Landon Hughes walked into the Greenhouse, still getting over the fact that a random girl had hugged him, and was surprised by how many students there were already in there. At least he wasn't late, he didn't want to already make a poor impression on the professor.

As he walked in he watched as the students greeted the professor and he blanked on her name. He listened closely as the other students said it and he finally heard it once it was her turn to greet her. "Hi Professor Bentley, I'm Landon. Landon Hughes." He said, giving one of his charming smiles. Oh yeah. He was cool; at least that's what he thought.

He turned around, looking for a place to si-er...stand and noticed Melanie. He waved over to her and as he did so he saw Tag, Blue, Alice and Anya. Oh no. This could either go two ways. Completely and utterly bad or fantastic.

Landon was pretty sure it was the first one. He nodded towards the four and walked over to Melanie. Yeah. He'd stick with his best friend than his cousin, the chocolate frog hater, the Munchkin, and what's-her-face. It would've just been awkward if he didn't go over to Melanie anyways.

"Hey look, it's Melon!" The fourteen-year-old said, poking his best friend as he awaited for class to start.

For the first time ever, Daichi entered the Herbology lesson without a smile. No smile, no twinkle in his eyes and no light skip in his walk.

As he came closer, the first thing he would normally do was greet the Professor and asked how her summer was but not today. It seemed like he had not even noticed her. Mumbling something under his breath about "My duckies.." and "why?" as his thoughts were still at the old duck pond that, as everyone had noticed , wasn't there anymore.

He literally threw his school bag on the ground and crossed his arms. The puffed up cheeks and frown on his face made clear that he was not happy.

Beezus gave Vickers a nod when she was acknowledged, then she allowed him and the other 'claw to converse while she turned her attention to the flow of students entering the Greenhouses.

A voice came from beside her. Oh, if it wasn't Elliot. And what was that she was calling her the first time? Beezwa? What? Hmmm.. "Hi Elliot. Good to see you." she replied before the blonde had sauntered over to where her other friend was.

And before she could shift her attention back to the Entrance, another Ravenclaw had approached them. "Hello Kendall!" The brunette greeted, offering her a warm smile. "No. I don't think so. I just came to stand beside Vickers." She smirked towards the male 'Claw. But if Professor Seren says they group themselves, she was alright with the four of them being in it.

Arabella-Marie entered the greenhouse after making her way down from the castle she was excited about herbology lessons and said "Good day Professor Bentley" Arabella-Marie gave her head of house a smile and went and stood beside the rest of the students assembled at the front of class

Seri skipped into the Herbology lesson. It was in a Greenhouse, and she'd never been into a greenhouse before, at least, not one that had MAGIC plants in it... At least this lesson she had known where to go. "Morning Professor!" she said cheerily, she wasn't actually sure what her name was, but there was nothing she could do about it. This Professor was supposed to be the Gryffidor Head of House and if she was half as nice as Lex was then she'd probably like her. Seri had never done Herbology before and hoped she wasn't *too* bad at it!

Kat made her way to the Greenhouses. Herbology lesson one will TOTALLY be interesting... as it always is. When Kat stepped inside the Greenhouse, she saw a fair number of students inside and Professor Bentley was there too. Ooohh, she surely missed her pretty and smart Herbology Professor!

"Good morning, Professor Bentley," Kat smiled. "It's great to see you again!" Well, it was a great start for the morning. Fresh air and a good weather that is.

While standing, practically glued to the Professor's side she noticed Dylan then Seri walking in. GAH! They were wearing their gloves toooo!! Nooooo, it's a trap!! They might bundle the firsties and use them as bait!!!

She took a the risk of being snatched and walked over to Dylan, leaning close to him she whispered, "You gotta be careful Dylan, I think something's up in this class." She wouldn't say too much, just in case someone was listening and realized she had caught on to their plans then decided to sacrifice her first. "Just keep your eyes peeled."

Then onto Seri. She shoved walked through the growing crowd of students until she got to her. "Seri! Thank merlin you made it over here alive!" Yup and in one piece too. Clearly no dragon had tried making a meal of her so far.

Lex felt the need to explain. "I don't think we're safe! These people are plotting something that involves a satisfied dragon and a few eaten kids." Of course after saying this she practically attached herself to the Professor's side once more and waited on her to begin.

Was he late?

Theo peeked his head through the greenhouse, and at the sight of people still arriving and chatting, he felt safe. So, he sped inside and snagged a free spot next to Blue, giving her his usual beam as he did so. Theo had spotted a few of his other friends, too, but he would talk to them later cos he couldn't be bothered right now.

"Hullo, professor." He said with a nod. Wooh, Herbology - one of his worst lessons ever...

The first lesson of Herboloy- Sarah was quite looking forward to it. She went into the greenhouse eagerly. "Good day professor!" she said cheerfully, "Nice to see you again. I hope you had a good break". Sarah quite liked her herbology professor. She was SOOO nice and after all, she was her head of house.

Gwendolyn made her way to the greenhouse, with a small smile on her face. Even though she hadn’t been very fond of the subject from the very beginning, she eventually learned to like it. It proved to be kind of interesting.‘Good day, Professor’, the fifth year said simply, before joining the other students who had already arrived.

Even though she had been meaning to go say hello to Elliot, who she had spotted a moment ago, the Ravenclaw eventually decided not to. The lesson will begin shortly so mehh. The fifth year waited patiently for class to start.

Nodding, smiling and greeting the students as they arrived proved to be - as usual - a satisfying experience. The finality of the summer holidays had been difficult to come to terms with, just because being lazy, sitting in the sunshine and observing the behaviours of flesh-eaters was the perfect use of her time.

Doing a quick head count, Seren figured it was about time to get the ball rolling. If there were any late comers, they could deal with her later.

"Hello everyone! Welcome to our first lesson of the term. I hope you're all well rested after the summer holidays. For returning students welcome back, and for new students... welcome. I'm Professor Bentley, I trust you're all familiar on the classroom rules." She paused here to eyeball a few students whom appeared to be trouble makers. Mmhhmm. Rules. Follow them.

"This term, our unit of study will be herbs. Can anybody have a guess at how we might define a herb?"

OOC: The lesson has officially started. Do not announce yourself arriving late, just pretend as if you've been here the whole time. Do not edit your answers (I'll know if you do). The lesson will continue in approximately 20 hours.

Arabella-Marie thought and said "A herb is something that can be grown in the ground" Arabella-Marie wasn't too sure if it was right but it was worth a guess

And just before he was about to start chatting away to Blue, the professor began the lesson. Woah, he really did get there at just the right time! Now, the lesson.

Herbs. That didn't sound so tricky.

Theo raised his hand into the air, feeling pretty certain with himself. "I don't know much about herbs, only that you make 'em in the garden and then lots of them are used on food to make them taste nice and herb-y..." 'Herby' was a perfectly good describing word, by the way. He was pretty sure that EVERYONE would know the herby taste that he was talking about. Theo liked his herbs, only not the spicy ones of course, cos they gave him wind.

Sarah raised her hand, there were so many ways to define a herb that Sarah just said one "a herb is a plant, which usually has a scent which is often used in medicine or as a seasoning and sometimes even just as scent. Rosemary and Parsley are both herbs" She would let someone else say more, perhaps about the stem that did not become woody.

As the class begun, Daichi sat down quickly while still holding the frown and puffed up cheeks on his face. Seriously, how could the new Groundskeeper do that? Take away the duck pond?! nuhuh! A loud huff could be heard from the Slytherin and he did not even bother looking around if anyone heard it.

As the first question came, Daichi tried to focus on it and after a few moments of thinking he shot his hand in the air. "A herb is a flowery plant...i think it's also used in medicine" he answered but the way he answered was not in his usual cheery voice. It sounded a bit...snappy and as he had lowered his arm again he folded them in front of his chest and mumbled something for the second time.

See? This was why Terry loved this subject, he KNEW the answers, he could actually raise his hand and answer the question without risking looking like a fool. He sat there, listening to the Professors question, grinning to himself because this subject he enjoyed. He was very grateful his mum taught him a lot about this, he was rubbish in the other subjects!

His hand shot up at the question, not in the 'pick me' know it all way but merely hoping that he would be able to answer before too many others did. "It's a plant which contains a part such as leaves or seeds which can be used as seasoning or flavouring within food dishes." That was its primary use anyway, the use that most people knew it for. "But it can be used in other things as well. Herbs can be found in perfume and medicines. They're probably used in a lot of potions too." His mum had loads of products with herbs in, mainly shower gels and shampoos for her blonde locks. The smell often wafted through the house when she was using them, Terry wasn't sure if it was a smell he was fond of or not. "They often have a strong smell which is why they're used in cosmetics. But there's another definition of a herb. They don't have woody tissue in their stems and often die back after every season. Although that could define a lot of plants." You know, most plants that weren't trees and that were seasonal.

He lowered his hand and sunk down in his chair, hoping to look not too much like a know-it-all. He just loved anything to do with nature!

Deciding to set her bag down for the time being, Kurumi rolled her shoulders as Professor Bentley officially began the lesson. Her expression brightened a bit when the woman said that the theme of the term would be herbs because Kurumi knew a thing or two about those. Mostly from baking really. She had recently begun experimenting with savory cupcake and cookie recipes, so herbs like parsley and basil were in her stock pile now. Before she had only used what she considered soft flavors - lavender and mint sort of things.

...there weren't any flesh eating herbs in the wizarding world, were there?!

After a moment, Kurumi raised her hand. "A herb, at least how I have always thought about them, is a plant that is grown for use in cooking, medicine, or even spiritual rituals. In cooking, herbs are not used primarily for substance, but more for flavor. They are plants where typically the leafy or flowery part is used...but I think you can use the seeds too. My grandmother used to use lavender seeds when making perfume."

A herb? Ok. Kat has been with Professor Bentley since her First year. But Professor never... not really... discussed the real definition of herb. But Kat tried her luck in her prior knowledge on the topic.

Kat raised her hand. "A herb can be either be a plant or a part of a plant that can be used and valued for its medicinal purposes and uses." Fingers crossed.

Herrrrrbs.

West thought and then put his hand uppp.

"Herbs are green seasonal plants." Obviously. "They have bits that can be used for medicines or for seasoning or for perfume sometimes, and the bits that are used are like, seeds, or leaves or flowers or buds depending on what the herb is and what you are gonna use it for. Sometimes its just the leaves what are called herbs, and the seeds and stuff are spices depending on where they are grown. They're properly called... ummm... herba... hera... herbac..." He paused and tried again, "Herb-ace-ous." Yes. Herbaceous. He repeated it with a confident nod, "Herbaceous plants."

Were they going to eat stuff?

Abby gave a sigh of relief when class finally started, although she wondered why they weren't allowed to sit. Weird.

Herb? Abby raised a hand. She might as well answer questions.. The girl was bored. "They are plants that used in medicine.. and they are also used as seasoning, right?"

Jory thought about a definition before he raised his hand. "A herb is a plant that can be used for food, as a flavouring ingredient or medicine,'' he said. "Some are also used as perfumes.''

Beezus started to introduce him to a young Ravenclaw-- Kendall she calls her. If only he could say he hasnt met this one before and therefore had no preconceived notions on who she was-- just as any new kid of Hogwarts. But he has met her, although not directly.

See there was this fountain and a whole lot of splashing water in between... plus some kind of singing chanting. A strange summer ritual he wasnt aware of? There were several of them--must be some kind of obscure cult...

"Its good to meet you Kendall." Vickers smiled ever so politely. Like the other young Gryffindor, this one he'll have to keep an eye on. One can never tell if one was crazy enough to flood the Ravenclaw common room...



Right so first question. He pondered the question for a moment, since the first thought was something more culinary and medicinal, but the Ravenclaw decided on this "Herbs are generally referred to as any seed producing or flowering plant but with a distinctive feature of not having woody stems, as well as having a characteristic of forming new stems and leaves with each seasonal cycle."

Ella was standing quietly next to Hulk when Violet arrived and called her Elly Bean. She BEAMED at the older badger, giving her a wave. She loved that nickname, she really did.

And then Bentley was starting class and Ella bounced the tiniest bit, eager to get started. Right, herbs. Hmm...What on earth did Ella know about herbs? Hand up and-"Professor, I think herbs grow up from the ground on plants and they can be used in lots of foods and sometimes in medicine, yeah? Oh! And there is herbal tea. Gran loves herbal tea."

Hannah didn't excatly dislike Herbology she mainly just disliked getting dirty. Who liked to get dirty? Still Professor Bentley was nice enough so that alteast helped her get through the lesson. The professors question snapped Hannah out of her thoughts. How would they define a herb?

She thought about the question for a while, and decided to take a stab at it. With a raised hand she said "Professor it's a small seed bearing plant. It's also the green and leafy part that we use to cook with and use it spells right?" Was she even a little bit close at least?

Bliss had been sat twiddling her thumbs for the last few minutes, waiting for the Professor to start the lesson. Sure, she could have talked to Terry who she had moved to join, but they where both eagerly awaiting the start of class and there wasn't much to talk about yet. After all, it hadn't been long since they'd last hung out. So know she was very glad that the Professor had started speaking.

She listened intently to the professor, smiling as she welcomed them all in to the class. And then she asked the class a question and lots of hands shot up, including Terry's. Her own hand would have been included but she could help but stare at Terry, he knew a LOT about Herbology by the sounds of it. Bliss also knew quite a bit, but Terry had her beat there. She resisted the urge to just say, 'What he said,' and she raised her hand in the air before speaking.

"Herbs are plants, sometimes flowery and they are used in a lot of different things. Like food. For example curries, they use lots of herbs..along with spices," she said, hoping not to confuse anyone, if they didn't know what a curry was. "They are also used a lot in potions, they are often the key ingredients. But they are also used in a lot of other things too," she finished and bowed her head. Next to Terry she looked stupid.