He'd made the Headmistress laugh, that had to be a good sign. Laughing always meant happy, didn't it? And happy was always good. Yeah. Definitely a good sign. Even though he'd not actually intended his answer to be a funny one, Toby could definitely roll with it.

Once it was time to get started, Toby pulled the earmuffs back up and over his ears, only when he was extra super certain that Truebridge had finished giving her instructions. The world went suddenly silent, eerily so, and Toby wondered if perhaps the earmuffs were enhanced with magic to make extra sure they did their job. His gloves were still on from when he went to take a look at the mundane mandrake, so Toby went ahead and moved to the work area, eager to get started quickly.

Wasting more time at all, Toby zoned in on one of the mandrakes. He firmly grasped at the leaves, right at the base where they sprouted from its head. He adjusted his grip, making certain that he would wrench the plant from the soil and not accidentally pull any leaves out. When he was absolutely certain he had hold of it properly, Toby gave the mandrake a great pull.

It took a moment, 'cause Toby wasn't exactly amazingly strong, though the fact that other kids had removed other mandrakes meant the surrounding soil was more likely to give when he pulled. But out it came, the mandrake, covered in soil and quite clearly bawling its head off, though Toby wouldn't have been able to know that without looking. The earmuffs were doing their work.

He allowed himself a second just to take a good look at the mandrake, because he was curious about all the plants ever. Not wanting to get TOO distressed, or... like... cold, or whatever, Toby quickly and carefully moved it into its new pot, the one right in front of him. After settling the mandrake inside, the Hufflepuff used his gloved hands to scoop up soil from the original plant, taking it from the exact position he'd found his plant, and adding it to the new pot as well. So it felt more at home, like Truebridge said.

When that was done, Toby looked up and towards Truebridge, because they weren't going to be able to hear her if she called out for their attention again. Yeah. His EYES were his EARS now. Except that his EAR!EYES kept straying back to the mandrake, watching the leaves squirm slightly, and then back to the Headmistress again. And back to the mandrake... and then the Headmistress.