"Oh good, you made it!"
I nearly jumped out of my skin. I'd been so engrossed with Magical Water Plants of the Mediterranean that my feet had brought me to my next class without my brain noticing; par for the course for me ever since I arrived at Hogwarts.
My eyes focused through the light fog hanging in the room, my nose twinging at the overwhelming smells of rich, healthy plants scattered among the greenhouse and I saw the over so pleased man who'd interrupted my scan. He seemed no older than my pop, but certainly happier with his life. His face full of joy, and his slack jaw unable to contain a grin as he looked around the class of first-years: The Gryffindors all seemed so delighted to be there, my fellow Slytherins oddly indifferent. The dichotomy of the students reactions gave credence to the mutterings and gossiping I tried so hard to ignore.
"Let's begin with an easy one!" Professor Longbottom said.
"My name's Neville, and this is First Year Herbology. I'm gonna teach you about magical and muggle plants alike-" his voice trailed into the background noise. My focus was impossible to keep. Something in the back of the greenhouse had caught my eye.
An ever so curious sapling.
As I began to wander toward it, I felt a scurrying from my robes run down my leg. Timothy, my valiant companion, and pet red squirrel adorned in his armor charged into battle!
The sapling sprang to life, and would swear, put up its fists as if to fight.
Timothy lunged at the sapling, successfully toppling it to the ground off its stand, smashing its clay pot, exposing its roots. I'm guessing that's what made the Professor shut up, because suddenly I didn't hear him flapping on with his introduction, as if all my fellow students hadn't read ahead to their O.W.L. books already and knew all this. Just like I could tell from a brief mention in Goshawks Guide to Herbology that this struggling sapling, which was currently having its limbs gnawed upon, was a Whomping Willow.
"Immobulus!" came a shout from behind. Timothy and the Willow froze mid-fight and hovered briefly in the air.
Professor Longbottom calmly stepped around me and retrieved Timothy and carefully placed him in my hand.
"That's quite a fighter you've got there, maybe next time keep him away from Willy." He pointed his wand at the fallen plant, "Reparo Terracotta."