Nathan Xavier
December 23, 2022 6:37 PM
Beginners: Welcome to Herbology by Nathan Xavier
It was the first Herbology lesson of the school year, and Professor Nathan Xavier stood just outside Greenhouse One, to welcome the new first years and welcome back the returning second years, and also to prevent anyone from going inside the swelteringly hot greenhouse where they were nominally supposed to hold their class today.Once it looked like he had the full class, he smiled at them and started with an introduction. "Hello, I am Professor Xavier, sometimes called Professor X," mostly that was Phil Carson, but he wasn't the first to make the X-Men reference and Nathan doubted he would be the last. He trusted nobody would confuse him with the fictional Charles, given Nathan still had a full head of hair, did not have a wheelchair, and didn't know any Legilimency. "And this is Herbology. Normally, we meet in there, which is Greenhouse One. Greenhouse Two is a little further down this path, you can just about see it over the hedge there," he pointed along the main path they would have continued to go down if they hadn't stopped when they saw him. "Greenhouse Two is for Advanced students, so until you pass your CATS, you'll primarily be meeting me right here." He gestured again at Greenhouse One.
"Unfortunately, it is very hot in there right now, so we generally have the first couple of lessons out in the Gardens here, where we have plenty of other plants to look at and learn about. For this first class of the year, I'm going to take you all on a tour of our labyrinth. Everyone, please take a handout," he waved his wand to distribute the day's assignment among the group. "What you should have just received is a hand out with the names of fifteen plants we have growing in our Labyrinth, and pictures of them to help you find them in the wild, as it were. Your job today is to find those fifteen plants as we walk around. Go ahead and call it out when you spot one, and you'll earn your House a point for each plant you identify before anyone else. But before we do that, let me just take attendance and make sure we have everyone." He would periodically need to do a headcount to make sure he hadn't lost anybody as they walked, and it would be good to have an accurate number to compare it to. "Say here when I say your name. Arcadius, Quillan!"
Once he had confirmed he had a list of everyone who was present, he stepped closer to the door of the Greenhouse, and opened it. "We're going to make a big circle through the Labyrinth and visit several of the larger landmarks in our Gardens. We should get back here in plenty of time for you to get to your next class. You may leave your bags and robes here in the Greenhouse, if you like, or you can take them with you."
After everyone who wanted to leave robes and bags behind had deposited them just inside the door, he started along the path toward Greenhouse Two. "Follow me please, and don't wander off or fall behind. You may talk amongst yourselves, but do remember to look for the plants, and listen when I'm talking."
He had already talked about Greenhouse Two, so he didn't say much for the first couple of minutes, but when a student spotted one of the plants on their list, he marked it off on his own copy and noted which student (or students, if there was a tie) had identified it and gave a little information about each of those plants. He also noted landmarks and when they reach a crossroad of paths, he described whether the routes they weren't taking would lead them deeper into the labyrinth or back toward the school, and some of the handy clues that would help them figure that out themselves if they got lost, such as that some paths leading toward the school had honking daffodils planted there to help draw attention to them, while fanged geraniums were often a warning that taking that path would lead you farther from the safety of the school.
It was a good day for a walk. Very warm, of course - this was still technically summer - but not horrendously so, though he had decided to leave his own robes in the Greenhouse, so that helped. He was wearing his wide brimmed wizard's hat to protect his eyes from the sun - which was very bright today, without a cloud in the sky - and wondered belatedly if he should have made that recommendation to the students as well.
He tried to set a pace that was easy for everyone to keep up with, and enjoyed eavesdropping on the conversations going on around him as he tried to get a sense of his newest students. He was also happy to answer any questions the students posed as they walked along.
OOC: Hello, and welcome to Sonora and to Herbology. This is a pretty loose lesson, so you can post about the walk, finding a plant, asking the professor questions, or just talking to your classmates.
Subthreads: I feel very welcome! by Quillan Arcadius with Nausicaa Scapetello
If you chat with your neighbor, does that make this a walkie-talkie? by Lyla Holland with Charlotte O'Malley
Questions for the professor by Leo Lyons
Plants, got it. by Ida Stanford with Donovan Peters
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Nathan Xavier
Beginners: Welcome to Herbology
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Lyla Holland
December 23, 2022 11:22 PM
If you chat with your neighbor, does that make this a walkie-talkie? by Lyla Holland
The gardens looked different when they weren't trying to kill you.Admittedly, as a first year, there hadn't been anything in her path that would have seriously harmed her during the Challenges last year. It had felt like it at the time, though, her heart pounding with every step, peeking around each corner to see what sort of spells she would need to use, paranoid that she was going to get lost. Of course, she'd been lost the moment she'd stepped into the maze, so getting more lost was hardly the problem. She'd gotten through relatively unscathed- minus the bruise on her nose where she'd blundered into an age line.
The Labyrinth Garden had been returned to normal, and although Lyla knew there were dangerous things inside, she also knew the areas to avoid. Essentially, it was like the Professor had told them-honking good, fangs bad. She'd spent much of her free time last year exploring the gardens, familiarizing herself with its twists and turns. She had no intention of wandering on today's lesson, though.
"That's Dittany, sir!" Lyla called out to Professor Xavier, pointing to a batch of silvery-green leaves with delicate pink flowers. Herbology was one of her favorite subjects, and One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi was one of the only schoolbooks she read outside of studying.
A point for Crotalus was a bonus on top of the fun she was having. It was nice to get outside before the weather cooled off, and she was glad she'd dropped her robe and her bag off before they had started their tour. The sun was warm on her skin, and she knew it would have been stifling and sweaty if she had been wearing another layer. She checked Dittany off on her paper before moving aside to let the other students get a look.
"It's sort of a fun class today, isn't it?" she asked the student at her elbow, "It's like a treasure hunt."
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Lyla Holland
If you chat with your neighbor, does that make this a walkie-talkie?
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Charlotte O'Malley
January 08, 2023 6:45 PM
Sure! by Charlotte O'Malley
Charlotte was so excited and happy to be at Sonora. She was especially thrilled to have been sorted into Teppenpaw, where Piper was. Piper was the cousin whom she’d been the closest to growing up because everyone else was much older than her. Her brothers and Lavender were seventh years, her uncle Tommy was a sixth year and so was Ian, Gabriel and Theo had already graduated. So it made more sense for her to want to be with Piper than any of them as Stanley, Wally and Lavender were all going to graduate at the end of the year.Plus, it was Teppenpaw , so everyone was bound to be nice. Crotali were a mixed bag-even among the ones in her own family given how Dad and Wally and among others were or had been there but then there was Dad’s cousin Kelsey and that aunt that nobody talked about-and Charlotte doubted that she would enjoy being in Pecari or find much in common with them even though there were some that were perfectly nice. As for Aladren….well, aside from Tommy’s girlfriend and her distant cousin Gwendolyn, all the ones Charlotte knew had graduated and she didn’t even actually know Rosalynn really. There was also Wally’s girlfriend’s girlfriend-a totally confusing concept and a situation that she’d been told it was better not to get involved in–but Lavender did not seem to think she was a very nice person at all.
Charlotte really hoped that when she got older, she didn’t have the drama the older kids did with relationships and friendships. She definitely hoped that her boyfriend would not have another girlfriend-or boyfriend. She’d probably be able to accept if this hypothetical guy was attracted to both girls and boys but dating someone else in addition to her at the same time was a huge deal breaker.
The first year just hoped that Wally didn’t get hurt. Charlotte hated to see people she loved suffer. It was bad enough that he didn’t get Head Boy…er, Student. He would have been a good one. She was happy for Lavender though, who seemed elated. And she had nothing bad to say about Phillippe Delachene, mostly because she didn’t know much about him other than he was a Teppenpaw and his older sisters were friends with some of Charlotte’s relatives, Jasmine with Aunt Peyton and Anya with Theo. So, he was probably okay, more because of the Teppenpaw bit than the part that her relatives were friends with his sisters. After all, just because one sibling was cool didn’t mean the other ones were, such as her dad and the aunt they did not talk about.
Although, in her group of siblings, both of her older brothers were amazing and the best big brothers in the entire world, hence why, no offense to Phillipe, Wally should have gotten Head Student. Charlotte hoped that the new baby would be wonderful too. She was looking forward to being a big sister herself, and she was sure that her little brother or sister would be a nice person too. She and her parents and brothers and all the rest of the family would make sure of it. This baby would not be like that aunt or her biological grandmother, whom they also did not talk about. All Charlotte knew about them was that they were not good people. Otherwise, they could both be dead for all she knew.
Anyway, she was excited to be at Sonora, with her brothers and Piper and Lavender and Uncle Tommy and everyone. Although, the Teppenpaw was a tiny bit disappointed not to have a roommate but, honestly, roommates weren’t everything. Dad and Stanley didn’t have them and both of them had done fine. Mom hadn’t been close to hers at all and Wally’s roommate was better friends with Lavender than him. So, it would be okay. She could still make friends.
Now Charlotte found herself in Herbology. Not her favorite topic-she preferred Transfig of course, she might even become an animagus like her dad was, and maybe COMC because she liked to take care of things-but she still liked it okay and so far, Professor Xavier was probably her favorite teacher because he seemed like the nicest professor. And Headmaster Brockert kind of seemed like he was the scariest.
She walked along the path with her classmates, occasionally calling out a plant that she spotted. Charlotte generally was well versed in ones that were edible or potions ingredients, since she often cooked and baked with Aunt Peyton, and Mom was an amazing Potioneer.
Then the girl next to her spoke to her. “Yes!” Charlotte replied. “It’s honestly quite fun. I think Professor Xavier is my favorite professor so far. He’s so nice.” Maybe this girl could be her first non-related friend at Sonora. Her brothers had introduced her to theirs, and that was great, but she needed friends her own age too. “I’m Charlotte.” She thought for a moment. “O’Malley, of the Colorado O’Malleys.”
Honestly, she was never sure whether or not to give that introduction, and usually mirrored the greeting of the person she was talking to but this time she had introduced herself first and decided not to take a chance on offending someone if the person she was speaking to was someone considered “proper”. Her own family tended to be slightly more relaxed about things to the eternal chagrin of her dad’s cousin Kelsey. Who was decidedly Charlotte’s least favorite of her dad’s myriad of first cousins.
Also, she was admittedly not sure if she was supposed to say Boston O’Malleys or Colorado O’Malleys. After all, Grandpa Jeffrey’s family was from Boston, and his parents and grandparents were still there, operating a pub and a whisky distillery. Grandpa Jeffrey was in charge of the western division, out of Colorado, where Charlotte and her immediate family lived. However, there was obviously no disownment, so they had to be the same branch right?
Anyway, she gave the girl a friendly smile, which was hopefully going to be interpreted as Charlotte was going to be nice no matter what. Hopefully, the other girl would not get offended by her semi-”proper” introduction.
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Charlotte O'Malley
Sure!
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Lyla Holland
January 17, 2023 12:43 AM
Rambling in more ways than one by Lyla Holland
The student beside her turned out to be one of the new Tepps, a brunette girl with a bright smile. She introduced herself as a Colorado O'Malley, which Lyla was beginning to clue in was the way pureblood folks introduced themselves. It seemed like a mouthful to say it that way, and felt a bit overly formal, but she couldn't fault them for using the manners they were raised with. Lyla matched the girl's smile with her own and extended a friendly hand."I'm Lyla, Lyla Holland. I'm from Colorado, too."
Last year she might have worried about things like blood status, but after becoming friends with Samara and Gwendolyn, she was less concerned. Pureblooded wizards were still people, as were half-bloods and muggleborns and muggles. Lyla was much more concerned about whether people were kind or not than who their parents were.
"Professor Xavier is one of my favorites, too," she responded to the other part of Charlotte's reply, "He really cares about all the plants, and I think it's sweet. He's the advisor for the Gardening Club, as well."
Lyla marked off another plant as one of the other students called it out.
"You're a first year, right? How are you settling in?" she asked by way of conversation. She was awkward at this part, the getting-to-know-you before you actually became friends. She found small talk difficult, and was always running out of things to say. Hopefully Charlotte's reply would spark some inspiration in that arena, because walking the whole rest of the way in silence would be worse than even the most stilted of conversations.
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Lyla Holland
Rambling in more ways than one
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