Chapter 357: Venomous Tentacula and Avada [bonus]
Thursday afternoon. Herbology. Greenhouse Three.
Professor Sprout stood at the head of the bench.
Second-year Slytherins and Gryffindors lined up on opposite sides of the bench, facing each other across the six pots with an aisle between them. The Slytherin side was quieter. The Gryffindors, fewer in number but louder, whispered among themselves, a few craning their necks for a better look at the Tentacula.
Sprout clapped her hands twice. The greenhouse fell silent.
"Today's lesson is straightforward," she said, her voice warm. "Trimming dead vine tips."
She picked up a pair of long-handled shears from the bench and held up one of the pots so they could all see. Several tendrils had gone grey and withered at their ends, a stark contrast against the living purple-green.
"Dead tips no longer secrete venom, but they remain attached to the living vine and continue draining nutrients from the plant. They need regular clearing."
She shifted the shears to her right hand and raised her wand with her left, lips moving. "Herba Protego."
A pale green light shot from the wand tip and settled over both her hands and forearms in a thin film, clinging to the skin, no thicker than a sheet of parchment.