SPOILER!!: 1st question
Paul was running late, but for very good reason.
He was ....ah, getting ready. He glanced at his watch, GASPED, and fixed the wig atop his face without smearing ANY of the paint, and quickly ran to his first Herbology lesson of the term...in heels. What a feat! Milton would have been proud. Paul was PROUD OF HIMSELF, thank you very much.
Regardless of what the students were doing, Paul BURST into the greenhouse, slamming the door open QUITE dramatically.
"WHO'S BEEN PAINTING MY ROSES RED? WHO has been panting MY ROSES RED?!" he cried, VERY much in character, GLARING at his students like he had never glared at them before. Did he look menacing? He was going for menacing. He grabbed a fistful of the red roses from a nearby bush and pulled them from the rest of the bush, internally wincing at the PLANT MURDERING he was doing, but this was all for character AND he could fix them in a moment. The roses turned white as soon as he touched them, and he throw them on the ground.
"Who dares to paint--the vulgar paint!--the royal flower bed?! For painting my roses red...SOMEONE WILL LOSE HIS HEAD!" Or her or unspecified. Ahem. Paul wanted to add.
And end scene. Paul smirked....began laughing...hysterically...and then took a bow because what a LOVELY performance that had been. He grabbed a cup of tea from one of the tables and moved to sit on the table in the front, crossing his feet at his ankles like he'd seen his mother do countless times while wearing a dress. He sipped his tea. "Everyone DRINK UP--" he said with a wink. "Now--if you noticed--" he gestured at the roses he had thrown. "The roses turned white when I touched them. Someone tell me why. Guess. Think. Make something up----GO--"
This was the first lesson of the year. Nothing too serious, eh? It was why he saw some MAJOR uniform violations and decided he wouldn't care about them...for now. HE was a walking uniform violation right now, wasn't he?
Here she was thinking that she was late as she slowed to a walking pace right before she entered the greenhouse. This time she wasn't out of breath and it wasn't for the lack of late night taco indulgences. Nope. That still happened, but she made a point to be even more active. She was pretty sure this canceled out the stuffing of her face. Pretty sure. AJ had just enough time to slip in and snag a tea before the professor burst in - rather dramatically too- she might add.
Normal people probably had that sinking feeling when the professor went on about somebody painting his roses. Which, by the way, who would do that? What was the point? But, AJ didn't. In fact she didn't even flinch because never in her life had she seen this man mad. Not to mention that she handled crazy pretty well. It was going to take a lot more than that to get a reaction out of her.
When a question came up, instead of actually pondering what the answer would be she instantly thought... magic. Yup, that the first thing that came to her mind. AJ Valentine, a seventh year student came up with that. Yup, this chick was ready for university. Of course if she really tried better answers would have come to mind, but it seemed like the others had that covered. Instead she giggled to herself, and promised that she would try harder next time.
SPOILER!!: 2nd question
He sat atop the table in the front once more. “As Landon, Oliver both mentioned---TEMPERATURE is what changes the color, exactly. And even more specifically, our BODY heat is what does it for the roses, as Janelle said, but I must show you--” he waved his wand, and an ENORMOUS blast of HOT AIR shot out, enveloping the entire room and...changing all of the roses white. Paul waved his wand again to get rid of it. “They are VERY sensitive to temperature change, actually, and they turn WHITE to actually show they are too warm. It’s mostly helpful if they’ve been kept in the sun too long and need some shade for a few hours or day or so.”
WASN’T THAT COOL?
“Now, mundane roses do turn whiter in color in the summer. So, some of you suggesting this is a magical hybrid are correct--they ARE a hybrid, created by Herbologist Theodore Wimbleton in 2065. So they’re relatively NEW to the field, as you can see. BUT with care...and love...they’re pretty similar to regular roses, as you all..will see.” Oh he smirked a bit evilly there.
“First lesson of the year! So...we’re doing some easier things today, kids! Tell me the parts of the rose plant--which did you all know was a SHRUB, actually?” How funny. He slipped off the table and grabbed a piece of chalk, for once using his hand and not his wand to draw on the board. He drew a pretty simple flower. “Don’t worry about writing this stuff down. Just..let’s go over it before we get into our activity. BUT--what ARE the parts of the rose and what is their function? Tell me everything you know!”
Temperature. Well, that was interesting. AJ actually didn't know that which was a shame because her very own sister was a plant freak. She meant that in a good way! Speaking of that, she really didn't even need to take notes all lesson because she had her very own walking, talking plant 'know it all' that lived with her. So much for trying harder next time. She totally meant next lesson anyways.
People were naming off plant stuff left and right and AJ nodded and smiled in all of the right places. That counted for something, yes? Besides, it was hard to get a word in anyways. AJ was listening though and supporting her fellow peers. Besides, the firsties were the ones who needed to know this stuff. She was good.
SPOILER!!: And we are little :3
He cleared his throat, and smirked…”Now...time for the EXCITEMENT...” he chuckled evilly to himself. “I would like you ALL to gather in a circle here, in the front of the room, around this--” he gestured to the potted rosebush in the front of the room--”Rosebush!” Because surprise surprise….
“Now…” he had a hold of his wand. “I spiked your tea and water with a shrinking solution--” he said casually, “So ANY minute now, we’re going to SHRINK--and don’t worry, we’ll land right in the middle of that plant--” he had planned this out carefully. Magic was a thing. “OH and those of you who did NOT drink the tea--” Paul had taken note. He whipped his wand about and non-verbally shrunk them down to size and caaaaarefully made sure they were safely delivered onto the soil of the plant. It was time to HONEY I SHRUNK THE KIDS all up here--
“Any second now the rest of us should all shrink and join the others--”
And before he knew it, he was shrinking--he could see, collectively, his students all shrinking--keeping his wand poised, he made sure they all landed SAFELY without snaggling against any of those thorns...onto the soil.
The roses...towered above them.
“As you all can SEE...those roses are quite a different story from down here! And exquisite and BEAUTIFUL!” it was like being in a very tall forest where the tops of the trees were flowers instead of...leaves and stuff. COOL, you see? DID THEY UNDERSTAND?
“So, for today’s activity...I will be giving you all RIDDLES that have to do with...taking care of the rosebush...and you all will solving the riddles AND in turn...doing the actions! I’ll let you all gain your footing before we begin…” Ahem. There were tiny buckets...scattered around the soil, hidden behind some smaller stems and whatnot. Paul had set out a chair for himself, and was sipping his tea quite calmly in his dress as he looked around. “Is everyone...ready?”
Wait. They were going to shrink? AJ sat up a little taller and made sure she had her listening ears on because this lesson had gotten even more interesting. The seventh year looked down at her drink and smiled. That tricky old man. The students that didn't even drink were going to be shrunk 'manually' HAHA. He had thought of everything.
People were shrinking all around her and she had to fight the urge to pick up her neighbor just because she could. Before that thought had time to become a reality, she was shrinking herself. Awesome.
Looking around, she could see the professor's point. It really was a different view this way. Whoa, baby. AJ really appreciated a hands on lesson. Riddles though? Did she look like a Ravenclaw? Either way, she was ready.
Let's do this!!