Brief Lesson: Our first lesson is on Mandrakes. A Mandrake, also known as Mandragora, is a plant which has a root that looks like a human (like a baby when the plant is young, but maturing as the plant grows). Whenever unearthed, the root screams. The scream of a mature Mandrake when it is unearthed will kill any person who hears it, but a young Mandrake's screams will usually only knock a person out for several hours.

The Mandrakes' leaves can be used in potions, additionally; the Mandrake forms an essential part of most antidotes. The European Mandrake plant has been used since ancient times as a medicinal plant and has a tradition associated with magical activities. It is a member of the nightshade family. It contains hyoscyamine, scopolamine, and mandragorin. Medically, it has been used as a painkiller and a sedative. It was used in ancient times for surgery. An overdose, though, can be fatal.

In the Western Hemisphere, another plant, Podophyllum petaltum, is called the American Mandrake. The American Mandrake is unrelated to the European variety and has fewer medical applications. It, too, is poisonous.

Task: As the lesson says above, a baby Mandrake's cry can paralyze you for a few hours. Your task is to write about someone being paralyzed.

Prompts Used: (Item) Flower Pot; (word) Fainted; (phrase) "I almost couldn't breathe!" (character) Neville Longbottom

Greenhouse #2

"Put on your earmuffs, Cassie," I hear a familiar male voice say.

"But they're ugly!" The exclamation brings a chuckle from the small girl's companion.

"Are you a witch or not," the male answers but immediately following this statement the young girl squeals.

"Thank you, Dragon! They're so cute! How did you do that with saying anything?"

Curiosity gets the best of me and I forget that I am supposed to retrieve a flower pot holding a tiger lily. Neville has been growing it especially for Susan and had given me the task of retrieving it for him since my duties as perfect would take me by the greenhouses. I walk deeper into the greenhouse, wondering who the students are and wanting to know who is talented enough to cast magic silently.

Sitting at a workbench is Draco Malfoy with a curly-haired brunette girl.

"I'm glad that you're helping me, Dragon. When you're not around, sometimes I feel lonely down in the dungeons."

"Your roommates still giving you trouble, Cassie?"

There's a silence that stretches for a long moment and for a minute I think that Cassie is not going to answer.

"Yes," she finally admits and the sudden flash of anger that crosses Malfoy's face startles me, which causes me to take a step back. I step on a fallen branch and I stumble, almost breaking the very item I was sent to retrieve. I freeze in place.

"What was that," the girl asks, panic edging into her voice.

"It's more than likely Professor Sprout," Malfoy answers nonchalantly. "She's a genius in Herbology, but she is a bit clumsy."

"Oh, ok."

I stand in place and I'm mesmerized by how the usually snobbish boy is interacting with the young girl. I wonder why he has taken such an interest in her and my question is soon answered.

"They say I'm not a real Black, you know."

Again I'm stunned by the anger on Malfoy's face.

"Oh really," he drawls and there's an edge in his voice.

"They said that I'm not on the family tree. They told me that because Father was disowned and mom's muggle-born, I'm nobody and that 'Toujours Pur' doesn't apply to me."

Malfoy takes off his gloves and places his hands on either side of Cassie's face.

"You're more than any of them will ever be, Cassie. Great-Aunt Wally has blasted many members off of the family tree, but that doesn't mean they are disowned. Only the head of house can do that and when your father became a member of the 'Scorched Mark' club, she wasn't the head of house, her father-in-law was."

"You mean . . . ," and Cassie's voice fades, but not before I can hear the hope in her voice.

"The official tapestry is not even in the mausoleum, but in Maison des Roses Blanches. You and your entire family are on there."

"Even my mother?"

"Yes, even your mother. There's nothing purer than family and I will show you the official, up-to-date family tree myself over the holidays. Let's finish cleaning up. I will ask Professor Sprout for permission for us to come back tomorrow."

There is movement and it is the sound of the two Slytherins moving around to put things away that sends a signal to my brain that I need to move if I don't want to be caught. Grabbing the tiger lily, I leave the greenhouse.

"What took you so long, Hermione? Did you have trouble finding the flower in Greenhouse #2," Neville asks.

"Looking for the tiger lily isn't what kept me from coming back sooner," I answer. "Can you keep a secret?"

"Of course, I can, although it will be mostly because I will probably forget it."

"The reason why it took me so long to come back is because I was spying on Draco Malfoy."

"Hermione, are you okay? Did he catch you? Did he hurt you?"

"I'm fine, he didn't know I was there and even if he did, he was too busy comforting his cousin to bother me."

I proceed to tell Neville about Cassie and the patience and care Malfoy exhibited with her.

" . . . and then I stumbled into a workbench and I could've fainted! I didn't want him to know I was eavesdropping on them. I couldn't almost breathe because I was so afraid of being discovered."

"So what did you do?"

"I stayed still like I was petrified, which I was for that moment in time."

"Glad that you weren't literally petrified – the mandrakes won't be ready until another three months."

"Not funny, Neville," I pout but the laughter in my eyes gives away my merriment.