Penny stepped into the office and was immediately greeted by the cutest puppy ever...

Looking up she said "Good morning Professor, did you have a good summer?", Penny thought it best to get the niceties out of the way first....

Laying her back pack carefully on the floor, she retrieved a most unusual looking plant...
It was a Mimbulus Mimbletonia, Penny had gotten it on her travels over the summer but she wasn't sure if Professor had one yet, but even if she did a second plant could be great - maybe they could breed them !!

Bending down again to rub the little dog

It pleased Seren that Penny wasn't discouraged by the easily exciteable Caltex. She particularly didn't want him scaring away her students.
"Oh I did indeed, it was an amzing summer. How about yourself dear? Did you get up to much on your break?"

Seren seated herself behind her desk, gesturing for Penny to take a seat. No point standing around was there? She watched curiously as the girl stopped to withdraw something from her bag, and Seren couldn't help but grin as she took out a potted Mimbulus Mimbletonia.
"Ahh Mimbulus Mimbletonia," she said nodding, "be careful with the boils... you wouldn't want to be covered in stink sap."
Nasty smelling stuff... but rather useful too. Did she want to know how to care for it?

Penny took the seat offered, and smiled.."Yes I did actually, I spent some time in Ireland with family and my Grampa took me along to Egypt, he's doing some research there...and I visited the Ministry of Magic, my prize for being top Hufflepuff student", she finished with a blush..

Penny noticed that Professor Bentley was looking at the plant in her hand...
"OH I definitely wouldn't want to covered in sap again", she said with a smile.. remembering when she had first gotten the plant and how she ended up head to toe in sap..

"Actually Professor this plant here is for you... I wasn't sure if you had one or not and I've read that they can be really useful and used as an antidote to nervousness, shyness and people who are timid.

Penny sat the plant on Professor Bentley's desk.

"That sounds lovely, I've always loved Ireland, its so nice and green there." Seren sighed, smiling to herself. It was a beautiful place, nice and peaceful and green, so so very green. "How did you enjoy the Ministry? I'm guessing it must have been exciting for you. And might I add, it was well deserved." She gave the young badger a wink, after all she had been one of the highest achieving students for herbology last year.

Again? She had already been covered in stink sap? ... poor dear. But everyone at one point or another expericned it. Seren wasn't about to forget her first time... she was eight when it happened, and it had distressed her for weeks, she could hardly bring herself to appraoch the plant after that. But of course, like all things, she got over it and learnt from her mistakes.
"For me?" .. Now how sweet was that! "Thank you Penny, thats so kind of you. I actually don't have any at the moment but I'm sure I could get a few more for the greenhouses." She studied the Mimbulus Mimbletonia with her eyes, looking it over. It was a lovely, healthy plant, and she could definitely get a couple of good cuttings from it to transplant.

Carefully she took the pot and re-positioned it, moving it to the corner of her desk by the wall, here the chance of it falling wasn't as great. It would be safe.

Penny was a little embarrassed to get praise.. but glad too

"Thank you, Yes the Ministry was amazing but I'm not sure I deserved it though, I was having fun, learning....everything!!"

Penny was really pleased to see how happy Professor Bentley was at receiving the plant... and Also pleased that cuttings could be taken and transplanted here at school - She just loved plants and to see this rare plant being cultivated was really cool..

"I was kinda hoping you didn't have one - maybe we can cultivate some..Is it difficult to breed them?", Penny asked.

By the sounds of it, visiting the Ministry was a great experience, she was actually a little jealous. She'd never really set foot in the place except for just after she graduated from school.

"We certainly can," she said smiling. "See some cacti require pollination in order to reproduce, but it isn't difficult to grow these little beauties, so long as you have a soft touch and aren't afraid to get a little dirty. Transplanting parts of it is far easier then making it breed, so to speak. I'd be happy to show you sometime if you like." After all, there was no better way to get down and dirty than with a Mimbulus Mimbletonia.

"Hello," Tori greeted the professor, following her into the office and over to a seat. Once she was settled, she gently set the lucky bamboo plant on the desk in front of her and started looking around the office, starting to smile at the sight of the place.

"OMG I just LOVE your office decor, Professor! So much PINK!!!!" Tori almost clapped at the sight of a fluffy white puppy in the corner. "EEE! So CUTE! What's her name?!"

Oh yeah, what was she here for again? "I just came to meet you and tell you that Herbology's my faaaaaaavorite subject and to see if you needed any like, help in the greenhouses or anything and oh yeah, this lucky bamboo plant --- I named him Cricket --- is for YOU!"

Breathe, Tori, breathe.

Alyssa stepped into Professor Bentley's office and the first thing...or rather scent...that hit her....was the beautiful aromatic smell of "was that peppermint tea?", Alyssa thought to herself...and flowers. "Mmmm.....this room smells wonderful,"Alyssa almost said aloud before she caught herself. She was here to introduce herself to her Herbology teacher and not to babble on about flowers or smells.

Alyssa then felt something scratch her shoe. She looked down and saw the most adorable puppy in the world. She loved dogs and puppies were always her favorite animals because they were always so cuddly and playful. She bent down to pat the puppy and tickle it's belly when it rolled over.

She turned around and said,"Good morning, Professor Bentley. I'm sorry that I didn't ask your permission before patting your puppy, but it's so adorable I couldn't resist." she smiled down at the puppy one more time before remembering what she was here for.

"My name is Alyssa and I'm a 2nd year transfer from Salem. This will be my first time attending your classes and I'm really looking forward to it. I know that classes start soon but being a new student in Hogwarts, I wanted to introduce myself."

As she stood there waiting for the Professor to speak, Alyssa glanced over at some plants that were sitting on the Professor's desk. They looked like they had been given to her as gifts. "Oh no!!" Alyssa thought to herself. "I should have brought something too. Maybe something from California....something she didn't have in her Greenhouse". Alyssa felt herself blushing. She was totally embarrassed.

She stuck her left hand into her jacket pocket to hide her nervousness and felt a sharp object poke her fingers. She slowly pulled out the thing that was sticking out of her moleskin purse and discovered that it was a small potted plant. In fact, it was a small cactus with a note stuck on it. She peeked at the note and realized that it was written in her mother's handwriting. The note read :

"FOR YOUR HERBOLOGY PROFESSOR"
"Thank you, Mom,"Alyssa silently thanked her Mom. She handed the baby cactus plant to Professor Bentley. "Here's a gift from my Mom, Professor. It's a Joshua Tree cactus which I believe is indigenous only in the South Western states of the United States. I'm not sure whether it has magical properties but I am sure that if there are any, you would know of it."

As soon as girl had entered her office Seren could feel her eyes widen. Merlin this girl had energy! But she couldn't help but smile to herself. In many ways she reminded her of herself when she was a student. Forever happy and bubbly... and occasionaly a little too exciteable. But it was all in good fun.
"Thank you... I'm rather fond of it myself," she replied, gazing around at her office and appreciating it just that little bit more. But before she could say much else the girl had already started squealing over Caltex. This didn't surprise her, she had had a similar reaction when she first sighted him.
"His names Caltex, but be careful, if you pamper him too much and he'll try to make you his slave... he's already done so with me."There was nothing she wouldn't do for her baby, he was her world... if only he didn't insist on rolling on the flowers in the garden. He would get himself eaten one day!

Just when she thought the girl had stopped to breathe, she had continued, bringing more smiles to Seren's face as she tried to interpret what was being said. Oohhhhh she likes herbology! This was brilliant. And if she was willing to helpout then the gardens would most likely be glowing for the rest of the term. It meant less work for her. Meaning the more time she could spare in her shed. Perfect!

Lucky bamboo?! oohh how cute! and sweet!

"Thank you so much!" She said admiring Cricket, as she took the small potted plant from her hands. "It's perfect!" Once she had set it down on her desk at the side by the wall where it couldn't fal l- right next to her new Mimbulus Mimbletonia - she looked back up and exhaled. Where to start?

"Sorry I don't think I caught your name?"... or had the girl just said it incredibly fast? It was likely.
"I'm so thrilled to hear its your favourite subject, it's mine too," she gave the Slytherin a wink. Heh. "You're more than welcome to get involved in the gardens and the greenhouses- in fact I encourage this, but it's up to you to decide how much you'd like to do. Weeding and watering is a regular necessity and the occasional pruning."



Seren laughed lightly, watching as the Hufflepuff girl pat Caltex.
"He seems to have that effect on people, and your more than welcome to pat him so long as he doesn't bother you." Puppies were adorable, but they had no boundaries... or at least not many.

After moving behind her desk and taking a seat she listened as Alyssa introduced herself. She seemed like such a lovely girl, very polite- this was always good.
"Well it's a pleasure to meet you Alyssa, I hope you enjoy your time here at Hogwarts... And please feel free to take a seat." She gestured to one of the pink stools that were avaliable.

A cactus! how delightful! At this rate she would have to request to ahve another greenhouse built. There were only so many plants she could hold in her office, but of course they were all very welcome.
"Thank you Alyssa it's lovely! and do thank you mother for me as well it's such a lovely gesture." She took the small cactus and placed it bside the others, good thing it was only small and didn't take up much space.
"Magic or mundane, plants always have a purpose. Or at least, thats one of my personal beliefs."
"How are you settling in?"

"Hi Professor." Aurora followed Professor Bentley into her office, smiling. "Yeah, the holidays were alright." she said. No point going into that. "How were yours?" she added, looking down at the dog. "That," she pointed at it, "Has to be the fluffiest thing on the planet." she observed. "Does he... erm... dislike lizards?" She eyed The Fluffy and instinctively put one hand to her shoulder where Salvatore had hidden himself under her robes, her other hand still cradling the little pot.

"Mine was fantastic, thank you for asking." Seren leant against the edge of her table for a moment observing her little baby. Yep.. it was her baby alright. "Yes he is isn't he. I couldn't help myself, as soon as I saw him I just had to get him." She had spend days looking him, well not for him exactly... but for a pet, and finally on the fourth day she found him. Dislike lizards? "To be honest, I'm not too sure... Caltex certainly has a fondness for shoe laces and frogs... but lizards might be safe." She watched as Aurora's hand moved to her shoulder. Did she have a lizard on her? Well this could get interesting, but judging by Caltex's response to Aurora, he couldn't smell it, or if he could, he didn't care.

This was a good thing right?

Moving to sit behind her desk Seren offered Aurora a smile.
"Is there something I can do for you?" she asked, sitting back in her seat and resting her hands in her lap.

Reassured, Aurora took her hand away, keeping The Fluffy in the corner of her eye. "Well, I was wondering if you wanted this." She held out the Bonsai Omnia Manducare in her hands, it was snapping at the air gently. "I grew quite a lot of them from cuttings over the holidays and I thought you might like one, I remember you giving me advice about mine last year." The little red flowers tried to snap at her fingers half heartedly. She'd fed it chamomile tea earlier, so, although it still wanted to eat everything, it was a lot calmer about it... and it smelled good.

How had she not noticed her holding that?! Serens eyes lit up as they landed on the adorable little bonsai as it snapped gently. It was simply magnificent.
"Oh my, it's fantastic. Are you sure you're willing to part with it?" she asked hesitently. She knew she could never part with a tree like that, never... she just couldn't. But that was her and she did have a habit of obsessing over mildly omnivorous vegetation. Bad habit? No, she didn't think so.

Aurora nodded, "Yes, I have plenty. There's one in my dorm actually... kind of guards my stuff." she chuckled. Some of the other girls had seemed a bit put out by the appearance of the biting plant. "Like I said, we grew quite a lot of them over the summer and they don't get on with some of the other plants... we don't have enough room in the greenhouse to keep them all..." She grinned, "Don't let the fluffy one at it, he might get a sore nose." The Fluffy was still there in the corner of her eye, Salvatore seemed to know and was shivering a little under her hair. She made a mental note to go and put him in the fire when she got back to the common room... he'd like that.

"Caltex," Tori repeated, liking how the unfamiliar name sounded. "He is ADORABLE. Hehee. I wouldn't mind being his slave." He was just so darn CUTE! And FLUFFY! And WHITE! He looked like a regular little baby angel all snuggled up there.

Yay the professor liked Cricket! Beaming too, Tori nodded. "You're welcome. I tried charming it to make it change colors, but um... it got stuck on green." Well not that that was so bad, anyway, since it was green to begin with. Tori made a mental note to ask the Charms professor about that spell though. Maybe she had been doing it wrong.

"Oh, I think I forgot to say my name!" Tori laughed. She'd just been so excited when she had entered here. "I'm Victoria Bunbury, but please call me Tori." Heh. This was Professor Bentley, right? Tori figured she would sound stupid if she asked her that, so she just remained quiet while the professor outlined the list of jobs that needed doing. "Well I can do that!" she stated enthusiastically. "My cousin Annie, who used to be the Herbology professor here, let me help her prune and trim her flutterby bushes all the time. I just love those plants, don't you?!"

They weren't her favorites though. That would be puffapods.

[QUOTE=Hera;10617757]
Alyssa sat down on one of the pink stools that the Professor had offered."Oh I'm settling down really well, Professor. Thank you for asking. To be honest, I was worried at first that being a 2nd year transfer, that I would have trouble making friends but I'm glad to say that everyone has been really friendly and nice and I've already made lots of friends, both in my House and the other Houses." she told the Professor who was looking kindly down at her.

"Professor, I hope you don't mind me asking but is that peppermint tea I smell? I just noticed the wonderful smells in this room and I've been trying to figure out some of them. My mom always has some tea brewing in the kitchen and she has flowers growing in our kitchen and all over the house and I particularly love the smell of Jasmine. Plumeria and Lavender. My favorite tea is Blackcurrent. Have you tried that before?" Alyssa asked the Professor, hoping that she wasn't being too nosey.

Then she remembered that she had put some extra tea bags in her mokeskin bag. "In fact, I brought some with me, Professor. Would you like to try some?" Alyssa brought them out of her bag and offered it to the Professor.

Emma smiled as she walked in. "Hi Professor; I'm Emma Pond, I'm a first year..." she began nervously as she sat down on a stool. "I just wanted to say hi and I wanted to meet you and get to know what Herbology is going to be like." Emma looked around quickly and was amazing by Professor Bentley's office. "I love your office!" she said softly.

"Well in that case, thank you dear, I'll treaure it dearly." And that she would. If she didn't then what sort of herbologist would she be? She chuckled lightly and gave Caltex a look. "Oh he'll be fine I'm sure," she said turning to glance at her potted fanged geraniums by the door. It didn't take him long to realise that there were some plants her wasn't allowed to rub up against. But they were fine now and co-existed with one another.



The girl had a point, being his slave really wasn't all that bad. At least you got cuddles in return.

Seren was slightly amused at the fact that the girl had tired to charm Cricket to change colours. But really as lovely as that would have been, green was a good colour for a plant. "I'm quite fond of green, so thats no trouble," she said with a light laugh, considering perhaps that it might have been a different shade of green originally?

"Well it's a pleasure to meet your aquiantence Tori, I look forward to having you in my class. We need more enthusiastic students, it keeps things fresh and bright." And Tori was most definitely that. Which was nice, she could certainly get used to it. Ohh her cousin taught here? ... "How long ago did she teach here? If you don't mind me asking."
And of course it was brilliant that she was willing to help. The flutterby bushes from last term would certainly appreciate some attention, many of the students had neglected caring for them now. Over the hype of having their own plant under thier care.
"I do indeed, we have a fair few of them which need attending to in greenhouse three if you're interested."



It was good to know Alyssa wasn't having any difficulty settling in, otherwise she may just have to give a few students detention if they were giving her grief. "Oh thats good to hear, having friends from different houses can be refreshing and rewarding experience, especially when it comes to quidditch. There's nothing better than a little competition." And it didn't matter if you played it or just observed it, the games were always fun. More so if your team was winning of course.

Peppermint? Seren sniffed the air, not that it made much difference, she was probably used to the aroma, built up a tollerance for it.
"I suppose it must be," she mused, "Peppermint is my favourite, so I drink it fairly regularly... though I do like to mix it up occasionally."
Blackcurrent tea, well now that brought back memories.
"I have actually, my grandmother used to drink it when I was little. I didn't like it at the time but since then I've grown to like all tea's."
Alyssa had some with her? well now that was rather resourceful. Getting up, Seren went to fetch her teapot from the small table stand in the corner.
"Well I think thats a lovely idea, thank you."

The enchanted teapot set about filling itself with water and boiling itself, soon the aromatics filled the room. No doubt the room smelt more like blackcurrent now than peppermint.



It never ceased to amazer her at how nervous first years got. It was quite charming. But really! she didn't have three heads or anything. So therefore there was no need to be nervous... or was there?
"Delighted to meet you Emma," she had good manners, that was a good start. And it was nice to hear she approved of the decour. "Thank you." The girls seemed to like it... the boys, not so much. Must be the pink, she concluded.
"Well.. herbology, I hope, will be fun and informative. If it's not then I'm obviously doing something wrong." Seren laughed lightly. "No but really, herbology is one of those subjects you either like or you don't and as long as you don't mind getting a little dirty occasionally then it should be an enjoyable experience."

Oh good, she still liked green. "Yeah, green's the color of my house, which is fortunate since it goes with my complexion and hair." Tori nodded very seriously. What would she have done if she had been sorted in the red house, Gryffindor? That would have been OVERKILL, omg! She would have never gotten over it. But that reminded her... "Professor, why did your notice about Herbology class say no high heels?" Just curious.

"Pleasure to meet you too!" the ginger girl beamed. "Annie taught here from 2067-2071," she informed the professor. So just a few years before this lady. And ooh, she WOULD get to take care of the flutterbys! Yay! "Thanks you, Professor, I am definitely interested!" Tori would get started today if she could!

And not that was no laughing matter... apparently. Then again she had been fortunate enough to be a Ravenclaw, blonde and blue was always a good mix. "I suppose it is," she commented. Seren couldn't help but smirk a little as she Slytherin asked about her heels policy. Was it not obvious?
"Well for starters it's not very practical, secondly the last thing I want is to hear girls complaining about getting dung on their favourite pair or between their toes, and lastly I don't need anybody tripping up and falling over. It's just... safer without them." Even if it wasn't as fashionable.

Hmmm 2067-71 .. "So she started only two years after I graduated. Bit of a shame." Or a blessing in disguise? who knew? Being taught by a students relative could get awkward.
"Oh don't thank me. The gardens and greenhouses are there for you to utilize, I'd be thanking you for making my job easier."

Well obviously heels weren't practical; they weren't practical in day-to-day life and they sure weren't practical when one was working! Tori frowned a little at the professor's no-nonsense answer but was wise enough not to argue. "I guess it would stink to get dung on my favorite pair of shoes...." she sighed. "I guess."

Yeah, it was a total shame! "Annie was the best professor ever to teach at Hogwarts," Tori blurted without a thought. "I mean, that's what I heard, anyway. Just word on the street and all that." Cough. Right. Totally unbiased answer there.

She nodded at mention of the greenhouses and stood up from her seat then. "Well, thanks for having me, professor. I'll go get started on the flutterbys now since I'm sure you have lots of students waiting to see you." Tori smiled politely and headed for the door, pausing by the sleeping puppy to give him a little wave too. "Bye boy!"

It was sort of funny to see the disheartened look on the girls face. Had she really considered wearing heels to class? ... surely they would not be comfortable and would not be at all fashionably after sinking into the ground and getting dirt and dung on them, not to mention sap or pollen. Some of which could not be removed easily if at all.

Oh this Annie was the best teacher huh? Seren was slightly taken aback by the comment, and slightly offended. How did she know Annie was the best teacher? But deciding not to take it too personally she simply smiled. "I'm sure she had her strengths..." and no doubt her weaknesses.

But alas, the girl rose from her seat, no doubt the awkward tension was a sign that perhaps this meeting and greeting should end.
"No problem dear, see you later," she replied watching Tori heading for the door and saying goodbye to a snoozing Caltex. Mm perhaps she'd take him for a walk later.

Penny beamed... "Oh yes Professor I'd like to try to transplant some... That's another reason why I'm here actually", Penny paused..

Wondering where to start, Penny began "I spent a lot of time with my Aunt and Gramps this summer and we did gardening loads... and I realised I know very little about anything", she paused again...

"Well I was wondering if you needed any extra help in the greenhouses... I'm a quick learner and I don't mind getting a little dirty - looking after 'Neville' here has given me a thirst to learn more"... looking fondly at the Mimbulus Mimbletonia.

Seren listened thoughtfully, leaning back in her seat. She couldn't help but smile. It was such a joy hearing that Penny wanted to improve her skills in herbology, and it was even nicer to know she cared about the plants enough to give them names. "Of course, extra help is always appreciated, the greenhouses and the student garden are always in need of a little TLC. I'd be more then happy to give you a few pointers, though it will have to wait until after the first lesson, I have a few things I need to prepare before hand."
Mmm things she would need to get ontop of soon. But it could wait till later.