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Shanners · 05-10-2020, 07:43 PM

For a class held at 1pm, the walk to the greenhouses from the castle was rather dark and wet. The rain was expected for a date in October, but the sky was a shade or two darker than expected with the wet weather. Professor Rainwater had left a bucket outside of greenhouse five for any umbrellas the students had used to sit in. If one was to come into his class, he was already known to use it as a prop in his teaching and for it to accidentally get broken. Speaking from experience. Luckily, today’s Herbology lesson was just after lunch so the students had had ample time to get a warm drink down them before the short walk. As always, the water station is set up outside Greenhouse Five for students to grab a quick drink before class starts, but they are not permitted to enter the greenhouse with those drinks. So drink up, and get inside! Because it’s definitely warmer in here than it is out there.

Upon entering Greenhouse Five, you’ll notice immediately that Professor Rainwater is not present but there is a message written in his handwriting on the whiteboard.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Whiteboard

I’M WATCHING !!

DON’T GET TOO CLOSE TO MY FRIENDS!!

In front of Professor Rainwater’s workstation where he is usually standing to greet you is a stool with two very different toads on top of it. One of the toads is more of a yellow colour and the other has a few suspicious red spots on it’s head. They don't look friendly, which is probably why your Professor has suggested not to get too close.

FOLLOW ALONG:
- 12th May - Greetings and Q1 : What do you know about toadstools?
- 13th May - Q2 : What do you know about crossbreeding?
- 14th May - Mini Activity : Brainstorm a toadstool hybrid
- 16th May - Mini Activity : Professor Rainwater discussing with groups

RESOURCES:
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OOC: HI. Welcome to the first OOC Herbology thing this term but it’s October IC so obviously this isn’t the first time your character will have interacted with Professor Rainwater in a classroom situation this school year, so he expects that they know the rules and expectations that he has of them.

Any questions, please feel free to contact me!

~~Class will begin roughly 28 hours from this post <3~~ Class has STARTED, please jump in and pretend your character has been here all along!

Cassirin · 05-13-2020, 01:28 AM

Phoebe was glad she'd made it to class on time, and doubly glad she hadn't made the mistake of talking to the toad things and pretending they could understand her (they could, though). She didn't know much about mushrooms or toadstools or anything, but she knew they weren't amphibians. See that? She was so smart.

"I think toadstools and mushrooms are like... the same thing, only one is what you call a fungus if it's edible and the other if it will cause you to die immediately and painfully." She figured it wasn't really that cut and dry, but it was a good generalization. "Or maybe they're exactly the same and I'm confused."

hermionesclone · 05-13-2020, 02:09 AM

Text Cut: Bernie lmao

Did Lucas know that he was being followed? Absolutely not. That was the problem when you were lost in your head all the time. And then there was the heavy rain that covered up even more sounds. So, it came as a surprise when he found his trains of thoughts interrupted by-

"AARGH!"

Oh merlin oh merlin oh merlin!

Startled, Lucas jumped about a foot in the air, only to be surprised by none other than- ".... Bernie?! I-" What???!?!?? ........ Although........ maybe he should’ve expected..... this. The loudness, the popping up out of nowhere. This was Bernadette, after all. And if he was being honest, he was just glad she wasn’t going to set something on fire. "I mean, hey! Hi. It’s, uh, good to see you." Oh sweet merlin help him.

Could he move on? Find something else to talk about? Like the toads on the stools and which one of them was Rainwater and........

........ and the fact that Rainwater was just hiding all this time??

Again, the sixth year was startled, but luckily, he didn’t scream this time. Why was everyone popping up out of nowhere? Was this supposed to be a joke? Had he missed something about this lesson?! But there was no time to ask because not only was Rainwater standing on his workstation, he was also talking about how he couldn’t be a toad because his eyes weren’t beady?? And then, to make it worse, the man was making jokes. Jokes about toadstools and toads sitting on stools and having a good old laugh about it.

Uhhhhhh????

Lucas didn’t know what to say. He didn’t even know how to react apart from staring at the professor in confusion with a vague smile on his lips. He understood it, yeah, and thought it was clever but not....... enough to make him laugh very much? No offence, Rainwater. To make matters worse, even Bernie was laughing about it?? He didn’t know what to think. Was he the only one that didn’t find it that funny? Was he just strange?

~~Maybe.~~

He was suddenly glad when the topic popped up and he could focus on something else, instead. Toadstools. And facts about toadstools. The fact that his workstation wasn’t near the back gave him some time to think, but not as much as he’d wanted. Before he knew it, it reached him and...... uhhhh...... "I think people tend to think that mushrooms are found in fields but toadstools are more likely to be found in woods. I, uh, don’t know if that’s true but....." His voice trailed off as he just sort of gave the professor an awkward look.

Could he hide? In a void? Yeah?

Watson · 05-13-2020, 02:34 AM

Noah liked that this Professor was more casual and appreciated the Dad joke. He paused at the Professor's first question, thinking through what was the difference between a toadstool and a mushroom. Immediately he thought of Mario's Toad but stopped himself. Merlin.. Minjae was an influence on him, wasn't he? He glanced around the classroom, wondering where his Hufflepuff friend was. Maybe he'd find him after class.

Now to the Professor's question....

"Toadstools are believed to be toxic."

Anna Banana · 05-13-2020, 02:46 AM

DEAR MERLIN, WHAT WAS THAT?!

Isla had been so deep on thought that she had let her guard down, and when Rainwater popped out and greeted them at the top of his lungs, she nearly slung her quill into the air. Nearly, but she didn't.

"HELLO, PROFESSOR RAINWATER!" she called back.

Wait. Somebody had thought he was one of the toads? Who? And why? Now that the moment of amusement had come and gone, Isla was a bit unamused when Rainwater asked what the topic of the lesson might be today. Grindylows? The Cushioning Charm? Calming Draught? ....no? Ahhh, toadstools! She'd have never guessed!

Before she knew it, answers were flying out left and right. Well, she was trying to say something unique, but apparently 4,000 other her people had beat her to the punch. She quickly raised her hand. "There's supposedly this one type of toadstool that's big and red. When you look at them from a distance, they appear to be talking to one another," she said. Was that true? Wonder what they talked about?

Felixir · 05-13-2020, 04:24 AM

Hm? Nem stopped shaking his head, and swept his damp hair over to one side. A look. Very 'Hogwarts Opening Feast 2101'. He smiled brightly at Castillo. "Huh? Oh! No, I don't mind at all. Thanks for asking."

'What a Charming™, Delightful™, Angelic™, Polite™ child'? Why yes, thank you for noticing.

Anyway, it was time to learn. About... plants.

Great.

And Rainwater was on top of a workstation, acting like several people had got him with Cheering Charms.

Great.

Herbology was just... great.

Bracing himself for the continued onslaught of the professor's ebullient personality, Nem raised his hand. "They aren't plants. That's more of a thing that applies to all fungi, rather than just toadstools, but it is specifically relevant to them too." So it counted, was the point. "But basically fungi is its own separate group, though people consider them closer to plants than to animals."

ArianaBlack · 05-13-2020, 04:43 AM

……. Because Nina did not want to cause a scene in the middle of class, she simply GLARED at Nemesis Upstead. Nina saw right through that smile of theirs. There was nothing charming, delightful, nor angelic about them. Nina remembered the chilling answers Upstead raised in class AND she also remembered how they had suggested Phoebe slice of her arm off. AND that one time they through rocks at her in the corridor! So no, Nina was NOT a fan. Not at all. They were a menace.

And if it weren’t for the fact that Professor Rainwater had rolled out from behind his workstation to start class, Nina would have moved herself to stand elsewhere. As it was, however, she was unfortunately stuck at this unfortunate spot next to Upstead. Ugh. Of course.

Nina crossed her arms over her chest as Professor Rainwater carried on with his usual dramatics. She had seen toadstools coming from kilometers away (unlike some of her less observant classmates). Though she understood his clever joke she actually didn’t think it to be funny and was rather concerned with the wild way he went about laughing. ……. Did her housemate just ask if the Toadstools would get… more toad-like? Honestly, it was a wonder that some of these kids made it beyond primary school at all…. Did toads EAT toadstools?? Another suggestion that had Nina looking over with judgement written all over her face.

hjhm · 05-13-2020, 06:01 AM

Jillian likes rain but doesn't really enjoy being outside WHEN it rains. You feel her? She likes to be indoors and right now she is hoping for it to stop because she likes Herbology and she doesn't want for her change in mood to deter. But a sudden bright smile plastered all over her face at the sight of Jina. She enjoys the seventh year Ravenclaw. They have come quite closer ever since she visited her and her family during the summer. She waved back at her.

And then cue in the lovely ~~and smexy~~ Missa who informed her about the professor. She smiled at the Ravenclaw prefect as her cheeks turned pink completely flustered. But she did mouth a 'sorry...' and 'thank you' at Missa.

Today there topic is all about toadstools although she did chuckle softly at the professor's comment about not dissecting any frogs in this class. There is nothing fun about that one. She stared at the ground and tried of thinking of an answer since most of what she thought has been put out already. Jina did say something about why toadstool was named the way it is - because toads can perfectly sit on these types of mushroom.

"just to add on Jina's answer, professor" she spoke with her hand shot up. "It was named or nickname toadstool because people believe this type of mushroom is poisonous. This belief is related to the idea that many toads were considered highly poisonous." she added.

SilverTiger · 05-13-2020, 06:22 AM

It wasn’t a disillusionment charm that was hiding the professor, but simply hiding. Honestly, Carys almost gave him more points for it since it was a Muggle method and therefore he really ought to have been noticed earlier, yet everyone had seemed more focused on the toads. The toads which, accurately as she’d found out, weren’t really the subject of the lesson. Instead, it was toadstools, which were something else entirely. Although frequently, it seemed like the coloring of the two, the creature and the fungi, were similar.

“All toadstools are mushrooms, but not all mushrooms are toadstools,” she offered, raising her hand and sending a slight nod Phoebe’s way. “Like others mentioned, toadstools are often poisonous or at least inedible, while those we consider to be mushrooms are usually edible.” She sometimes liked to eat mushrooms, along with other things. Moreso after she had decided to become a vegetarian, since a lot of mushrooms were a replacement for meat. Actually, there was something to be said for Jillian’s comment too, about more similarities between the creatures and the fungi.

Mell · 05-13-2020, 07:39 AM

With a wave of his hand, Drew greeted both Naya and Islay. Their appearances lifted his mood and he began to feel much better. That was until the Professor appeared and he was left utterly gobsmacked, he thought that he was getting used to the craziness that came with Hogwarts but they still managed to shock him.

The joke was the corniest thing he had ever heard and he couldn't help but laugh. The place was insane and he was actually starting enjoy it. "Don't they like jump around?" Not sure why he was answering a question with a question but whatever.

MadMadamMalfoy · 05-13-2020, 07:41 AM

Heath saw Claudine’s finger wiggle out of the corner of his eye and returned the greeting with a polite nod. There may have been an apologetic look too. She wasn’t mad at him about getting stuck writing lines in DADA after his kelpie strategy backfired royally, was she? No, he was no girl expert, but he supposed he wouldn’t have gotten a finger wiggle if she was. Truth be told, he hadn’t noticed who he was sitting next to until just then. He was more focused on finding a seat somewhere where he wouldn’t draw attention to himself. Speaking of drawing attention to one’s self…

Blink, blink. All Heath could do was stare as Rainwater appeared, unsure whether to be shocked, appalled, or mildly amused… possibly all three at once. Wow, and people say I’m overly dramatic, he thought to himself. He didn’t know why he was still surprised by the professor’s antics. The only thing predictable about the man was that he was about as unpredictable as an imperial stormtrooper’s aim! Uhh… why was he going on about his eyes? Had Heath missed something?

Oh, okay, toadstools. Teehee. Heath supposed he should’ve seen that coming, but mostly, he was just glad they wouldn’t have to dissect any toads today. GAG! He listened to his classmates’ answers while simultaneously trying to come up with one of his own. Finally he remembered reading something about a method used to identify toadstools; it was called spore printing. it involved breaking a toadstool cap and leaving it on a piece of paper, and somehow the color left behind helped identify the toadstool.

Heath considered raising his hand to say as much but decided against it. He was a little unsure of the details, and more importantly, was that a safe answer? For all he knew, that answer might get turned into a joke or send the professor into a fit of laughter ~~again~~. He wasn’t going to risk it. For now, he’d keep his silence (and hopefully, his dignity), see how things go, and maybe pluck up the courage to speak later.

sweetpinkpixie · 05-13-2020, 01:06 PM

................................

Not only had Eiji been spooked out of his wits and jumped in his seat enough to bang his knees under the workstation, but he had ALSO yelped. Loudly. Like a surprised dog who had just had its tail stomped on or shut in a door.

So that was great. Peachy. Fantastic. This was just what he needed today. Worst of all, besides the whole 'I should have known' factor that came with Professor Rainwater's dramatics was the pun. Know who also told puns like that? His grandpa.

Anyway.

As for the subject of toadstools, Eiji naturally knew a great deal. They were practically a foundation when it came to potions brewing and had numerous magical uses and properties. Baruffio's Brain Elixir required Leaping Toadstools which were an absolute HASSLE to collect for obvious reasons, though Eiji did have a particular fondness for them. Of course one could not mention these without also thinking of Horklumps - looking at you Nemesis Upstead - due to their physical likenesses.

But did Eiji feel like raising his hand? Not particularly. He had already said enough when he had YELPED and he was not keen on drawing any further attention to himself.

Lislchen · 05-13-2020, 01:07 PM

O_____________O

What-

With a small shriek in surprise, Shivvy jumped back (probably into someone, sorry), away from the toads and THE PROFESSOR WHO WAS NOT A TOAD BUT HAD JUMPED ONTO THE DESK ALL THE SAME. Maybe there was a bit of toad in him after all. What was his Patronus? Had they seen it? Could they maybe scare him into producing one? Was that mean?

Was that unnecessary? (yes)

Pouting at the professor a bit for scaring her, Siobhán quickly made her way over to an empty seat and plopped down in it. Despite the scare she'd got, she still giggled at the professor's play on words because, well, she was easily amused, let's be real. Not because it was a particularly witty joke. Well, it was to Shivvy apparently.

Toadstools, though. What did she know about them?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sunflower

"They are called toadstools because in old fairytales there were lots of illustrations of toads sitting on these mushrooms."

Before she got a chance to think, however, her attention was caught by someone else's answer. "That's so funny!" It was, too. "Why were they sitting on the mushrooms?" And no, the Head Girl's answer wasn't enough to satisfy her curiosity.

Samia · 05-13-2020, 03:11 PM

Missa found herself chuckling and blowing a kiss toward Jillian. She had obviously been kidding. Also, you really never know - Professor Rainwater could definitely be the toad.

Speaking of ...... she stared as he SUDDENLY appeared.

....

Missa wondered if Professor Thereos had left behind something that Professor Rainwater had gotten his hands on. Because the effects seemed very .... real right now. But she didn't have time to ponder over this because did Eiji just YELP?????

Amused, but also not amused because this could very well be the reason he would end up having a 'bad day', Missa passed him a smile.

Back to toads, and stools though. She waited her turn before speaking up, "..elaborating on what Jina and Naya said, people actually believed that toads were carrying diseases and so naturally when they saw toads sitting on them, they thought that's how the mushrooms were becoming poisonous"

siriusblackliveson · 05-13-2020, 04:01 PM

Charlie looked around waiting... oh dear Merlin, why would Rainwater think that popping out form under the desk would be a good idea. All he was encouraging was strange behavior form all the other odd ones in here. Yeah yeah, she was judgy and she already knew it.

She could already tell she wasn’t going to like this class. What was with all these professors and trying to do lessons with animals. Didn’t anyone want to give just a normal lesson where they lectured, students took notes, and then they were released back into the castle to go about their day? No chance of being taken by a Kelpi, or you know anything else strange. Sighing she nodded and let the others answer the questions. Sure she knew a few things, but people had already answered her answer.... duh.

emjay · 05-13-2020, 06:12 PM

"Whoa!" Morgan nearly fell off his seat when the professor suddenly jumped out like that, especially when that older Gryffindor girl backed into him, apparently also surprised. But he thought the surprise was very funny and let out a laugh as he righted himself in his seat.

"HI PROFESSOR!" he shouted right back at the man, at least as loud as he had, delighted with the energy in the greenhouse today. And apparently they'd be learning about toadstools today. Let's see... toadstools... toadstools... what did he know about toadstools, other than the name conjured up a funny mental image.

Morgan knew that a lot of them were poisonous, but he was pretty sure he heard someone say that, so he thought for a moment about anything his dad might have said about them. Oh! He raised his hand.

"Some of them you have to get special permission to use or own. There's this one kind.." and he wasn't sure if you needed special permission for it or not, but it sounded like you would! "it's called, uh... Blazing Buttons?" Something like that. "And it can catch on fire!" Super cool!

Shanners · 05-13-2020, 07:45 PM

SPOILER!!: Ewan

”Not sneaky, Ewan. Just wanted to test out everyone's observational skills. You should have good ones in a greenhouse. No one came to look for me.” But he had also spent a lot of time with his kids over the summer playing games like hide and seek and somewhere deep down he was using it in class just to feel close to his little ones whilst being so far away. It was fine and he’d grown used to the custody agreement he had in place, but that didn’t change the fact that he missed them. His job was worth it, though. Teaching at Hogwarts had been the best decision he had ever made and even though he was only a year into his teaching career here, he expected it to be the job he compared everything to for the rest of his life.

”I did know that, yes. Toadstools ARE 90% water. They’re moist and some would consider slippery - like actual toads, I suppose. Thank you, Ewan! I’ll have to research the one in America. I haven’t heard of it!”

SPOILER!!: Jina

”Correct! Do you believe those illustrations could be true, Jina?” Gus had a bit of an imagination and honestly he had told his own kids stories of toadstools that only a toad could sit on otherwise the creature was eaten when trying to sit on the stool. Gus took a quick glance behind him to check his marker was writing down the answers on the board for them all to see. Which it was! Hooray!

SPOILER!!: Aboli

Whilst no question was silly, Gus sometimes was asked questions that left him questioning the past education of his older students. ”Aboli, the toads on a stool are not actually what a toadstool looks like. You...understand that, right? MARKER. Draw us a toadstool!” Taking a leap off the workstation and over the stool with the toads on, landing on his feet. It was a talent. Whilst he did that and then moved the toads into small crates setting them aside, the marker drew a bright red toadstool with white spots onto the whiteboard. ”See, Miss Song. They don’t...look like actual toads. I suggest taking another look through your Encyclopedia of Toadstools textbook again. We can talk after class.” Toad-like? He’d used the toads to make a funny! Not because they actually looked like toads.

Huh.

Interesting.

SPOILER!!: Blake

Gus shot a thumbs up in the direction of Blake when he answered and smiled. ”They are! Many potions call for mushrooms or toadstools in their recipes -- it’s said that it depends on the ground where the shrooms or stools were grown as to how they affect a potion. Some recipes call for them grown in specific circumstances otherwise they mess with the brew.” Yes, he’d written a research paper on it for his potions degree and it had been a long six months of brewing with different types, different growth patterns, different moisture levels and everything else.

SPOILER!!: Naya

It was nice to have a student laugh at his joke. There had been a ripple of laughter amongst the class, but Gus knew his antics didn’t please a percentage of the students. But if he was going to fight for anything with teenagers it was going to be that they should be their authentic selves and not aim to please a majority, but to enjoy themselves and not mold themselves to someone else’s view of what they should be.

”That’s very true, Naya. Toadstools are viewed widely as poisonous mushrooms, but some shrooms ARE poisonous themselves, but don’t fall into other checkpoints that classify them as toadstools. This is something we’ll look at closer in next week’s lesson. The similarities, differences and classifications of mushrooms and toadstools. But today is just our introduction.” They’d work their way through a new area of toadstools and mushrooms each week until their topic was up. But he wanted to pick their brains today enough for their research projects that they’d get to later on in the year. This introduction lesson would be vital in the development of what they’d be doing after the winter break.

SPOILER!!: Alexandre

Heheheh. The jumping and scared reactions were his favourites though. ”I’d say Happy Halloween, but it’s a few weeks early Alexandre.” But maybe he wouldn’t be as extra with an entrance in his lessons from now on. ”Toads do not eat toadstools, no. That’s not the origin of their name.”

SPOILER!!: Islay

”Good day to you too, Islay.” Gus smiled warmly, nodding as she spoke and listened to the squeak of the marker pen against the whiteboard behind him. ”Wonderful depth of knowledge, thank you. I hope to see more of it in your homework assignments for this topic. Excellent work. Take a point for Gryffindor.” Now, he was hoping the level of understanding with this one would work wonders in the activity they were to move onto later this lesson.

SPOILER!!: Avalon

”Yes, it was believed that toads carried diseases, sat on these specific mushrooms and passed the diseases onto them. And then the idea of toadstools being poisonous came into action. The stories are wild and mythical, but there is some level of truth to them definitely.” But he preferred to see how his students responded to the imagination level that span these stories into bigger than they actually were. It worked with his little ones at home and honestly, he’d seen it work with teenagers too. He’d noticed an unintentional turn in Avalon’s nose when he’d revealed what they would be studying and expected she may be one of the more difficult students when it came to handling their own toadstools and nurturing them for research projects.

”But, correct about inedible. Many are.”

SPOILER!!: Stella

”Hello to you too, Stella.” He was well, but also they were in a lesson environment and the time for greetings was over and had been non-existent given his hiding status. But also if he wasn’t well, it wasn’t something he would be sharing with his pupils. There was a line. ”Visually, they have stems and caps, yes.”

SPOILER!!: Tom

Had Gus been aware of Tom’s thoughts, he would have expressed how grateful he was that there had been no toad kissing with the intention of turning one back into him. Why had they all been so obsessed with the thought that he had been one of the two toads that were now in their crates? Strange kids he was teaching. ”Some, yes.” That was a perk of answering using the word ‘some’. It didn’t confirm anything as fact or opinion, but acknowledged that some people were… stupid.

SPOILER!!: Bernie

Someone he KNEW would appreciate his sense of humour was Bernadette. Gus was sure she had a similar one at heart even if she pretended she didn’t. That laugh was enough of a reward from him and when it came to her answering he gave her a grin and passed a tissue across for that laugh-tear. Just pretending that he knew she’d been laughing more than she actually had. ”YUP! Leaping toadstools! They’re great for potions and also great for play parks with children!” Speaking from...experience.

SPOILER!!: Flora

The laugh that had meant the most to him upon the delivery of his joke was that belonging to Flora. She was a light to classes already this year. Gus was a fan of her spirit and her energy levels. He was now a fan of her impeccable sense of humour too. Loud laughter made the world go around. His daughter believed that laughter like that gave fairies their wings and he just believed that laughter made the world go around. ”EXCELLENT, Miss Thiese. They THRIVE in damp conditions. It’s one of the reasons they’re 90% water, like Ewan said earlier. Moisture, moisture mushstools!”

SPOILER!!: Claudine

HE HAD SPOTTED THE GRIN. HE HAD SPOTTED THE LIGHT SHAKE IN HER SHOULDERS WHEN SHE WAS LAUGHING. CLAUDINE BLAZE HAD BEEN CAUGHT. Gus gave her a knowing look when she answered and returned her grin too. ”Many toadstools illustrated in children’s stories look like that also, much like the one drawn on the whiteboard behind me.” Which had been updating the list on it with every answer given from the students.

SPOILER!!: Cecelia

Well…….. Hm.

Gus tilted his head as Cecelia answered and then gave it a light shake. ”Perhaps. But if I can draw your attention back to Headmaster Trent’s speech at the start of feast term, Miss Summers. The forbidden forest is as it’s name suggests. Forbidden. I don’t expect you to be going on a toadstool hunt in there at all. You are correct in that they can grow in or by trees, though.” That answer had been professional enough, right? He’d said the right thing?

SPOILER!!: Phoebe

From one Gryffindor third year to another, Gus moved on to Phoebe who was at least not dropping dangerous ideas into a class of teenagers. She got a fond smile and Gus gently tapped her workstation as he passed by it. ”I promise that will be clear after next Friday’s class. If not, I’ll eat my right shoe.” He wouldn’t be eating a shoe. Because next week’s lesson was an indepth theoretical class and he wouldn’t end it until he knew that they knew the answers to what Miss James was confused about currently.

SPOILER!!: Lucas

He’d never please them all, Gus knew that. But the Gryffindors had been the ones he had been expecting to laugh uncontrollably with him. Perhaps he wasn’t as in tune with his student as he thought, but he wasn’t going to dwell on it. HE had found it funny and at their age he would have found it HYSTERICAL, so it was their loss. That included you and your stare, Prefect Dakest. ”It’s not untrue, but those are the typical conditions that they enjoy, yes.”

SPOILER!!: Noah

Ah was one that had an inbetween reaction to the joke. Not cracked a laugh, but he didn’t look like someone had murdered his owl like some of the other students did. ”Yes, correct. Believed to be toxic and in many a case, are. Thank you, Noah.”

SPOILER!!: Isla

No answer was less than enough when it came to what the students did and did not know. For that reason, Gus always hoped for some form of answer from each of his students whether it was a repeat of something someone else said or the three words ‘I don’t know’ -- they weren’t here to teach him, he was here to teach them. And to teach, he wanted a starting point. There was no point teaching the alphabet beginning with F. He needed to know if the kids knew A-E before.

”Exactly! We’ll have a whole exploration with talking toadstools eventually. Thank you, Isla.”

SPOILER!!: (arch) Nemesis

CORRECTOMUNDO, ARCH. gET IT? Arch Nemesis! HAH. HAH. HAH. It was funny. It was. And whilst Gus was still not at a point where it would slip into conversation, he did think it each time he spoke to Nem. It was just really funny, okay? He KNEW the woes in a name. Actually, Nemesis didn’t seem to compare with GURGUSTIUS !!!!!! BUT CORRECT. Because Herbology WAS GREAT and it was FUN. HERBOLOGUS SAID SO.

”Take a point, Upstead. I’m impressed. They aren’t classified as plants, but you’ll encounter them around your plants and plant growing areas. They share common qualities with plants, though. But they breed like RABBITS!” Too much? Too much. It was a turn of phrase. Breed like toads just didn’t have the same knack to it.

SPOILER!!: Nina Castironface

Moving on from Nemesis, Gus was greeted with the unimpressed face plastered like usual on Nina Castillo’s face. Castillo? More like Castiron! ‘Cos her face never moved you know? It was the same day in, day out. She just didn’t like him, did she? Nevermind. Her grades were okay enough that he didn’t have to fight for her attention in class. She got done what she needed to. ”Nothing to add, Nina?” The quiet ones always worried him with questions like this. He couldn’t tell what they knew and what they didn’t until they turned in their first batch of homework and sometimes that was too late.

SPOILER!!: Jillian

Oh Gus really loved piggyback and collaborative answers. There was something about them that warmed his heart from the inside out and it showed just who was paying attention to the answers that were given by their peers. ”Exactly, Jillian. And like I mentioned earlier.. The belief was that the toads passed on their toxicity or poison to the mushrooms when they sat on top of them like you would sit on a stool.” Hence why the toads had been sat on a stool at the beginning of the lesson and it hadn’t clicked for many of the students what they were doing. Goodness.

SPOILER!!: Carys

The art of misdirection, Miss Rose. It wasn’t a mere muggle method of hiding, but a tactic. That it seemed worked all too well with the Hogwarts students -- perhaps this was something he ought to raise to Headmaster Trent later about trust issues and whatnot. Perhaps. Probably in passing and not making a big deal out of it. ”Take a point for clarifying for Miss James, Carys.” Gus called that this was one of the reasons she was in the position of Prefect for Hufflepuff. It was kind and he appreciated kindness in his classes.

SPOILER!!: Andrew

WAHEY. Another laugher! Gus liked a laugher. They always learned well from his humour because they remembered things based on the timings of jokes. It was why it was a tactic of his. ”Leaping toadstools are known to jump, yes. Hence their name. Obviously not all toadstools though, Preston.”

SPOILER!!: Dear Heath, please love us

Quote:

Originally Posted by MadMadamMalfoy

Heath saw Claudine’s finger wiggle out of the corner of his eye and returned the greeting with a polite nod. There may have been an apologetic look too. She wasn’t mad at him about getting stuck writing lines in DADA after his kelpie strategy backfired royally, was she? No, he was no girl expert, but he supposed he wouldn’t have gotten a finger wiggle if she was. Truth be told, he hadn’t noticed who he was sitting next to until just then. He was more focused on finding a seat somewhere where he wouldn’t draw attention to himself. Speaking of drawing attention to one’s self…

Blink, blink. All Heath could do was stare as Rainwater appeared, unsure whether to be shocked, appalled, or mildly amused… possibly all three at once. Wow, and people say I’m overly dramatic, he thought to himself. He didn’t know why he was still surprised by the professor’s antics. The only thing predictable about the man was that he was about as unpredictable as an imperial stormtrooper’s aim! Uhh… why was he going on about his eyes? Had Heath missed something?

Oh, okay, toadstools. Teehee. Heath supposed he should’ve seen that coming, but mostly, he was just glad they wouldn’t have to dissect any toads today. GAG! He listened to his classmates’ answers while simultaneously trying to come up with one of his own. Finally he remembered reading something about a method used to identify toadstools; it was called spore printing. it involved breaking a toadstool cap and leaving it on a piece of paper, and somehow the color left behind helped identify the toadstool.

Heath considered raising his hand to say as much but decided against it. He was a little unsure of the details, and more importantly, was that a safe answer? For all he knew, that answer might get turned into a joke or send the professor into a fit of laughter ~~again~~. He wasn’t going to risk it. For now, he’d keep his silence (and hopefully, his dignity), see how things go, and maybe pluck up the courage to speak later.

Nothing? Not even a crack of a smile? Boy this kid was one to hold a grudge. It concerned Gus more on the emotional development side that Heath showed no sign of getting past some things, but it was going to be his mission this year to reach out outside of class and ask Heath how he could help him with Herbology at least. The less involvement he had, the potential grew for his grades to start slipping through the cracks.

Sigh.

SPOILER!!: Eiji

It was widely known that you shouldn’t have favourite pupils, but students had favourite professors and Gus knew that he was nowhere near a favourite of this Rasting. The other one… well, he enjoyed her presence around the greenhouse a lot more than he found with Eiji. But nevertheless, he was happy to have him in class and was always impressed with his ability to correlate everything from Herbology to Potions. Gus appreciated that. They were his two favorite subjects outside of anything related to the stage design in a theatre show.

The reaction to him jumping out had been a little extreme and as Gus walked through the workstations, he passed a wet paper towel to the Slytherin. ”Sounded like it might bruise.”

SPOILER!!: Siobhán

IT HAD BEEN A WITTY JOKE, SHIVVY. It really had. Even more witty when more than half of the class hadn’t made the connection whatsoever. Gus was going to forever pride himself on how good it had been and if these kids didn’t write about it in their letters home, he may just quit right now. ”Why not sit on the mushrooms, Shivvy? Why ever not?”

SPOILER!!: Missa

Ah, Mister Rasting’s better half as some would say. Not this someone, but some others probably. She was Missa in her own right and her presence in class was positive and warm. She was a delightful Prefect for Ravenclaw, too. Gus was always impressed, you know? ”Exactly, Miss Renaldi. Thank you. Take a point for extending and elaborating.”

SPOILER!!: Charlie

Another note of silence from the last student he came to. Gus smiled softly at Charlie and made his way back to the front of the greenhouses, sitting himself on the stool that the toads had been on earlier.

SPOILER!!: Morgan

Morgan was tossed a thumbs up and a grin for his answer. He loved these kids with all of their knowledge, he really did. And perhaps Morgan would have a flair for Herbology if Gus was one to make bets. ”Blazing Buttons was actually the first thing I got myself that I needed permission for! Excellent answer, Morgan. Take a point for Gryffindor.”

- - -

”Okay, thanks guys! A reminder that in these topic introduction classes, I do like to get answers from you all to gage exactly where your knowledge is at and if there is anything I need to correct before we get started or adjust into my plans for your education. It’s not a test, it’s not to embarrass you. It’s to help me do my job helping you.” It really wasn’t that deep. Well he didn’t think so. ”If you do feel embarrassed to provide an answer to these questions, I’d appreciate it if you arranged to come speak to me and we can figure out what is best for you and your education.” Gus didn’t think it was much to ask and he thought he was approachable enough, perhaps he’d have to start having written submissions for this question.

”But.. Back to our lesson. TOADSTOOLS. I can see that most of you at least have some basic knowledge. We’ll cover everything in steps over the next few months as the fundamentals of toadstools will be important for a project we’ll be working on after the winter break. I can’t stress enough how important your attention in all of our lessons is for that project. Herbology can be temperamental. This is why I ensure that all of our discussions are given to you in detailed note form and you don’t have to take your own notes.” As he spoke, everything on the whiteboard disappeared and a piece of paper containing all of the facts the students had given and Gus’ annotations distributed to each one of them. ”Keep it safe. I’ll be asking the same question at the end of our topic and I want different answers. The textbook Encyclopedia of Toadstools will be vital to your education for your Herbology education this year. It is on your book list, but I have copies in my office that you may request. I’ll know from your homework if you haven’t had a copy to look at.” Was his teacher rant over? For now. Sometimes he talked too much, but if students wanted to ensure they got the top notch education that Hogwarts provided then they needed to do the attention thing.

”ALRIGHT. So… you know how Ewan mentioned that they’re 90% water? WELL that sometimes means that they’re wet and slippery on the outside. Not all of them. Toadstools are less so wet on their exterior. But what if I wanted the sound structure and colouring of a toadstool and a certain cap from a mushroom? Is there anything I could do? How about the taste from a mushroom in the appearance of Morgan’s Blazing Buttons? Could I manage that? With a lot of hard work? Yes, yes I could. I could achieve it through intricate crossbreeding.” TA DAAAAAAAA. They’d understand the steer of topic for a little while. There was little cohesion to all of this, but when things all came together, he hoped they would get it. And he hoped they’d enjoy it.

Heck, he’d been planning and working since last January on crossbreeds to show them later.

”SO! What do you know about crossbreeding in general? Can you give any examples of plants - not just toadstools - that are the product of crossbreeding? We’ll go for one answer each starting at the front this time! The marker will write it all down. No need for taking your own notes unless you prefer! Let’s go! You first!” Gus pointed towards a workstation in the front of the greenhouse and got up from his stool to begin walking down the aisle between workstations.

OOC: So this reply took me a long time to get done today! I’ve been trying to master the art of one hand typing on a laptop as one arm has been occupied most of the day by a kitty. You guys have wonderful characters and I love them all very much. Thank you for making me laugh today and for dealing with Gus - I know he’s a lot. This is definitely my happy place <3

Class has started so do not post your characters arriving now and pretend they’ve been here all along <3 Any questions, please feel free to contact me!

We’ll move on in roughly 24-36hours.

emjay · 05-13-2020, 08:03 PM

Oh awesome! He got a point for his answer? That was a first and Morgan was pleased. He also thought it was really cool that Professor Rainwater had one of those blazing toadstools too. Maybe he could see it sometime.

And even though there was A LOT of talking again, Morgan didn't mind so much. You know what he especially loved about Professor Rainwater's class? He NEVER had to take notes because the Professor provided that for them! No hand cramping or forgetting what to write - not that he did a ton of note-taking in other classes anyway.

Crossbreeding? The professor barely had the words out of his mouth when Morgan blurted out, "MY DAD DOES THAT!" Oops, he was supposed to raise his hand, and so he did, waving it around, really excited-like, until he was called on. "My dad does crossbreeding!" which Professor probably already knew because Morgan remembered from last year that he was friends with his dad. "Y'know the singing lily? My dad invented that from crossbreeding." That's right, he thought smugly, his dad was basically a Herbology celebrity. "Um, from the honking daffodil and... something else..." He could not remember!!

pundantic · 05-13-2020, 08:29 PM

SPOILER!!: Eiji

Kale smiled broadly at the older Slytherin. And shot him some finger gunz to boot. 'Sup, bro.

SPOILER!!: THE GREAT GUS

The third year didn't know much about Herbology. But he liked Gus HEAPS. So he did his best to listen and take notes. They were scribbly, uneven loops--more like scratches than proper words--but Kale knew what it said. And he was going to pour over these notes religiously after class.

As he did his best to keep up (IT WASN'T FAILING IF HE TRIED), Kale noticed that MF knew all the thingz. He was gunna hit him up after class. Herbology task force, assemble.

Once he felt like he had enough notes on toadstools, which were sadly not stools for lil baby toads, he perked his head up for the next question. AAAAAAAAAAAAAND he didn't know anything about crossbreeding either. At all. So, he prepared to do another round of s-s-speed note taking.

littledhampir · 05-13-2020, 08:34 PM

So... toads didn't eat toadstools? What did they have to do with toads then? Professor Rainwater also hadn't really answered whether or not people could eat them. Alexandre expected that maybe they were sort of like berries. Some you could eat but some you could not, and they might be poisonous. But.. he wasn't really sure. Apparently he didn't know much about toadstools. He looked over the sheet of notes when it appeared in front of him. This knowledge would pretty much only be useful up until he took his OWLs and then probably never again. Alexandre didn't want to work with plants. Why would he need to know so many things about toadstools??

Anyway, they were on a different topic now. About crossbreeding plants. Alexandre didn't have a particularly smart answer but his other option was saying nothing, so he raised his hand. "Um, I think some fruits and vegetables are crossbreeds. Like...corn, I think. People bred it specially so it would taste good." He thought that he had read about something like that once. Or maybe his sister had told him.

aRogueOne · 05-13-2020, 08:50 PM

If he was being honest, he didn’t really like mushrooms. Not for eating at least so the fact that some were so slimy, yeah, he didn’t really want to go find out more about the one in America but it was a cool fact to know. He was happy that his little titbit of information about them being 90% had come up though, at least not all of the facts in his head were useless it seemed.

He couldn’t help but chuckle a little at some of the facts that were sprouting up over the place now. He figured his was random but there were all sorts coming up.

Taking the piece of parchment that the Professor had given them, the prefect slid it carefully away for safe keeping and then turned his attention towards the lesson at hand. Crossbreeding? Huh. Well, his only real experience had come from the farm his Aunt owned but that wasn’t exactly a perfect example of how to crossbreed plants. He did however know of some plants in the muggle world that had been crossbred.

”In the muggle world, there are quite a lot of flowers that have been crossbred. Lilies for example?” this he only knew because it had been his mothers favourite, or so his father had told him many, many moons ago. ”The Hybrid lilies and the Stargazer lilies, for example”.

BanaBatGirl · 05-13-2020, 08:58 PM

Whoa whoa whoa, looked like they had an Herbology badbutt in here! Bernie was talking about Morgan McCarthy, by the by. He was apparently REALLY into 'shrooms. Knew everything about them. Earned extra points for Gryffindor. Got a lotta praise from the professor. Bernie wasn't narrowing her eyes at her peer in jealousy. Nope. Not a bit.

She didn't know squat about crossbreeding, or how it was done, but when did that ever stop her from contributing to class discussion? She popped her hand in the air per usual. "Professor, can WE have a leaping toadstool park here at Hogwarts? Maybe with the big mushrooms that talk, too?" You know, the ones Isla mentioned? And other varieties? She was just putting this idea out there for him, in case he wanted to build it. Please.

As for her actual answer, uhhhhhhh, "Crossbreeding is how you get ligers." Oh wait, he wanted an example of a crossbred plant. "Does fruit count? I've had a tangelo before and that's a combination of a tangerine and a pomelo. Also, I've had some chewing gum that was like grapermelon flavoured, y'know, a grape plus a watermelon, and I'm not 100% sure it's not a real fruit because it's very yummy and seems like something wizards could create." Hint hint, sir. Rainwater could probably make that for her next, after he built the toadstool park.

FearlessLeader19 · 05-13-2020, 09:06 PM

Claudine knew she had been caught but she didn’t mind especially since Rainwater should know that she wasn’t laughing at him but at his funny antics. Merlin, it was a relief and entertained during a lesson. It made learning more fun and she always found herself looking forward to the lessons. Quite the opposite happened for DADA since this term had started. Trent could take a page out of Rainwater’s teaching handbook (if the man had one).

Anyway, she looked down on the rather detailed notes that had been delivered to her. Claudine always kept hers neatly and meticulously placed away in a regular book sized binder; and in chronological order with the most recent on top.

Crossbreeding? Claudine cast an interested glance at Morgan. Oh? His dad was into that? That kid must have a lot of knowledge on the topic then. The Slytherin wracked her brain trying to figure out a crossbred plant.There had been an interesting fruit she had read about recently. “Boysenberry, Professor,’’ she began when her time came. “I think it’s a cross among blackberries, raspberries and loganberries.’’ There might have been another berry in that mix but she was unsure.

Fireheart · 05-13-2020, 09:36 PM

Avalon thought it was truly unbelievable that there was an actual, published book called the Encyclopedia of Toadstools. She remembered picking a copy up at Flourish and Blotts over the summer, completely amazed that someone could think of that many pages to fill with information about mushrooms. The herbology world was a strange, strange place. But it seemed like the textbook would be important to her success in the class this term, so she made a mental note to refer to it when she was doing her homework later.

The Ravenclaw couldn't think of any crossbred magical plants off the top of her head. Honestly, the only crossbred species that came to mind was that weird zebra-donkey thing she saw at a zoo once, and Professor Rainwater probably didn't want to hear about creatures in a class about plants. Thankfully, some of her classmates' responses about fruits and vegetables jogged her mind. Duh, fruits and vegetables were plants, too! Why didn't she think of that? "I think that many types of apples are crossbred," she said once it was her turn to speak. "Gala, fuji, and ambrosia apples are all crosses of red or golden delicious with another variety." And they tasted much better than red or golden delicious, too. Avalon couldn't remember the specific names of the apples that they were mixed with, but the crossbreeding explained their pinkish colors and unique tastes.

Granger Danger · 05-13-2020, 09:38 PM

Taking more notes on the subject, she nodded at what Professor Rainwater said, ah... something she was quite familiar with. She did this alot with her Grammy during spring break and stuff, it was really fun to do. It was fun to do muggle and magical, so mant things and ways you can crossbred! Writing more of her notes nodding her head she bit her lip before she raised her hand.

"Classical plant breeding uses deliberate interbreeding of closely or distantly related individuals to produce new crop varieties or lines with desirable properties." Now for an example of plants. "Tangelos are a cross between tangerines and grapefruits, or pomelos." Did she say too much, and was she right? maybe she was mistaken blushing she kept writing more notes.

sarahlooo · 05-13-2020, 10:06 PM

OOooh, crossbreeding, interesting. She wondered if they'd be crossbreeding a toadstool with something today. Honestly, she didn't even knew how that worked... but she wasn't sure she wanted to think about it too hard.

Louise wracked her brain for something she'd seen before that was a crossbreed. All she could think of for a while was a Liger, but that was... obviously an animal.

She raised her hand. "Sir, one time I saw a picture of a banana that was cut open and on the inside it looked like a kiwi." Louise paused and then cleared her throat. "But it could have been fake, now that I think of it." But it ALSO could have been real. She didn't know. All she knew is that she now wanted both a banana and a kiwi.

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