Chapter Seven.
Note. They're not mine, thank goodness, or we'd never get book five.
Neville was delighted by the new wand. Normally when trying a strange wand he had the sensation that it was vibrating like an unhappy bee. His former wand, which had been passed down to him from a great uncle who was too old to be allowed to use one, was much calmer, but even it had hummed slightly. Neville had always assumed the vibration was normal for all wands, but now he knew better. The crude looking wand felt still in his hand. It was at once heavy and stable in his hand, yet responded instantly to his commands like a feather to the wind. It didn't make charms any easier to learn, but the spells he did know were less draining for him now. This was a good thing, since professor Sprout decided to take the seventh years on a field trip the week after the wand-tree incident.
Professor Sprout was practically vibrating with excitement as all the seventh years who had chosen to take the optional last year herbology class gathered at Hagrids' cabin. Hagrid was handing out oversized butterfly nets, and McGonagall was checking the students' wands. As Voldemort had gained power, trips outside school grounds had become less common and more dangerous. Although the wards on the school extended into the forbidden forest past the area targeted by Sprout, all three teachers would accompany the students.
McGonagall wasn't happy to be going, but she had been unable to convince Dumbledore to cancel the field trip, and she was the logical choice to accompany them. Of the faculty only Severus and Bill were as good in a crisis or under violent attack. Bill had too many classes to teach this day, and Professor Snapes' aversion, (some said phobia,) to the forbidden forest was well known. She declined a net from Hagrid and tried not to blush when he smiled at her shyly and offered her a flower instead. Fortunately none of the students were paying attention to them. Professor Sprout had begun instructing the students on their quarry.
"This is the perfect time of year to catch a bogent," Sprout said happily, ignoring her colleagues byplay. "The adult bogents will have rooted last month when the weather turned warm, right after pollination occurred. Juveniles will have rooted also by now and won't move until late summer when game is plentiful again. Only the seedlings from last fall will be mobile, now that they've burrowed up from their winter sleep. They will be hunting insects, small birds, and rodents. Have you all practiced the spell to cause them to take root?"
The students all nodded, except for Blaise Zabini who had missed the previous herbology class. "Professor? Why do we need to do that? Can't we just stun them?"
Sprout frowned at him. "Bogents are immune to direct magical attacks, Blaise. The spell I taught the rest of the class works indirectly by making the ground you cast it on very rich and irresistible to this plant. It won't last when we start to dig it up however, which is why you have the nets." She looked around to make sure they were all prepared. "All right. Everyone find a partner and stay with them. Neville, you take Blaise. Everyone stay together and in plain sight of at least one of the teachers. Let's go!"
As they went towards the forest, Neville filled Blaise in about the bogents and the spell to capture one. It was a variation on a simple earth blessing which made a patch of soil clean and fertile. Then they were following the small professor into the forest, while McGonagall and Hagrid guarded the tail.
Bogents preferred swampy areas, especially the younger ones. The seedlings would be less then two feet tall, and would blend into the underbrush perfectly. That made finding one quite challenging. The best method for the large group, according to Sprout, was to look for likely patches of bushes and cast the spell on the ground next to them. Hopefully the young bogent would be attracted enough to come out and take root. There were quite a lot of bushes and vines in the swampy ground, however, and after two hours, many of the students doubted the soundness of this advice as well as the presence of any bogent seedlings.
Even Professor Sprout was looking a bit worn, but she was certain the seedlings were there. "I saw an adult near here last fall," she said in encouragement when they stopped to let Hagrid pull Hermione out of some quicksand. "It had just seeded, and still had empty pod cases hanging from its branches. Let's try going slower and spreading out a bit. We may be frightening them away."
McGonagall frowned at that, but the sooner they found a plant, the sooner they could get out of the swamp. Anyways, nothing besides quicksand and bugs had threatened them yet, so what could it hurt to spread out a little?
Neville and Blaise stayed near Sprout. Blaise tried to tiptoe while Neville scanned the bushes carefully. Neville froze; hearing a rustle from a patch of bushes and seeing a sparrow take off in haste. It might have just been frightened of the humans of course, but it was worth casting a spell at. He grabbed Blaise to keep him still and cast the spell just next to the bushes. Nothing happened for a minuet, and Blaise was shifting impatiently when small roots wiggled out from the brush, looking like green worms. The seedling followed its' roots, and was soon standing in the bespelled mud burrowing in with its' tiny roots. Neville almost imagined he could hear it purr, which bogents could not actually do. Even adult bogents couldn't do much more then hiss, or whistle if they were upset. In fact, there was a loud whistling noise nearby.
Note. They're not mine, thank goodness, or we'd never get book five.
Neville was delighted by the new wand. Normally when trying a strange wand he had the sensation that it was vibrating like an unhappy bee. His former wand, which had been passed down to him from a great uncle who was too old to be allowed to use one, was much calmer, but even it had hummed slightly. Neville had always assumed the vibration was normal for all wands, but now he knew better. The crude looking wand felt still in his hand. It was at once heavy and stable in his hand, yet responded instantly to his commands like a feather to the wind. It didn't make charms any easier to learn, but the spells he did know were less draining for him now. This was a good thing, since professor Sprout decided to take the seventh years on a field trip the week after the wand-tree incident.
Professor Sprout was practically vibrating with excitement as all the seventh years who had chosen to take the optional last year herbology class gathered at Hagrids' cabin. Hagrid was handing out oversized butterfly nets, and McGonagall was checking the students' wands. As Voldemort had gained power, trips outside school grounds had become less common and more dangerous. Although the wards on the school extended into the forbidden forest past the area targeted by Sprout, all three teachers would accompany the students.
McGonagall wasn't happy to be going, but she had been unable to convince Dumbledore to cancel the field trip, and she was the logical choice to accompany them. Of the faculty only Severus and Bill were as good in a crisis or under violent attack. Bill had too many classes to teach this day, and Professor Snapes' aversion, (some said phobia,) to the forbidden forest was well known. She declined a net from Hagrid and tried not to blush when he smiled at her shyly and offered her a flower instead. Fortunately none of the students were paying attention to them. Professor Sprout had begun instructing the students on their quarry.
"This is the perfect time of year to catch a bogent," Sprout said happily, ignoring her colleagues byplay. "The adult bogents will have rooted last month when the weather turned warm, right after pollination occurred. Juveniles will have rooted also by now and won't move until late summer when game is plentiful again. Only the seedlings from last fall will be mobile, now that they've burrowed up from their winter sleep. They will be hunting insects, small birds, and rodents. Have you all practiced the spell to cause them to take root?"
The students all nodded, except for Blaise Zabini who had missed the previous herbology class. "Professor? Why do we need to do that? Can't we just stun them?"
Sprout frowned at him. "Bogents are immune to direct magical attacks, Blaise. The spell I taught the rest of the class works indirectly by making the ground you cast it on very rich and irresistible to this plant. It won't last when we start to dig it up however, which is why you have the nets." She looked around to make sure they were all prepared. "All right. Everyone find a partner and stay with them. Neville, you take Blaise. Everyone stay together and in plain sight of at least one of the teachers. Let's go!"
As they went towards the forest, Neville filled Blaise in about the bogents and the spell to capture one. It was a variation on a simple earth blessing which made a patch of soil clean and fertile. Then they were following the small professor into the forest, while McGonagall and Hagrid guarded the tail.
Bogents preferred swampy areas, especially the younger ones. The seedlings would be less then two feet tall, and would blend into the underbrush perfectly. That made finding one quite challenging. The best method for the large group, according to Sprout, was to look for likely patches of bushes and cast the spell on the ground next to them. Hopefully the young bogent would be attracted enough to come out and take root. There were quite a lot of bushes and vines in the swampy ground, however, and after two hours, many of the students doubted the soundness of this advice as well as the presence of any bogent seedlings.
Even Professor Sprout was looking a bit worn, but she was certain the seedlings were there. "I saw an adult near here last fall," she said in encouragement when they stopped to let Hagrid pull Hermione out of some quicksand. "It had just seeded, and still had empty pod cases hanging from its branches. Let's try going slower and spreading out a bit. We may be frightening them away."
McGonagall frowned at that, but the sooner they found a plant, the sooner they could get out of the swamp. Anyways, nothing besides quicksand and bugs had threatened them yet, so what could it hurt to spread out a little?
Neville and Blaise stayed near Sprout. Blaise tried to tiptoe while Neville scanned the bushes carefully. Neville froze; hearing a rustle from a patch of bushes and seeing a sparrow take off in haste. It might have just been frightened of the humans of course, but it was worth casting a spell at. He grabbed Blaise to keep him still and cast the spell just next to the bushes. Nothing happened for a minuet, and Blaise was shifting impatiently when small roots wiggled out from the brush, looking like green worms. The seedling followed its' roots, and was soon standing in the bespelled mud burrowing in with its' tiny roots. Neville almost imagined he could hear it purr, which bogents could not actually do. Even adult bogents couldn't do much more then hiss, or whistle if they were upset. In fact, there was a loud whistling noise nearby.