If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above.
You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed.
To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.
When not in use for classes, several of the greenhouses that are located on the school grounds are open for private and independent research and study. In fact, this is highly encouraged.
Within the unlocked doors of the greenhouses you will find rows and rows of plants. The greenhouses contain a wide variety of plants - both magical and mundane. Want to practice your pruning skills? Why not practice on the Abyssinian Shrivelfig of a Flutterby Bush? Or perhaps you want to harvest some Puffapod seeds- just don’t drop them! -- unless you want to of course.
In the cupboards you will find several shelves containing any equipment you might find yourself needing: trowels, cultivators, shears, protective goggles and the like. Also, in case you forgot your own, there is a cupboard which contains work robes and gloves in various sizes. As usual, you can find the fertilizer in a heap behind the greenhouses.
Remember Professor Bentley likes to take regular strolls through the greenhouse to check on things. So make sure you wear your protective gear and behave yourselves accordingly.
Hiss!Roar!Growl!Caw! | Hermione's Double | The Little Three | Alecate
...wait.
What?! NO! WHY?!
Read the plant a bedtime story?! The plant would never know it was being read to, though! Oh, for the love of Merlin!
Sierra sat down next to the plant, making herself comfortable just in case this took a long time. "Okay, here goes..."
"I'm not a pirate. I'm not even a person. You don't see me, and you have absolutely no idea that I even exist. I'm Elvira the Invisible, and I was given that name at the mere age of seven by one of my old Muggle school teachers. You see, Ole Miss Byron claims that I was the kind of kid who could sneak right on by you, right up under your nose even, and make a grab for anything you owned and be off with it before you even knew it! Once, she claimed I stole an apple off her desk. It was missing, and she'd seen me out on the playground chomping down on it. She said it was her apple, and that I'd somehow gotten a hold of it right up under her very nose. My question to her, though, was--you keep apples under your nose?
...but you wanna know my secret? I *am* the kind of kid who can sneak right on by you, right up under your nose even, and make a grab for anything you own and be off with it before you even know it. I learned the trick of the trade from my father, Elmer the Invisible. So once I figured out how good I was, I found me a crew of classmates, and together we formed a group of paperclip-stealing, lunch money-grabbing, apple-eating pirates who rule the playground! That's our ship over there. *points to monkey bars* We call it the Ship 'o Thieves, because that's what we are--thieves. PIRATES OF THE PLAYGROUND!
My friends don't know I'm magical. I'm ten now, and they all think I'm moving off to some boarding school next year for top of the line playground pirates. I'm going to Hogwarts, I know. They don't know that, though. They also don't know that I once saved them from a man-eating FLOBBERWORM right outside on our very playground. It was slithering and a slimming toward us, but I thought fast and threw my stolen apple at it. That flobberworm wasn't slithering and a slimming much anymore after that. Then this other time, I spotted a clabbert just across the field. My classmates thought someone had done lit up a Christmas tree right in the middle of February, but I just told them that was the tree I stashed the ship's spotlights in, and they all believed me.
Then on a third occasion, my family's delivery owl had gotten loose. It flew right on up to the monkey bars known as our ship and delivered a treasure map to me! It was a treasure map I tell ya--a real one! I didn't let my friends see it, though. They would have found out that Pooky the Owl had accidentally delivered me a piece of paper that told my daddy he needed to pay our light bill straight away or else. I ended up telling my friends a band of thieves was after our ship's spotlights. Well, it was sort of true. Someone was after our lights... Oh, and this one time, I brought my father's real magical wand to school with me! I told all my friends it was an ancient object stolen from the King of Spain, and that if I happened to get mad at them and swish and flick it about, they'd turn into a monkey and be confined to the ship for life!
My friends have just named me Captain of the ship. Captain Elvira the Invisible, they call me. I got my title by saving them all from this MAD HAG who tried to attack just last Tuesday. (Psst--Miss Byron is the hag. I know this, because she has a wart on her CHEEK!). She came stomping across that playground toward us (toward me, actually--she was looking for her stolen apple), and I yelled for everyone to take a run for it! I told them that Ole Miss Byron had been cursed and would eat them all to their death if they didn't vacate the area pronto! Really, I just didn't want them all to be around when I got scolded. What sort of captain would I be in their eyes then?!
So that's my story (and I'm sticking to it)."
"...and that's the story of Elvira the Invisible. I wrote it myself, soo..."...you better have liked it. She trailed off, though, not finishing that sentence out loud. "Well, I guess that's all for now. It's getting sort of late, so this is the point where I wish you sweet dreams."
She stood up and brushed the dirt off her pants. "Sweet Dreams then," she said. Then she cleaned up a bit, gathered all her own materials, then left the greenhouse.
A story? She hadn't heard a nice one in ages. Hmm... she had an idea now. "Ok, I'm going to tell you the story of the Fire Fairies!" she declared happy that she'd come up with something. It was basically about two young fairies which was obvious by the name of the story.
Smiling at the plant after she finished the story she yawned standing up to stretch. "Time for bed" she whispered to the little plant. "Goodnight little one... sleep well"
Sardines ♥ BHB ♥ Dallie ♥ Grumpy ♥ MY SUN AND STARS ♥ i love julia
Right, now that it was dark enough in there, it was time to water that little baby.
Ellie looked around until she found the watering cans and went to retrieve one. When she came back to her little sprout, she set the can down and got her wand out, pointing it at the can. "Aguamenti," she cast, and watched as a small stream poured into the can. Aaaand, that looked good.
Next, she pointed her wand at the can and said, "Chaudensis!" Ellie put her wand away and waited for the water to boil. While she was waiting, she whistled a little tune to entertain herself and twiddled her thumbs.
....... There. It was boiling. With her safety dragonhide gloves on, Ellie picked up the can and watered her little fire-seed sprout. But only a little bit, because that's what the directions said. There. Perfect!
Post #5: Herbology homework #1 (she says "sweet dreams", btw)
Shoe!Girl │ Rebel Ravie │ Confundus Queen │ RP Addict
SPOILER!!: assignment
1. Ensure that it is in a dark enough area of Greenhouse 2. If not, then kindly ask the Ivy to block a bit more of the light out. Don't forget to thank it and give it a pat or a hug.
2. Give your Fire Seed a LIGHT sprinkling of water. Remember it has to be boiling hot water.
3. Sing a song to your Fire Seed and dance in circles around it. All plants need some entertainment for development.
4. In the stored cupboard by the entrance of the greenhouse you will find a small bag of blood and bone mix. Take a pinch of it and sprinkle it around the Bushling's base. Try not to burn yourself.
5. Read the Fire Seed Bushling a bedtime story of your choice and wish it sweet dreams.
Returning the bag of blood and bone mix to the cupboard, Stella took a moment to check the assignment again. She'd thought that there was only one more direction to follow, but making sure wasn't going to hurt. Her little fire seed plant could wait two seconds if it meant getting everything done correctly. And upon checking the page she'd copied the assignment onto, she nodded slightly. Only the bedtime story left, which made the fact she'd made sure to put one of her books from home in her bag that morning highly useful. Heading back to her bushling, though, she first took a handkerchief out of her bag and enlarged it so she wouldn't have to sit down on the ground.
Settling in, she pulled a small red book out of her bag, then glanced over at her fire seed plant. "I actually first heard this story in French, but this should be good enough. You probably understand English more anyway," she said quietly, as she opened the book to the page she was looking for. Once she'd found the story she'd decided on, she started reading, stil speaking quietly. It was supposed to be a bedtime story, so she didn't want to be too loud. Besides, it was fairly quiet in the greenhouse anyway. Her plant should be able to hear her either way. It took her a few minutes to finish the fairy tale, but once she'd finished she returned her book to her bag. Standing up again, she reversed the spell on her handkerchief, placed that back in her bag as well, then turned back to her fire seedling. "Faites de beaux rêves, little bushling," she murmured, sliding the strap of her bag over her shoulder before taking her leave. Hopefully she'd done everything she needed, for her plant to grow big and strong.
__________________
♥♥♥♥ It's me, hi, I'm the problem, it's me, at tea time, everybody agrees
...It must be exhausting, always rooting for the anti-hero ♥♥♥
Ravenpuff | Cap'n Crunch | Bedtime Queen | O Minion, My Minion
This little bush sure does require a lot of... unorthodox care. But he's well worth it... "...Aren't you, buddy?" Yes, the bush could clearly hear his thoughts.
"Would you like a bedtime story? I was thinking about it on the way down and I think I know just the one. It's all about fire, so I thought you might like it." He took the bushes silence as assent.
"Okay, then this is a story my parents used to tell me. It's about a Muggle girl and boy that go camping. They see real fairies, but they don't think of them as magical creatures in the sense we do. So don't worry, they don't discover wizards." In case the bush was worried.
He cleared his throat. "Alright. This story is called The Fire Fairies and the Night of the Original Light."
Text Cut: story time with Keefer Marius
Dusk.
A cornflower blue sky deepened around brother and sister as they sat by their small campfire. He was six, she was ten. Each was cozy and drowsy after a day of walking high in the mountains with their parents.
"Tell me a story," the boy said to his sister for the second time, his eyes now closing. "Your turn," she whispered again, the long trail and thin air catching up to her now.
And together, they fell silent, the only sound in the air now the crackle of the fire and the gentle clinking of parents washing pots from dinner, just out of sight.
Then suddenly, a spark caught the boy's eye. He nudged his sister awake. The sky was black and something was in the fire. Like the shimmer of crystal. Fiery, magical shimmers of color streaked through the yellow fire.
Neither child spoke for a very long time. Then the girl said, "It's like dancing...."
"And dancing we are!" shot back a voice from the fire. From the fire? It was a voice in only the strangest sense of the word. High and thin, like the squeal of pitch escaping from a burning log.
The children were amazed, but not afraid. This dancing light, this tiny voice filled them with something just short of giggles but twice as deep.
"What is in our fire?" the girl asked, at last. "Are you alive?"
"As alive as every flame that licks the forest with its hot, tongue and awakens the valley with its burning howl!" screeched the voice, through the crackling.
"That sounds scary." said the boy.
"They're children. Remember children carry the Original Light," another fiery voice called out, deeper and stronger than the first.
"They are young, like you." The voice added.
For a long time, there was no other sound but the snap and spit of the logs. No other light than the flame and embers they has seen on so many trips to the mountains.
Then, just as the boy and girl began to nod off once more, it happened. Spectacular fountains of colored light rose and swirled above the fire, which had become larger now. On every log, the yellow flame was separating into many more brilliant lights. Swaying, leaping, swirling, their shapes becoming like dancers.
The girl and boy looked at each other in delight. How was it that at this moment, on this mountain, in the deep of black night, that they were watching such wonder?
"I can tell by your eyes we're the first you have seen," the lower voice sighed warmly from the fire. "The first! The first! Let us show them, then, the glory of the Fire Fairies!" squealed the smaller voice. And the sky became a theater of exquisite light and color.
The boy, who had sometimes feared the dark, exclaimed to his sister, how splendid and joyful to be surrounded in this way. The girl wondered aloud, where did these dancing lights come from and why were they here?
"The Original Light." Said the deeper voice, plainly. "You will lose it soon, my child, as all the people of flesh and bone do in time. Unless you learn how to tend it while you are still young enough to believe you need it.
Though she was only 10, the girl understood. Although it was hard to put into words.
"Hard to put into words, yes." Agreed the deep voice, knowing her thoughts as she thought them. "But you must try, you see. And often. That is at the heart of the tending."
Perhaps it was the night air or the excitement of this sublime discovery, but the girl suddenly spoke exactly what she thought. "The Original Light is the place in me where the joyful things live...like hope and wonder and surprise and believing...like believing in this night." She said.
The boy, though six, was especially full of the Light, and so, young as he was, he spoke clearly of things that might confuse one much older. "The Original Light is my magic. And my power to see magic...like tooth fairies and Easter bunnies and Santa and other things."
"The Original Light," said the boy, with a smile that was missing two front teeth, "is the power to see the most wonderful things. Even when no one else can see them.
"Like...Martin Luther King."
"Interesting!" "Delightful" "A dance for the boy!" sang many voices at once from the fire. "Martin Luther King kept his light forever," said the deep voice after a long, glimmering dance in, around and above the fire. "The orginal light is about believing."
"I know." Said the boy, so young he still slept with a large, stuffed tiger, even on trips to the mountain.
"I know." Agreed the girl softly.
"You know." sang the fairies, now spreading so far across the sky that the boy wondered if others, if his parents, might be awoken by the light and color and strange song. "You KNOW."
Sparkling, bursting rivers of fiery color filled the eyes of the boy and girl. Brother and sister. Side by side by the fire, which was nothing but a charred piece of log when the distant fire of the sun began a new day on the mountain.
And the boy and the girl sat up. And yawned. And wiggled out of their sleeping bags and joined their parents for a breakfast of trout and strawberry bars.
And they said absolutely nothing about the night before. About whether it was real. Or dreamt.
They knew.
He looked up at the bush upon finishing. It seemed to have drifted off to sleep. Or as much as was possible for a fire seed bush. He whispered gently to it. "Sweet dreams, buddy." With that, he quietly got up and wended his way out of Greenhouse Two, content that his bush would grow up healthy and strong.
<--- Random | Funfetti | Lima Bean | Slytherpuff | PURPLE | Hoarder of pens | ALWAYS Severus
So now she had to read the bush a bedtime story? She really wondered if all of this stuff was necessary or maybe the professor has a sense of humor? Oh well time to get on with it because she had a lot of homework that she needed to finish in such short time. She sucked in air and cleared her throat. Here goes nothing she thought to herself.
SPOILER!!: Story
"There once was a little girl named Jade. She was an only child and only had her mother in her life. She had never met her father. As a small child she felt useless. She was sure that had she of been a better child then her father would not have went away. She was always sad and kept to herself. She started noticing little things about herself that could not be normal. She could make things happen when she got angry or upset. She thought she was going mad. The little friends that she did have had stopped talking to her when they would witness Jade moving objects with her mind when she was angry. She thought that maybe her father knew this about her and that was why he was not in the picture. Losing her friends made her that much more secluded. She only went to school because her mother forced her and barely ate.
Then when she turned 11 years old everything changed. She was sobbing in her bed when her mother came into the room holding an envelope. Her mother held her while she cried and told Jade that something had come in the mail for her. She had a puzzled look on her face as she handed over the letter. Jade read it fast and then re-read it slower. Her face lit up. At first she thought that maybe it was a joke, but it said that they would have someone come the house to explain everything to her mother. You see her mother was a muggle. She had no idea that Jade's father was a wizard. She never knew magic existed. Her mother smiled down at her precious daughter and said I've always told you, you were special. Jade couldn't help but to beam from ear to ear. Jade went off to Hogwarts and was the happiest little girl in the whole castle. She never felt less than again."
So there was the bush's story. She still couldn't believe that she had actually written the story herself. She wondered if the plant liked it...then she mentally slapped herself. It's a plant Hannah...geeze. She needed to get out of here the professor's homework was making her mental...singing and talking to plants. "Well sweet dreams."she told the bush and gathered her things to clear her head.
Kennedy peered into the pot and grinned. Yeah, Blaze liked the song and dance he did. Heh, maybe he should take that as his profession. Pssh, yeah right. He wanted to go to a University...he's already been planning on starting his resume.
He glanced down at his list and arched an eyebrow. Blood and bone mix. SHUUUDER. He had a phobia with blood...to the point where he could get light headed or lose consciousness. He gulped and put his dragonhide gloves back on. He went to the cupboard by the entrance and took a small bag of blood and bone mix.
DEEP BREATH.
His face blanched, but his kept a cool exterior nontheless. He took a pinch of the solution and carefully sprinkled it around the base. He didn't breath throughout this process. When he was done, Kennedy sped walked to the cupboard and replaced what he took. Then, he took a deep breath and relaxed. He would have rather danced and sang instead.
Toothless - Napoleon of Crime - Gryffinclaw - Owl Emissary - Pirate Auror - DoctorDonna
Now came for the fun part...well one of the interesting parts...the singing and dancing. With the watering can set off to the side, Gideon picked up his guitar from where he had rested it, gingerly releasing it from the grasp of another ivy tendril. He then pulled over a stool and sat down upon it as he tuned the instrument and thought over a song to use. The Gryffindor had been mulling over the issue previously and only a few ideas came to mind and nothing stood out.
Yer singing to a fire-seed bush...not sure its too picky over songs.
Gideon finally decided on something simple, even childlike which made sense since he learned it early on. He was sure Selina would call it appropriate given his interest in astronomy. With one final strum of a chord to get a note, the fifth year started to sing.
"Twinkle, twinkle, little star
How I wonder what you are.
Up above the world so high
Like a diamond in the sky
Twinkle, twinkle, little star
How I wonder what you are!
When the blazing sun is gone,
When he nothing shines upon,
Then you show your little light,
Twinkle, twinkle, all the night.
Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are!
Then the traveler in the dark
Thanks you for your tiny spark;
He could not see which way to go,
If you did not twinkle so.
Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are!"
By the time he had finished the last chord and line, he had gotten up from his seat and started to move around and dance. Well as best he could while still holding and playing his guitar. Hopefully it was amusing enough for his plant and no one was seeing him make fun of himself.
Janice turned her head to every direction she knew. [I]Where did my bottle of boiling water go??[/] she thought. It must be somewhere here. She eyed everything she could find, until a sudden wave of hotness hit her and made her jerked her hand. Apparently, her black bottle camouflaged with its surroindings. She should have known that she should Colour-Change the bottle into something brighter.
Steam errupted as she open the flask. Hoping it's still hot enough, she poured the liquid into the soil surrounding the Fire-Seed Plant. Then, she looked at her list, and swore silently. It's the song.
Sardines ♥ BHB ♥ Dallie ♥ Grumpy ♥ MY SUN AND STARS ♥ i love julia
WELP. Now it was time to... sing. And dance. In a circle.
This was the part Ellie was dreading. It was completely embarrassing and humiliating and quite ridiculous. But... it was homework. And homework meant house points. And house points mean winning the house cup. And that was awesome. So, Ellie would do it.
Clearing her throat, Ellie busted out with her favorite Frank Sinatra song. "When Somebody Loves You". As she sang, she did some waltzy, twirly things around her pot. Nothing too dramatic. Didn't want to scare the poor twig.
"When somebody loves you, do you feel it in your heart?
When somebody loves you, do you know it from the start?
Every kiss becomes more than a kiss, is that all right?
Each look, each touch, they mean so much.
And that's when you discover how it feels to be a lover, loving beyond love?
When somebody loves you, it shows in every smile.
When somebody loves you, your life becomes worthwhile.
Always caring, always sharing everything you do.
When somebody loves you like I love you.
When somebody loves you, it shows in every smile.
When somebody loves you, your life becomes worthwhile.
Always caring, always sharing everything you do.
When somebody loves you like I love you."
And then she was done. Thank goodness, the embarrassing part was over. "Well, I hoped you enjoyed that, little firecracker." Heh. She gave it a nickname. "'Cause I ain't doing it again."
And now the best bit. Thought Kendra, her internal voice sour. Singing a song and dancing. To say that she was good at either at these things would be by no means the truth. To be honest, she had just never expressed an interest in such a thing. She stood up, dusting the soil engrained into her knees and glanced around, checking nobody was about, before doing some strange dance and singing rather loudly.
You put your right hand in,
You put your right hand out,
You put your right hand in,
And you shake it all about,
You do the hokey pokey
and you turn yourself around
And so on. After she had finished, Kendra sat down quickly, hiding herself from view, face red with embaressment. Hopefully the rest of her homework wouldn't be that embaressing.
Sardines ♥ BHB ♥ Dallie ♥ Grumpy ♥ MY SUN AND STARS ♥ i love julia
Right, now that the embarrassing singing and dancing was over, it was time for - Ellie checked her list - Oh. Dear. Blood and bone mix? That sounded delightful.
Ellie went over to the supply closet and grabbed the bag of the wonderful, yummy, delicious and nutritious bag of blood and bone mix. She brought it to her pot. Cringing, she held her breath and opened it, quickly reaching inside and grabbing a pinch before closing the back back up. Shudder.
Carefully, she sprinkled the mixture around the base of her fiery little twig until she had no more left. There. Now her little bushling was happy and fed. "There you go."
Holding the bag far away from herself, Ellie returned it to the supply closet, ready for the last task.
Kennedy wrung his hands together deep in thought. What story would he tell Blaze. There weren't many that he remembered. No. His mom would tell him stories of animals and cutesy stuff like that when he was a child. Too bad he couldn't quite remember how they all went.
He paced back and forth in front of the pot until he was ready.
"Okay, story time, Blaze," he said, pulling a stool to him and sitting down.
"In a place far, far away, across the ocean in America lived a young boy with his mom. His name was Tommy. Their home was a small apartment in a shady neighborhood. At night he could hear people running by the alley, but that didn't scare him. He had his mom to fight the boogeyman away, for she had a magical broom that scared any demon who dared scare her only child.
One day, there was a nasty storm. The wind swished the trees back and forth causing the branches to scratch against the window, making scary shadows. Tommy pulled his covers over his head and whimpered. Suddenly, the horrible cracking sound of thunder roared.
"Mommy!" Tommy yelled. He was terribly scared.
Not a minute late the door to his room burst open. His mom stood at the entrance with her magical broom in her hand.
"What's wrong, dear?" she asked, softly.
"There's a boogeyman outside and he went RAAWWWRR!" he said, making his best monster face.
"Hmm," she hummed with a false frown Tommy believed. "Let me at him, hmph!"
"Careful, mommy. He's BIG and SCARY!"
His mom walked toward the window, opened it and stuck her broom out into the stormy night.
"Oh, there he is," she said.
Tommy pulled his covers over, covering half his face. He couldn't see what was outside, only his mom sticking the broom out the window.
"Take that! And THAT!" his mom said, swinging her broom from side to side at the invisible figure outside. "Don't you scare my son!"
WHAAACK!
"What was that, mommy?" Tommy asked, shivering from fear.
"I hit that boogeyman straight on his head," she huffed, but cracked a smile.
She closed the window and held the broom firmly in her hand.
"Is he gone?" Tommy asked.
"Yes, and he won't be bothering you again."
"Thanks, mommy!" he beamed.
His mom went to sit beside him and hugged him, but the frowned. "Hmm, now I see the problem."
Tommy tilted his head to the side in confusion. Had his mom seen another boogeyman?
"No wonder," she said, picking a red, silky fabric from the ground. "You forgot to wear your protective cape." She placed it behind Tommy's back and tied it loosely around his neck. "There, now no boogeyman will ever bother you."
Tommy felt better with his cape on. His mom had told him that that cape would protect him from monsters and demons, and so far it has done its job well. Except, that night he might of have dropped it when he was asleep. He rested his head on his mom's stomach and looked up at her.
"What if he comes back?" he asked.
His mom smiled at him, running her hand through his messy hair. "Don't you ever worry about that, alright. Mommy will always be here to protect you," she said.
He nodded and fell into a peaceful sleep.
Tommy didn't know that there was no boogeyman outside. He didn't know that it was just trees making scary sounds. He didn't know that his mom whacked thin air. He didn't know that monsters didn't exist, yet. But, one thing he did know was that his mom would always be there for him.
She's never failed him once.
....The End."
At the end of the story Kennedy had a faraway look in his eyes. Without meaning to he had turned one his childhood experiences into a story for a plant. Though, he did remember that night very clearly.
"I hoped you liked that, Blaze," he said, blushing. He really hoped no one had heard it, although it did make for a good story if you asked him.
A soft smile spread on his lips. Who would have known that years from that event he would be at Hogwarts, studying MAGIC and being Prefect. He looked over at the fire seed plant checked if it needed anything else. It seemed to be doing just fine. It was still dark and just fed it, danced for it and even told it a story.
Kennedy placed his To-Do list back into his bag and made sure his area was clean. "I'll see you later and you make sure to grow bigger than rest, OK." Yeah, Blaze had to be a Slytherin about this a beat the rest. Now, this was the competitive no one knew about Kennedy.
Sardines ♥ BHB ♥ Dallie ♥ Grumpy ♥ MY SUN AND STARS ♥ i love julia
And last but not least, the bedtime story. Because everyone knew plants needed to get read to in order to fall asleep. Not really. But oh well.
Slipping her gloves off, Ellie reached inside her school bag and picked up her copy of Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown. When Ellie had seen the homework details at the end of class, she quickly wrote to her mother and asked if she could send her the book. It was her favorite as a child.
Clearing her throat, Ellie opened the book and read her little Firecracker her favorite bedtime story:
"In the great green room, there was a telephone
and a red balloon and a picture of...
The cow jumping over the moon .
And there were three little bears sitting on chairs,
And two little kittens And a pair of mittens,
And a little toy house And a young mouse,
And a comb and a brush and a bowl full of mush,
And a quiet old lady who was whispering "hush".
Goodnight room, Goodnight room.
Goodnight cow jumping over the moon.
Goodnight light and the red balloon.
Goodnight bears Goodnight chairs.
Goodnight kittens and Goodnight mittens.
Goodnight clocks and goodnight socks.
Goodnight little house and Goodnight mouse.
Goodnight comb and Goodnight brush.
Goodnight nobody, Goodnight mush.
And Goodnight to the old lady whispering "hush".
Goodnight stars, Goodnight air.
Goodnight noises everywhere."
Once she finished, Ellie closed the book with a satisfied smile. She tucked it away into her bag and slung it over her shoulder. "Goodnight, my little Firecracker," she said quietly, waving to her baby twig. And then she left.
Toothless - Napoleon of Crime - Gryffinclaw - Owl Emissary - Pirate Auror - DoctorDonna
Gideon set his guitar down once more, making sure to put it far enough that the ivy might not be tempted to go after it again. He then moved onto the next task, slipping his gloves back on and heading back to the entrance of the greenhouse to retrieve what was needed...the blood and bone mix. The Gryffindor went into the cupboard and found the bag as described, reaching inside to collect a decent amount of the mix before carrying it back to his plant.
"Now how to do this without burning myself?" he mused aloud, eyeing the small flames that now existed now that the plant had actually sprouted from its seed. Gideon debated what to do, even making afew attempts and withdrawls before finally sprinking it as close to the base as he could get without fear of accidentally shifting his hand and risking anything.
"There ye go...enjoy," he said as he pulled back, brushing the left over crumbs from his gloves and onto he plant.
Kacie hurried into the greenhouse, but slowed down when she remembered just how dark it was. The last thing she wanted to do was trip and fall over the growing ivy something. She was kind of late coming to visit her fire seed plant and she felt horrible about it. What if it thought she forgot about it? She didn't really forget about it, she just got caught up doing other things around the school.
She immediately frowning when she located her fire seed plant. It was in a dark area of the greenhouse, but one bright beam of sunlight shined down on half of it. Kacie shook her head, knowing she had to take care of that or her plant wouldn't survive. So she had to ask the ivy plant if it would block the light, according to her notes. This should be interesting.
"Oh, wonderful ivy plant... could you please block that bright ray of sunlight from beaming so strongly down on my fire seed plant," Kacie said, as if she was reciting a poem. She waited for the ivy to move, which only took a second or two and it was once again dark enough for her plant to grow. "Thanks so very much." For doing such a wonderful job keeping the greenhouse dark Kacie believe the ivy deserved a hug instead of a pat. It wasn't until the ivy started to wrap around her fingers, arms, and even the many curls of her hair did she realize it wasn't the best idea. "Let go please. I still have more work that needs to be done and I can't very well do it with you holding me." She said calmly, patting the ivy and waiting for it to untangle itself from around her.
Janice like singing, but not in front of people. She did became Belle in a school play, but it was when she was in her primary school and no one else auditioned for the role. She did want to go to the Wizarding Academy of Dramatic Arts, but she didn't want to tell anybody just yet. Maybe in her sixth year? Probably.
She decided that she would sing the first part of Home, a number from that play, while just circling the plant and flailing her arms.
SPOILER!!: Song + Dance
Is this home?
Is this where I should learn to be happy?
Never dreamed
That a home could be dark and cold
I was told ev'ry day in my childhood:
Even when you grow old
Home should be where the heart is
Never where words so true!
My heart's far, far away
Home is too
But when she thought of it for a while, the song didn't really match her condition. She is perfectly happy to be within the castle and her friends. Sometimes, songs she sung could be misleading... =D
Once she got herself untangled from the ivy she moved onto the next step. Which wasn't hard, but she still wasn't to good at the water spell. Kacie first walked to retreive a watering can and sat it down, before pulling out her wand. Second, she tried to remember the movements of her wand for the spells she needed to do.
"Aguamenti!" she said, holding her wand over the watering can. Just like before her jet of water wasn't very strong and it took a moment to get a good amount of water into the can. It was certainly a spell she needed to practice more. "Chaudensis!" This spell she actually did a lot better then before. The water heated until it was boiling and Kacie lightly sprinkled some water onto her fire seed plant. Next...
Kendra glanced at the piece of scraled parchment on the floor to see what the next task would bring. She was glad to see the next, and last 2 seemed a little less.. embaressing, and help the plant grow a little more.
'I'll be right back.' She smiled whilst she promised to the plant, which seemed to have perked up a little since she had sung it a song. This was good news, Kendra guessed, as it hadn't died with the shock of her awful singing as expected in the first place.
Walking over to the small cupboard on the other side of the greenhouse, she picked up a small bag of the blood and bone mixture, reading the 'CAUTION' sign scribbled on the door with some long ago ink. She frowned for a second, wondering what the problem could be, before heading back to her plant.
'TOld you I'd be back.' She sat down next to the bushling and opened up the bag, flinching away from the immeadiete smell. Carefully, Kendra took a pinch and sprinkled it around the base of the bushling before dipping her hands in the watering can to get the excess off.
Toothless - Napoleon of Crime - Gryffinclaw - Owl Emissary - Pirate Auror - DoctorDonna
Last but not least was the storytelling.
Gideon had brought with him a small worn book for that purpose and should there have been anyone around to read the cover they might have reconized it. At least the non-muggleborn folk. For the 5th year had brought a copy of the tales of Beedle the Bard, a book that had passed through his family and had already decided on which story to read. His mother had favored the story of the fountain, a reminder that magic wasn't the do-all and end-all of anything.
Retaking the seat at the stool, he retrieved the book from his robe pocket and opened it, turning to the second story held within. Gideon then took a deep breath and launched himself into reading the tale.
"The Fountain of Fair Fortune is located on top of a hill, in the middle of an enchanted garden, and is protected by strong magic. Every year, on the longest day, between the hours of sunrise and sunset, an unfortunate person was given a chance to bathe in the Fountain, and would receive a fair fortune forever more.
On the appointed day, hundreds of people, male and female, rich and poor, young and old, would gather from all over the kingdom to reach the garden walls before dawn. Three witches, named Asha, Altheda and Amata, each came to the garden with the same hope: that they would be chosen. Asha was sick with a malady no Healer could cure, while Altheda had been robbed by an evil sorcerer, and Amata had been deserted by a man whom she loved dearly. Pitying each other, they agreed that they would try to reach the fountain together if one of them got chosen to enter the garden..."
Before long and before he registered it, Gideon was at the end of the story, reciting the last lines written and revealing the moral to his fiery charge.
"...The four of them thus set off the hill together happily, with none of them knowing that the Fountain's water carried no magic at all."
Then with a pause, he closed the little book before looking at the fire-seed bush as if reviewing its audeience. The Gryffindor shook his head with a chuckle before returning the book to his pocket and returning anything he borrowed back to its rightful place.
"So Long," Gideon absently said, saying good bye to the plant at least for now and with that, picked up his guitar and headed out of the greenhouse.
Janice put on her dragon hide gloves and took the bag of the mixture from the cupboard. She headed back to her plant, took a pinch of it, kneeled down, and sprinkled it unto the soil.
Her balance was the worst thing in the world. When Janice was repositioning her foot into a steadier position, she accidentaly brushed her hand with a fire-seed that rested somewhere in the bottom. Fortunately, she realized this after a surge wave of pain hit her hand. She jerked her hand inwards and saw the small area of raw skin that was caused by the slight brushing with the Seed. She reckoned that the injury was very minor, so she would just go to the healer after she had finished her homework.
Kacie giggled as read what she needed to do next and was more than happy to entertain her plant. She lightly tapped her finger against her lips as she tried to think of the best song to sing, something that was appropriate for a growing plant. That was when she remembered a song or two she use to sing when she was little. It was a song she had learned it from a muggle show, but she couldn’t seem to remember what it was called. All she remembered was that she use to sing the song hoping that it would help her grow because she wanted to get big quick. It wasn’t easy doing things being so small. “Now how did that song go again.” She paused for a moment while she tried to think of the words.
“Groooowing... growing everyday,” she singed, her voice not quite bad. “If you want to grown fast this is the way. Groooowing… bigger than before. Ever hour that you sleep you grow a little more.”
So far so good, she had the main chorus part down, but how did the next part go?
“Plants and flowers bow their… err…. heads. So when the sun goes down. she continued. "They can lay and go to sleep... until the sun comes around. That’s why in the morning, they look so big and... and bright They've been sleeping and growing all of the night."
She giggled some more when she finished singing the major parts to the song, at least the parts she use to like to sing, maybe mixing up a few words. Kacie couldn’t help thinking that maybe her mom had something to do with her learning this song. She could remember taking her nap without a fuss after learning it.
Since she now had the song down, now to add some dancing with it. Kacie started singing the song again, but this time she started to dance around her fire seed plant. The way she moved was like she was dancing in a square around the pot. She stepped one foot to the side and twirled, before her feet came together. She stepped back and twirled again, and then her feet came together again. She stepped again and again, this time to the side and up, completing the squared around the plant, each step with its own twirl.
SPOILER!!: The song all together
Growing
Growing everyday
If you want to grown fast
This is the way
Growing
Bigger than before
Ever hour that you sleep
You grow a little more
Plants and flowers bow their heads.
So when the sun goes down.
They can lay and go to sleep
Until the sun comes around
And that’s why in the morning
They look so big and bright
They've been sleeping and growing
All of the night
Growing
Growing everyday
If you want to grown fast
This is the way
Growing
Bigger than before
Ever hour that you sleep
You grow a little more
It took about three rotations around the plant, before she completed the song. She got so comfortable with her dancing that anyone looking on might think she was an amazing ballerina. She was just happy she didn't end up falling and at the end she didn't get to dizzy.
Ignoring the itching feeling in her hand, Kendra moved onto the final step of her homework. Reading her little sapling a bedtime story. She scratched the back of her head, the hair standing up on end as she did so. 'What fairy tale do you wish to hear?' She asked the small plant, as if waiting for an answer. 'How about...' She thought through the one's she had heard as a young child, the ones to send her to sleep.
How about the jungle book? It seemed about right, in this jungle of a greenhouse. The Ravenclaw cleared her throat and began, thankful that she had a relativly good memory to help her recall these tales that she had been told long, long ago.
'Deep in the jungle...' She began before rettelling the story to the plant, the best listener ever. Which sat there patiently in it's plant pot for the duration of the story, including the various bits where Kendra forgot large portions of the story and kept jumping between other stories which followed similar story lines.
After what seemed like hours, she finished and smiled. 'Ig uess that's it.' She said softly. 'I'll see you tommorow little sapling.' She gently pushed the bushling under the bench again, hidden under the darkness. Out of sight from the light. 'Sleep well.' She stood up, picking up her pieceo f paper before leaving the greenhouse, ready to come back the next day.
Kacie moved onto the next step and when read what she had to go get she shivered. Blood and bones... that's nasty. You would have to be crazy to like working with something like that. She didn't even want to think of where it came from. Once she had her gloves out of her bag she walked over to the stored cupboard by the entrance of the greenhouse.
It took a moment before she spotted the bag in question and pull it out. She held it slightly away from herself as she opened it and took out what she needed, and put the bag back. Kacie then headed back to her fire seed plant and carefully sprinkled the blood and bone mix around the base as instructed.
Feeling her cheeks burning from embarrassment at her song, Ariella made her way over to the cupboard. She picked up the bag of blood and bone mix and carried it to her bush. She took a pinch and sprinkled it over her seedling carefuly. A whiff of the gunk swirled up her nose. Ariella wrinkled it up in disgust.
"How do you like this stuff? It smells horrendous," she said, half to herself, half to her bush. She sealed the bag quickly and placed it back into the cupboard.
.jpg)
The Greenhouses 
x1
x1
HW 1, Post 5 
