on it. Hesitantly, he wrote just moldu plant food on the marker. When the writing stayed where it was, he pushed the marker into the ground and sat back on his heels, wondering what he should do next.

Honoré smiled at professor Bonaccord who incidentally was also a distant relative (his mother was a Bonaccord as well) when she greeted the class and said that she hoped they had had a wonderful summer. His summer had been decent, not wonderful, but he definitely was ready for the new year. He liked to be one student among many others rather than being a rich kid at a luxury hotel. At Beauxbatons he felt like a normal teenage boy and not like the heir to a great fortune that he never wanted.

Selecting a pumpkin did not seem like a very exciting task but it was okay, the boy assumed. Herbology was all about plants anyway and it did not matter if he had to water a pumpkin, a beautiful flower or a devil's snare, after all. The goal was to keep whichever plant alive. He could do that.

The professor asked them to take a marker and write their names on it. Honoré did not hesitate to do so and stood there with his marker, waiting for further instructions. He frowned slightly as they were told they needed to properly identify their pumpkin, figure out if it had been grown by moldu means or if magic had been used – how should he figure that out? Anyway, he opted for a smile. After all the Herbology professor had been kind enough to tell them they could use their knowledge or their textbooks.

He took his textbook and opened it at the chapter on pumpkins and made his way to the patch, walking next to Lijsbeth and offering his friend a little smile. “Nice task, isn't it?” he said, little conviction in his voice. At least they'd be working mostly by themselves, it seemed. That should be pretty relaxed anyway.

With the help of his textbook he identified a turban squash that he would otherwise not have known and wrote 'buttercup squash, grown using moldu means' onto his marker before putting it in the earth next to the pumpkin. He was pretty sure that he had correctly identified the pumpkin. However, when it came to whether it had been grown using moldu or magical means he could not tell for sure.

Lijsbeth's question was quite a clever one and Honoré nodded approvingly. Since he wasn't sure about whether magical or moldu means had been used, he was quite interested in hearing professor Bonaccord's answer.

While he wasn't a natural green thumb, Jaspar wasn't a total menace when it came to Botanique. He'd done the reading, he thought he'd be able to pick out a pumpkin when they went out to the patch, but he had been so wrong. He'd spent the better half of the class heading out and getting the answers all wrong. His marker was probably going to run out soon at this rate. His cheeks were pink, his forehead a little sweaty, as he tried and failed again to identify a type of squash correctly. One time he had almost gotten the right answers, he'd known the species' name, but he'd messed up in thinking it must have been grown by magical means. The fruit had been as high as his thighs; he felt sure there had to be charms involved, but he had been wrong.

Sighing, he headed further down the row of pumpkins, trying desperately not to take all day to pick one, and feeling the pressure. Running a nervous hand through his blonde hair, the tall wizard doubled over to inspect another fruit. "Rai, check this one out, it's blue!" He called his buddy even though he didn't know quite where he was in the rows of vines.

"Wait!" He shot up, remembering he'd read something about this kind before, about it being so blue. "This is a Jarrahdale Blue Pumpkin." Jaspar pronounced it wrong, but the name was generally right. Writing on the stone, he claimed that it was grown by muggle means and watched (fingers crossed) as it wiped the slate clean.

Welp, wrong again.

“A lovely variety,” Nice commented first on Lijsbeth’s chosen pumpkin with a wide smile. “Ten points to Bellefeuille for a correct identification, well done.” Bérénice nodded, then raised her voice a little louder as she answered Lijsbeth’s question; “You may, however it would then need to be entered into the magically grown categories in the festival. And you must be careful what charms you apply to a pumpkin -- or any plant -- that has so far grown naturally as it can upset them. Apply an Engorgement Charm too long or too often and it will just cause the pumpkin to explode, for example. It takes a delicate application.”

The Healer waited a beat before moving on, wandering through the patch with her ears pricked to listen for any more questions that might come her way (directly or indirectly).  She spotted Dino, sitting back with a successfully marked slate after having made a few attempts, and smiled. “Merveilleux, five points to Papillonlisse. Would you like to assist your squash’s growth with some more food, or perhaps protect it from pests?” she suggested gently.

Nice came across Honoré next, and had to remind herself she couldn’t partake in favouritism (he was in her house) or nepotism (he was family) -- especially not in front of the other students, at least. She smiled and peered at his marker as the writing faded; he’d identified it as a buttercup, but it was a turban  squash.  “Not quite. A close cousin,” she smirked softly, hoping that was enough of a clue.

She stepped away and towards a group of seventh years -- those who would be taking their N.E.W.T.s at the end of the year. Bérénice smiled at Jaspar and withdrew her wand, wiggling it subtly between two fingers at the Bellefeuille to give him a hint.

Lijsbeth nodded thoughtfully, though her face broke into a wide smile at the mention of winning points for her house. She knew engorgement charms could have mixed results, but that wasn't exactly what she'd been thinking of. Winning the competition didn't really matter to her, that would be too stressful and take up time that would be better spent on her obligatory studies, but she did want to put on a good show. In the Bellefeuille's mind, that meant not necessarily producing the largest pumpkin, so long as it was one that looked good and was eyecatching. That was one of the reasons she'd sought out a Crown Prince squash rather than one with conventional orange skin. "Thank you Professeur Bonaccord, I'll make sure it doesn't explode" she said quietly, oblivious to the giggles of one or two younger students nearby. Clearly not everyone thought an exploding pumpkin would be a bad thing.

She then checked around the pumpkin for any signs of slugs and, having decided that she was going to use magical means, carefully cast a slug and fly-repelling charm. It was quite tricky to direct into a small area, so anyone who happened to pick the plants closest to her own would likely get the benefit as well. As for the skin colour, she would continue with the enhancing tonic it had already been fed, which would help a little with the size as well, but she needed to research another charm. She knew there was one that would make the greyish-blue of the pumpkin glow in the dark and give off a light of it's own, but it wasn't one she'd yet perfected. Sitting back on her heels, she was about to ask permission to go back to the greenhouse to mix up a batch of the plant tonic when she realised Honoré was having difficulties. She leaned back slightly so he would hear her whisper.

"It's a turban squash" she whispered, hoping Professeur Bonaccord was by now far enough away and assisting someone else so she wouldn't be able to hear, and then, turning around to face him, she added "I almost picked one of them myself. They look so weird they're perfect for Hallowe'en and they grow that way all by themselves without any need for charms..." Just idle conversation, she told herself. Certainly she wasn't offering anyone else an answer.

Looking around at the rest of the class in hopes of inspiration, Dino spotted his little brother waving enthusiastically from where he was sitting next to what appeared to be a large, regular pumpkin. Giving the younger boy a cheerful thumbs up, he looked back at his own plant and tried to figure out what he should do. Maybe a growth charm to make it turn into a giant? Would that work on this kind of squash, though? The whole point of these ones was that they naturaly looked weird without anyone needing to do anything to them, and besides with his track record, Dino would probably make the poor thing explode if he tried to charm it.

Then Professeur Bonaccord actually awarded him points for a correct choice and suggested what he might like to do next. Protect it from pests...that was a good idea. A couple of other students were already casting protective charms on their own plants, but annoyingly they were good enough to be able to do it without speaking, or at least by speaking so quietly that Dino had no idea what they were actually saying. Frowning for a moment, Dino decided the best course of action would be go back to the greenhouse and find a suitable potion. He hesitated after getting to his feet, but when nobody asked what he was doing he figured it was okay to go back. Once inside he searched the student stores until he found a bottle of regular slug repellant. 'Two scoops per plant' the instruction said, so a moment later he was back by his squash, carefully spreading the weird little pellets around the base of the plant and in a circle around the fruits.

he sat back, satisfied for the moment. There! At least this year he wasn't going to grow something riddled with slugs!

Honoré looked down, feeling a little ashamed that he had misidentified his pumpkin. It was particularly embarrassing as their professor was a distant relative and his head of house. Fortunately, though, she was really kind about it. He nodded to himself, her hint already leading him to assume that it was a turban squash but, truth be told, he was not confident enough to change the label just yet.

Fortunately Lijsbeth had overheard the comment that Bérénice had made to him and now offered some help. Honoré smiled gratefully as his friend told him that his pumpkin was a turban squash and had not needed any magical means to grow the way it was now. “Merci,” he whispered under his breath and updated his label with the information that the Bellefeuille had given him.

Now the boy looked at his pumpkin with a slight frown. It was not that he did not enjoy the class. Botanique was really interesting, but somehow the Ombrelune preferred writing an essay, sitting in the library, skimming through different books and summarising what he found. Facing a plant and being responsible for it was harder. He tried to remember what he had read about pumpkins and how to take care of them but he wasn't exactly sure there was anything worthwhile. Besides his pumpkin did look as though it was doing quite well. No need to actually do a lot about it, was there?

He decided to fetch a slug repellent anyway and applied that.

The end of the lesson period drew nearer and Bérénice was happy to see most students content to work on their pumpkins -- and impressed by the variety of methods they were using. Five minutes before the class was due to officially finish, she clapped her hands once to draw everyone’s attention.

“We will leave it there for today,” she smiled. “Please tidy away any tools you have used and return any potions, tonics, or repellents to where you found them. I will see you all next lesson.”



ooc:

i will keep this topic open so that anyone who still wishes to post may do so for class posts, but no further house points will apply from this point.

As their professor announced that they should finish their work and tidy everything up, Honoré nodded, feeling somewhat grateful that this practical lesson had come to an end. While the Ombrelune was a good student in general, classes like this were hard for him.

He took the can with the slug repellent he had just used and brought it back to the shelf from where he had taken it. Then he went back to his pumpkin to check it one last time and see if he should tidy away anything else, before going back to grab his bag and shoulder it.

“Bye, see you next lesson,” he told their professor in passing, offering his distant relative a small smile. He never knew if the fact that they were related meant anything in class. He liked to think it didn’t but truth be told he wasn’t entirely sure. However, he tried to see her solely as a professor when they saw each other at Beauxbatons.

At the exit of the greenhouse he waited for Lijsbeth to catch up with him, thinking that they could return to the school building together. He also wanted to thank her properly again for having helped him with the identification of his pumpkin.

[out]

Lijsbeth's head jerked up in surprise. She's been so engrossed in tending her pumpkin she hadn't noticed how quickly time was passing. Okay, so no time to mix up any sort of a tonic today, but she made a mental note to come back in her next free period. That was...tomorrow just before lunch, so she would have time to research the ingredients and method before then. In fact, maybe she would look up the colour enhancing charm as well. If she was using one kind of magical enhancement, why not try several? For the first time ever Lijsbeth felt as though she had a chance of winning one of the categories.

Smiling, she sat back on her heels, brushing the dirt from her hands. It didn't do much to make them any cleaner so she pulled out her wand, muttering "Tergeo" to remove the rest of the soil. The fact that it didn't get the little brown half moons out from under her fingernails just told her that she needed more practise with that one, but she was determined not to allow herself to worry about that. It had been a good lesson and there was no need to start feeling anxious again now. Lijsbeth took two deep breaths with her eyes closed before getting to her feet.

Some of the youngest students were already running back to the greenhouse to collect their bags. Lijsbeth remembered when she'd been that excited by all her classes as she walked behind them, and was pleasantly surprised to see Honoré waiting outside the greenhouse. "Waiting for someone?" she asked with a tiny wink (definitely not enough that he might actually notice) as she quickly stuffed her textbook back into her bag and slung it over her shoulder. A quick glance told her that Honoré was indeed still waiting, and the sixth year hoped fervently that she wasn't blushing as she joined him and they began walking back up to the school together.

[out]

Once he'd applied the slug repellent around his pumpkin plant, there didn't seem to be much else for Dino to do. He got up from the patch and wandered over to where his little brother had chosen his large, well-shaped regular pumpkin. The fifth year had a vague idea of offering the slug repellent, but the smaller boy was already chatting avidly with two other second years about what spells they wanted to use in order to produce record-breaking giant pumpkins.

For the first time, Dino had the horrible feeling that Silvan might not need him any more. He watched the younger students, feeling entirely redundant before wandering back to his own pumpkin, but there was nothing else he could do. That wasn't true of course, he could decide to use charms and magical potions, but from the looks of things most people seemed to be doing that. Maybe if he just continued to grow this one without and magic at all, he'd be the only one to try it and thus would win that class by default!

The thought made him feel rather better, though he was still pleased when Professeur Bonaccord announced it was nearing the end of the lesson. Dino immediately picked up his blottle of slug repellent and took it back to the store cupboard, where he hung around until other students started coming on to collect their bags. Satisfied that he wasn't going to be the first person to leave the class, Dino collected his own belongings and headed back to the main school building for his next lesson.

[out]