Chapter 6: Herbology Isn't Your Thing

Wally was fuming as he and the rest of the Gryffindor first years were heading to their Herbology lesson. There were now holes in his new robes, and he knew that if his parents found out, especially his mom, they would freak. It had taken a big part of their salaries to buy him all of his stuff down in Diagon Alley after all.

"I can't believe it! The nerve! Twenty points from Gryffindor! Cruddy proffesor thinking he's so smart and all!" he cried, throwing his arms up in the air, his hair bouncing forward and backwards because of the force of it.

Nigel rolled his eyes, his robes still perfectly intact.

"He's a proffesor, of course he's smart. No offense, but your terrible at Potions! I thought that would be kind of obvious, and I don't blame him for screaming at you. I mean, you did burn a hole in the wall, and demolished your cauldron too. You're gonna have to order a new one..."

Wally crossed his arms as if what Nigel had said hadn't made a difference.

"Well, it's my first time. Something was bound to go wrong," he retorted as the Gryffindors reached a staircase and started climbing down them.

"I didn't see anyone else do quite what you did. Fanny's didn't cure boils, just made them worse, and Charles' didn't work at all, but yours was the only one to do any real damage."

They were now out of the castle and the greenhouses where Herbology took place were just over the next hill.

"Well, I, um..." Wally tried to come up with some sort of comeback, but nothing appealed to him, so he just made a pouty face and rolled with it.

It wasn't long before they reached the greenhouse where Proffesor Longbottom (Ha! Longbottom!) had everything set up for his first class of the year. The Ravenclaws appeared quickly after, although Abby arrived a little later than the rest.

Proffesor Longbottom was a round faced man with a couple scars on his cheeks from the war that raged at Hogwarts between Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort himself. Today, he wore some nice green robes that sort of reminded Wally of the Slytherin Crest, which was absurd since Proffesor Longbottom was Head of Gryffindor House.

Once everyone was settled, Proffesor Longbottom called the class to order.

"Alright class, today we will be re-potting some Mandrakes. Everyone get a pair of earmuffs and make sure they fit nice and snug, because a Mandrake's cry can paralyze one of you at this age. I will give an example first."

When everyone successfully had their earmuffs placed tightly on their heads, the Proffesor took a Mandrake plant and pulled it out.

Wally cringed at the sight of it, for it looked like a baby, but way uglier. It started screaming the moment it was taken from its comfortable pot, but calmed down once Proffesor Longbottom had re-potted the plant into a larger pot.

"Now that you have seen how, I want you all to get into groups of three and re-pot as many Mandrakes as you can. Now, begin," the Proffesor instructed.

Wally, determined to do things right this time, joined Nigel and Hoagie at a table. Abby was nearby with two other Ravenclaw girls, staring at the boys with disbelief.

"You three won't get any work done, I bet," she told them, although she was barely audible because of the earmuffs covering their ears.

Hoagie sniggered, his eyes closed. "Another bet eh? Tell you what, the team who re-pots the most Mandrakes wins. If we win, you girls have to bow down to us and adress us as 'Sirs' whenever you see us for a whole week."

Abby smirked, her eyes narrowing. "You're on! But if we win, you have to do the same to us, plus do our Herbology homework also."

Both Nigel and Wally nodded in agreement, giving each other high-fives.

"Alright then, let's get going girls," Abby announced, gathering her two Ravenclaw buddies together to make a game plan.

"Shouldn't we huddle too?" Nigel asked as Wally and Hoagie started re-potting their plants. Wally was having trouble with his, since he was shorter and the Mandrake wouldn't stop squirming to and fro.

"Nah, their just wasting time. By the time we're done, they'll still be rooted to the spot," Hoagie replied, then started laughing at his own pun, which really wasn't very funny. (Abby took a break from her team to slap him with her hat) "Let's just get to work already," Hoagie said, his eyes looking down at his plant.

After about another minute, Abby and her friends were now in the game, making a line so that each girl had a different task: Abby kept the plant still, Kimberly grabbed the pot, and Rebecca stuffed the plant into the pot.

Wally watched longingly at Abby's group. Hoagie was trying to stop his Mandrake from crying and Nigel was unsuccessfully trying to get his into the pot, since it kept resisting.

Wally shook his head; he wasn't going to fail at another class today. He forcefully shoved his Mandrake into the pot, making it squeal even louder.

"Get in you cruddy anklebiter!" he shouted at it, which only provoked it even further. Eventually, the Mandrake got so frustrated that it screamed at the top of its lungs, making everyone turn in his direction.

"Maybe I should take it from here..." Proffesor Longbottom suggested as he walked over to their table.

Wally moved his plant away and shook his head. "I can do it. It's just a cruddy plant."

And so with all his might, he pushed the Mandrake into the pot head first, and stumbled backwards and into the Proffesor, which made him drop his earmuffs.

And then the Mandrake screamed like it had never screamed before. Wally could only stand and stare as Proffesor Longbottom fell to the floor, paralyzed. The scream was so loud in fact, that some of his classmates with weaker earmuffs fell too.

The room was silent for some time before Kimberly, the Ravenclaw girl, ran off to go get help for their poor Proffesor.

"I am so dead," Wally mumbled to himself.

Just then, Abby came over as well and laughed a wicked laugh. "Abby told you guys you wouldn't get any work done. We win."

Hoagie balled his hands into fists and confronted her. "No fair! This bet doesn't count because of the circumstances."

Abby crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. "The only circumstance is that Wally made a mess of things, so we win fair and square."

Kimberly came back shortly after, Madam Pomfrey in tow.

"My, my, poor Neville. I thought that when he graduated from Hogwarts that he wouldn't have to visit me often anymore," she fretted as she knelt down beside him. "You are all dismissed from class early. Everyone except the one who paralyzed the Proffesor and all these other poor souls." At this, she pointed at the number of people on the floor.

"Good luck," Nigel whispered to Wally on his way out. "We're gonna be busy calling the girls 'Miss' all day and bowing down to them. Good thing there's no homework though."

Wally slumped his shoulders in misery as the room slowly emptied out and he was the only one left.

Madam Pomfrey raised her hand and flexed her finger. Wally obediently got closer, his forehead covered in sweat.

"You, sir, will be having detention this Saturday at 5 pm. The nurse's office, don't forget," she told him in an intimidating way.

He nodded, and left without a word, almost forgetting his bag, which he always had trouble carrying because of his size.

"Boy, Herbology just isn't my thing, huh?"