Who put the Greenhouses all the way out here? Were they always so FAR from the Common Room? Good Merlin, there was a reason the Gryffindor hadn't taken a walk along the grounds in the longest while. Her knees weren't up for this. She could feel their protest with every step she took and there were a few times when she had to stop for breaks. It was a long walk, okay?

Finally at the Greenhouse holding the lesson, Lex took another breather. There was a need to stretch her muscles but the aches warned her against such actions leaving her with nothing but stiff joints.

She didn't know about anyone else but she'd had it with this old life. How Botros did it was beyond. How he did it without complaint was a damn mystery. "G'morning Profe--whoooaaa....." Alexa hadn't been in the business of walking all the way out here, consequently she saw very little of her Head of House. This whole her having a head of grey hair too was......was.....eh, they were all doomed. It was slowly getting to most of them and no one was safe. Someone point her in the direction of the next acromantula. The clock was ticking and she still had that bucketlist to get through.

"........................." No words really. Just a lot of hopeless staring. They. Were. DOOMED.

No complaints from this Slytherin. Well, except for one. Everyone was TOO SLOW. She'd had to pass several granny looking students on the way out here. Which, of course, wasn't as easy as it sounded, considering that there was so many of them and a finite amount of space in the halls. Merlin, she hoped the old people students were cured soon, if only so traffic flow through the castle would be back to it's presumed normal.

Layla entered the student garden cautiously. And found that the professor was one of those affected. Grrrreeeaat. She took a seat as far as she could from the front and her fellow students. "Hello, professor. " Yep, she still had her manners despite being completely grossed out.

Where were the greenhouses anyway? Hayley kept getting misled by the stairs and finding herself on the wrong landings, not to mention the fact that she got lost all on her own at least five times AND her knees were killing her. She was just so sore and the greenhouses didn't seem any nearer than they were 15 minutes ago.

Maybe she really was getting old.

OH LOOK, there it was. Who cared what it looked like? What mattered was that Hayley made it to the greenhouse and wasn't late for class. That was always important. Oh, and was that their PROFESSOR? "Uhh... Good day, Professor Bentley?"

Now, to maybe take a nap while waiting for the rest of the class to get there. She was in no rush.

After dealing lately with all male Professors, Ascanius was downright sprightly making his way down to Herbology. Bentley was super fine. A nice little view for him in the pursuit of higher learning.

But as soon as he stepped into the realm of class he stopped. Jeeeeeeeez, she looked rough, yeah? Ascanius was getting really sick of this old people thing. It ruined everything and now it had messed with his favourite class to, ahem, view in his whole schedule.

Cruel.

Sneering a little at his luck, he said lacking his usual finesse, "Morning Professor." She wasn't looking lovely. He wouldn't say it.

Sander slowly made his way to the Student Garden and once he got there he looked around. He noticed the Herbology Professor sitting comfortably in an a chair and envied her. What he would do for a nice comfy chair like hers right now. He couldn't blame her for wanting to seek some comfort herself for it looked like she had been afflicted with the same aging illness he and many of his friends were now experiencing.

Lots...but he was going to have to settle for a stool. Walking wearily up to where Professor Bentley sat, Sander smiled in greeting. "Hello Professor" Sander said to her before turning around and finding a workstation to sit at. He read the writing on the blackboard and proceeded to do as it instructed taking out his notes and homework assignment from his backpack and placing it on the workstation in front of him.

Then he leaned back a little and kept a watch out for his friends to arrive.

Ian shuffled his way toward the greenhouses to take his herbology lesson. It was a good thing he'd learned a spell that could make his bag lighter. He was getting to the point that he was struggling to bear much weight beyond his own.

He nodded to the professor, trying to be more cordial with them. He didn't quite recall the name so he just said, Hello professor. He eyed her over stuffed chair with a mix of jealousy and anger. How did they rate such poor seating when this woman was resting in plush accomodations? Ian wondered to himself. He took a seat and set his cane against the table as he rummaged through his bag searching for his notes from last class. After he got everything sorted, he laid his head on his folded arms over the table. My goodness, I'm tired Ian mumbled to himself as he recalled the overly long walk to the lesson's location.

Bay made his way to the student garden.. Herbology was fun and it helped that he really liked Professor Bentley.. She was so nice to him.. seeing that she was already there "Good Morning Professor Bentley…..are you feeling any better?" he said seeing that she was still old and grey.. "we really need to sort this out" he thought feeling bad for her..

Bay spotted Sander and made his way over to him "hey man" he said while taking the seat next to him.. taking out his notes and his homework..

Woah, professor! Caelen tried not to stare as she walked in. This old people thing sucked. Everyone around her was getting sooo OLD! This was Hogwarts, not a retirement home. They were teens for goodness sakes! Whatever was being all fishy needed to stop being all fishy.

She made her way to a seat, huffing in annoyance. Was she the only young one left? She felt like it sometimes. Oh, and she kind of still had that wrinkle potion. Any takers? Because she wasn't using it. If it was still working.

And it was getting hard to not do a happy dance each day she woke up young. Seriously. She felt like the only young one left at Hogwarts. A child among the elderly.

Sitting down, she took out everything she was going to need for the class and then faced the professor she was TOTALLY not staring at.

"Hello, professor." She wanted to say more. "That chair looks comfortable." That was not the right thing to say. She had failed at the concept of talking. But it at least was SOMETHING. And something was better than nothing.

Having outside classes dying the cold was not good. Even if the boy enjoyed the cold, he rather not sit outside for an hour or so, in a class. Inside was usually much better. Slowly making his way to the greenhouses, Jun knew he should've borrowed a broom from someone and ride his way to the grounds. They were much too far from the tower and it wasn't helping his joint. Which started to ache as soon as he got out of bed today. Might as well stay in bed forever. Entering the greenhouse, Jun noticed his now aging professor.

"Hello, professor," Cue small nod and no staring. Heading towards an unoccupied station next to Lex, Jun sat down and greeted his candy friend too. "Hey, Prefect Candy,"

Adi was tired of complaining about long distances and achy knees so he just kept his mouth shut and pushed on towards the Student Garden. Upon arrival, he greeted the gray haired Bentley. "Hello, Professor! Hope you're well.'' Despite the gray hair and whatnot.

The Puffer read the instructions on the board. He hurried over to a station and with much relief, sat down. So what did he need? Notes from last class and the stuff from homework? No problem. Adi had those.

Lux was happy as she made her way over to where the next Herbology lesson was taking place. She really liked this class and Professor, though she was not looking at her best. Poor woman; Lux felt bad for her and everyone else who seemed to be having a hard time with it because of the ageing thing. "Hello, Professor Bentley."

Spotting Sander and Bay, she took a seat by them. "Hey, guys!" Taking out her notes and homework assignment, she eagerly waited for the class to begin.

It was really cold this morning. Kace had his gloves,scarf and hat on. He was bundled up to the extreme. As he approached the classroom, he noticed the professor was sitting in the front. He was about to say hello...but he realized it would be muffled in the scarf. He took it off and said, "Hello Professor Bentley!"

He took out his notes from last class and homework and was ready to begin the lesson. He realized he didn't finish all the homework but he could catch up.

It was cold. Mackenzie was shivering even through her coat, gloves, scarf and hat. the only exposed part of her body was her eyes.. which of course had to be or she would fall.. As she entered the greenhouse she saw everyone kind of organized but scattered throughout the room. The blonde smiled at Professor Bentley but realized she couldn't see so a tip of her head would have to do. Her teeth were chattering even through her clothing.

She picked a station and began unbundling herself slightly enough to pull out the notes from the last lesson. and then she waited on class to begin.

She was here. Sore and looking particularly tired today but yes, the Head Girl had made it. The eighteen year old felt like she was about to pass out from the exertion of getting from the castle to here and so she immediately headed for a stool, opting to sit before greeting the professor. Only when she was seated and had had a few deep breaths did she look up and smile faintly. "Hello, Professor Bentley!"

Notes and homework assignment, right.

Ella very slowly gathered the things she needed and organized them neatly on her work space in front of her. There, she was ready.

Anna walked in with a small smile, "Hello Professor." She gave a small nod then looked at the board, doing as it said and finding a place to sit and taking her notes and everything else out. She actually was excited for class to start for once, despite her recent bad mood she was trying to push it back and have fun... Maybe if she acted ok, sooner or later she would be. She avoiding looking at Kace seeing him out of the corner of her eye... She'd focus on school, that's why she was her, tame the magic and hope her parents wouldn't be afraid of her anymore... She couldn't focus on trying to fix a friendship that would probably be lost forever because of her stupidity.

It was so unfair that Bentley got a nice plush chair while they had hard stools on which to set their tushes. Didn't she know they were all the same age here? Alice could here bones crack as she took a seat, grouchy look in place as usual. If she was grumpy because of the constant aging or if that was just her normal demeanor, it was unclear, but the knee pains most definitely didn't help.

"Hi ma'am. Have you considered moving the greenhouses closer to the castle? 'Cause my legs really hu-"

Alice spiraled into a coughing fit, practically hacking out a lung. Owwww. Merlin, how did her grandparents put up with living?

Seriously, they either need to have less classes during the day so that it gave the 'older' students time to get to each lesson or they needed to organise some sort of transport to get them to each class.

Michael finally made it to the student garden, flipping his beard over his shoulder as he did so. He kinda wished he was like some of the other students where they were actually losing their hair. His just seemed to keep growing.

"GOOD MORNING PROFESSOR."

He would be happy to lose all his hair if he could have his hearing back.

Herbology. Why were the greenhouses and student garden SO far away from the castle? It was bad enough that Mo had to traipse up and down the stairs, but compound that with hobbling over all this uneven ground... he was gonna break a hip one of these days. This is why students were so young.

"Hullo, Professor," Mo eyed the stools dubiously before easing himself carefully onto one. Yes. Okay. It was fine. He could sit here... Merlin, it was murder on his back, though, wasn't it?

Cold weather and long treks were not meant for aged bodies.

Benny was sure of that as he made his way down to the greenhouses for the latest Herbology lesson. Oh goody for digging in the dirt or anything else they would be doing while one couldn't move that much without being in discomfort. But he wasn't about to miss it since it had been growing into one of his favorite classes, at least before it became harder to get there. The second year having given up trying to come down to help in the garden and as he stepped inside it, it seemed like most if not everybody had begun to think the same thing.

"Morning Professor Bentley," he greeted simply , spotting the graying woman in her chair. Ben couldn't be sure of it being a good one or anything. Ooooo...seats...right, his mind wandering to the comfort of sitting down instead of other stuff, the boy moving to take a spot at a workstation besides his bestie. "Hey," the Gryffindor made out before noticing the instructions and digging into his bag.

Notes and homework...notes and homework. Where were they?

His search was interrupted by a loud classmate, making Benny winch in pain. "Could you be quieter?" Merlin.

By the time he'd hobbled all the way to the Greenhouse, Lucas' eyes were starting to water. Had they always been THIS far from the Castle? Or was the weird growth pains in his joints just making it seem so? In any case, he was never as relieved to be inside a glass hut full of dangerous flora as he was that morning.

Plus, the slightly warmer space wasn't as painful to deal with as the cold. Nonetheless, Bentley's armchair was looking a good deal more comfortable than the achey stools but Lucas slid gingerly onto the seat and took a deeeeep breath in. Maybe it was time to see Tillstrom. Pout.

As Robin walked (more like jumped) into what she had already dubbed her favorite class she noticed at once how huge the area seemed without hordes of shrub animals covering it. She missed the topiary but if she did right on her homework- they wouldn't miss it for long! she excitedly waved at the professor
"Good morning professor!, are those the seeds we're using?"
She gazed at the tray of seedlings with delight before walking briskly to her desk. Setting her bag beside her she took out all her plans for her topiary and stared hard at them- like if she looked hard enough, it would magically pop out of the parchment. She had definitely seen stranger things.

She was perfectly comfortable singing into her armchair, so much so, that had she been left to her own devices, she could have napped. It was a good thing Lex turned up when she did. No nee to go snoring and drooling through your own lesson.

"Morning," she replied to the Prefect, a mellowed expression on her face. What? What?! ... Why was she staring?!



The girl was too far, too far back.. it wasn't necessarily a problem, but Seren had to let a moment pass before she could interpret what the girl had said in her direction. It was hello! ... That was nice.

"Hello dear," she returned the greeting, though it lacked her usual chipper punch.



Good day? GOOD day? ..... She supposed it was, but under the present circumstances she was more than happy to play into the grumpy granny theme that was going on.

"Uuhhh yep, nice day to be in the gardens," she acknowledged with a nod - the folds of her wrinkly neck crinkling up as she did so. Charming, no?



Seren eyed the Slytherin. This. Was. Not. Normal.

While she had never really liked or appreciated the boys flattering remarks, right now, it was missed. She wasn't looking lovely today? Not blooming or blossoming as she usually was?

No.. she supposed she wasn't. Merlin, if the kiddies were ageing, then she was halfway in her grave already.

"Morning, Ascanius" she replied.



And aawwwww, lookit that. The transfer had manners enough to approach her to relay his greeting. Did he think her hearing was lost on them too? Never the less, the gesture would be taken lightly.

She managed a smile in return and a fleeting "G'morning."



Thiiisss little puffer seemed to have woken up on the wrong side of bed, that, and his new age was showing. Seren's brows crinkled together, deepening the lines. No good morning to him then either, she could be cranky too.



Despite the lack of manners on some peoples part, at least her Lions were charming and wonderful. "Morning dear," she greeted Bay, a small smile gracing her features. As for feeling any better... errr... "... no, not really," she mused, though if she was being perfectly honest she was feeling worse than before.



Ravenclaw's... as wonderful as they were -- and considering she was one herself, they never ceased to amaze her in stating the obvious, and this was no exception. "Hello Caelen," she greeted, nodding. Yes. It was a comfortable chair. "My bottom isn't what it used to be, now I need proper cushions..." it was a sad sad day indeed.



"Morning, Jun," she greeted the Hufflepuff, giving him a once over. He didn't look too flash either. .... not that she ought to have been surprised by this. Few seemed to be not affected. The rest of the school population... ought to be looking into superannuation and retirement villages.



Hope she was well? ............ "Do I look well to you?" she asked rhetorically, her tone laced with a mixture of surprise and sarcasm. Of course, she could see that he too was worse for wear.. but still.



"Hellloo Lux, dear," she greeted warmly to the Hufflepuff. Heh. Lux... wasn't that a brand of muggle soap stuff? It was a cute name nonetheless, but it got her giggling in her old age.



Wiggling her flat bottom on her seat to get more comfortable, Seren offered the Hufflepuff a fleeting smile. "G'morning Kace," she greeted.



That Lion was frozen... did she not know about thermal underwear? It made like far more pleasant.. but it wasn't thaaattt cold anymore. They were past the worst of it, and this was mild in comparison. Was it the girls joints? Were they playing up? .. Seren gave her a small smile and a wave too, mmhhmm.



The Head Girl didn't look too good... did she know that? Seren returned the girls faint smile and returned a greeting too, "Morning, Ella."



Smiles, nods, greetings... Seren's head was beginning to spin from giving them. Was it nap time yet? Could they all just flop and nap together? ...

"Morning, Anna," she greeted after a brief pause. She was old. It was a thing now.



There was a small smile fixed to her features as her daring Captain arrived. In regard to moving the greenhouses closer... uuhhh... that was not the first time she'd heard that request and it wasn't the first time that she simply stared blankly in response... only.. Alice was having a coughing fit.

She watched.

What else was she supposed to do?

"You right there?" she asked, considering whether getting up and patting her on the back would do her any good. There were far too many pro's and con's to consider in getting up from her seat.



Bouncing Blueberries!!!!

Seren found herself blinking and cringing with the loud noise that was coming from her Lion. "YES GOOD MORNING MICHAEL," she replied, fingers in her own ears to stop from dying from the sound.

The boy needed to get his hearing fixed.



There was still a ringing in her ear she couldn't quite shake, but it wasn't bad enough for her to miss the Ravenclaw Captain's greeting. "Morning, Marcus," she greeted, nodding, smiling, still trying to escape the ringing.



Confident that her hearing wasn't damaged by Michael's outburst of sorts, Seren turned her attention to the next student to arrive, one of her Lions no less. "Hello, Ben," she greeted, noting that he too wasn't pleased with the volume of their peer.



No greeting for her? Then no greeting for him! ...........

Consider her a grumpy granny.. and she was in no mood to model manners for him. Nope. He could go and sit and be grumpy. Like her.



The enthusiasm of her Lion was hard to miss, and it perked her up a bit... not nearly as sour about the lack of greeting from the Hufflepuff. Seeds?... "lings," she interjected. They weren't seeds no more. Nope. "But yes, we'll be using them today." Fun times yes? YES?!


...



...


It was probably time to get started.

"Ahhheeeeeeemmmmm," she cleared her throat loudly before emitting a low cough or two. Alright, she was good to go. "I trust you all brought your notes with you... and I trust you're all bright enough to connect the dots as to what we'll be doing today, yes?" It was fairly obvious, if she could say so herself. The homework assignment alluded to it like a punch in the face, so if they were at all confused about today's activities, then there was little hope for them out in the real world.

"Based on the homework assignments I received..." because some students didn't complete it, mmhhhmmm, eyes on them. "I have brought the necessary plants to execute your topiary designs. So could you all please start by coming up and collecting a seedling from the trays... they're labelled with the type, so please take what you need." There was a lot to choose from. There were boxwoods, flutterbys, wiggenbush, rosemary and more. This was all thanks to the diversity she encountered in their homework tasks.

OOC: The lesson has started, so you know how tardiness goes. Collect your seedling and return to your stations. The lesson will continue in approx 11 hours.

Bay felt really bad now.. Professor Bentley said she wasn't feeling better.. he made a mental note to send her flowers and a get well card to her office.. maybe that will cheer her up, he thought..

Oh time to go pick up his seedling.. getting up from his seat he made his way to grab his seed… looking at the labels he spotted what he needed. "Boxwood…there you are" he said to himself.. Picking it up carefully in his hands like he would break it he moved slowly to his desk, keeping the seed in his hand.. alrighty time for the next step.

Yaaay, they were going to get started, which was what Lux had hoped would happen in this lesson. Though poor Professor Bentley. Lux still felt bad for her as she gave a few coughs. Maybe she could offer to help the woman more later on, since it might be hard to deal with Herbology things while feeling old.

But for the moment, she would deal with what was needing done in the lesson. Eagerly, she got up and headed to where the trays were. Selecting a boxwood seedling, she returned to her seat and waited for further instructions.