Emmanuelle sat up a little straighter when the professor actually started the lesson. Yay, they were studying herbs some more! But what was some special care they need?"Making sure bugs don't eat them?" Emmanuelle suggested questioningly. She knew that that was a problem with other edible plants, like tomatoes, so why not?

Glancing up from her gloves when Gideon greeted her, Kurumi was about to reply when...Richard showed up...calling her beautiful nonetheless. While Kurumi couldn't help but blush just a little - as she did with all compliments - she managed to bite down on her lip to keep it from twitching slightly. Only two boys had ever called her beautiful, three if you wanted to count this instance which she didn't, and it made her feel ridiculously awkward right now. "My name is Kurumi," she ended up mumbling, shifting her sitting position just a little. "And I am not your girl."

Cue a staggering attempt at removing her quill from her bag and caused her to nearly fall off her stool.

Mine...her and Lewis didn't really talk about each other that way. Sure, she had told him and she was his and he had said that he was hers...but it wasn't like that. They weren't each other's property...it was feelings...

And she was totally over thinking this, right?

She ventured a glance up at Richard again. Yep...definately NOT the same thing right now. "You should sit down, you know," she continued, noticing that she had an empty seat beside her.

Merlin help her.
Okay, so Professor Bentley wasn't Merlin...but she was close enough right now as she began the lesson.

Writing her name, house, date, and seventh year on her parchment, Kurumi looked up and cocked her head to the side. Something they hadn't covered last lesson...about care requirements of herbs? So, something besides the usual care that they gave plants, and singing to them and all that... something special, right? Probably something that was a bit uncommon too.

And Kurumi had no idea what that was...so best to go with what she knew, right?

"My grandfather used to use lime powder or chips in his herb garden because his herbs tended to like more acidic soil," she offered after raising her hand.

Jen raises her hand
"Some plants need sun and others dont need as much." that should be it. Jen didnt pay attention much to the lesson last time...

Jory had been lost in thought so he didn't noticed Gwen taking a seat next to him. Until she greeted him. He looked around, coming back to reality and for a brief moment wondering what he was doing in the Greenhouse. Classes...right. "Heya, Gwen,'' he responded, glad to have a friend sitting next to him since he usually sat alone.

The Puff raised his hand after some thought. "Some herbs may need more fertilizer than others,'' he said.

Not long after she had taken a seat, the fifth year noticed Professor Bentley arriving. Looks like class was about to start. Gwen couldn’t help but wonder how come she started enjoying Herbology starting with this year, since she hadn’t been a great fan of plants. Hmm. Anyway, her thoughts were soon interrupted as she heard the first question being asked.

Hmmm.

What did she know about the requirements of herbs? The fifth year remembered having read something about sunlight, but since she didn’t know how much light the herbs needed, Gwendolyn decided to think about something else. So what else did herbs need? Water, of course. ‘Some herbs need more water than others. For example, mints need the soil to be constantly humid’, the fifth year said.

Vickers was quietly scribbling notes onto his parchment when he heard someone say something about Herbs needing more fertilizer. Which was strange because in his research thus far for the term project it was rather the opposite. So he raised his hand and replied "Professor, I heard that most herbs doesnt need that much fertilizer, in fact many of them are quite hardy and would prefer that they not be fussed over unlike other plants."

Sarah raised her hand "Plant usually grow towards the sun.. therefore if you leave your herbs in one place the whole time only the part that is in the sun wil grow... this only applieds to herb grown in a pot. Therefore you need to turn the pot around occasionally to make sure it all gets equal sunlight"

Herbs. Something that facinated Ness more fire crabs. She was happy to listen to what the Bentley would go on about today, as long as it didn't involve any ewwy stuff like ComC had. Mhmm. She wasn't one too fond of getting all messy with mud and gross things that had plenty of germs. She was more of a clean freak.

Having taken her seat next to Logan, Ness now listened to the professor's question. Care on herbs She really didn't know much about the topic. Pout. The red head looked at Logan for a short moment, blushed and waited to see if he would answer, but he didn't.

Hmm..she didn't want to seem silly in front of him and so as she raised her hand she hoped her answer was some what logical. "Professor, aren't herbs cared for like most plants? All they need is water, soil and fertilizer no?" It made logical sense to Ness.

Herbology, Herbology. It came quite easily.

Cardigan knew quite a lot! She took it upon herself to read her textbooks back and forth, just for fun and for possible future lessons. Never know when you're gonna do a lesson on Wolfsbane!!

Often, that plan worked out for her quite a lot, like right now!

"Professor, most annual herbs develop better in warm soil, so it's best to plant most herbs after the last frost date," She said, raising her hand high. She was quite proud of her knowledge. So, so proud!

Don't confuse her with the ravenclaws, though.

Minerva thought about that question. What on earth didn't they cover about herbs. They talked about the way they looked, uses, taking care of them. They even took care of them as a group. Smiling thinking of Vickers not wanting to sing to the plant. So what could they have possibly not covered.

Putting up her hand, "Professor, did we need to learn which herbs should be used with caution because they could be dangerous or deadly?" Minerva only thought about that, because of potions. She knew Professor Lafay was saying how some ingredients were dangerous and she thought maybe some were herbs.

Feeling a little better despite their loss against Hufflepuff, Beezus was attending Herbology and had taken up a seat next to the Hufflepuff Captain who was busy with her other seatmate. No hard feeling because although Quidditch meant half her life, she still prioritized friendship first. She was a bit frustrated still though, hence her constant sighing, brow furrowing and restlessness at class.

As the first question was asked, Beezus listened to what her classmates had in thought first. Oh and Nessie, why are you blushing?

Hand up in the air, the Ravenclaw said, "Professor Seren, my Grandmother used to have a herbal garden when she was still active with gardening and every morning, she would play a short harmonic flute piece," Yes, Grandma Eva played the flute. "..before she'd sprinkle them with water and attend to their other needs."

She wasn't sure if it was a legit care requirement. But it was a guess.

Nigel was trying to remember what they had talked about last time. But all he could remember was the obvious. Like sun and water that the plants need. But maybe it was his broken arm in charms that had taken over his memories. He was glad it is finally healed. He might as well guess.

"Is one care requirement, That you need a Herbologist to take care of the plants because they knew what they're doing."

Nigel though he was right. They would not the mistakes a second year Hogwarts student would make.

Herb care, eh? Ella didn't know too too much about that, though she was knowledgeable enough to hazard a guess. "Professor, I'd think you'd want to um..." What was the word? Not pick, pick sounded weird. Pluck? No...Harvest! Yeah, harvest! "To harvest the herbs a lot so that they can continue to grow and be healthy." Cause herbs grew in pots, yeah? And the pots were only a certain size so if the herbs weren't harvested, they'd get all cramped and uncomfortable...and then die or something. Meep. That wouldn't be good. Yeah, harvesting often sounded totally legit.

Merlin's mandrake root print boxer shorts! ....... Was she a failure of a teacher? Did these students not understand what she had meant by the question?!... She HAD stated something outside the realms of what they'd studied last lesson, did she not? So why were students grasping at dung, sun and soil?... not that they weren't perfectly good things to grasp at. Heavens, she grasped at them on a daily basis.

Alas... the students were far from the mark. Until...



"Yes!... insects, parasites... pests!" she confirmed, bouncing on her heels in joy.

Alright, perhaps she had over reacted the first time, she wasn't a complete failure of a teacher after all.

"I'm sure we've all seen them, encountered them, heard of them... so what kind of garden pests can you think of? Any ideas?"

Seren stared at the group expectantly. Hopefully.

OOC: The lesson will continue in approximately 12 hours. As always, ONE suggestion only, be creative, have fun!... just don't give her a heart attack (;

Ah, so that had been the answer Bentley appeared to be looking for, the woman positively bouncing at the mention of garden pests. They certainly could be a problem if one wasn't carefull for watchful for signs of them and they ruined your plants right under your noses. At the question, Gideon thought for a moment on the subject before raising his hand to answer. "Slugs can be pests," he remarked, "they can eat away at certain plants and leave a residue that harms others."

Flesh-eating slugs were the worst!

Oh...dear...

Kurumi suddenly had flashbacks to when they had had to deal with pixies in one of their lessons. Professor Bentley wasn't going to unleash a whole bunch of those again, was she? Which made her think of something else along those lines. "Gernumbli gardensi," Kurumi said nervously after raising her hand. "Also know as...gnomes..."

Pests? OOoooOOO. Spike's eyes lit up. Of course, they weren't always pests. Only when they were attacking something that you were looking after. Slugs, for example, were perfectly fine if nowhere near your cabbages. A little slimy, perhaps, and an odd texture for stroking...but still fine. Unless you put them in a microwave. Unlike ants, slugs did not survive the microwave test. They just made a mess. Mhmm.

"Aphids and weevils, Professor," Spike answered, going for two he had no preference for keeping as pets. "The former attacks leaves, the latter roots."

Insects, parasites, and pests. So those weren't good for herbs. Addie made a mental note to remember that.

Some people were naming smaller things, but Addie decided that she would think big. After all she did help with her garden at home, especially when she was younger and not at school. Some people had mentioned some of the things that Addie despised as garden pests, but then she remembered another one. Addie raised her hand. "Professor, it isn't only small things that can be pests to gardens. At home squirrels and chipmunks often destroy my gardens," Addie said thinking large.

Sierra had just been about to raise her hand to answer the last question when a second question was asked. MERLIN! Bentley was on a speed roll today! She lowered her hand for only a split second, just long enough to consider an answer, and then raised it again. "Garden gnomes," she said, sparing a quick glance in Kurumi's direction, "...definitely." Although, there were a variety of pests the Muggles had trouble with, too, but she wasn't as familiar with them. She guessed they were all over the Herbology Greenhouses, too.

Annabelle remembered learning about insects, parasites and pests last lesson. She put that info into her notebook to remember for a later date.

Belle wondered what kind of parasite might harm a garden..."Professor i know earwigs can be harmful to any garden and i also see large animals such as Deer eating out of gardens." Belle shivered at the thought of Earwigs. They were nasty creatures.

Wow, did she really say that trolls can do the work that Herbologist could. Well than maybe Nigel could become a herbologist if he really wanted to. But he did not so time to answer her next question.

"Professor, One is the Japanese beetle. It eats roses and all sorts of plants."

What kinda of parasite eats plants though. Nigel thought it was only bugs and other stuff he could see.

Minerva was not to happy that she was wrong, but she was allowed to be wrong once in awhile. Get over yourself Min, she thought to herself. Then looking around the room she tired to think of some pest that could bother plants. Well she knew of a pest that bothered her, and that girl could probably bother plants as well, but probably not what Professor Bentley wanted to hear.

Minerva tried to think, putting her hand up. "Well depending on it they are in a green house or in someones back yard, could deepened on the actually things bothering it. My grandparents have a garden with herbs, and their biggest issues are rabbits and chipmunks." Minerva knew that wasn't the case around here, but it was a pest for the muggle world.

Pests, hmm? Gnomes were a great answer, as were slugs and aphids. Flesh-eating slugs were a particular abhorrence to Vivi's mother, who loved to garden and found gnomes to be mildly annoying but still rather funny.

"Do little brothers count, Professor? As pests and destroyers of gardens go, mine happens to excel at both. He used to make mud pies while the plants were still growing in the mud, although we've mostly broken him of that." Erm... probably not a great answer. "Flesh-eating slugs?"

Once professor Bentley asked the question, Sophie immediately thought of a creature she had seen before, but she wasn't sure if it would be considered a 'pest'.

"Professor, can dugbogs be considered pests?" She asked after raising her hand."I mean, they do destroy mandrakes..." And our feet. "...and well, mandrakes are plants. So... we can say they're pests, right?" Sophie did consider them pests, because her mother had complained about those a few times. Besides, they were kind of creepy too...

And if gnomes were considered pests, dugbogs were too, right?

Garden pests...garden pests. She knew this, she really did. But why couldn't she recall any right at this moment? She had read the Herbology textbook cover to cover, but nothing was coming to her mind like they normally did. Presley was used to being asked a question, and a million answers popping up in her head. She scanned every bit of knowledge she could find in her head as quickly as possible. As soon as her memory hit something she threw her hand into the air. "Ticks and Chiggers," she responded. They ate through the plants, and even latched onto people when people wandered into the garden. Creepy and gross. But a right answer.