"That's because we're having our first Herbology lesson," Harry said with a mild chuckle. "Neville's been looking forward to this lesson since the start of school. Right Neville?"
"You know me too well," Neville said, nodding. "I've read the entire course syllabus for this class, and the only thing I'm disappointed about is that we won't be using any greenhouse other than greenhouse one. I heard that greenhouses two and three are the ones that have all the rare plants in them."
"They would also have the more dangerous plants in them," Harry added. "Which is probably why we're not allowed inside."
"I know." Neville looked very disheartened. Harry withheld a chuckle. It seemed that the boy's Gryffindor bravery only came out when faced with the possibility of interacting with dangerous plants capable of killing humans.
There was no more time for conversation as Professor Sprout arrived, padding lightly down the dirt path and stopping in front of the students.
"Good day everyone!" The Professor greeted in a cheerful voice. "For those of you who do not know me, my name is Pamona Sprout, and I will be your Herbology teacher for your time here at Hogwarts. Now then, if you will follow me into greenhouse one we can get started."
Professor sprout unlocked leading into greenhouse one and walked in, the students following behind her dutifully. The greenhouse was currently empty, save for a few weedy looking plants that Harry recognized as mundane weeds. The Herbology professor had the students like up on the opposite side from the plants while she stood in front of a large desk.
"Herbology," Professor Sprout began once everyone was situated, "is the study of magical and mundane plants and fungi. In this class, I will be teaching you how to properly care for, handle and utilize various types of plants. You will learn about their magical properties, and what they can be used for in our society."
The first half of Herbology class was essentially a lecture on what they would be learning during the year. Harry was a bit disappointed when he heard they would not be dealing with very many actual plants, but focusing on lectures and theoretical knowledge on how to deal with certain plants such as the Devil's Snare.
If Harry was disappointed then Neville was downright gloomy. A quick glance at the boy revealed how disparaged he felt. His shoulders were drooped, sagging and lowered in disappointment at hearing they would not be physically handling many plants.
After the lecture on the course syllabus, Professor Sprout told them the best way to handle most plants: fire.
"Which among you can tell me the best spell to use when struggling with an unfriendly plant?" Naturally, the moment Professor Sprout posed her question, Hermione Granger's hand was in the air, the appendage shaking with eagerness.
"Yes, Ms. Granger?"
"The incendio charm, professor," Hermione stated in her lecturing voice. "The fire-making spell. In order to cast it you have to point your wand at whatever you want to set on fire and chant, incendio."
"Marvelous work, Ms. Granger!" Professor Sprout praised. "Take five points for Gryffindor."
Hermione sent Harry another one of her smug looks. Harry ignored her.
"Now then everyone, I want you to point your wands at those weeds you see on the other side of the greenhouse and say incendio."
At once many of the students made to follow the Herbology professor's instructions. None of them managed to get the charm right, though Hermione's wand did produce a puff from its tip.
Once again, Harry didn't cast the spell immediately, but instead thought about how a spell like the incendio would work. Given what it did, it was obviously a fire elemental spell. A lower level one since it was being taught to first years. It probably didn't need much more than intent and an incantation to cast. You had to want the fire to come out and burn your target. At least, that's what he assumed.
"Incendio," Harry muttered as he pointed his wand at the weeds across the greenhouse. From the tip of his wand, a bright, orange and red flame roared into existence. On either side of him, Neville and Hannah jumped away in shock. The cylinder of flames spewed from the tip of Harry's wand, crashing into the weed he targeted, and burning it until there was nothing but ash. Only then did Harry cut off the power he put into the spell.
A small frown appeared on his face as he checked his core. That spell had used more energy than he thought it would. At least two times more energy than any of the charms he had cast so far, even some of the more advanced charms they wouldn't be taught until third year hadn't taken this much energy.
He wondered at this. Was it because this was an elemental spell? Perhaps creating an element simply took more magic? Well, he supposed it didn't matter for the moment. So long as he could cast the spell everything would be fine. He could always do an independent study on elemental magic later.
"Excellent job, Mr. Potter!" Professor Sprout cheered loudly. "I did not expect anyone to get the spell right today, much less master it on their first try. Take ten points for Gryffindor."
"Thank you, ma'am," Harry replied, absentmindedly nodding in her direction. Several students away, Hermione Granger glared at him.
After lunch Harry and Neville found themselves making their way to their first flying lesson with the other Gryffindors. They walked through a hall and out of an archway that expanded into a large courtyard. Harry estimated it to be about fifty square meters in total. It was a clear field of green grass with no trees or shrubs of any kind, probably so students wouldn't crash into them while learning to fly, Harry guessed.
He noticed as soon as he and the other lions entered that the brooms they would be using were already there, laid out on the ground in a single file line.
A frown crossed his face as his eyes zeroed in on the condition of the brooms. He had heard from the Weasley twins that the brooms the school gave them to use were in horrible condition, but he had not been sure if he should truly believe them until now. The broom were not just in bad shape, they were horrendous! The wood used to make of the shafts of the broom were scratched and scuffed and looked like they had not been serviced in ages. Several even had large cracks on them that would probably hamper their ability to make drastic course corrections. Many of the twigs at the ends were broken or bent, which from his father's lectures when he would take Harry flying let him know that would affect their aerodynamics. In short, the brooms being used by the school were not only pieces of crap, they were also incredibly dangerous, especially to first timers.
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