Quote:
Originally Posted by
griffin 
Isa beamed at Professor Myers. He liked them - no, even better - he LOVED them! Her favorite professor ever loved her plant that she had bred and raised all by herself, with a few tips from mum. "They respond to environmental conditions. Things like exposure to light and heat. I'm not exactly sure how it works though. Maybe the pigments are temperature sensitive or light sensitive." Isa trusted Professor Myers to keep the plant alive. He was the herbology professor after all. It would be very worrying if the herbology professor couldn't keep plants alive, because someone who was a plant killer shouldn't be a herbology professor. You know what would be really interesting to study? How this color changing stuff actually worked in the plant. How did the pigments in the flowers work? Why did they change when exposed to certain conditions?
"They only eat other flesh eating firs? Interesting. A way to compete for space?" Seemed like a good place to start. Being able to eat other plants of your species must be a useful advantage when you were a plant in a crowded area competing for resources. "Good to know they won't eat me." Isa wanted to expand her knowledge of plants, not be eaten by one. "Do you think you could show me how to work with them, please?" Huh. Plants with teeth. Magical plants were amazing. There were so many unique approaches to life even among mundane plants, and magical plants were even more special.
"So, they're similar to my color changing roses, then? They respond to warmth." Isa hopefully remembered that lesson! It had been one of his FINEST lessons, you know. Costume and all. And SHRINKAGE. HONEY I SHRUNK THE STUUUUUUDENTS! and all. Heh, that had been fun, even if it made many of his students not trust him ever again. Looking at you, Dora Umbridge.
"Well, they eat all fir trees, not just the flesh eating ones." He clarified for her.
"Of course I can! Absolutely. We'll find some time in your schedule, yes, m'dear. They're quite docile besides the whole...teeth thing." But again, NO HARM COULD COME TO HUMANS from those guys. CANNIBALS. ONLY ATE OTHER FIR TREES. They were SAFE. Paul smiled, though. "
You want to eventually go into something to do with plants then, Isa?" he asked curiously.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Shanners Rooney found himself sighing at how he had taken the words previously from his Professor and immediately feeling bad for it. Not bad enough to warrant an apology, but people understood that Rooney rarely apologised for what he said or thought about what people had said to him. Feelings and thoughts did not require apologies if they were still your belief, yes? That was how he felt about it, which Roo knew was against a lot of other people. It was him as a person, no matter the lack of understanding from others. He wasn't a bad person. He was just his own person. "No lines crossed, Sir.." His voice was quiet and he still hadn't been able to make eye contact, so he continued to look at his lap.
Until the conversation returned to his education and he felt able to look at Paul once more. "I just want to continue my studies in something, Sir. I could study musical theatre, but I doubt that there is much more for me to learn when it's been in my life since I was three. I could study History of Magic, but it's something that is everchanging and I doubt I have the wordly experience to form my own independent opinions about things that happened. And I love both Charms and Herbology, but...I want to study one." So that his time at university wasn't split between two subjects. That was the thing he hated about university.. that people were able to study more than one thing at the same time. It didn't warrant a degree to him.
"Oh. Yes. Sure.."
Paul nodded and stood up, but he only went so far as the door separating his meeting space from his
office, opened it, and levitated the freshly made tea from within. The kettle, on a tray with two teacups and various sugars and milks, floated gingerly towards Rooney with Paul as conductor.
The more the conversation went on, the more Paul had to deal with the VERY real fact that Rooney would be leaving at the end of term. And it made him
sad. Why did students do this to him?
"Well. You have a very clear knack for Herbology. I am not familiar with your charms work or your grades in that area, seeing as I'm not your head of house, so I can't tell you about Charms. But Dublin has a very good Herbology program. One of the best, really. When thinking about these things, it's important to think about location as well. If you really have no preference, of course." Paul added two packets of sugar and just a dash of milk before sipping.
"Eh, it's a little lukewarm. I won't be offended if you warm it up," and he flashed Rooney a smile.
"Charms might...be less specific of a degree to have, depending on what you want to do after University. Herboloy is so specific..." he sighed.
"It might not be what one wants to hear, but...it's the truth." It wasn't like Herbology wasn't useful or able to adapt, but....it wasn't like Charms.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
sweetpinkpixie
Please never mention this thought aloud, professor. It may frighten him into believing his future lay only with Dark wizards! HE HAD DREAMS AND AMBITIONS TO CHAAAAAAAAASE!
"ALL OF THEM!"
Okay...but slowing down was really REALLY hard in times of desperation, you know? And he was as panicked as a kneazle in a room full of rocking chairs right now over Abey's emotional safety at this school and just in general.
So he took a DEEP breath - like a SUPER DUPER deep one - and started over again. "S-S-S-So we are at the lake, the BLACK LAKE, for a healing s-seminar. Healer Reed was-s-s no where to be S-SEEN but the others-s-s were there. And that one s-s-shopkeeper from Hogsmeade. The one with the TEETH and who I kinda think COULD be a vampire. Maybe. His-s teeth are just too BIG and s-s-stuff, you know?" He was already sidetracked a little. Hold on, he was getting back on the rails. "BUT...all of a s-s-sudden the creepy big teeth bloke falls in the water...and then Profes-s-ssor Hirsch does-s-s TOO. AND THEN they are both floating in the water and stuff and they LOOK LIKE THEY DIED...because they are just floating...and it turns-s-s out they were only PRETENDING...and Healer Reed was-s-s actually there ALL THE TIME all Dis-s-sillusioned and s-s-stuff...but Abey he...he had a panic attack...becaus-s-se things reminded him of las-s-st term...and not a single adult...not ONE moved to help him....or me... becaus-s-se I froze too. And...and he was crying...BROKEN...it it it...was just...his-s-s face, profes-s-sor...it looked JUS-S-ST like when he came back from that portal...I know he was reliving the horrors-s-s ins-s-side his-s-s head..and Healer Reed HAD to know it was-s-s too s-s-soon to put him in a s-s-situation like that. He HAD to! But they...WE TRUS-S-STED THEM AND THEY BETRAYED OUR TRUS-ST!"
The second year's hands had balled up into fists at some point during his story and an uncomfortable shimmer had come over his bright blues,
fading them a little. Nope. He was not going to cry in front of a Dark wizard.
Okay maybe he was just going to wibble his lower lip dramatically.
Wow.
The entire story had Paul sipping his tea quietly. Pretend death for the sake of a lesson seemed....unethical, did it not? His brow creased in mild irritation. And people said PAUL'S use of the shrinking solution on his students UNKNOWINGLY WAS UNETHICAL? Well, in hindsight, Paul did too. Nonetheless, he didn't immediately respond to Derf. He swallowed his tea, set his teacup down, and......gave a long sigh.
"They really had you and Abey believing they were....dead?" he asked.
"Did you both tell the professors how it made you feel?" Paul was aaaalllll about the discussion of feelings, yes.
"Is...Abey okay? Are you okay, m'boy?" His tone was concerned, now, and he met the boy's gaze. Derf had exploded, really, and seemed a bit discombobulated. He thought the professors could use a more
persnickety approach to things...from now on...Merlin. Last term had been DREADFULLY traumatic.