Quote:

Originally Posted by NicoT

Nicholai raised his hand, "Devils snare can be used to keep Wizards, beings or beasts in or out of a particular place, it has also been used as a murder weapon as it resembles flitterbloom and can be disguised as such." He thought for a second, "I suppose as long as you knew how to escape from it you could also use it as something soft to land on."

"Excellent example. Two points. Yes, you could use it to escape, and it would handle your attackers for you."

Quote:

Originally Posted by n1fanharry

"Really it could be used to protect something because if you fall in it the more you struggle the more likly it will be that you will die and most people don`t know that you have to be calm to pass through. And most people don`t know about its weakness light. So it would be great to use to protect something like a precous object" said Barry hand raised.

Quote:

Originally Posted by XanaSnape

Huzzah-- a professor that gave out points! Will raised his hand. "Like they said, it is an excellent defense system. You could use a fence of it it for a natural security fence around a campsite, because it would stay away from your campfire... and it could be used as a murder weapon... The sap of devil's snare is also used in strangulation solution, which constricts the lungs until the guys who swallows it dies... but I'm not sure if that counts as a 'raw' use, because you brew that in a potion." He hoped that was right.

"Correct, anything which causes its essence to be used rather than the plant in a more natural form isn't considered raw use. The tea just barely is because there is no magical interference."

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jason Potter Weasley

" Possibly eating animals and Muggles" Jason said as he raised his hand

Quote:

Originally Posted by PhoenixFlame

James hadn't been very talkative in class so far, but he raised his hand once he heard mention of a dangerous plant like Devil's Snare he snapped to.
Raising his hand, "Most likely used for defensive purposes against intruders, Professor."

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lissy Longbottom

Cale raised his hand, "Well, as already stated, you could use it for defensive purposes, to keep people from entering a certain place, or getting out of a place for that matter. Also, if dealing with enemies, you could use it as a way to strangle someone who didn't know how to fight it off." he tapped his chin, trying to think of something else that hadn't been said already, "You could also just use it simply as a decorative plant if you really liked how it looks when it isn't trying to throttle someone."

"A point to each of you. Excellent answers." He looked about the class as he made his way to the back of the classroom. "Now, what would be the biggest problem in using it for defense?" Once again he let his fingertips graze to just within the dark confines the plant inhabited and allowed it a light grip on him.

Cale raised his hand. "Well, there's always the risk that the plant could turn on the person using it for defense. Even if you know how to defend yourself against a Devil's Snare, when it's actually attacking you could be a whole different story. You might be so panicked you forget what to do." he explained. "Or you could also accidently attack someone you don't want to use it against, since it attacks anything to gets in it's way."

"Yeah.." Clifford nodded at Cale's answer. "You could be like.. planning to use it to attack someone ... and it could turn on you! That wouldn't be so cool, would it?" No way. "It would get it's vines and go all strangle strangle." He wrapped his hands around his neck in demonstration. "And - And then.. you wouldn't be able to breathe! And then you'd die!" GASP!

Curt nodded in Cale's direction, the rumor's were true... that guy was smart. The the Slytherin Quidditch guy, Clifford answer. One eyebrow involuntarily raised as the Slytherin had finished and Curt looked at him. After just a moment, Curt burst into laughter... that guy had a good sense of humor. "Yeah, exactly. A devil's snare has no sense of who's who and what's what. It's a plant." Curt said with a shrug. "Even if you plan on using it to your defense, it could end up attacking you, instead of the attacker. Which if you are in that setting, makes you just that much more vulnerable." He finished with a nod.

"Very good, a point to each of you, and that does bring up another point which I want to make sure we're all clear on later. However, what is the one weakness of the Devil's Snare?" He pointed into the dark corner.

Nicholai raised his hand, "Fire, sir. Because Devils snare is partial to dark and damp- as mentioned before- and Fire changes both of those."

They can't grow in the damp and dark professor" jason hoped his answer was right as he raised his hand.

"Fire." Will answered. "It likes the dark, and damp places, and withdraws from light and heat."

He nodded and twirled his hand in a slightly impatient two-fingered gesture. "Yes, very correct. Now, apply that to the last question. What would be a problem with using the plant to guard something?"

"A wizard who knows the weakness of the plant would have no problem defeating Devil's Snare and stealing what it guards, Professor." James finished.

Raising his hand once more Nico answered, "A Wizard could simply cast a fire spell to overcome the Devils Snare," he nodded, "I still stand by my earlier statement regarding using Devils snare to keep certain Beasts or Beings out however - at least those that cannot readily produce a flame- also it would still be effective against Muggles and If it is just one line of defence of many, then it would at least slow a Wizard down." he paused before musing out loud, "If you could find a way to intertwine it with something that is activated by fire it would certainly be useful."

Cale raised his hand once more, "If you knew any spells to conjure fire or light, you could easily get past the plant. You could also just relax and get by the plant unharmed, allowing the intruder to get past it easily."

The right spells Professor and leaving it in the dark and damp places" jason told the professor as he raised his hand.

He groaned and rubbed his forehead, occluding away headaches and voices before they could start. "Per la barba di Merlino, quante volte devo dire a tutti voi che dovete acoltarmi, non mi ascoltate mai e poi io sono quello che deve prendere the consequense... non c'e` niente da fare con voi, siete un gruppo di idioti." The next that he spoke, calming down a little, it was in something that sounded somewhat like gibberish. He caught himself after a few words and took a deep breath, fully composing himself. "Knowing the weaknesses of the plant, exactly where are you planning on putting it, where it will have room to grow, in a place that will be useful?" Oh, how he missed his girls.

Cale raised his hand in the air, "Well, a dark, damp place with lots of room for it to spread out would be the ideal place," he answered. "Professor, are you alright?" he asked when he noticed that the professor was having...trouble up there.

"Completely out of the sunlight and a vary dark and damp corner" Jason raised his hand.

"Erickson," Alex raised his hand in the back, "Because the plant would be usless out doors during the day. Any one could walk right past it." Alex sighed looking a round.

"Underground." Nicholai responded with a frown on his face. "In a chamber or cave." He looked away from the professor and starred grimly at his notes.

"And none of you see how that could be detrimental?"

Once again there was the language that no one could understand as he paced the room in exasperation before he let out a very relieved "YES!" as he turned and pointed to Alex. "That is exactly it! How many of you are keeping dark and dank cellars full of dirt in which to grow a devil's snare? It is honestly one thing for Hogwarts or a rare plants collector or other sort of herbologist to have a devil's snare on hand, but what's the point of having it guard a home or being used as a way to escape if the only place that it would be useful is lit during daylight hours?"

"Well i have a nice dank basement full of dirt, but it's not for..." Alex stopped realizing he was talking, "...uuummm nothing, nevermind." sat down looking around.

Will raised his hand. "I see your point, sir, but it would be useful to guard your valuables if you stored them in a basement or other dark and cool location. However, that'd raise another problem-- the devil's snare is not by nature a loyal creature, so you'd have to use fire or light to get it to shy away any time you wanted access to your valuables yourself. So... could it, by repeated exposure to heat and light, become acclimated to them enough that it wouldn't shy away, or does devil's snare not have enough intelligence to actually learn?" He was curious about the strange plant... there seemed to be many facets to it, and it made for a truly interesting herbology class. Though all things being equal, Will would still rather be making mud pies.

"Ohhhh," Cale muttered to himself. So THAT was what the professor had asked. He had been a little confused on the last question--Herbology never was his best subject, mainly because that while being homeschooled, one doesn't have access to many magic plants. "Well, if you wanted it to be useful only at night, it could work. Sort of like a muggle burgular alarm, which is meant to protect muggles from intruders during the nighttime hours. The Devils Snare could work the same way, right?"

"Honestly professor, I do not know much about the Devil's Snare but would it be ok not to have it since it is dangerous to us Muggles and their famileiss? Jason asked and told the professor as he raised his hand.

Will smiled at Cale and nodded. The guy was sharp. "Yeah, wouldn't that work, professor? Except for the problem where anyone with a torch could get it to shrink back, I mean?"

Quote:

Originally Posted by XanaSnape

Will raised his hand. "I see your point, sir, but it would be useful to guard your valuables if you stored them in a basement or other dark and cool location. However, that'd raise another problem-- the devil's snare is not by nature a loyal creature, so you'd have to use fire or light to get it to shy away any time you wanted access to your valuables yourself. So... could it, by repeated exposure to heat and light, become acclimated to them enough that it wouldn't shy away, or does devil's snare not have enough intelligence to actually learn?" He was curious about the strange plant... there seemed to be many facets to it, and it made for a truly interesting herbology class. Though all things being equal, Will would still rather be making mud pies.

"It is not intelligence which causes it to shy away, or even fear, but simple instinct and how it knows to survive. Both fire and light injure it, and always will. The plant is not highly adaptive. But that's going to be getting into something else as well."

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lissy Longbottom

"Ohhhh," Cale muttered to himself. So THAT was what the professor had asked. He had been a little confused on the last question--Herbology never was his best subject, mainly because that while being homeschooled, one doesn't have access to many magic plants. "Well, if you wanted it to be useful only at night, it could work. Sort of like a muggle burgular alarm, which is meant to protect muggles from intruders during the nighttime hours. The Devils Snare could work the same way, right?"

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jason Potter Weasley

"Honestly professor, I do not know much about the Devil's Snare but would it be ok not to have it since it is dangerous to us Muggles and their famileiss? Jason asked and told the professor as he raised his hand.

Quote:

Originally Posted by XanaSnape

Will smiled at Cale and nodded. The guy was sharp. "Yeah, wouldn't that work, professor? Except for the problem where anyone with a torch could get it to shrink back, I mean?"

"During the night yes, it could be effective if planted in an area that it could grow in a sheltered area. However, you may wake with a body on your hands. Not to mention, a good deal of burglaries and such actually take place during the day, not at night. This makes devil's snare a highly useless plant unless given exacting conditions."

He was about to start on the rest of the lesson, then stopped, thinking. He seemed to read through something just in front of him, as through he were reading out of a book in his mind. "Nearly forgot. Three points to Alex for his answer. Has Slade-- nevermind. I'll find out later. Now!" He was suddenly composed once more for his lesson, looking out over the class. "For what reason do you think the Devil's Snare adapted this way? More specifically, how might it have come to be that it relaxes if what it's holding relaxes, and it tightens and pulls when something struggles?"