After finishing feeding more of the menacing plants, Professor Bentley announced that they should take a seat by the work stations. Simon grinned. They would be starting some work soon. Yay! He now needed to find a workstation so he could get set up for the workshop.

Simon gave Cutty a nod and then headed over towards the work stations with his backpack in hand. He found an open space by Ethan. "Hey! How's it going?" he asked with a grin as he got out a pen, notebook, and wand out. His eyes widened when he saw the beautiful looking plant at his station. Beautiful but probably menacing. He made a conscious decision not to lean too close to it.

After watering one last plant, Zander heard Professor Bentley summoning them all over. Awh, but this was starting to get fun. Did they have to stop just nooooow? Abandoning the plant, Zander walked towards the growing group. Sigh. Hopefully the activity would be fun?

Either way this workshop was actually pretty enjoyable. So no pressure Bentley... No pressure. But oooh that orchid is so pretty. Are the going to be doing stuff with it? Yeah? Yeah? Because that, Zander wouldn't mind.

Jasmine was glad when Cris came over after finishing up his work assignment. Then he paid her a compliment and she looked at him to see if he was serious. She was glad that she hadn't started to laugh because apparently he was serious. She never thought of herself as any of those things, but it was nice of him to say so. "Thank you, that's so sweet", she replied.

The orchid was beautiful, bit the little fairy-like protrusion was a little creepy. You don't suppose that the flower.....ate.....a fairy do you? That thought was rather disturbing. Turning to Cris with a concerned look, Jasmine said, "why do you think that flower has a fairy-shaped bulge right there? You don't think?........Noooo. Was it a flesh eater? A fairy flesh eater?"

Why was she here again? Beverly wracked her sleepy mind. Oh, right! She wanted to learn more about plants and stuff. It was part of her plan to improve in Herbology and she HOPED to Merlin it helped. Books were good, but she'd rather a hands on experience.

Making it just before 8:30 Beverly caught the last bit Professor Bentley said and quickly slipped her dragon hide gloves on as she shot the woman a greeting nod, along with a grin. She was prepared. Then promptly followed and stationed herself at one of the workstations. Okay. She was ready!

Hiiiisssss!

Ethan looked up and placed his tool/gardening utensil back on the table as he gave his friend a smile. "Heeeey, Simon! 'Sup?" High fives for you, cool dude. "Where's Cutty?" He was with Cutty a while ago, right? Hopefully the other Mordaunt kid was paying attention to what he was doing. He'd hate his pseudo cousin/twin brother to be eaten and such. "Yeah, well nothing much. Just...um. Staring at the flower." And not getting to close to it no matter how pretty it is. "It is...beautiful. But beautiful can be dangerous." He'd know if Simon attended their Transfiguration Class, no?

Yup. Evil cloud, that was. Even Grayson will agree to that.

Angel was totally enjoying herself, she was watering a plant when suddenly Professor Bentley spoke. "Coming Professor." Angel called over to the Professor. "That was so much fun!" Angel thought it was just like being at home and she was totally enjoying it and if AJ liked doing stuff in the garden then well she could help her next summer in hers, as long as her sister didn't damage anything.

Angel went over to a workstation, she had just finished watering one of the plants and had already de-weeded a couple of others now she couldn't wait to find out what she was doing next.

Cris was just happily smiling at Jasmine when she turned to him with a concerned look on her face. "What's wrong, Jasmine?" Cris asked before he heard what she had to say.

Bending closer to the orchid, he looked at the fairy shaped bulge Jasmine was gesturing at. He shuddered at Jasmine's comment. "You don't think...no...fairies?....no...uh....uh," Cris shook his head trying to deny what his logic was telling him. Was this dainty orchid a fairy baiter?

Tossing more food to the plants with Lux is totally fun, they worked together very well and she seemed to enjoy it. Hearing professor Bentley say to make there way to the work stations he followed Lux and her bright bouncy red hair.

When they got there he took the work station beside her "looks like where trimming something? " he thought but as he looked closer at his flower he knew he was wrong..... Something was in there. Following the instructions Bay took out his tools to make notes and of course he already had his gloves on. Alrighty he was ready to go.

Considering they were moving on, Maddie tossed the last bit of flesh she was holding to the nearest plant and clapped her gloved hands together in satisfaction. Job well done, SHE thought. Now to see what ELSE they'd be learning today.

The first year kept her gloves on and wandered over towards the workstations, bag slung over her shoulder. She was smiling at the orchids as she passed each, pleased with their color. Could she draw one after they were done. They WERE quite pretty. NOT that she was interested in them JUST cause they were pretty. THAT was silly. ANYWAY.

Maddie took a seat next to an older girl she hadn't talked to before and got out her notes and quill. Then she leaaaaned forward and admired the plant up close. "Woah! That kind of looks like a FACE!" The small brunette pointed and looked up at the girl next to her, brown eyes wide. Did she see TOO?

Kevin mumbled something about the Potions Professor being unfair under his breath when the Professor asked if he was alright. "Yeah, just tired..." he answered louder and looked around the Greenhouse when she gestured around the place.

The boy nodded and after a loud yawn, he walked away towards the Fanged Geraniums at the back.


Having been feeding the Geraniums some rats while magically hovering the dead animals towards the plants, Kevin heard the Professor call them out again and he quickly tossed another rat towards one of the Fanged Plants and watched it with a twinkle in his eyes as the plant caught it in midair and devoured it.

He stopped what he was doing and turned around to walk towards the working stations. He choose one and looked at the flower on top of the table. And as he looked closely he thought he saw a face in it. Kevin blinked and when he still saw it he rubbed his eyes.

Was he still sleepy and seeing things or was there REALLY a figure-shape in the plant?

Seren too made her way with the crowd to the work stations, and posted herself at the one at the head of the group, with her own orchid and utensils at the ready.

Now was as good a time as any to get started, the others could catch up when they were ready.

"Today what I wanted to do was introduce you to a curious plant... the Flesh Eating Fairy Orchid... and as the name may suggest, it is flesh eating and it is particularly fond of fairies." She was almost bracing herself for a student to cry or protest or try to harm the orchids themselves.... almost, because she had more faith in her students than that. "Of course, as with anything, all organisms are part of the circle of life and these particular orchids originate from the glades of Northern Italy where they naturally adapted to their environment and developed in a way to overcome the fairies that plagued the area." It was then that she indicated to the specimens in front of them all.

"If you look closely, some of them may even display a preserved fairy or two... or three..." some more than others no doubt. With her gloved fingers she identified and stroked a couple that were encased on her own. "Unlike some of the other flesh eaters we have studied, the Flesh Eating Fairy Orchid has a subtle and gentle method to meeting its dietary needs. Luring the fairies in with their sweet scent, the Fairy Orchid releases a lilac resin which first acts to immobolise the fairy before then breaking it down to be absorbed into the orchids column. The process may take up to a month to complete and once the nutrients have been obtained from the source, the resin shell is then dropped and decomposes."

Pausing at intervals to ensure students were able to copy down any notes that they needed, she waited before proceeding.

"The resin itself may be used in a number of potions particularly in those that aid digestion, our task today will be the extraction of resin from these charming orchids.."

Extraction! It could be considered an art form at the best of times, but it was an easy enough skill once you knew how. "The first thing I'll get you to do once you've finished your notes, is to inspect your orchid and identify a few of the flowers that do not already contain preserved fairies... those are the flowers that we will be focusing our efforts on. Secondly, could I please get you to double check that you have your gloves on well ensure your arms are covered by sleeves, the last thing you need is resin making contact with your skin... it will result in a moderate burn. Please also make sure that you have on your work station a swab stick, a scalpel and a jar."

And then they could get started.

OOC: Check your orchids! Check your gloves/sleeves! Your utensils! And ask Q's if you have them. We will be moving on in approx 19 hours.

Caleb took his notes, feeling a bit...odd about having to deal with plants that ate FAIRIES. There was just something...strange about that that made him feel funny around these plants. It was like they were super villain plants or something. Especially when she said that there were PRESERVED fairies in some of the flowers. So there were literally dead fairies in some of the flowers?? That was so messed up!

He wondered if this was a test or something, that Bentley was trying to see if he was man enough to do this. It was all just weird. WEIRD.

Still, there was work to be done! He made sure his gloves were on nice and tight, and then he checked to make sure he had the right tools at his work station. Swab stick, scalpel, jar - yup, he had all those! Now to check the flowers...

He'd thought that this plant would be dangerous. Epic. Maybe even one he could grow to love.

But then Bentley went on to say that it ate fairies. Freaking. FAIRIES.

Grayson pulled a face as he looked over at the potted plant at his workstation. There was nothing DANGEROUS about that! Unless you were a fairy. This was not what he had expected at all. Throwing one last look at the plant closest to him, the fourth year pulled out his journal and writing equipment and started jotting a few things down. Like the fact that the whole process took a month to complete. A whole month! MERLIN!

The most interesting fact was that the resin could be used in potions. Could they collect them? If so, he was all up for taking some and testing them out in a few potions of his own.

When he was done, the boy placed his things down and leaned closer to inspect the plant. Trying not to throw another dark look at the sight of the growth in the shape of a fairy proved to be difficult. Remembering that they were preserved fairies helped somewhat. Maybe. Eh. And then he spotted it. A flower that didn't contain a preserved fairy in it. And there was another one over there. And another one not too far along either.

Leaning back again, Grayson looked down at his arms. Gloves and sleeves. No skin showing. Good. He didn't want to resin on his skin, thank you very much. Then came the check of the workstation. Swab stick, check. Scalpel, check. Jar, check!

Oh please say they were going to extra resin and that he could take some!

Bree had read about nice adventurous fairies growing up and even hoped she may meet one now knowing she is a witch. She felt compelled to know what was so bad about fairies that the professor would talk nonchalantly about flesh eating orchid that lures them to their death with a scent of lilac. She raised her hand said, "Professor, what is so bad about fairies that you talk about a plant killing them as no big deal. I know that fairies are the flesh eating orchids food source but I think its sad they go that way based on my perception of fairies.", Bree said seriously. She then started to write notes because she did not want to fall behind. She then applied her gloves and checked that her robes covered both of her arms whole. She then looked over her work station and while doing so was relieved to hear they would not be working with orchids with preserved fairies. Seeing that all was there she waited for the lesson to continue.

Sophie eyed the plant the professor was displaying as she secured her gloves on her hands and double-checked that her wand was back in its holster. She adjusted her quill and parch and got ready to listen to whatever was about to be said.

Flesh-eating Fairy Orchid. More flesh-eating plants. In a way, the whole group of them was slightly creepy. Nevertheless, Sophie watched this particular plant as the professor told all about it. ... They eat fairies? COOL! Could they watch on eat?! She peered closely trying to catch a preserved fairy or two. This was actually pretty cool.

Sophie copied all of this in her notes.

So they were going to extra resin for potions. Excellent! This was right up Sophie's alley!

She carefully looked over the orchid in front of her for parts that didn't contain preserved fairies. She had already secured her gloves, so she made sure her arms were covered then checked all her materials.

All there.

...and then his question was answered. Those were indeed fairy-eating orchids. Now what did they say about looks can be deceiving? Who would have thought something as beautiful as these orchids, were dangerous. Cris shook his head sadly even as he listened first to Professor Bentley's explanation. Writing down what she was telling them about this specific species of flesh eating plant, Cris had to reluctantly agree that the orchid's way of trapping was very deceptive indeed.

He did however cringe at how it digested its prey immediately pitying the fairy. Being slowly digested while still alive was a horrible way to perish. Cris wouldn't wish it on any living thing. But that was Darwin's Theory. Only the strong survive. Big fish, eat the little ones.

Once he had completed writing down his notes, Cris dropped his journal and his quill into his pocket, and then checked the gloves he was wearing to ensure that they were securely pulled up, before pulling his shirt sleeves all the way down and tucking the ends under his gloves.

Having done that, he moved over to the potted orchid sitting at his workstation and leaning over it, he began examining the flowers. Identifying a few that did look like they were fairy full at the moment, Cris took note of their locations.

Lastly, he made sure that his workstation has a swab, a scalpel and a jar available for use. Yep. They were all present and accounted for. Now all they had to do was wait for the Professor to demonstrate what to do next.

As he waited, he heard a young Gryffindor ask Professor Bentley a question. Ahhh...here was another humane soul. While Cris waited for their Herbology Professor to reply to her question, Cris decided that he would ask one of his own.

"Professor I know that here's another example of Darwin's Theory of Evolution, but why is there a need to make the prey suffer after it has been captured? Granted the fairy has been immobilized but from the sounds of it, the fairy is still alive while being broken down." Cris paused to keep his emotions in check. He could feel a lump forming in his throat just at the thought of the fairy suffering.

"Am I wrong? Does the fairy die almost immediately before the breaking down process starts? Or does the orchid require for it to be almost alive during the process?" Cris hoped the Professor would say the former.

No WONDER she'd seen a face! This orchid was a fairy killer! Maddie casually sat back in her seat and observed it at a distance when she wasn't adding to her notes, wondering just how many fairies these things could consume before they were full. It WAS sort of cool that you could still make out the preserved fairies but ALSO quite creepy.

Once her notes were finished, the first year secured her gloves and pulled her sleeves down, tucking the ends into the gloves so that she was completely covered and wouldn't get burnt by orchid resin. She ALSO kept thinking that orchids weren't the only things that used scent to lure people in. Her dumb BROTHERS used this REALLY potent cologne to try and attract girls to be their DUMB girlfriends and SOME of them even FELL for that! Thank goodness SHE wasn't going to be one of those weirdo girls who fell for things like THAT.

Glancing back at the plant, the brunette tilted her head and began to pick out the spots where she would be able to extract resin from. There were lots of options as she'd only spotted a couple of preserved fairies so she shrugged and glanced around the workstation. Jar? CHECK! Swab stick thing? CHECK! And last but not least, a scalpel! How very medical of Professor Bentley. Heh.

Ohh so the orchid ATE fairies? That was no big deal, no big deal at all. In a kind of morbid way AJ was fascinated by the whole thing. Only months ago she didn't even know that there was such thing as a fairy, and now there were fairy eating plants. Was the professor fixing to unleash a bucket of fairies and were they going to get to feed them to the plant? Because she was okay with that.

The first year took down lots of notes. She was pretty sure that she managed to get every little detail in there. With a quick check at her appearance it showed that her gloves were indeed still on and no skin was showing on her arms. She would take a fairy now please.

Looking at the plant, AJ tried to look for the non fairy sporting flowers and couldn't wait to get down and dirty. Double glance at her supplies showed that she had everything.

Angel had never heard of a plant that ate fairies and she was a bit shocked by that, but well plants needed food as well and if fairies were on the menu then she was a bit saddened by it but everything had to have food.

Angel looked at her sister who seemed to be enjoying it, but she had no idea what was going on with her sister at the minute, since when had she liked to get down and dirty, normally she was climbing trees not caring for them, maybe it was because of Adi, who might have liked plants, she would have to find out.

Angel took down loads of notes because she wanted to learn everything about these plants and how to care for them and then she made sure her gloves and everything else were ready, she made sure she had no skin on show because she didn't want to get hurt at all.

Adi made himself at home at one of the workstations. His book and quill were set up so he could easily take his notes. His gloves were off at the moment but he would put those on soon. He eyed the orchid, noting the familiar shape it seemed to have at the top.
.......................

Oh. That's why there was that fairy shape. Poor fairies. Adi made notes as Professor Bentley spoke. He was very fascinated by the way the Orchid lured the fairies and the digestion process. After finishing up with his notes, the third year leaned a tad bit closer to the orchid to examine the flowers. Ah look! There was one right there without any preserved fairy. And there was another! Excellent!

Adi now checked that his arms were well covered and that he had a swab, scalpel and jar on his workstation before pulling on his gloves.

"I think he wanted to feed a couple more plants before sitting down," replied Simon as he opened his notebook. He opened his mouth about to say something else when the workshop began. He became silent and started copying down notes like a madman.
---

Flesh Eating Fairy Orchid, huh? Well that's a rather fancy name for such a pretty thing, thought Simon as he casually leaned away from the plant. Yeah, he wasn't planning on getting too close to that. No way. They were from Northern Italy. He'd make a mental note not to get too close to the wildlife if he ever managed to visit that part of the world. Preserved fairy? He squinted his eyes at his own specimen and saw that his orchid too had a preserved fairy. No- two. He frowned. Poor little guys.

The resin used to lure the fairies to their horrifying fate could be used in potions to aid digestion? WICKED. Extracting the resin? That sounded more awesome than before. But how would they go about this?

Before Simon could ask that question, Professor Bentley had already started to explain the process.


Simon laid his quill on the desk and rubbed his hands together. It was work time. Before even touching the orchid, he made sure that he had his gloves on and that his sleeves covered his arms. Did they? Yes! Check. He took a couple of minutes to thoroughly inspect the orchid, locating the places where he could extract the resin from. Places found? Check. Finally, he looked about his station for the swab stick, scalpel, and a jar. Were they all in attendance? Check, check, check.

Sweet! He was ready to hear the next set of instructions.

At least Hayden was not a fairy, so she did not have to worry too much about being eaten by the plant. Just about being burned, apparently. She tugged on her sleeves, even though they went all the way down, just to make sure. She was a little bit thankful for the horrible cold outside, because it meant she'd warn sleeves to the greenhouse. She'd rather be cold than get a burn on her arm.

Gloves on? Check. Long sleeves? Check. Swab stick? Check. Scalpel? Check. Jar? Check. It looked like she was ready to work. Hayden stood quietly at her station and waited for further instructions.

Those pretty plants were capable of... murder? Fairy murder. But they were so pretty and cute and innocent. Well for a plant. Either way Zander knew that he did not want to mess with it. No matter how pretty and cutesy it looked. Because burning resin, yeah no thanks. He'd pass.

After jotting down a few notes, the third year quickly put on his gloves and doubled checked for any exposed skin. Then he put all his attention towards the plant in front of him... It's inspection time! After identifying some flowers without preserved fairies, the boy put his attention towards his tools.

Yep everything ready for work!

Soooo that orchid ate fairies? THAT WAS COOL!!

The first year took down lots of notes, making sure to write that it ate the fairies because that was the most important!! She was pretty sure that she managed to write down every piece of information that the Professor had just told them. With a quick glance at her appearance it showed that her gloves were indeed still on and no skin was showing on her arms.

Looking at the plant, Arista tried to look for the non-fairy sporting flowers but she couldn't really see the difference. She gave a long glance at her supplies and found that she indeed have everything that the Professor just mentioned.

It was kind of a beautiful plant, and Mo happily crowded close to get a look at the one on his work bench. Not too too close, though, since he wanted to avoid any unfortunate injuries. His orchid was really quite pretty, even if the idea of fairies being caught up and digested over time had his stomach churning. Circle of life, Mo. Circle of life.

His gloves fit perfectly, and Mo snugged them into place, carefully checking that they were tucked into his sleeves before he turned his attention back to the orchid in front of him. Did he even have any of those preserved fairies? And what was it that Bentley had been saying? Something about how the resin shells would fall off once the fairy was completely digested? Why didn't they harvest the resin after the orchid had already caught itself a snack? Why were they looking for flowers that were, as yet, untouched?

It would make sense later, Mo was certain of it, and so he obediently turned the pot in place as he identified where he had open flowers and where he had preserved resin fairies. His flower must be feeling hungry today, because it only had a few of the little resin pods. They were discomfiting, actually, and Mo felt a little relieved his flower wasn't a very good hunter.

He glanced over the rest of the accoutrements waiting at his work station, although Mo didn't touch anything just yet. Instead, he turned his attention back to the professor, ready for further instruction.