Herbology OWLs

[Amancio Calzadilla]

Amancio stood in front of his class, passing his eyes over the students. They would be turning sixteen soon, one step closer to real adults, to the danger that lay outside Hogwarts' walls. He prayed that they would never have to confront this danger.

As weird as it was for him, he had grown attached to them. He wasn't used to growing attached to people; some of his pupils would have nothing to do with him, even, and yet he enjoyed watching over all of them. It was strange, this feeling of being the protector of so many young people.

Forcing a smile onto his face, Amancio clapped his hands together.

"Alright, you all have been preparing for this for the past five years. Don't worry about it; I have faith in all of you." Again, it was odd for him to admit this, even to himself, but he found that that was the truth. Hogwarts did funny things to a man. He swept his wand about the classroom, and the questions appeared on the previously blank pieces of parchment. "You may begin."

1. When are Mandrakes considered mature?

2. What attribute do young humans and the Venomous Tentacula have in common?

3. What plant closely resembles Devil's Snare?

4. Name five different species of wand trees.

5. Who first discovered the effects of Gillyweed?

6. You know someone who is interested in learning the Centaurian form of Divination. What plants would you suggest they grow?

7. What is the very distinct odor of bubotuber pus?

8. What does the plant Mimbulus Mimbletonia look like and where can it be found?

9. This plant, when picked at the full moon, is a key ingredient in the Polyjuice Potion.

10. Protective equipment should be used when working with a Snargaluff. True or false?

11. What is found when one opens a pod of the aforementioned Snargaluff?

12. What occurs when too much dragon dung manure is used on Screechsnap?

13. What sort of environment does Devil's Snare prefer? What is a defense against said plant?

14. What vegetable does a Gurdyroot resemble?

15. Why should one not drop puffapod seeds?

You may owl the answers to Amancio once you have finished them. Good luck!

[Dastan Cross]

Dastan grudgingly stepped into the Herbology O.W.L. He knew that Herbology was important; he did. It was just so bloody boring. And the O.W.L. didn't seem like it would be much more exciting. At all.

Limping, as he was prone to doing lately now that his knee was all busted up, Dastan made his way over to the seat next to Astin. They had to sit one seat apart so they couldn't peek at each other's answers, but Dastan still enjoyed being close to the other boy. It was odd, really, how much he craved to be near Astin at all times.

Not able to spare much more thought than that since the parchment for the test appeared on his table, Dastan sighed and started answering the questions. They weren't hard; in fact, they were very basic. But a few of the answers, Dastan couldn't help but give smart-ass answers to. He wondered if Professor Calzadilla offered partial credit for being particularly witty; if so, he had a winner here.

Finishing, Dastan limped up and handed in his test, and then moved off to wait for Astin in the hallway. He wanted to walk with the other boy to the next test.

[Astin Descartes]

Astin was not looking forward to the Herbology O.W.L. He'd spent the better part of the night studying instead of sleeping, and he was having some trouble keeping his eyes open. Not to mention, his head was so full of completely useless tidbits of information that he'd be lucky to find anything important amongst all the rubbish.

He slouched into a seat and ran a hand through his messier-than-usual hair. Sleepless nights did not agree with him. Luckily, not too long after, Dastan arrived, and Astin couldn't keep the smallest of smiles off his face. Das slipped into the closest of seats, broadening Astin's smile slightly. Astin was about to ask him how studying had gone, but then the parchment appeared on his desk.

With a sigh, Astin got to work. The questions weren't as difficult as he'd imagined, but a couple still gave him pause. He wasn't particularly gifted in academics, and he certainly hadn't studied things like who discovered what and when during his late-night cramming session. Nonetheless, he felt reasonably confident with his work when he turned it in.

Finally, he was free of one class. A relieved look graced his face and he stepped out to join Dastan.

"Ready for the next one?" he asked. Without waiting for an answer, he began walking. He wanted to get these over with as quickly as possible.