George felt a little taken back by the entire situation. He knew very little about the plants of his world. Neither of his parents had taken an interest in Herbology. He knew his father had N.E.W.Ts in Potions and Charms and he knew both his parents had passed with at least an E in Defense Against the Dark Arts. They're opinion of Herbology had been less than enthusiastic. Blue eyes turned to Sadie when her voice perked up beside him. One day he'd grow to disagree with how smart she was; who knew that much as a muggle born? The plant closest to them, exactly two benches to their left, seemed as if to breathe. He watched its dancing leaves and sharp spines, a cautious warning to leave that plant alone echoed a little inside his head.

The shriek brought his attention back to reality however. He followed everyone elses' eyes as they watched a thick vine begin its ascent up Professor Longbottom's arm. Longbottom? The name rang a bell in his head. Somewhere in the back, where the memories from childhood were kept. Strangely the name reminded him of Christmas and he wasn't entirely sure why.. 
"[i]Incendio.[/i]" George watched as the familiar flares carried their way along the vine until the plant let go and hurried back into its pot. He could wait for their first real lesson. Things were going to get really interesting. Then again, George couldn't wait until their fourth year, when they already knew so many spells! It was going to be far more exciting than learning about stupid plants; perhaps he'd never share Sadie's excitement for everything. Partly he was jealous!

The room's attention turned back to Professor Sprout who continued about the room, testing the students knowledge on plants. There was sweet looking flowers and one plant that seemed more boring than anything else in the room. Its green stem occasionally produced a thick green branch with rubber looking leaves attached on each end. It looked more like an ornament than an actual plant. Their teacher slowly more her way over to the plant and smiled widely. 

"Anybody want to hazard a guess to this brilliant little thing?" She giggled, the sound of pure joy in her voice. She looked over the room, more than one making eye contact with George, who was already squirming in his seat. "Yes." She smiled, turning to one of the other Gryfindors in their year.

"Isn't that Dit-.." The boy paused, looking at his hands for a second. "Dit-something." 

"Dittany!" Another girl called out, having picked up on the missing syllables. Professor Sprout immediately clapped with pride. Clearly the girl was correct.


((Skip ahead at any point :) ))