Good, bees suck on Herbology

Professor Nathan Xavier

September 11, 2018 2:33 PM

Intermediates: It’s a Bee Eating Plant! by Professor Nathan Xavier

Nathan stood just inside the door of Greenhouse One as the intermediates arrived. He handed back their homework essays with a personalized comment for each student based on their work. Some remarks were as simple as ‘good job’ while others highlighted interesting points or observations the student had made. Occasionally, he reminded a student that he had office hours all day on Wednesdays and they could stop in any time if they were having trouble, but the necessity for that was fortunately slim. Overall, they had done pretty well writing about the flutterby bush.

“Welcome back,” he greeted once everyone had arrived and taken seats. Intermediates were his last class of the day, and he suspected that by the 3:30 start time, many of them were ready to be done for the day. Nathan found himself sympathizing today. It was a Thursday, and since he didn’t teach on Fridays, this was effectively his last lesson before the weekend.

“Continuing on with our unit of semi-dangerous carnivorous plants,” Nathan began, “we’re going to look at the Beebane plant today, which belongs to the sundew family. Unlike the Flutterby bush, which only flowers once a century, but aims for larger prey, Beebane plants have flowers that bloom most of the year. However, as the name implies, they aren’t looking to eat wizards. They capture insects as they try to pollinate the flowers and eat them.”

“What makes this a magical plant is that the flowers are not botanical flowers; they are purely illusionary and used as a lure and disguise for the plant’s mouth. It will make small flowers for a single day each year that are actual real reproductive flowers, but most of the time, their ‘flowers’ are purely a hunting mechanism. Once an insect lands on it, the flower vanishes, revealing a brightly colored stem with sticky tendrils that hold the insect in place as it is slowly consumed.”

“Still,” he continued, “wizards do need to be careful and should wear gloves while handling a Beebane plant. Those tendrils will attack anything that gets too close to the flowers and they can make your fingers numb. For that reason, those tendrils are harvested and used in several anesthetic potions, as well as several that aid deception.”

Nathan gestured toward the back of the greenhouse where a rack of three shelves held enough potted flowering plants for everyone to get one, “Which is precisely what we will be doing today. Make sure you take notes and observations about the flowers before you touch them, and about the tendrils and mouth stem after you do. Also collect a glass vial from my desk to put your harvested tendrils into. Cut them as close to the mouth as you can without getting any of the stem itself. They will grow back in about a week if the stem is left intact.”

OOC: I made up the Beebane plant. The flowers are magic illusions and can mimic any other kind of flower, though each individual plant
probably just produces one kind of flower. Tendrils based on the carnivorous plant Drosera capensis: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drosera_capensis . Feel free to make up additional details. Have fun! You know the drill by now.

Subthreads:

Good, bees suck by Ivy Brockert, Teppenpaw

Or a Victor Eating Plant... [Tag Emerald] by Victor Callahan, Crotalus with Emerald Brockert, Aladren

1 Professor Nathan Xavier Intermediates: It’s a Bee Eating Plant! 28 Professor Nathan Xavier 1 5

Ivy Brockert, Teppenpaw

September 24, 2018 5:48 PM

Good, bees suck by Ivy Brockert, Teppenpaw

Ever since that Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson, Ivy had had Cleo on her mind. Not in a way that meant she was attracted to Cleo but more that she was concerned about her fellow fourth year. She couldn't imagine having something very personal about herself announced to the entire school. Not that Ivy had anything about her that would be of interest to anyone like that.

She guessed there was some...safety factor involved. That was awful too. What that had to do to Cleo to think that people were afraid of her. The Teppenpaw honestly couldn't imagine what that would be like other than unpleasant. Of course, there was genuninely nothing scary about Ivy. Maybe if you were a Muggle who was afraid of magic, as they had been during the witch trials. Daddy said there were still Muggles like that out there, that thought magical folk were evil abominations. But Ivy wasn't around them and everyone she knew had magic.

Of course, she did feel for any Muggleborns who came from such a background. Her cousin Ryan was a social worker and occasionally had to deal with the sort. Rescuing a Muggleborn whose parents wouldn't accept them having magic and placing them with magical foster parents in hopes that they'd get placed with adoptive parents who'd love them for who they are.

Anyway, Ivy was a Teppenpaw and people weren't scared of Teppenpaws. Usually any negative stereotypes about the was that they were weak and wimpy. A stereotype that quite frankly didn't bother her, as she'd rather be thought weak than be thought of as any of the negative stereotypes that the other houses had.

And the thought that there were people like that out there, that thought Ivy was an abomination and evil because she had the ability to do magic made her feel even more for someone like Cleo, who'd only be considered half-human by some people. Maybe she should try to reach out to her?

However, she was brought out of these thoughts by Professor Xavier's lecture. Herbology was Ivy's favorite class and he was her favorite professor now that Sophie wasn't here anymore. The fourth year knew that Peyton really missed Sophie and she was glad her cousin had her, Vlad and Jasmine.

And she was quite pleased with assignment. Even though Ivy wasn't an Aladren, she really liked to learn. Most of her free time, if not spent with her brother and cousin, was spent reading, doing puzzles and playing her piccolo.

Working with Beebane plants sounded wonderful to her. Ivy had never liked bees much and her little sister was allergic to them which had made like them even less. She and Daddy had spent a good deal of time helping the house-elves plant this very thing to drive bees away from their house so they wouldn't get Lavender. She remembered when her sister had had her reaction to being stung. The younger girl had swollen up really bad and developed hives. She hadn't been able to breathe but she'd gotten medical attention in time. Still, it had been really scary and in the aftermath, Lavender had been plagued with nightmares of being chased by swarms of bees. She'd insisted on having a Beebane plant in her room as well.

So, it was a plant that Ivy had an experience with. Except that they hadn't harvested tendrils, so this would be interesting. Even though the tendrils also were used in aiding deception, and Ivy was generally opposed to lying, she could see the benefits of keeping some secrets. She got a plant and got to work. "Interesting assignment, isn't it?" She said to her neighbor.

11 Ivy Brockert, Teppenpaw Good, bees suck 394 Ivy Brockert, Teppenpaw 0 5

Victor Callahan, Crotalus

September 26, 2018 1:27 PM

Or a Victor Eating Plant... [Tag Emerald] by Victor Callahan, Crotalus

Victor was still a little concerned about Jehan, following their conversation earlier in the day, but had decided the situation was probably just one of those life lessons that you got as you grew older, which helped ease his mind. He didn’t want Jehan to ever be sad, but it was a fact that, as you grew up, you had to be less demonstrative (except when it came to girlfriends, of course, because successful relationships were things to be tastefully flaunted). He worried about Jehan, knowing that his younger brother didn’t always see eye-to-eye with their parents. In response to this, Victor tried even harder to be the perfect pureblood son, hoping that would ease the pressure on Jehan. To be quite honest, this tactic wasn’t too hard for Victor. For all that he was easy-going and fun-loving, Victor had a strong sense of duty when it came to his family, and was determined to do what he could to keep the Callahan name respected and powerful.

On that note, Victor had decided to use this lesson as an opportunity to talk to Emerald Brockert. They hadn’t interacted much this term yet, but attending the ball with her had been pleasant. She was attractive, intelligent, and a Brockert, and Victor wasn’t averse to getting to know her a little better.

As instructed by Professor Xavier, Victor headed over to the racks of plants. Grabbing two pots, he quickly made his way over to Emerald and placed one on the bench near her with a flourish. “I took the liberty of procuring you a plant; I hope that’s ok,” he smiled at her in what was hopefully a vaguely charming manner. “At least these ones aren’t going to eat me, unlike the Flutterbys – although fighting off a wizard-eating plant would make an interesting lesson.”

Idly, he reached out a finger to poke the plant, pulling it back with a hiss as he slightly made contact with a tendril. “I’m fine, don’t worry,” he assured Emerald, waving his hand about in an attempt to get rid of the slight numbness. Luckily the plant had only brushed the top of one of his fingers, leaving only a very small area numb.

“Looks like I might end up being eaten by a plant anyway,” he grinned, feeling vaguely heroic despite not exactly having fought off a plant. “I guess that teaches me to put gloves on first.”

OOC: Sorry about tagging Emerald in a Herbology post, I wrote it before you'd posted Ivy! Not all class conversation has to be class-related tho, I reckon?

9 Victor Callahan, Crotalus Or a Victor Eating Plant... [Tag Emerald] 368 Victor Callahan, Crotalus 0 5

Emerald Brockert, Aladren

October 21, 2018 5:18 PM

I can think of a few people who I'd rather see be plant food by Emerald Brockert, Aladren

As it was Emerald's fifth year, CATS were on her mind. The end of the year tests were one of two things that girls of her age and social status were thinking about, the other of which being acceptable suitors. In her experience, they were usually more focused on the suitors but then her experience was with Angelique, Ruby-well okay, her sister hadn't really reached that age yet but she still seemed to think of this very much-and even Owen. The seventh and third years were very much the sort of girls who were about meeting a suitable pureblood man to marry. Meanwhile Owen's focus had been on Jemima and their future together.

Not that Emerald hadn't thought about it at all, because she actually felt she had options instead of desperately latching on to someone as Angelique had. Well, okay, that wasn't exactly fair either. The Crotalus was very popular outside of school and it wasn't as if Devin was a bad guy. The fifth year didn't know him well, but he seemed okay. Very much a gentleman.

Anyway, Emerald was more focused on....well, not so much the tests themselves. She studied of course, but not to excess as she wasn't really worried about passing. Instead, she was concerned with course choice. Other than Transfiguration which was a solid yes, she wasn't sure what else to take. She obviously didn't want to take more than four classes because not only was that overloading oneself but it made one look like a snotty little show-off. As someone whose family was the poster children for privilege, humility was a value that she had been taught-by her father,of course, as Mother was too flighty and useless to teach them about anything other than how to spend money and get pregnant while pawning the resulting offspring off on house-elves, nannies and Cory- even if some members of her family had ignored the message completely and others seemed to have difficulty grasping it yet.

As for overloading herself, she had heard the cautionary tales of a distant cousin who'd done just that and had been on the verge of a nervous breakdown by her last year of school. That so didn't appeal to her.

Emerald walked into Herbology and found a spot. She took out her quill and parchment in order to take notes. Professor Xavier began the lesson. She was happy to see that it was a practical one. A Beebane plant sounded quite lovely, who wanted bees around? The Aladren knew for a fact that her cousin Owen,despite not being allergic, was nearly as scared of them as he had been of Theodore Wolseithcrafte or the previous school medic.

Okay, yes, bees had their uses like pollinating flowers and make honey. It was just that....they could do that away from people where they couldn't harm them.

Before Emerald could go get a plant, Victor Callahan approached carrying one-presumably- for each of them. She accepted one of them " It''s no problem at all.Thank you very much." The Aladren replied. "It would be an interesting lesson to combine with Defense maybe."

"Oh!" She exclaimed as the plant attacked the other fifth year. "Well, I'm glad you're all right. Maybe plants just aren't your thing?"Emerald thought for a moment. "What classes are you planning to take next year anyway?"

11 Emerald Brockert, Aladren I can think of a few people who I'd rather see be plant food 358 Emerald Brockert, Aladren 0 5

Victor

November 12, 2018 1:25 PM

Shall I take that as a compliment? by Victor

Victor’s overtures seemed to be well-received, which was reassuring. Well, he hadn’t particularly been in need of reassuring – he was society, she was society, they’d had a nice time at the ball, and therefore he would have been quite surprised if his plant offering had been rejected – but it was always nice to be appreciated. Especially by Emerald Brockert.

“Ooh, how do you reckon Beebanes could be combined with Defence?” he asked, his ever-ready and over-imaginative brain jumping enthusiastically to this idea. “Maybe one could breed a variant that attacks people and more dangerous creatures? Or just increase the effects of whatever it is that causes the numbing?”

There really were quite a few cool options when it came to combining Defence and Beebanes. Victor could just imagine Aurors closing in on a criminal, Beebane plants held up and at the ready, like some kind of plant sword. Maybe there could be a new division in the Auror department, the HerbAurogists (okay, maybe he’d leave the naming up to someone else). Someone should let MACUSA know about all the possibilities they were missing out on!

Victor’s feeling of heroism was slightly called into question by Emerald suggesting plants weren’t his thing. They most definitely were his thing – did she not see how he’d coped with the attack? Then again, other people didn’t seem to have been numbed by them, so perhaps she had a point and he should just put his gloves on and abandon hopes of gaining mastery over and respect from plants.

Victor mentally crossed off Herbology from his mental list entitled ‘RATS I’m going to take’. This was, admittedly, not a list he’d thought about much so far, so he quickly reviewed his other options. There was CoMC, which could be boring but could equally include dragons; Charms, which was alright and probably useful; DADA, which was cool and definitely something he was going to take; Potions, which sometimes led to interesting creations but also involved lots of waiting and precision; Transfiguration, which was hard; Astronomy, which could be disappointing when there weren’t any shooting stars; and Divination and Muggle Studies, neither of which he had any time for.

“Definitely Defence Against the Dark Arts,” Victor replied, hoping that his reply was quick enough that it wouldn’t seem as if he hadn’t previously given RATS subjects much thought. He didn’t want to look stupid, and also he knew that he really should be thinking seriously about his CATS and RATS. Good grades were important, and he couldn’t avoid hard work as much now that he was getting older.

“Then probably Charms and Care of Magical Creatures, and perhaps Potions too,” he added. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to take three or four RATS, and would probably let his CATS scores decide what exactly was worth pursing to a higher level. “What about you? You’ll break my heart if we don’t end up in any classes together.” He smiled at her, sure that such a calamitous event would never really happen. Emerald was likely to take at least some of the subjects he had mentioned.

9 Victor Shall I take that as a compliment? 368 Victor 0 5