I promise I'm still alive and writing.
The next day was just as hectic as the first. Hermione had spent half the night reading ahead for her classes and making notes to check out supplemental reading. None of her B-Day classes were held in the Pyramid unless it was raining too badly or the school didn't house the type of plant or creature they were studying. Hermione actually wondered if class would be held indoors that day, but Noa said it wasn't raining hard enough, even for the Dry season.
At least she knew the umbrella charm.
After breakfast, they went out to a car park with long rows of what looked like the tour buses used on safaris. Several teachers were holding up signs with year and group on it.
Their teacher was tall and had a pleasant smile.
"Good morning class. I am your Horticulture teacher this year. I am nonbinary, but if you must use a gender specific pronoun, I am most comfortable with él, ele, he, and so on. I would prefer if you would refer to me as Dr. Silva rather than Senhor or Senhora. I do, in fact, have a doctorate in Botany, so I can claim the title. Any questions before we go?"
Everyone shook their heads.
"Okay. Everyone onto the cart. Oh, allow me to assist you, Miss Sanchez."
"I know the drill," said Noa, holding up a hand. "I can manage myself."
She and her chair were strapped in securely at the back. Hermione sat in the closest seat next to Luiz. Dr. Silva took roll to make sure everyone was onboard before hopping into the driver's seat. They chatted cheerfully into a magicked speaker as they drove through an orchard of fruit trees.
"This semester will be divided into three units," they said. "Semi-sentient plants, non-sentient plants, and aquatic plants. We'll be working with non-sentient plants first, then aquatic, then semi-sentient. Some classes might be held in the Pyramid, while others will be spent harvesting fruit and veg for the kitchens. During those days you'll learn how to manage a garden to create the best produce possible. A self-sustainable garden will help you outside of school. After all, eco-cities are the future.
"Now, Castelobruxo has its own mix of fertilizer that causes plants to rapidly grow for a week before slowing down to a normal rate. We often collect volunteers to spread the fertilizer and plant seeds after big corporate companies destroy land. And remember, it is absolutely illegal to hammer nails into trees to mess up lumber equipment. They don't hurt the trees but will destroy millions of reals of equipment. Sign ups will be intermittent."
"I thought they said it was illegal," Hermione whispered.
"It is," Luiz whispered. "Doesn't stop us from stopping deforestation where we can. Unfortunately, there are capitalists in the magical government, so we're limited. That's where malicious compliance comes in and Doña Claudia is all over that."
Hermione turned her attention to the gardens once they were free of the trees. It was absolutely brilliant, there were rows upon rows of vegetation each in its own microclimate. She had to cover her star eye, however, since the wards protecting and keeping the microclimates in a reasonable space was messing with her vision.
It was breathtaking. She imagined it was even more beautiful in the sun.
The bus slowed down and everyone unloaded. Hermione used her charm again, though she did like the cool rain on her skin.
"No one fell off?" Dr. Silva asked. "Good. Take a seat, lecture begins now. Remind me to pass out the syllabus at the end of class. Today, we will start with herbs that every witch should have in their cupboard."
Hermione took a seat next to Noa's chair and held her wand between her knees. It was a bit difficult to write notes like this, but she managed.
"Can anyone give me an example of an herb every witch should keep on hand?"
Hermione's and everyone else's hands shot in the air.
"I think Miss Sanchez-Granger was first," said Dr. Silva.
"Do I need to stand?" Hermione asked.
"No, I can see you from here."
"Dittany," she said. "Though it's rare, it will heal the worst of any injury in an instant. It can save someone long enough for them to receive proper care. In most cases."
"Why would you say most?" he asked.
"Well, I've witnessed some spells that cause too much damage for dittany to reverse," she said. "That's all I'd prefer to say."
Dr. Silva nodded. "I'm sorry you had to witness something like that, but you are correct. Dittany will heal splinching as well as wounds afflicted by werewolves, vampires, and other magical causes. However, it's not an end all cure and as it is rare, you need to choose when to use it. Now, dittany isn't found in all corners of the world, so what did witches do before it became well-known? Pay attention, this is a possible question on the end of unit exam."
Hermione must've written nearly fifty herbs with healing properties in her notebook before they went on to draw them. The sun had decided to show itself and Hermione got an idea.
"Sr. Silva?" she called, raising her hand.
"Yes?"
"I'm a rather terrible artist," she said, "and I had some damage to my hands this year, may I take pictures of the herbs and paste them into my book?"
"Yes. There's a dark room with the school paper. They're located in the library."
"Thank you."
Hermione dug out her camera and snapped a photo of each one with a number beside it, making sure to write that number next to the corresponding plant in her notebook. When she was done, she took a seat to the side and filled her notes out more with information from her book until her hand cramped. She shook it out and did her stretches.
After class, Dr. Silva drove them to the zoo before they apparated back to the starting point for their next class.
"You can apparate within school grounds?" Hermione asked.
"Only teachers can and only in the gardens and zoo," said Noa. "As far as I know, they can't apparate within the campus except in the transportation area."
If the gardens were beautiful, the zoo was spectacular. As far as the eye could see, there were enclosures bigger than any zoo Hermione had visited. And even then, each enclosure only housed as many creatures as was deemed necessary whether it be one or a dozen.
Their teacher wore a long, white cloak and had a massive lavender parasol. When she spoke, Hermione caught a flash of fangs.
"Good afternoon, class," she said. "I am Professor Nakamura, I received my doctorate in veterinary science three times over. Before you ask, yes, I am a vampire. I was turned one back in the Edo time period, I moved to Brazil in 1908 and haven't left since. The sun won't kill me, but it will give me a bad rash. I do not drink human blood, but I use a blood substitute and, technically, I shouldn't have garlic, but I just love it. Garlic and onions?" she did a chef's kiss and the class laughed. "Okay, now that you're all relaxed, I will pass out the syllabus and call roll."
Professor Nakamura was light and engaging during the class, cracking jokes every now and then as she showed them around the zoo they'd be tending to in their Fifth Year. There were so many animals, even Hermione could not hope to memorize them in one day, but Professor Nakamura promised they would meet each one in due time. In the last thirty minutes, she started them off at a tall tree.
"You actually have class at the perfect time," Professor Nakamura whispered. "Watch. This Cedrelinga tree is actually one that could be harvested for wand wood."
They studied it intently and didn't have to wonder what they were searching for long. The bark began to move and appeared to have little green sprouts. The sprouts grew arms and legs and opened their little eyes. One tumbled out of the tree and Hermione instinctively reached out and caught it.
"Quick," said Professor Nakamura. "Catch them or pick them up and pass them up to the older bunch."
Larger bowtruckles climbed down from the branches and started carrying the newborns on their backs until they looked like miniature trees in the tree.
Hermione held up the bowtruckle she caught. It was so adorable and about the size of her pinkie.
"Go on," she urged him. "Go be with your family."
The baby bowtruckle clung to her thumb and hid his face.
"Come now, don't be that way," she said. "Your ohana is the most important thing in the world. It doesn't have to be blood, it can be anyone. But you'll never find them until you get out there."
"Class dismissed," said Professor Nakamura. "Your homework is on the syllabus."
"Go on," Hermione whispered, placing the baby bowtruckle on a branch. "They're going to love you."
"Herminia, come on," said Noa. "We can't miss the bus."
Hermione hurried away and jumped into an empty seat. Her stomach growled so she snacked on a protein bar as they made their way back to the main campus.
After lunch, she had debate with Josefina. Their only class together.
Debate was in one of the buildings behind the Pyramids, gorgeously done in a Neo-Andean style. It reminded Hermione of a retro movie theater or an abstract poster. Even the inside was amazing in bold colors and geometric shapes.
The class itself wasn't really noteworthy. It was debate. They would learn new skills, pick topics, learn how to research those topics, and pick a side to defend not necessarily against another person. The teacher said controversial topics would be allowed later in the year, but anyone who genuinely wanted to take the side opposing human rights would not be allowed back next year.
"The devil's advocate is meant to steer people away from compromises that are harmful to others," she said. "It does not mean you justify atrocities committed by man."
The last class of the day was the one Hermione was actually most excited for: Beginner's Curse-Breaking. The class was filled with students between third year and seventh year. Hermione and Noa took their seats in the front of the class. It was one of the few classrooms that wasn't in the lecture hall style and despite the mix of years, it was a smaller class-size.
The door opened and the teacher, a woman in her thirties, entered in her wheelchair.
"Good afternoon, class," she said. "I am Profesora Cotilla-Gallo. You will not call me Profesora Cotilla or Profesora Gallo. My name is hyphened. Now, in this class you will learn the basics to curse breaking whether it be on objects or entire buildings. Near the end of the year, we will get to practical use and you will have the opportunity to banish curses from small objects."
Hermione's hand instinctively went to her purse. She had taken to carrying the locket with her everywhere, despite the bad vibes it sent off. She would prefer to have it taken care of sooner rather than later.
Profesora Cotilla-Gallo continued, "My tutoring sessions begin at the end of each class, so if you have questions for me, you are welcome to stay behind. They are only forty minutes long, so you will still have plenty of time to get to dinner. Please, take out your notebooks and pay attention." She tapped her wand against the blackboard and a piece of chalk wrote out the lecture bullet points.
~o0o~
Hermione finished dinner before the others and went back to her dorm to get her reading and homework done. She thought about going to the library, but realized she hadn't called Cedric yesterday. She was so excited to tell him about her classes, she was just so tired she didn't think about it.
She locked her door and checked herself in the mirror. Did she look cute? Yeah, she looked cute. She sat at her desk and set up her mirror.
"Show me Cedric," she said.
Instead of his desk or him, she got a good view of the inside of his book bag.
"I hope you learned your lesson, Mr. Diggory."
"Oh, yes, Professor." Cedric was using his fake voice. "I have learned my lesson."
"Very good. I expect we won't have anymore problems?"
"No, Professor."
"Good. Off you go then."
Hermione waited until she heard a door close.
"What was that about?" she asked loudly.
"Holy Hecate!"
Cedric's face appeared a moment later.
"Cedric, did you get detention?"
He got that tic in his neck as he always did when he was lying.
"… No."
Hermione rested her chin in her hand. "I don't believe you, but I'll drop the subject."
"Can you give me a moment?" he asked. "I'll call you back once I'm in my dorm."
"Yes, of course."
Hermione read her Magizoology textbook while she waited for Cedric to call her back. Her mind wandered and she began to wonder if there was a spell that could put her in a mirror so she could see Cedric entirely rather than just in a small section of mirror. That would be cool. Maybe Professor Cotilla-Gallo would know one. She was really knowledgeable about her subject.
She wrote it down in the notebook holding the list of books she wanted to read.
"Mimi? I'm back, love."
Hermione blinked and tilted back the mirror. His hair was damp from a shower and he had changed into his pyjamas.
"Okay," he said. "Tell me all about your classes. Don't leave out a single detail."
"Are you sure?" she asked. "It is rather late where you are."
"I'm not tired," he insisted. "I just want to hear your voice."
Hermione hid her face in her hands. "Dating has made us mushy."
"I don't mind," he said. "Do you mind?"
"No, I just tend to feel one emotion very strongly and get overwhelmed by how much I love and care about you."
She peeked between her fingers and saw him grinning from ear-to-ear. His expression fell away to confusion.
"You have a leaf in your hair."
"What? Where?" She patted her hair until she felt something wrap around her thumb. Perplexed, she looked at her hand and saw the baby bowtruckle hanging on. "Baby 'truckle! What are you doing? You should be back with your family."
"That is the cutest bowtruckle I've ever seen," Cedric gushed. "It's so tiny!"
"I'll have to make sure I return him to his tree tomorrow," Hermione sighed. "I'll ask Senhor Luna in the morning."
"You should name him," said Cedric.
"Cedric, no."
"Name him Larry."
"Larry?"
"Yeah, short for Larold."
Hermione snorted and laughed. "Okay, we'll call him Larold."
"Uncle Phil and Aunt Dee always had funny names like that," he said.
"Who?"
"Luna's parents. Xenophilius and Dione. Aunt Dee always called me Cedrichard and Luna was Lunagard. Uncle Phil kept up the trend."
"That's so cute."
"Anyway, tell me all about your day. Spare no detail."
While Hermione talked about her day, Larold explored her desk and ended up making home on her orchid. It caught the bugs that managed to get in and curled up in the soil.
"What about you?" she asked when she was done.
He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair.
"It's… well…"
"Hell?"
He nodded.
"I've been there," she said. "In primary school… you know."
He nodded. "I remember your letters. All the advice I sent feels so empty now."
"I knew you meant well," she said. "But you were homeschooled, you didn't know what it was like. I can't really give you advice, but I do believe you can make it. You're strong, Cedric, and you'll be so busy that the time will fly anyway."
"You're right. You're always right."
Hermione rested her chin on her arms.
"Let's take your mind off it," she said. "Tell me what you're working on."
He smiled and launched into an excited tangent about ideas for his latest project.