Looking up a little bemused, Star forced herself to keep her mouth from dropping open. She didn't have a clue who this girl was, clearly she was a Ravenclaw, but other than that, all she could gather was that the girl was very forward. It was a little annoying. But she smiled pleasantly enough in response and made room for "her partner." Feeling that introductions were needed, she used her manners as the other girl seemed to lack them "I am Star, whats your name?" Even though she tried hard to make it sound pleasant, there was still a slight edge to her tone that reminded her of the society women that her mother had as friends. Forced politeness was a trait she had indoctrinated into her personality before she could talk.

"Oh, I've always wanted to live in London, I was there on vacation last year actually." Lizzie smiled. "I live quite far away, actually.. But I moved to England when I was five, lived in Sweden before. I live with my parents and my elder brother, John. He's fourteen." She picked up her notebook and started to write down what they had done. She wasn't sure about it, but she'd seen some of the older students do it, so she thought she'd better do it too. "Maybe it'd be best to write down something about what we've done. The older students seem to do it..." she said to Shaylee, looking around the room.

ooc: okey, I'll talk to you later.. bye, I'm also leaving now.. gotta have dinner and get ready for dance class.. haha it's dinnertime here (17.30) and like in the middle of the day for you... LOL

Mariel eyed the girl curiously as she made her introduction. Feeling it was expected of her, she gave her name as well. "Nice to meet you Star, I'm Mariel," she said caually. Mariel hoped Star was just being polite and not trying to now engage her in mindless conversation as most of the class seemed to be. She had work to be done and it didn't matter to her if she worked with someone or alone. As long as she had a partner in name, she wouldn't get in trouble, she thought. Glancing over at her again, she decided there was something familiar about this girl. She smirked as she stifled a laugh. Something familiar, indeed.

Turning back to her planter, she was startled to feel someone tapping her on her shoulder. "Oh, hey, Sarah." Mariel grinned at her. "I'm doing alright I guess, not that I'm thrilled about all the dirt. A bit ridiculous we can't use our gloves. I see you found yourself a partner..." Mariel shot a pointed glance in the direction of the Gryffindor girl Sarah had met.

''really, so you're a transfer student then?'' Miranda smiled, she was happy to be talking to someone who was from another country


Miranda looked around the greenhouse then at Qaz ''hmm everybody else seems to be talking'' she smiled ''hope we dont get something to difficult for homework...''

Sarah smiled back. "Oh good.I guess as the professor said,we might not be able to use gloves all the time,so best not to get complacent."
Looking down at her dirty nails and mud smudged hands she said..."Your right though it would have been nice..."

Sarah looked in the direction Mariel was looking..."Oh yeah,that's Gwen.She saw me looking for a partner and offered.I hadn't seen you at the time." she winked. "You got yourself one too then?" she whispered so the other girl didn't hear.

Furrowing her brow at the smirk which emanated from Mariel, Star shot a glance sideways towards her. How rude to turn up here, proclaim them as partners and then smirk. She didn't ask for the girl to come over here. Well whatever. If the teacher came past, she would smile and pretend all was well. Otherwise, she didn't need to acknowledge the existence of the irritation seated beside her. She would just get on with her work while Mariel had her chit chats with friends.

Whoever this friend of Mariel's was, she wasn't subtle. Star caught the wink out of the corner of her eye. This was beginning to be the start of a bad headache. Did no one come to school to learn anymore? All she had encountered since she got here was girlish drama. Even the rivalry was trivial. Rolling her eyes, she continued with her plant. Making a little sketch of it on her parchment. Chewing her lip she waited for the professor to dismiss them, so she could escape.

Jayne heard what the professor said, she did exactly as she was told, she pulled out the yellow leaves and she was very careful, when she'd finished she sat quietly and waited for the professor

"Thanks!" Tasha said happily and ran off to get her bag and plants. Hurrying back over she dropped into the seat next to them.

"Do you know if we're getting homework from this lesson? I hope we don't as I haven't finished my Arithmancy work yet!" Tasha said as she pulled a couple of dead leaves she had missed.

Helena nodded. Yes, I moved to Britain about a month ago to live with my uncle. Her eyes no longer changed to a purple when speaking of moving; instead they turned only more bright blue. Are you a first year? She smiled.

Miranda was gawping slightly, did Helena's eyes just change color? Miranda mentally shook herself hoping Helena hadnt noticed ''Yes, im a first year'' she grinned ''i didnt know we would be learning about plants, its alot different than going to a regular school'' she smiled

''so how are you liking Britain so far? Anything special that has gotten your attention?''

Mariel watched, amused, as Star shot her an annoyed look. Shrugging, she turned back to her plants. Was she annoyed that Mariel came over? Mariel could care less. She figured she was doing them both a favor by becoming her partner. After all, everyone else was paired up, who else was she going to work with - or at least appear to be working with? At least she wasn't overly chipper and didn't try to engage her in small talk. Thank Merlin for small favors.

As Mariel looked in the direction of Sarah's partner - Gwen, as she called her - Mariel's eyes fell on another pair of girls. Nancy and that rude girl from the courtyard. Mariel narrowed her eyes as she watched them work, still wondering what her frantic hand motions earlier were about. She made a mental note to corner Nancy when she was alone after class to confront her about her bizarre behavior.

Mariel turned back to Sarah and shrugged. "No big deal. I was sitting in the back." She nodded and leaned towards her. "Everyone else had a partner and she was alone." Mariel glanced back at Star working with her plants before resuming her attention on Sarah. "She seems like a good student at any rate."

Mariel resumed her repotting. "Ow," she said irritably through clenched teeth as she pricked her finger on a thorn. "Where are those tissues we were told about?" she asked more to herself than anyone else, looking towards the front of the room.

"I don't know. We probably will get some, but I don't know this professor so I can't say how much it will be," Rachel said quietly to Tasha. "Your actual name, is it Natasha?" she asked, curious.

Sarah glanced over again at Mariel's partner, "Yeah she seems like a hard worker.Not too sure she is pleased that I'm talking to you ,though," she whispered, "I think she thinks I'm getting in the way!"
Sarah could tell things just from body language,sometimes,and she was getting an irritated vibe off of this girl.

Collecting her thoughts she saw Mariel prick herself on a thorn.
"Ooooh looks nasty.I think the tissues were up the front somewhere,by the professor." she said pointing in that general direction.

Star began to get irritated with Mariel. It wasn't so much that they were talking, it was more that they were talking about her. Especially as she was sitting right there. It reminded her of her mother. Her nostrils flared at the thought and she gave an exasperated huff, as she continued to prod at the plant.

She kept a perfect poker face when Mariel caught her finger. Thats what you get for not paying attention. Some Ravenclaw, Star thought they were meant to be smart. Reading through her notes it occured to her that the leaves of this plant would be helpful in a potion she was experimenting with. Surreptitiously sliding a couple of the freshest into her bag, she got back to her notes.

Taking a somewhat exaggerated breath, she looked up at Mariel's friend. Producing the most dazzling smile she could manage under the circumstances, she let a cool tone into her voice as she spoke "I am more than happy for you to distract her. However, I believe that any more distractions and she is likely to lose an eye. She does not seem particularly gifted in keeping her skin in tact around sharp things." Continuing to smile, she flashed it briefly at Mariel, and turned back to her parchment. God, when would this class end?

Sarah was startled as the girl spoke to her,in a false charming way.Staring at her with a blank face,Sarah waited until she had finished before speaking herself.
"I see.Well that's good then.And I can assure you that Mariel would probably still have pricked her finger even if I hadn't been here...has a habit of being clumsy,don't you?" Sarah stiffled a giggle as she turned back to her friend.
I hope Mariel doesn't hate me for saying that,but that girls tone annoyed me.Ohhhh she'll know I'm only joking....

Shaylee smiled. Yea Londons wonderful. Bery pretty place. I used to live in Ireland when i was about 7. Noticing that Lizzie was taking notes, Shaylee decided that she should too. Picking up her notebook she started to write down what she had been doing. Yea i guess your right. I better write this down.

Helena saw a peculiar expression come over Miranda's face and raised her eyebrows slightly. Sometimes, Helena wasn't completely aware that she was going through a mood change if she was involved in a conversation. She smiled politely at the confirmation of her speculation.

Britain is lovely. More lovely than I could have imagined. Her smile widened. And Hogwarts is the most gorgeous thing that I've ever seen. When Miranda asked whether anything seemed special, Helena blushed slightly and said, Nothing has really sparked my optimism yet. She forced her thoughts to stray anywhere but Will.

Isabella watched as Lillianna walked away. She supposed that meant they were done. She grabbed her backpack and headed towards the sink as well.

Mariel glanced over at Star as she made her irritation known with a loud sigh. She gets annoyed easily, thought Mariel, rolling her eyes. As she gave her another sideways glance, her eyes widened in delight as she saw her nicking some of the more favorable of the plants. This could be interesting. "Helping yourself, are you?" she asked in a low, yet amused voice.

Mariel snorted slightly as she tried to stifle a derisive laugh at Star's attempt to be... sarcastic? ...amusing? Mariel had underestimated her original impression of her. She was a fun one. "How clever," Mariel murmured sarcastically. She matched Star's fake smile as she turned to her and said, "Good thing I have you for a partner, since you're clearly an expert ...on plants." She shot a smug glance at Star's bag filled with contraband before giving Sarah an annoyed look about the clumsy remark. "She is partly right, though. You should get back to work. Class is not a time to chat. We'll talk later, ok?" Mariel got up from her seat in search for a blasted tissue.

Giving a curt but polite nod, denoting that her conversation with the girl had ended, Star looked back at Mariel. She found it amusing that her work was disrupted by these two. Why was she even bothering? Politeness..? No. Curiosity...? Again no. Must be all this damn fresh air. That must be it. It was messing with her head.

Looking down at her bag Star patted it lightly. Then looked back at Mariel defiantly. "I can't steal what nature provides freely. I am merely... taking advantage of an abundant supply. Not that it is any of your concern." Mariel didn't need to know about the reasons for the collecting. "I am sure you would be equally as... knowledgeable .... about this subject if you paid attention to the class. Rather than injuring yourself." She dropped a small pack of tissues on the top of Mariel's parchment. "Keep the rest, I have no doubt you will need them."

She reached over the table and plucked off some of the dead leaves from the plant, dropping them to one side and poking at them with her quill. Even dead they still looked oddly beautiful. Closing her eyes she tried to refocus on what she was doing. Easier said than done.... Especially as it appeared that her every move was being scrutinised...

Miranda noticed that Helena blushed a bit and was instantly curious to why. But she didnt pursue the topic knowing it might make her uncomfortable or something. Miranda smiled big ''yes i agree, Hogwarts is amazing, i have a feeling there are some suprises in store for us'' she grinned. She felt a bit stupid grinning all the time, but it was a permanent thing on her face, she was just so excited and happy to be here.

Mariel sighed in exasperation. She was wrong in thinking that finding a quiet-looking partner would enable her to work undisturbed. While thankfully Star did not engage her in idle "let's-get-to-know-each-other" chatter, she was far from quiet.

Mariel snickered to herself. "Yes, nature does provide freely, however, you're working with the professor's personal stores, not some public domain. Not that I much care, but I doubt he would approve of your taking advantage, as you so eloquently put it. My concern or not, I'm just making an observation." She shrugged softly to herself. Mariel really didn't care if the girl took anything, but that information may later prove useful.

Mariel shot up an eyebrow as she looked at Star appraisingly. "So far paying attention has proved to be difficult with all the derisive remarks you keep throwing about. I prefer to work in silence. That is why I didn't chose someone who was obviously making mindless chatter as my partner. You appeared to be a dedicated student. So if that will be all..." Mariel turned back to her work to find a package of tissues and swept them off her parchment with a flick of her hand. She briefly closed her eyes and sighed in annoyance. "Thank you for your concern, but I'm fine with using what the professor has provided." Mariel laughed inwardly. This girl was increasingly irritating, true, but at least she wasn't boring as the dreadfully dull term had started out to be.

ooc: Goodness you guys!

Carracio walked about the room keeping an eye on things. "Remember not to just trim away at yellow leaves. If there are yellow leaves, just pull it out at this time." He spotted a student giving another a pack of tissues. "And remember to use the tissues available to you from the class. There are many of you, and there's a reason for the labeling system."

"If you have not finished culling your planters, finish up and we will proceed to the next step. In the meanwhile, would one of the more experienced students like to explain how transplanting works, and the procedure we shall be taking? I will be disappointed if no one knows, as this was one of my previous lessons, and I have yet to be here for more than seven years. Do not worry, I will still fill in the gaps."

Camira raised her hand.

"Fill your container, or pot, with a commercial potting soil, up to approximately 2 inches below the top of your container.Saturate the soil, of the container in which you intend to transplant, with water containing the transplanting fertilizer of your choice. Make sure the soil is completely saturated with your water-fertilizer solution, leaving no pockets of dry soil.In the container in which you are going to place your transplant, dig out a hole the approximate size of the container from which your transplant will come. Roll the transplants old pot in your hand to loosen the dirt an roots from the side of the container. Next, grasp the base of the plant, covering the top of the container with your hand, and turn the container upside down, and pull the root ball out, being careful to keep the roots in one integral piece.
Carefully place the root ball in the hole in your prepared container. Make sure that all the roots are pointing down.Now that the root ball is in place, you can fill in the space around it placing soil gently, but firmly around the top of the roots. Make sure the top of the soil line is intact and isn't cracking apart in lines, exposing the roots."

She didn't know if that was right or not, but that's what her tutor had taught her. She hoped she as at least partially right.

Rachel listen to what the professor said. When he asked a question, Rachel found that she didn't know the answer. She sighed, hoping she would get better at Herbology.
In the meantime, she tidied her working area and put the parchment back onto the desk, and waited for more comments.