"Rutafaceiouspritz." That was better, because it had spritz in there somewhere. Alice extended her hand for a fistbump for her friend's naming skills before turning back to the tree.

Aguamentispritz? At least she didn't have to concentrate on rationing out the water and not being wasteful like she did with the Water-Making spell. Alice tried saying the word for the incantation a couple of timesfirst , just to make sure it felt right on her lips. "Aguament.. Agua.. Aguamentispritz?" That was it? She pointed her wand at the hovering tree again, attempting it again.

"Aguamentispritz." Her spray wasn't nearly as good as Bentley's, but.. at least there was a little water? Fanning out too, so not a complete failure of a sprinkle. She'd keep practicing, it was bound to work properly sometime.

Dylan was just carrying on, of course...Even though he had accidentally sprayed water at other places than the roots. His wand slipped! Totally did...So, kinda not his fault. Kinda...

Also, the Slytherin was in love with this charm. Thank you, Professor Bentley.

"Aguamentispritz!"

He continued on coating roots and had even sprayed the leaves a bit. Couldn't hurt for them to get some moisture, too. So, yea...He was just doing that...Might've gotten some on Jakey-love, too...Might've gotten more on Anya....and Bee was getting smirks...

Seriously...Her glasses...

/deaded

Ahem..."This is the most fun I've ever had in this class." True stuff...

After some time observing the others students, Annabeth had become more confident about her skill to cast the new spell. All that she needed was aim the tip of her wand towards the green shoots, not to the roots, and say: Aguamentispritz. It seemed to be quite easy. Anna cleared her throat, pointed her wand toward a green shoot and said:
"Aguamenti... spritz!" Oh, it's was too late when she had completed the word, the spell was already working and a stream of water flowed over the delicate green shoot! "Oh, no!" She said, lowering her wand and accidentally wetting the roots. "Oh, no! Finite! Finite!" The water jet was stopped. She dropped her wand and hurried towards the sapling. "Oh, no! It's so sad! Professor! I think... I think... I think I killed the baby tree!" The green shoots seemed have been seriously damaged, as well the roots. Her eyes filled with tears and less than one minute after this, she was crying convulsively.

Ethan waited patiently until Minerva collected herself and felt able enough to proceed. He gave her a small but reassuring smile as she questioned herself. "You're doing great.. and we're almost finished. Just a little more, alright?" He wished he could take her fears and apprehension away from her.. it tore him apart that such a source of enjoyment for him was such a nightmare for her.. and this wasn't even a difficult task.

He kept his green eyes focused on her as she pointed her wand, nodding at her to continue. He glanced over to the sapling to view her progress as she performed the spell. "Great," he said with a bigger smile in her direction. "I'm going to trim this bigger section, then I think we're about done with this part." He wasn't sure what all Bentley wanted them to do today, but these trees needed a bit more care.

Moving around to the back of the sapling, Ethan raised his wand, keeping the deadened section of root in his sight. "Diffindo," he commanded as he carefully moved his wand around the roots he wanted cut away. His eyes following them as they fell to the ground, he looked back up to Minerva. "Okay, if you could just trim this piece here.." he gently picked up the small piece with gloved fingers. "Then we'll be done with the root trimming." And one step closer to the end of class.

Okay... now for that weird new spell. Tobias had heard of Aguamenti but he had enough trouble just saying that one without the new bit added on. He watched the other students in the class, mainly the older ones, giving the spell a try, just to see how they were doing it. It seemed as though a lot of them were trying out the word first, which was a really good idea for Tobias to try.

So, before stretching back up on his tip-toes again (because that kind of hurt if you did it for too long) he spoke the word to himself, without visualising the spell working, just to get used to the incantation.

"Aguaspenti- no that's not it... Aguamentispitz... no, hang on... Aguamentispritz... yeah, okay," Tobias muttered to himself, before repeating it over and over. "Aguamentispritz. Aguamentispritz. Aguamentispritz. Aguamentispritz. Aguamentispritz."

So he had the incantation sorted... it was easy enough to remember, really. Now for the mental preparation. Before he tried to actively cast the spell, Tobias tried super hard to imagine his wand producing the same mists of water as everyone else. Once he had a clear image of that in his mind, he focused on it for a bit longer before trying to cast the spell.

Minerva took a deep breath at Ethan's words. She was doing this and she had done it so many times before. See nothing was catching on fire, she wasn't going to have to hug anything. This should not be this hard. Continuing to breath she raised her wand and trimmed a few more pieces before looking at Ethan again. She watched as he did his thing with the bigger pieces. He seemed so in his element and happy when working with the plants. She knew he was going to be such a great herbologist.

Hearing his words she walked closer to him and looked to where he was holding. "Sure.. I can do that." She gave him a reassuring smile feeling a bit calmer. He was helping so much. Pointing her wand again she said in a shaky voice, Flipnsnipwitit Trimming the rest of the pieces away. Just as she finished she heard Bentley's voice again. She already knew they weren't finished. Hopefully it was nothing they had to do that involved touching the tree.

Anya giggled at Jake's reaction. At least... he was evenly coated. She smiled cheekily. "Then I did it right." He should consider himself lucky. His girlfriend was just so clever.

She then aimed her wand at the tree and began casting on some nearby roots.

"Aguamentispritz." here. "Aguamentispritz." There. Here a spritz... there a spritz.

... in her hair a spritz, spritz.

OhhaiDylightful. She saw that. Yes she did. Anddddd she was certainly going to pay him back. She just needed to think of a proper situation. Because doing it right now was just too... expected.

So it was a water fight now, was it? Jake shook his head slightly, fighting a smile. He'd wait to get payback. And when he did, it wouldnt be a gentle mist. It'd be full on buckets on the Slytherin captain.

Dylan got eyes from Jake. Mischievous eyes. It was on. Watch your back, Montmorency.

For now, though, he was doing the good student thing. "Aguamentispritz." Over and over. Yay for easy classroom activities and learning new spells. He could even help his mum out with her garden with this one. You know... when he was home and everything. So... maybe not.

Just making sure they're evenly coated... not submerging them...

Tobias could remember that much from what the Professor had said when telling them the spell to use, and it made sense too. Tobias supposed that the plants were adapted so that they might not need as much watering as usual plants.

He aimed his wand at the plant he was working on and, after brushing away a few droplets of water from his face that had come from a stray spell, cast his own spell at the roots. "Aguamentispritz." The mist that was produced wasn't as impressive as many others, but Tobias was just pleased enough that his spell had ACTUALLY worked on the first try. And a conjuring one, too. Wow.

After making sure the roots were as evenly covered as he could get them from this angle, and definitely refraining from drenching them, Tobias took a little step back. The spell ceased as soon as his focus on it did.

Eyeing the roots thoughtfully, Tobias raised his hand and leaned forward, all the easier to see the professor, stretching on his tip-toes AGAIN so he could be seen past the rest of the class. "Professor," he started as he eyed the very pregnant lady, and then shifted a bit so she could see him without having to move. You know... make it easier for her. "You know how plants' roots are usually there to suck nutrients out of the soil? Well, are the roots of these trees able to suck the water out that's naturally in the air at all, I mean if they needed to? Because I learned that our air contains like... water or something."

"Aguamentispritz!" More water for you, roots. Beezus made sure she had firm control on her wrist because it was mostly the determinant for the spell. She didn't want too much pressure on the roots.

Dylan on the other hand was spraying water almost everywhere. What was this? A shower party? He was so doing things on purpose and Beezus was so going to tell him off for that. She wasn't going to wait until Professor Bentley took it upon herself to do so.

....but she was too late.

Her bum....was wet...and the culprit was having the most fun he's ever had in class.

asdlfnslgslgnsfksnfsDAMMITMONTMORENCYYYYYYY.

If they were some place else and not in the middle of a class, she would've tackled him down and returned the favor. But as she was a responsible student - aheem - she was just going to dry herself off and give him a look. "Very fun indeed."

*EYES*

...and back to spritzing. "Aguamentispritz!"

Dylan was just smirking at the lot of them...Smirking because it was hilarious and all that...but they could NOT prove it was on purpose. They absolutely could NOT.

"It's not on purpose...My wand slipped...and you ARE standing rather close..." Innocent eyes.

...but he would stop doing it. No more accidental spraying from him. Promise. "It's a good look for you, though."...Dylan added, offhandedly.

Focusing on the roots, though. Yep. He was totally do that. "Aguamentispritz!"

Kace had his gloves all ready and then he went to get more roots. He knew he was finishing it up. He was getting rid of all the bad roots. He felt great doing a good deed. He spotted an ugly one after he dug a little deeper into the tree. He took off his gloves and held his wand and then said "Diffindo!" It was GONE. The last ugly looking root was gone.

He was smiling and knew he was doing an excellent idea. He then still had his gloves on when he heard the professor move on with the lesson.

They had definitely removed most of the bad root bits, leaving the tree looking much healthier already. Or at least not obviously unhealthy now that the bad roots were gone. He gave Wandlimb's trunk a pat and listened as Professor Bentley of the Big Belly Bentleys gave their next instructions.

Watering. Yeah, he was pretty awesome at watering. And a new watering spell! Even better.

"I guess we ought to practice the spell first, right? I don't want to douse her roots after we went to all that trouble of getting them cleaned up." Mo pointed his wand at the floor and spoke very clearly. "Aguamentispritz." A little puff of water spritzed the floor. He raised his wand and pointed it at Mika. "Aguamentispritz." A little puff of water spritzed Mika.

Ethan watched Minerva finish the work and he smiled a bit. He certainly wouldn't say she was at ease yet, but she seemed to be slightly less apprehensive as when they started. That had to be seen as progress. "You did really well," he said, smiling a bit wider. They were done with the trimming, what would Bentley have them do next? He looked up as he heard her voice and found out..

Of course they'd be watering.. and using the spray variation of the spell. It wasn't one he used often, but he could do it.. just not nonverbally like the original variant. "Do you know this spell?" he asked Minerva as he turned to look at her. He knew it wasn't commonly used outside certain herbological tasks, so maybe not. Turning back to the sapling, he pointed his wand at a section of roots. "Aguamentispritz," he commanded, directing the fine spray of water at the bottom of the young tree and slowly moved around. "Aguamentispritz." He looked back at Minerva and gestured towards a section that he hadn't quite gotten to yet. "Want to give it a try?"

She'd heard the words Professor and killed... and as quickly as she could heaved herself up from her seat. Oh wait... was that a muscle she pulled?.... Naaaahhh, it was all good.

Waddling over, frantically, she released a sigh of relief. "No... you didn't kill it," thank heavens, "... water that's not absorbed will dry, so no hard done." It was a one off. It'd survive.

And just as she was about to return to her seat, she heard a question that made her day. MADE her DAY. Seren was beaming with pride, and was close to tears. "Absolutely, though since Gravity-Resistant Trees favour the tropics, they require the occasional water." Lack of humidity in Scotland and all. Though, if they were moved into the tropics greenhouse... why hadn't she thought of that? Huh? Hhmmm...baby brain.



At the risk of being called for again, Seren resumed her position leaning against the table, she'd be good to stand for a bit. Holding the bump.
"A couple more minutes," she called out, letting them finish off the activity.

OOC: This part is being extended, will continue in approx 3-4 hours.

Minerva listened as Bentley said the next activity. Yes they would be watering wouldn't they, it was plants. Sighing not that the activity was hard, but she was just tired of feeling like her heart was going to jump out of her chest at any moment. Looking back at Ethan she shook her head, "No I haven't" Was it a hard spell? It didn't seem to be, but she wasn't the most focused either.

Stepping a bit closer she pointed her wand and tried to control the shake of her hand. It wasn't stopping so she lowered her wand. "Maybe I need to say the spell a few times first, don't want to screw it up." Minerva stood practicing saying the word. It wasn't a hard word why was she stalling so badly. Lifting her wand she steadied her hand "Aguamentispritz." The water sprayed out of her wand, but instead of spraying the roots her shaking hand moved just as the water came out and hit Ethan. "Finite.... E.. Oh my I'm so so sorry." She started giggling. She felt really bad to have gotten him wet, but hey Minerva was laughing near plants, score one for the accidents, right?
__________________

Ethan wasn't all that surprised that Minerva didn't know the spell, not being all that fond of plants.. though she was really good at charms that she could have come across it there. But it wasn't a difficult one and he had every confidence that she could handle it even in her anxiety in today's lesson.

He stood back a bit, allowing her some room to take her turn, and he gave her an agreeing nod. It would be a good idea to practice it first. She seemed to have the incantation down, so he waited for her to try it on the roots. This wasn't any worse than the soil-removing and trimming, right? He got lost in his thoughts for a moment when a spray of water to his arm snapped him from his thoughts, make him jump back a bit as he was startled. Green eyes snapped up to Minerva as she stopped the spell and began giggling. "Oh, it's alright," he said with a grin, glad she actually seemed to be having a good time now. "But I will have you know, I did take a shower already this morning." He gave her a wink then turned back to the tree. "Seems like you got the spell down," he said chuckling a bit. "Maybe just work on the aim?" He pointed to the section of roots that still needed water, still smiling widely at her.

Well at least she didn't get him that wet and he wasn't upset that she did it at all. Still chuckling a bit she shook her head. "I have never had such an unsteady hand with my wand." Oh.. ummm she didn't know why, but she didn't remember a certain charms class that she might have faked being super unfocused, but well yeah maybe her hand was unsteady in that class. Anyway, back to the lesson, right.


She stepped back up to the roots and took a deep breath. It was time to get this done, she was going to do it. Aguamentispritz." The water spritzed out again and she pointed to the roots making sure to get where she needed and not Ethan. Moving along she sprtized around the roots, still making sure to keep a distance, but feeling more relaxed then when she first started. Stopping the water she stepped back away from the tree. Was there anything else or did she get through this lesson without having a panic attack.

Annabeth stopped crying, wiped her tears and struggled against the sobs, trying to smile at the teacher:
"Thank *hic* you, *hic* Professor *hic* Bentley. *hic* Sorry *hic* for ma*hic*king *hic* you stand *hic* up. I'm *hic* relieve *hic* that I *hic*didn't *hic*kill the *hic* tree."
Then she picked up her wand which was on the ground before someone could accidentally step on it and save it into her rucksack until the end of the lesson. The tree didn't need more water.

Aaaawww, now that really was too sweet. "Shhh shhh shhh, it's alright," she cooed. Really, it wasn't anything to cry over. Seren smiled softly, and pat Annabeth on the shoulder. Poor dear.


But, there was still work to be done.

Summoning her wagon from the corner, she directed it out into the open, inside where a number of spray bottles with a light brown liquid in them.
"Our last step, is to administer some nutrients to the sapling... so remember, we don't want to smother it with layers of soil or fertiliser..." because that's what they were trying to avoid, "... so mooncalf solution in a spray bottle is the most effective and efficient means." They did remember how to make mooncalf solution did they not? Either way, they could always brush up on that for revision in their own time.

"So come and grab a bottle and get spraying! Remember, you don't want to waste the resource, but if you over apply... it will dry and it won't cause any harm." It was fail-proof. Really.

Checking the time on her watch, she added, "You have ten minutes to complete this activity and clean up your area... once yo have done so, you may be dismissed" i.e. the soil on the floor that had fallen from the roots, and the bits of roots... very compost worthy.

OOC: Last two parts! Spraying should be a min of 2 posts! and cleaning up also 2 posts. The lesson will be open for approx 30-36 hours after which it will be closed. Thanks for participating!

Still thinking about rutabagas and how nice certain peoples' heads would look as them, Alice tried spritzing again. "Aguamentispritz." It still was fanning out, not as well as Bentley's had, but decent enough to get the roots that were hers. Cat was taking care of the rest, yeah? She attempted the spell a few more times, still aiming for a better spray. "Aguamentispritz. Aguamentispritz." The water fanned out a bit more, but still not as far as she wanted

Whatever. She'd still have plenty of time to practice in the gardens sometime.

Alice grinned over at Cat again, then turned her attention back to Bentley. More spraying?

So even though they were hovering they still needing fertiliser. It was good it came in liquid form of moon calf, as these trees had their own dynamics.

Sarah got up and went to get one of the spray bottles. She shook it a bit, watching the brown liquid slosh around. Se wondered how the tree was different inside.

She walked up to the tree that she had been working on. It look good now, hopefully her spraying would not mess it up

"Yeah...right." Her boyfriend was giving him those cutesy innocent eyes of his and even though Beezus was on the verge of being mad at him for attempting to cause trouble, she just couldn't. Plus, he was saying the wet look was good on her. Ugh.....he always has something to say. So she just squinted at him and mouthed, 'We'll talk later.'

Then she resumed spritzing.

Just as she had finished doing so, Professor Bentley announced the last step.

Administering nutrients! Feeding! Fertilizing!....whatever they liked to call it.

She flicked her wand to stop the course of sprinkling water before reholstering it. They were going to be provided with spray bottles of mooncalf solution so there was no need for wandwork.

When the Professor said it was okay to secure a bottle, Beezus went ahead and grabbed one for herself....accidentally bumping on Dylan on her way back. The brunette pushed her glasses up on her nose and muttered, "Sorry." ...What? T'wasn't on purpose.

Mhmm.

Okay....she had to start spraying now....starting with the root parts that were most visible, and those that didn't need to be moved. Spray. Spray. Spray. She was applying the solution as evenly as she could of course.

SPOILER!!: Le Prof

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hera

She didn't waddle around for long, and soon found herself perched on her chair again... only this time, she didn't plan on getting up. She pleaded for the students not to get her up. The baby was kicking, and moving in general. Seren watched as her belly shifted from a fairly central position to her left. Well... this was rather unsymmetrical of her. Awkward. Resting a hand on the side, she hoped the baby would move back... it hurt!

A few moments later, once the belly settled down, and once the students seemed to have completed the step, Seren continued with the lesson.
"Fantastic work, with any luck the saplings will survive." Though, some were bound to be lost... such a shame, such a waste...
"The next step, is to first water our Gravity-Resistant Saplings.. now instead of dousing the roots in water, we need to ensure we're not wasteful while still providing the desired coverage."
Raising her wand arm, Seren directed her wand tip in the direction of a nearby flowerbed of herbs. "Aguamentispritz," she chanted, directing the fine water spray at the green shoots. The spray came out in quick short bursts, and fanned out somewhat like a sprinkler contraption.

"If you've not used the variation, don't be afraid to try... practice makes perfect. Remember, we're not submerging the roots in water, just ensuring it's evenly coated."

So now they had to water the plants? That shouldn't be TOO hard. He could do that easily. But he heard the incantation and that would be tricky to say. Aguamentispritz was it? Yup she said it and he wrote it. He wanted to practice saying it first before he attempted the spell. The purpose of the spell was to evenly coat the sapling with water.

"Aguamentispritz......Aguamentispritz.......Aguamen tispritz.....Aguamentispritz...Aguamentispritz." He repeated muttering to himself. He got a handle on the incantation..well saying it actually. The wand movement was just a point so that was easy. Alright time to put it to the test.

It didn't seem like they'd be having much more wand work for this lesson. Lex stuck her wand back in its holster and walked over to get a spray bottle. She would have asked what these were seeing as she'd never seen it before in her life but the Professor was explaining. Granted, it didn't make it any clearer but at least now she knew what she was putting on the plants. Had to be sure. Didn't want it holding some kind of grudge. That would have been counter-productive.

The first sapling she drifted back to was the one she'd never seen before in her life. It would probably need this more than the other one. You know...to help all those extra roots grow back. Ahem. It still wasn't her fault.

Just a few sprays here and some there...a bit to the side...maybe just a bit more. The guilt, it made her keep spraying.

Finally when she felt it had had enough--though really she might have put too much, she lowered the spray bottle. "I bet you'll feel all better now and won't look nearly as pathetic. I'll see if I can visit you sometime...okay?"For checking on progress reasons, obviously.