Lesson #1: Introduction to Herbology
 

Raven walked into the classroom and smiled at Professor Virosha. She took a seat near the front of the class and pulled out her wand, Herbology Book and parchment. She sat quietly waiting for class to begin.

Erica walked in and smiled to at Professor Virohsa before taking a seat and waiting for the class to begin.

Llewellyn walked into class and sat down at one of the stations, waiting for class to beign. He began absentmindedly looking around the greenhouse at all the odd plants.

Raven turned her head towards teh blackboards and watched as nothing apeared on them. She sighed and turned from student to student and from board to board. She managed to find a quill in her bag and dipped it into an ink holder. She wrote her name on the parchment and turned back towards the Professor.

Rosa walked in smiling. 'hello, professor!' she said, while sitting down behind one of the tables. 'those books you borrowed me are great!' she looked around the greenhouse curiously and at the still empty blackboards, wondering what this class'd be about

Sarah walked into the greenhouse and sat down at one of the tables, waiting for the class to begin.

Ally walked into class and took out her parchment and quills. She sat patiently waiting for class to start.

Raven stood up and exclaimed with a grin. "My name is Raven Shearer, I am a Ravenclaw Sixth year." She walked towards the front of the classroom and grabbed a plant off the tray. Raven went back to hear seat and sat down quickly letting others speak.

Rosa stood up. 'my name's Rosa and I'm a second year ravenclaw' she said. after that she walked to the tray and grabbed a plant. she looked at it while walking back to her seat and sat down.

"I'm Sarah, Hufflepuff fourth year." Sarah said standing up and walking to the front of the class to collect a plant. She picked one up and returned to her seat.

Llewellyn raised his hand, then stated, "My name's Llewellyn Daniels. I'm a third year Hufflepuff." He stood up and walked to the tray, carefully carrying a plant back to his station.

Erica stood up to address the professor.

"Erica Arbon, second year Hufflepuff."

She went up to trays and grabbed a plant before heading back to her seat.

Astoria stood up and smiled.
"My name is Astoria Fletcher, fourth year Slytherin."
She then walked over and got a plant as the professor had instructed. She walked back to her seat and sat down.

Andra raised her hand." I'm Andra, well Andromeda actually but just call me Andra, i'm in Gryffindor and i'm a first year." she smiled to the professor. She stood up and walked towards the trays and grabbed a plant before heading back to her table.

Professor Virohsa nodded. As she waved her wand, a picture of the plant and its parts appeared on the blackboard. "Thanks to Sarah and Xavier, we can now study these plants more closely. Does anyone know what plant this is?", she asked casually.

Meghan said her name. "I am Meghan Hollier and a fourth year Ravenclaw."

After she got her plant she sat down and shook her head indicating she did not know the plant name.

Rosa looked at the picture and recognised it. she tried to remember what the name was. then she raised her hand. 'is it.. buckthorn, professor?' she asked

Llewellyn raised his hand, "It's the common buckthorn professor." He continued, "Or more appropriately the purging buckthorn. It is a common plant that grows near sources of water, and has a very high toxcicity, which makes it ideal for uses such as causing purging or vomiting when people have ingested poisons..." He looked around the room, sheepishly.

Raven smiled and raised her hand. Flipping through the book she finally cam up with an answer. "Rhamnaecea," she hoped she was correct.

Xavier smiles. Although he had worked on them up close, he wasn't quite sure what kind of plant it was. He thought it might a Rhamnacae just like Raven had said, but he wasn't sure.

Erica didn't know what the plant was and tried to draw a sketch of it on her parchment. She waited for the professor to continue.

Xavier was surprised to hear it was toxic. That must have been why they were instructed to handle them carefully and wear gloves.

He thought upon the question, carefully pondering what may be the usefullness. "Could the seeds be part of it?" he asks the Professor.

Nadia raised her hand, "The berries are the part used medicinally, collected when ripe and from which an acrid, nauseous, bitter juice is obtained by expression. From this juice, with the addition of sugar and aromatics, syrup of Buckthorn (Succus Rhamni) is prepared.



When freshly gathered in the autumn, the berries are about 1/3 inch in diameter, with the remains of a calyx beneath. The fruit is collected for use chiefly in the counties of Herts., Bucks. and Oxon, and is usually expressed in the locality where it is grown, by the collectors themselves, who sell the juice to the wholesale druggists, generally more or less diluted with water, the admixture being generally about 6 parts water to 1 of juice. From the dried berries, a series of rich but fugitive colours is obtained; the berries used to be sold under the name of 'French berries' and imported with those of Rhamnus infectorius from the Levant. If gathered before ripe, the berries furnish a yellow dye, used formerly for staining maps or paper. When ripe, if mixed with gum-arabic and limewater, they form the pigment 'Sap or bladder green,' so well known to water-colour painters. The bark also affords a yellow dye. "

Llewellyn raised his hand, "The fruit of the Buckthorn is highly toxic, and ingestion can cause purging as a laxative, or through vomiting if taken in high enough doses. It was used therefore as a purging agent befor ebetter plants and chemicals were found." He lifted an eyebrow, "Professor, what magical properties does this plant have?"

Raven looked down into a book and noticed a paragraph on it. She raised her hand and stated the words that she had taken in. "Buckthorn is indigenous to Europe, and has been observed in this country as an introduced plant. It flowers from April to July, and matures its fruit about the middle of autumn. The parts used are the berries; they are globular, 3 or 4 lines in diameter, slightly compressed at the apex, black, glossy, and inclose a green pulp in which the seeds are imbedded. The juice becomes gradually red, owing to the development of acetic acid, and may be preserved long unchanged in the form of a syrup." She finished and smiled. She was surprised to know she remember it.

Llewellyn smiled at the thought of having won his house points, and went back to writing down notes.

Ravenm raised her hand and smiled. "The parts used are the berries; they are globular, 3 or 4 lines in diameter, slightly compressed at the apex, black, glossy, and inclose a green pulp in which the seeds are imbedded. The juice becomes gradually red, owing to the development of acetic acid, and may be preserved long unchanged in the form of a syrup." She paused and looked around at the room and smiled at the Professor.

Professor Virohsa nodded. "Very good!! 3 pts to Ravenclaw."

Professor Virohsa smiled. "Now, what magical properties will this plant, which Muggles call common have? Any guesses?"

"Mmh, maybe it's that because it does have medical properties, both common and magical.

"For one, the medicinal use of the berries was familiar to all the writers on botany and materia medica of the sixteenth century, though Dodoens in his Herbal wrote: 'They be not meat to be administered but to the young and lusty people of the country which do set more store of their money than their lives.' That might be a magical; de-lusting?"

"Then it has purgative properties: The herb bruised and applied to warts will make them consume and waste away in a short time. Indeed, Buckthorn can still be used as an ointment to treat warts. The bruised herb is applied to warts to consume them AND the leaves bruised and applied to a wound will stop the bleeding."

"The botanical name catharticus gives an indication of its laxative or purging properties. Buckthorn is also known as Hart's-horn or the Purging Buckthorn. The ointment also relieves pruritus."

Raven raised her hand. "Remember reading about Buckthorn once. The book said when used in potion most of the time it deals with legal matters, or maybe it could influence them," she said sounding strange at the moment.

Raven raised her hand quicker and smiled. "It also now that I think about it when used in potions can be added to symbolize protection, exorcism, wishes, and along with that legal matters."

'Buckthorn was well known to the AngloSaxons and is mentioned as Hartsthorn or Waythorn in their medical writings and glossaries dating before the Norman Conquest. The Welsh physicians of the thirteenth century prescribed the juice of the fruit of Buckthorn boiled with honey as an aperient drink.


The medicinal use of the berries was familiar to all the writers on botany and materia medica of the sixteenth century, though Dodoens in his Herbal wrote: 'They be not meat to be administered but to the young and lusty people of the country which do set more store of their money than their lives.'

Until late in the nineteenth century, syrup of Buckthorn ranked, however, among favourite rustic remedies as a purgative for children, prepared by boiling the juice with pimento and ginger and adding sugar, but its action was so severe that, as time went on, the medicine was discarded. It first appeared in the London Pharmacopceia of 1650, where, to disguise the bitter taste of the raw juice, it was aromatized by means of aniseed, cinnamon, mastic and nutmeg. It was still official in the British Pharmacopoeia of 1867, but is no longer so, being regarded as a medicine more fit for animals than human beings, and it is now employed almost exclusively in veterinary practice, being commonly prescribed for dogs, with equal parts of castor oil as an occasional purgative. The flesh of birds eating the berries is stated to be purgative.'

Raven slipped on her gloves and sighed. She didn't have her answer correct but it was worth a guess. Raven heard her say don't not touch the plant as she was about to. She snapped her attenion back towards the lesson and waited for futhur instructions.

"Oh, sorry. Nadia Chantalona-Rey. Slytherin 6th year. But do call me Nadia," she grinned shippishly. In within the calling of each other names, Nadia did not get to tell hers and finally forgot. Silly of her.

Nadia took her gloves, put them on and waited for others to settle down, attentively listening for the intructions while watching the plant. It looked too pretty to be so dangerous.

Llewellyn, having no idea about the magical properties of the plant, simply continued taking notes.

Professor Virohsa looked at the boy severely. "Watch your mouth boy. If you do not want to wear school globes, you should have brought your own. 2 pts from Ravenclaw for speaking out of turn and interrupting the class with your whining! You cannot whine forever child, especially when faced with dire danger", she narrowed her eyes.

Llew grabbed a pair of gloves, and slipped them on without complaint. A little taken aback by the goings on of the classroom, he decided he didn't enjoy this new herbology professor.

Raven eyes widden as Professor Virohsa. She was shocked by what all had happened before her eyes. Good thing she read the rules she thought and waited till the professor contiuned the lesson.

Annie picked up some gloves, and put them on. Then she patiently awaited the Professors' next instructions.

Raven shook her head and levitated her water sprinkler towards her. She began o sprinkle the water softly on top of the flower and grabbed her quill and notebook closely towards her. She would watch not blinking and waited for something to happen. Her plant didn't humm but did move an inch. She looked at the Professor and back at her plant being suprised. She wrote down the action of her plant and waited for an explanation of this movement.

As Professor Virohsa instructed, Kali grabbed a bucket of water with her gloved hands and sprinkled a bit of water onto her plant.

She then wrote on her parchment:
-Sprinkled some water first, apparently the plant isn't overly friendly seeing that it is not humming yet.

Xavier grabs a bucket of water and begins to sprinkle some of it on the plants. He had already done this in the greenhouse so this was review.

Raven looked at the Professor and raised her hand. "Them?" Raven thought for a second. We were studying Buchthorn plants or also known as Rhamnus Cathartica what on earth did this have to with watering a plant and watching them humm or move. "What are they," she question?

Raven smiled feeling protected. That is why we aren't to tocuh them. Raven also figured out that they are called Common Buckthorn plants to muggles eyes because their magical properties aren't noticed through a muggle eye. But they are very benificial to our use. Raven wrote this down quickly adding towards her notes. She looked back up at the Professor and smiled.

Professor Virohsa nodded and continued to walk around the class. She noticed that some plants were slightly humming, whereas other plants were just staying still. "Very well class. Listen carefully. I want you to experiment with the following ingredients!", she said as the second blackboard's writings changed. The first blackboard still had the picture of the plant.

Professor Virohsa continued, "On top of the same tray where you grabbed your plant, there are small bags containing reddish rocks and red dust. Please grab one of each bag and sit down. In the meantime, can anyone guess as to what the reddish rocks and the reddish dust are?", she asked.

Raven levitated the red rocks and dust towards her and sighed. She watched as words appeared on the black board and noticed what she would be doing. She remained calm looked at dust and rock. She raised her hand quickly to answer the question. "Would they be fertilizer?"

Raven looked at Kali and smiled. "Yes, it could be very well their food. And with the object that you have said to experiment with they could have different recations when they are being fed."

Raven smiled kindly and placed some of the red dust into the pot. Soon taking her wand out she said "Lumos" and pointed the light towards the plant. The plant turned a pretty shade of yellow while it hummed. She smiled at the Professor. She decided to keep that plant and take another one from the tray. She relevitated a plant towards her and poured water in it. Hearing how the plant began to hum as soon as it felt contact she smiled. She crushed the red rock and sprinkled the dust all over the plant She say the plant turn into a blue color. Picking up her wand she said "nox" and sat down in her chair. She wrote down notes quickly and contiuned to keep track of her observations.

Kali began by adding a bit more water first to her plant. It began to hum (finally), but the color remained the same. She then added just a sprinkel of the red dust to her plant. It slowly changed to a yellow-greenish color. She then added a bit of the iron-nutrient to her particular plant and it then bared a more distinct yellow color. Last she casted Lumos onto the plant for about 10 seconds then extinguished it. The plant's final color was a yellow color with bits of red here and there. It also hummed more loudly than when it first started to.

Kali quickly write down her observations on her parchment and raised her hand, "Professor, what exactly type of reaction are we aiming at?"

Raven looked around the room and looked at her watch. Raven looked at her plants which had now changed from yellow to blue to red. "Professor are the supposed to do that?"

Raven smiled. "Maybe emotions? Like when it is blue it could mean sad. Or when it is yellow, happy and entergetic. Or when it is red it could mean mad or disapproving of something?" She hoped she was right. Usually colors talks about emotions. Raven had raised her hand quickly and remember the rule.

Ravens hand was still up but she did manage to put it down to say something else. "Or maybe the plant reflects your mood, your refering to the person that is holding the plant," she said calmly looking at the professor with widdened eyes.

Kali nodded and said to Raven, "Yeah. That would be the logical thing. Colors signifying emotions."

She then thought for a moment and raised her hand, "Or maybe," she said eyeing her plant,"Since this plant's main color of the moment is yellow. Since yellow is the color of the raw berries, maybe the plant is saying that the berries are ready to pick for the yellow dye that they contain?"

Raven looked at Mithos and shook her head. "Just like a guy," she thought and turned back towards the front of the classroom. Professor Virohsa hadn't answered her about her pathetic guess but it was a thought. She merely took the notes that was left on the board while copying down the sketch of the plant.

Sarah looked at her plant for a moment as it hummed softly. She mixed some of the red dust with her water and poured it over her plant and observed it as it's leaves changed to a light blue colour. She added two rocks to the plant and watched as the leaves changed again and faded to a plain white colour.
She took down some notes on the plants changing colours and drew a quick sketch at the bottom of her page.

Raven nodded and looked at Mithos. She had earned 5 points to cover for him but her needed to be more careful himself. She looked at the list and decided to try a combo of red dust, water and light.

Raven looked at Mithos and laughed. "Men, they always complain about the most simplist things," she though soon realizing that her plant had turned a purple shade when she added red dust, light and water. "Pretty," she said breathlessly and looked around at other people plants.

Raven smile turned into a grin of greed as Professor Virohsa told him off. She wanted to laugh at him but Mithos was a nice guy and instead decided to help him. "Professor(she raised her hand before Virohsa could see), for the people that understand the concept can we partner up and work together?"

Sarah added a larger amount of red dust to her plant, watered it and added three small red rocks and then moved it into the shade. She watched as the plant slowly became a dark shade of purple and started to hum slightly louder.
She gazed at it for a few moments and noted down the plants changes on her parchment and looked around at everyone else's plants.

Water, light, red rocks, red dust...

Arkee tapped her chin. How could she change the amount of light?

"Professor," Arkee said, raising her hand, "Would it be alright if I covered my plant with my cloak to see how it reacts to having no light at all? Is that safe?"

Martha sprinkled water on her plant. It took a whole can of it before it began to hum. A little hesitant, she tried a spec of red dust to see what it would do. To her surprise, it turned a light shade of yellow. Smiling she tried watering it again.