A Lesson in Herbology
Harry was teamed up with Neville for their herbology lesson before dinner. Professor Sprout had found a conservatory brimming with magical plants. She seemed to be absolutely ecstatic with the various plants there, some of which she said she didn't even have in the Hogwarts greenhouses, which were said to house one of the best collections of magical plants in the world. She had decided to do things a little differently in Mother Magic's domain. Normally she was very particular about introducing students to plants gradually, taking into account their age as well as their magical ability.
But there were just so many plants here that these students may never be able to directly observe anywhere else. And she was hesitant to waste any time at all. So, instead, she had created an alphabetical list and decided to just work through it. Some lessons would be more hands on than others. But they would at least learn about all the plants.
They had already had a lesson that had been completely devoted to safety precautions and today they would finally get to start learning about the plants themselves. Some of the students, such as Neville, were particularly excited. The interest that had been originally born from learning magic before going to Hogwarts was gradually wearing off but most of the children seemed willing enough. Learning about the way Durmstrang taught, had inspired some. They seemed to think that they had something to prove now. This was certainly the case for Miss Granger and the Ravenclaws.
Pomona had insisted that the student's older versions attended the herbology lessons too. This was an added safety precaution. They could help their younger self, especially when dealing with some of the more dangerous plants.
"Okay everyone," Pomona said, drawing everyone's attention to herself. She was surprised to find some of the adults had also chosen to attend. The Granger parents were a welcome surprise. "Today we're going to focus on the As, starting with Aconite. Aconite has two other names, can anyone remember them from the first book?"
Hermione's hand immediately went up, along with her younger self's. That wasn't much of a surprise. Although, she was tempted to remind Hermione that she was here to help her younger self. Neville and young Neville also raised their hands, bring a smile to Pomona's face. He really was her favourite student. She probably shouldn't have favourites. But he was so devoted to herbology, it was hard not to show him some favor. Neville quickly lowered his hand though, perhaps remembering that he was there to assist. Several of the future Ravenclaws also raised their hands. This was also unsurprising. They hadn't long finished catching up with the other books that they'd missed before joining the chamber. Pomona was more surprised to see young Harry lift his hand.
"Yes, Harry?" she asked, smiling softly at him.
"Monkshood and wolfsbane," he recited.
"Very good." She felt a little lost without the ability to give house points.
"Now you'll remember last lesson while we discussed safety in the greenhouse," she said gently, "that we also discussed categories of plants. Can anyone remember them?"
Young Neville's hand went up quickly, even before Hermione's. Pomona gave him leave to answer.
"There are various ways of categorising plants," Neville said. "Like where they grow, who uses them, how they're used."
"And how would you categorise Aconite?" she pressed.
"Er... It's a mundane plant as it is used by non-magicals too," Neville said, "but it has magical properties. So we call it a mundane plant with magical properties."
"There are over two hundred and fifty species of Aconitum but you won't need to know about the other species unless you decide to obtain a mastery in Herbology. We will focus our study on the species most widely known in our world. The one we call Aconite, Wolfsbane or Monkshood. Now conventionally, I would not allow you to study Aconite until your fifth year as it is highly toxic. You will not be handling it today but I advise you all wear your dragon hide gloves as a precaution." She put her own gloves on before levitating a potted plant onto each table. The students all gathered round, staring at the flowering plant.
"They're quite pretty," young Ginny said.
"That they are," young Sprout said. "But don't let their appearance deceive you. They are very poisonous. The leaves in particular. You do not have to eat it or inhale something to be poisoned either. The leaves are toxic to touch. However, the flowers and roots can be used in potion-making. Aconite is most commonly used in the Wolfsbane and Wideye potions. Although there was an early attempt to use aconite in a potion to make the drinker fly. That potion failed spectacularly. It was quite embarrassing for the potions master that attempted it. He was convinced that the potion worked. Only to later realise that his potion only worked because he had not been cleaning his lab correctly and so a random, unknown ingredient had entered his potion. He never did manage to work out what else was in his potion."
"In medieval Europe," Professor Sprout continued, "muggles used aconite as poison in animal bait or on arrows used when hunting wolves, hence the herb also became known as wolfsbane. That proved a particularly challenging time for werewolves. Luckily however, the prejudice in our own world against them was not as... Well, quite frankly it did not exist, so magicals worked together to keep the weres safe."
She then gestured for a handful of the older students to demonstrate how to correctly care for the plant as she continued her lecture. She watched with pride as Neville, Harry, Luna, Theo, Susan and Morag all performed their work brilliantly. She had taught them well. She then instructed them on how to collect potions ingredients from the plant without causing it harm. Before long, the potted plants were all moving through the air once more, to return to their usual spot further into the conservatory. The pretty aconites were quickly replaced with Agrimonia, an equally pretty plant. This one with bright yellow flowers.
"Agrimonia is classified as a mundane plant with magical properties too," Sprout told them. "I believe some muggles even use Agrimonia in a similar way to ourselves. They use it in homeopathic medicine. Most potion-masters believe these medicines to be basic potions that have lost much of their magical quality without the involvement of a magical to brew them. However, they will still work to some extent. They use it for the treatment of airway and urinary system diseases, digestive tract diseases, and chronic wounds."
"The plant is native to Europe and Southwestern Asia," young Pomona added, walking between the tables, "and is non-toxic, so you do not need your gloves when handling. However, today you will keep them on. Any ideas why?"
Young Hermione's hand was in the air instantly.
"Yes, Hermione?"
"In case there are traces of aconite left on our tables," she said confidently.
"Quite right," the professor said. "It's also important to remember that not all plants work well together, so a clean working space is a necessity when dealing with magical plants. It's also important to remember that they might require very different conditions when planting them. I wouldn't recommend planting Agrimonia and Aconite together for example as they require different levels of sunlight. We use Agrimonia in a number of basic healing potions, including the laxative potion."
Another demonstration was given while the professor continued to explain how to tend to the plants and extract the necessary ingredients for potion making. Then they moved onto the next plant, but this time Professor Sprout had the six older students demonstrate how to properly clean their workstations before she lowered the new plants onto the tables.
"Can anyone tell me what this plant is called?" young Sprout asked.
Neville was the first to raise his hand but Susan wasn't far behind him.
"Yes, Susan?"
"Alihotsy," she said with a smile.
"Indeed," Sprout said. "Alihotsy is a magical plant as the muggles do not use it. In fact, I believe they are unaware of its existence. It is a species of tree and what you have on your tables are mere saplings. They will grow quite large eventually. It also goes by the name Hyena tree. Can anyone guess why?"
"It makes you laugh?" Ron asked, without raising his hand.
Professor Sprout was surprised. Not only had he guessed correctly, but she thought that might have been the first time Ronald Weasley had ever willingly answered a question in her class. That alone made her willing to overlook him shouting out.
"Uncontrollably," she said with a grin, "if you eat the leaves. They induce hysteria. The leaves are used as an ingredient for the Laughing Potion, but they are also used in the Alihotsy Draught and in the Memory Potion. The hysteria effect can be influenced by how vigorously you stir your potion after adding the leaves. For a Laughing Potion you will want to stir it very gently. However in the Memory potion you will want to stir it as vigorously as possible."
"This plant will come up if you take NEWT level herbology," young Sprout said and soon the students were witnessing another demonstration, this time while the youngerprofessor lectured them.
Next they learned about Aloe Vera and Angel's Trumpet, two more mundane plants with magical properties, before moving onto the herb Anjelica. The children all listened and watched attentively. But still, Professor Sprout noticed that they would be late for dinner. Croaker would not be happy with her for that, because they were finally going to be getting their lecture on time magic. However, she was determined to finish the As today. She wasn't sure how long they would remain in the chamber and she was adamant to give her students the best head start she could. Their herbology lessons in the new timeline would greatly benefit from it.
Next she taught them about Arnica, a plant species related to the sunflower, that was used in poison making as well as treatment for bruises and sprains. Then finally she rounded off the lesson with Asphodel, a member of the lily family. She told them how the muggles used to believe that this plant grew in the underworld and how it was used in the mundane world, before talking about its use in potion-making, including its use in The Draught of the Living Death and the Wiggenweld Potion. After that, the students quickly returned to their rooms to bathe before joining the others in the dining hall.
Croaker was glaring at her but Pomona merely smiled. "Sorry, I didn't realise the time," she said.
Harry almost laughed. He was quite sure she had been aware of the time all through the lesson. He took his seat next to Sirius and smiled happily. He was relieved to have the reading finished for the day. He wondered how difficult it would be to convince everyone that they should take a break for a few days. They were all enjoying reading the books much more than he was.
"I've been thinking," he said quietly.
All eyes immediately turned to him. He really needed to get used to that.
"I'd be careful with that," George said. "Might hurt yourself."
Harry rolled his eyes but was grateful as it gave him a chance to clear his thoughts.
"I'd quite like to take a break from reading," he said.
Many of the younger ones looked ready to argue against the idea. They wanted to hear about the tournament. But the adults were looking thoughtful.
"May we ask why?" Arthur smiled reassuringly.
"It's kind of..." He didn't want to outright say it was overwhelming and he didn't like it. "I just need..."
"A break," Arthur said. "It has been a little tense."
There was a murmur of agreement.
"And we do have quite a lot of work to do," Lucius said. "The oaths for the council are ready for your inspection, my prince."
Harry nodded. There was a lot to do. But he really hoped he'd also find some time to fly. He had a feeling that would help him a lot.
"And I imagine many of you would appreciate a quidditch game or two," Lucius added with a small smile.
Harry's face lit up. "Yeah, I'd like that."
"Good," Lucius said and Sirius was nodding his agreement. "Then that's settled. No more reading for let's say..."
"Two days?" Severus suggested.
"Two days," Lucius agreed.
The kids looked a little put out but they were more than willing to have some time for quidditch, so they didn't say anything as they quickly finished their dinner so they could go and listen to Croaker’s lecture.