28 Oct 2023, 18:15
The Bouncing Bulbs Lesson
Dialogue: #03733b
Today was Friday, October the 27th, and one of my classes for today was Herbology. For a bit of context, Herbology wasn’t a class I particularly excelled in, no, that would be Defense Against the Dark Arts and Charms. I mean, sure, Herbology was easy at the beginning of the school year since we were just going over class rules and the like, but now that we were actually dealing with plants and herbs, Herbology seemed to come harder to me than my other classes, for a reason that I’m going to describe later on.
On this particular day, we were in the classroom, where Professor McLoughlin was teaching us how to prepare Bouncing Bulbs to be used as a potion ingredient. The first part of the lesson went very well, with me taking notes throughout the lesson and referring to the book when needed. But then the easy part of the lesson ended, and Professor McLoughlin began leading us into the hard part of the lesson. This was where we gained practical experience, and the reason why this was usually the hard part for me, was because instead of working with inanimate objects like we did in Potions Class, we were working with live plants that could cause one serious harm if handled incorrectly.
Well, now that I think about it, the same could be said about the brewing process it took to make a potion, since it could also cause one serious harm if brewed incorrectly. In fact, brewing your potion incorrectly could cause your cauldron to explode as I learned some time ago. Now, nothing would likely explode in Herbology, but things could still go wrong, which is why I followed the instructions carefully as I prepared the Bouncing Bulb to be ground up to be used in a potion, but I was definitely struggling with the process more than the other students.
Last edited by Rodney Hughes on 31 Oct 2023, 14:30, edited 1 time in total.
28 Oct 2023, 19:02
The Bouncing Bulbs Lesson
Ember: "Speech." #bfa240
Herbology was the one class Ember was never late for. Not that she was late for her other classes exactly, but she was particularly on time for this class. One could even say early. It was only natural that her passion for plants had carried over into magical plants and Herbology as well. In fact, it was something she had looked forward to ever since her father had told her that such a subject existed at Hogwarts. Since day one, Herbology had been her favorite class. Just being in the greenhouse, even when they weren't actively working on anything, was enough for her to feel excited. While she listened to the lessons, her eyes were scanning the room, noticing the existence of a different plant each time.
Today's lesson was on Bouncing Bulbs. Ember had been diligent in taking notes throughout the lesson, and raising her hand to answer questions whenever she had the opportunity to do so. Whereas in her other classes, she only raised her hand once or twice. And in History of Magic or Astronomy? Nearly never. History of Magic was simply too boring while Astronomy didn't capture her interest. It was the classes that involved doing something that she enjoyed the most. Naturally, then, Potions came in as a second favorite to Herbology.
And now for the practical part. The moment the students were instructed to begin, Ember immediately took hold of a Bouncing Bulb, beginning the process of preparing it for a potion. She finished one in a decent amount of time, and was about to move onto a second when she noticed another student next to her who seemed to be struggling. "Do you need some help?" she offered the fellow Hufflepuff student, trying to recall his name. His face was familiar, but as Ember had yet to talk to him, it was not linked to a name in her mind. Would it be rude to ask? What if he knew her name when she didn't know his? There was a moment of silence as she struggled with deciding whether she should. Ah, well it was better to ask now than to wait. Yes, she would have to do it. "And what's your name? I'm sorry, but I don't think I remember. I'm Ember by the way."
@Rodney Hughes
7 Nov 2023, 06:04
The Bouncing Bulbs Lesson
Ember: "Speech." #bfa240
“Miss Candlelight! It’s so good to see you here. Why yes, I do need some help." Her eyes widened, surprised that he remembered her last name. That was embarrassing, she couldn't even remember his first! Had she really stood out that much? Or did he just have really good memory? She supposed she did participate way more than usual for this class in particular. “And I’m Rodney Hughes. It’s a pleasure to meet you Ember."
"Yes, nice to meet you Rodney!" Rodney Hughes, the name did seem rather fitting for him. It reminded her of an oak tree, or perhaps even a redwood. She had a tendency to associate people with trees, though it was a rather arbitrary way of doing things. But these were the kinds of thoughts that one could not often say out loud. It might come off as strange. Not that she minded being strange, but it really wasn't the time to be saying something like that at the moment. Either way, Ember would not forget his name this time. Rodney. Yes, she would get that to stick in her mind. She supposed now would be the part where you were supposed to shake hands with someone, but this was Herbology. And they had a task on their hands. Literally.
"Now, about the help, could you help me grind up this Bouncing Bulb? I must be doing it wrong because I can’t seem to figure out how to do it." Ember nodded, looking over at the Bouncing Bulb he held in his hands.
"You hold it like this, and..." she showed Rodney the technique, grinding down half of the bulb. "Now you try! It's really not that bad once you get used to it." she gave the bulb back to him, watching his hands intently so she could correct him if he made any mistakes. "Are you liking Herbology so far? It's amazing getting to work with plants isn't it! Especially because these are probably going to be used in Potions later. Do you think we'll learn how to make healing potions sometime?"
@Rodney Hughes
20 Nov 2023, 14:32
The Bouncing Bulbs Lesson
Friday, October the 27th, 2023
Dialogue: #03733b
In response to my question, Ember took the Bulb and began showing me the proper technique of how to grind it. “You hold it like this,” she started, before continuing to explain to me. It was nothing that the professor hadn’t covered, but now I could see it much better, and from the looks of it, I could ask as much questions as I needed to. At one point for example, I asked Ember to show me something again because I didn’t see it very well the first time. Not that I couldn’t do that with the Professor, but she was usually busy helping other kids during the practical part of class.
Ember finished her demonstration, and then she gave the Bulb back to me. “Now you try!” She exclaimed. If it wasn’t already evident how passionate this girl was about Herbology, it became very evident now with the joyful look on Ember’s face. “It’s really not that bad once you get used to it.” “The same could be said about a lot of things, right?” I said as I began grinding my Bulb up. I did it very carefully, making sure not to make any mistakes. “For example, I’ve begun duelling recently…” I had to be even more careful not to mess up, now that I was talking. “and naturally, I’ve felt quite a bit of pain by now.” I paused for a bit. “But like you said, it’s not that bad once you get used to it.” I continued grinding the Bulb up for a bit. “Even now, I can already resist more pain, than I could before.” I finished grinding up my Bulb and proceeded to resume speaking. “Well, now that I’m done with that, I’d like to thank you for your help Ember. As you can see, I’ve definitely improved thanks to you.”