Herbology final. One of her favorite classes, and one of her favorite professors. With a bright smile, she stepped into the greenhouse and greeted Professor Bentley with a hello. She thought that her theoretical portion had gone well, and she hoped the practical was just as good.

As the professor detailed the task, Kourt passed a wary eye over the Fanged Geraniums. They looked sort of dangerous, especially with those lethal looking fangs. She only hoped that she wouldn’t get bit, but she wouldn’t if she did as she was supposed to.

With a resolute nod, Kourtney pulled on her dragonhide gloves and raised her wand. For a moment, she studied the three heads of the plant, its vivid red petals catching her eye. Alright then. She needed to make use of the numbing charm to make this easier.

“Viro Torpeo !!” She cast, jabbing the wand at the first head of the plant, but not too close to where she would have hit it. She studied the first head and gently stretched her hand forward towards it. The charm appeared to have worked for the head attempted to make a snap at her hand, but it was a weak one and she was able to withdraw her hand quickly.

Fantastic. She repeated the “Viro Torpeo” on each of the other two heads. The first charm hit its target right on, but the second just grazed the other head as it moved at the last moment. Oh dear.

She drew a target on the moving head, which was moving slightly slower now. The initial spell appeared to have hit it, but not in full force. Kourtney cast the spell again, this time hitting it squarely in the middle.

Now to remove the fangs….She made sure that her gloves were secure and approached the first head. She placed a hand on top of the head, closing her fingers in a gentle, but firm grip and used her other hand to grab hold of the fang. The head made little attempt to stop her, and she yanked her hand in a quick, downward motion.

The fang easily slid out and she dropped it into the nearby jar while still holding onto the head so that it didn’t move. There were two fangs per head, so she had five more to go. She repeated the process with the second fang, yanking it in a downward motion once more. Success!

Before she began the work on the second head, she studied the plant for a moment, just to make sure it was still numb enough. It wouldn’t be a fun experience to get a bite. Once she had determined that it was safe, Kourt began to work again, pulling out the two additional fangs with little to no trouble.

One more head to go. And this was the one that she had to hit twice with the numbing charm. The head appeared woozier than the others, bobbing slightly on its stem. Again, she held onto the head with one hand, and yanked with the other. Uh…..oh.

The fang wasn’t moving. She yanked again. There was a little give. Now why was this one being so difficult? Yet another yank, this time pulling with all of her strength.
Eh..that might have been a little too hard. She nearly lost her grip on the head of the plant and the fang nearly flew from her hand. Sheepishly, she dropped the fang into the jar. Now to the final fang. This one didn’t give her any trouble at all, sliding easily from the plant.

Now that the collection was complete, she surveyed the rest of the items on the table. So she would prune, water, and fertilize. No problem.

Picking up the shears, she walked around the plant to determine which parts needed to be pruned. Once she had determined this, she set to work, pruning bits of the plant that could possibly stunt its growth. It didn’t appear to need much pruning, but it was always best to keep a plant neat without the excessive stuff.

Now to water it…She picked up her wand again, waved it, and cast Aguamenti! A stream of water flowed from her wand and she walked around the plant, making sure that the water was evenly distributed. There had to be plenty of water for the plant to grow, but one shouldn’t over-water it. Then it would just make the soil a sopping mess.

Next step was the hippogriff fertilizer. She scooped up a handful of it and sprinkled it around the base of the plant. It appeared as though the numbing charm was starting to wear off, as the plant seemed a bit more vigorous. Kourt finished distributing the fertilizer, and stepped back.

Done.

With that, she removed her gloves, cleaned her workspace with the Scourgify charm, and picked up the bag of Bertie Botts. Yum.

Kourtney carried the jar to the professor and lifted it towards her. “Here you are, Professor Bentley. Thanks for the great year and for the sweets!” She grinned again and then made her way out of the greenhouse. “Goodbye!”