16 Nov 2019, 17:59
Pickin' and Dryin'
[quote]Sara really, really liked Herbology. It wasn't her favorite class, because she wasn't good at choosing favorites, but it was a class she really enjoyed, minus the dangerous plants. But today she wasn't going to be working with anything dangerous; the professor of Herbology had asked for students to come help him harvest his herbs.
She had to wake up really early to help, too, and that had been the only problem. Sara was a deep sleeper and usually woke up later than everyone else. Sometimes the professors would complain about her being late so she had managed to get to classes just before it was too late, but Sara cherished her sleep.
Today she woke up early and had to shower in cold water just to wake up. But she was already excited just to be doing an errand for a professor. It felt like she was an apprentice and was making a big difference. During class the Professor MacTavish had said that he could harvest all of the herbs and grade homework all at the same time, so he would definitely need the help of willing students, with rewards, of course. And even though she probably would've helped anyways, the thought of rewards made her even more excited.
She pulled on her robes over her school uniform and raced out of the Gryffindor tower—after saying 'Good Morning!' to the Fat Lady—made her way down the stairs, and all the way to the garden. The fresh air that hit her face made Sara want to jump and skip, which she did all the way to the garden.
There she saw other students already harvesting herbs, but there were enough left for the Gryffindor not to worry about anything. She greeted them and went over to a space that was free of students. Sara bent down and began gathering herbs just like their professor had taught them, with care and precision.
While she was doing this her mind began to wander. She started thinking about her brothers and sister. Dante, the oldest, had graduated last year from Gryffindor. He was now training to be a secretary of state, just like their sister Stefania, except she also wanted to be Minister of Magic. They were both very good with politics, unlike Lothario and Sara. Both of them were too competitive and lively to handle something important like that, or at least now Sara was. Sara wanted to do something that was full of adventure, maybe train creatures or become a Curse-Breaker. She wanted people to remember her for all the exciting things she's done.
Sara started tying the bundles of herbs together. There were so many, in numbers and types. Sara recognized some of them from what she's learned so far, and also what she looked at in her books. There was gillyweed, yarrow, mint, rosemary, shrivelfig, lavender, sage...now that she thought of it, this was going to take a long time. Sara wasn't that tired, because she still had some tarts she had snuck from breakfast the other day, but now she only had one left and she was quite thirsty. She didn't want to leave, even though they were told that they would still get their reward no matter what. Sara liked to do her best when she knew she was going to get a reward, even though her godmother had told her to always do her best regardless.
Sara continued to work, tying the bundles together. Her hands were beginning to smell like a mixture of a bunch of different herbs. She could smell a hint of lavender on one finger, mint on her palm, and she swore that was a stain from gillyweed on her wrist. She grinned to herself; maybe she could sneak some of the herbs for herself, in case she ever needed to brew a quick potion...
No, Sara was very honest, or tried to be. Her shoulders sagged as she thought about how she nearly stole something from a professor, even if it would have been something small. She didn't want to be known as a thief. Classes were hard enough without the professors being distrustful of her. Sara was a worry-wart when it came to things like dishonesty and that made her always want to be the most truthful person she could be.
Sara picked up the bundles of herbs that she had made so far, which she had counted as nineteen now. That was a lot of work, and sweat covered her forehead and arms. She carried them over to the greenhouse, making sure not to step on anyone or their bundles.
Inside the greenhouse was full of all these herbs and plants. Even though the professor had said that he cleared out a space for the bundles, so many people had put their own down that she scarcely had room for her own. She decided to place some on top of others and then the rest somewhere else. The amount of bundles wouldn't be counted back to the reward, but she knew that the professor would be grateful for their hard work nevertheless. She smiled as she placed them so the wouldn't fall.
Her sister liked Herbology and had been delighted to hear that Sara was going to help their teacher. Stefania couldn't help because she had her own errands to finish, and fifth years had a lot of homework. Stefania also was working hard so next year when she was able to cast the Patronus Charm she would be able to do it as efficiently and precisely as possible. Sara was advised to try it to, but all she cared about was not meeting a Dementor anytime ever in her life.
Sara finished putting the bundles in place and told Professor MacTavish. After everything was done she headed back to the castle and got ready for the day's classes. She would have Herbology later that day, which made her a little sheepish, but her first class was Defense Against the Dark Arts. She just hoped she wouldn't be too exhausted for her classes.
Word Count: 1014
She had to wake up really early to help, too, and that had been the only problem. Sara was a deep sleeper and usually woke up later than everyone else. Sometimes the professors would complain about her being late so she had managed to get to classes just before it was too late, but Sara cherished her sleep.
Today she woke up early and had to shower in cold water just to wake up. But she was already excited just to be doing an errand for a professor. It felt like she was an apprentice and was making a big difference. During class the Professor MacTavish had said that he could harvest all of the herbs and grade homework all at the same time, so he would definitely need the help of willing students, with rewards, of course. And even though she probably would've helped anyways, the thought of rewards made her even more excited.
She pulled on her robes over her school uniform and raced out of the Gryffindor tower—after saying 'Good Morning!' to the Fat Lady—made her way down the stairs, and all the way to the garden. The fresh air that hit her face made Sara want to jump and skip, which she did all the way to the garden.
There she saw other students already harvesting herbs, but there were enough left for the Gryffindor not to worry about anything. She greeted them and went over to a space that was free of students. Sara bent down and began gathering herbs just like their professor had taught them, with care and precision.
While she was doing this her mind began to wander. She started thinking about her brothers and sister. Dante, the oldest, had graduated last year from Gryffindor. He was now training to be a secretary of state, just like their sister Stefania, except she also wanted to be Minister of Magic. They were both very good with politics, unlike Lothario and Sara. Both of them were too competitive and lively to handle something important like that, or at least now Sara was. Sara wanted to do something that was full of adventure, maybe train creatures or become a Curse-Breaker. She wanted people to remember her for all the exciting things she's done.
Sara started tying the bundles of herbs together. There were so many, in numbers and types. Sara recognized some of them from what she's learned so far, and also what she looked at in her books. There was gillyweed, yarrow, mint, rosemary, shrivelfig, lavender, sage...now that she thought of it, this was going to take a long time. Sara wasn't that tired, because she still had some tarts she had snuck from breakfast the other day, but now she only had one left and she was quite thirsty. She didn't want to leave, even though they were told that they would still get their reward no matter what. Sara liked to do her best when she knew she was going to get a reward, even though her godmother had told her to always do her best regardless.
Sara continued to work, tying the bundles together. Her hands were beginning to smell like a mixture of a bunch of different herbs. She could smell a hint of lavender on one finger, mint on her palm, and she swore that was a stain from gillyweed on her wrist. She grinned to herself; maybe she could sneak some of the herbs for herself, in case she ever needed to brew a quick potion...
No, Sara was very honest, or tried to be. Her shoulders sagged as she thought about how she nearly stole something from a professor, even if it would have been something small. She didn't want to be known as a thief. Classes were hard enough without the professors being distrustful of her. Sara was a worry-wart when it came to things like dishonesty and that made her always want to be the most truthful person she could be.
Sara picked up the bundles of herbs that she had made so far, which she had counted as nineteen now. That was a lot of work, and sweat covered her forehead and arms. She carried them over to the greenhouse, making sure not to step on anyone or their bundles.
Inside the greenhouse was full of all these herbs and plants. Even though the professor had said that he cleared out a space for the bundles, so many people had put their own down that she scarcely had room for her own. She decided to place some on top of others and then the rest somewhere else. The amount of bundles wouldn't be counted back to the reward, but she knew that the professor would be grateful for their hard work nevertheless. She smiled as she placed them so the wouldn't fall.
Her sister liked Herbology and had been delighted to hear that Sara was going to help their teacher. Stefania couldn't help because she had her own errands to finish, and fifth years had a lot of homework. Stefania also was working hard so next year when she was able to cast the Patronus Charm she would be able to do it as efficiently and precisely as possible. Sara was advised to try it to, but all she cared about was not meeting a Dementor anytime ever in her life.
Sara finished putting the bundles in place and told Professor MacTavish. After everything was done she headed back to the castle and got ready for the day's classes. She would have Herbology later that day, which made her a little sheepish, but her first class was Defense Against the Dark Arts. She just hoped she wouldn't be too exhausted for her classes.
Word Count: 1014