Stinging Nettle

Thursday's sunlight streamed through the somewhat grimy glass of Greenhouse Two, filling the air with the scent of damp soil and the fresh fragrance of various plants.

Lucretia closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

The smell reminded her of the time she had spent in the Crouch garden every day before school began.

Morning dew, freshly turned earth, and the sweet scent of flowers just beginning to bloom.

That sense of security, surrounded by green life, had returned.

The Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff first-years filed into the greenhouse, dividing into two sides according to their Houses.

Professor Sprout was already standing beside the central workbench, her hat sitting slightly crooked and her apron stained with all sorts of colors.

But Lucretia could sense something special about her, as though she were a friend to plants.

The professor's voice was full of energy. "Good morning, children! Today, we'll be meeting a rather temperamental friend: Stinging Nettle."

The professor waved her wand, and the cloth covering on the workbench lifted on its own, revealing a row of green potted plants.

The students all craned their necks to get a better look.

At first glance, the plants seemed perfectly ordinary, but upon closer inspection, tiny thorns glinted at the tips of their leaves.

As the students approached, the leaves began to tremble slightly, as if they had sensed some kind of threat.

Professor Sprout clapped her hands. "Although Stinging Nettles look quite ordinary on the surface, they don't like being touched carelessly, so you must be extremely cautious when handling them! Who can tell me the main use of Stinging Nettle?"

Several students raised their hands, and Lucretia raised hers as well.

Professor Sprout smiled and called on her. "Miss Crouch?"

Lucretia recited the textbook's contents. "Stinging Nettle leaf extract is used to treat minor burns and is also one of the essential ingredients in many soothing draughts."

Professor Sprout nodded approvingly. "Very good, five points to Ravenclaw! Today's task is to prune the Stinging Nettles and gather their young leaves. Your movements must be gentle but firm. Hesitation and retreat will make them more wary, while being too rough will provoke a counterattack. I assume none of you wants to go to the Hospital Wing with your hands full of thorns, do you?"

Emma shrank back behind Lucretia and Helena.

Professor Sprout demonstrated the proper harvesting method for everyone.

Grip the stem lightly with the left hand, then use special silver scissors in the right hand to snip off the leaves from the side in one smooth, uninterrupted motion.

"Now, form groups of three or four and get to work!"

The classroom became busy.

Before long, the first cry rang out.

A brown-haired boy hurriedly pulled back his hand, red bumps appearing on his fingertips. "Ah! It pricked me!"

That cry was like a signal, and all kinds of noises began rising one after another throughout the greenhouse.

"Help!"

"Careful!"

"It's moving!"

Professor Sprout hurried over. "Oh dear! Mr. Wilson, I said your movements had to be firm, not that you should stick your hand straight into its mouth!"

Naturally, Lucretia was grouped with Emma and Helena, though one of her roommates held her scissors stiffly while the other was futilely trying to put on a second layer of gloves.

Helena grumbled as she reluctantly raised her hand to inspect the potted plant assigned to their group. "My rash only just healed. I hope I don't end up with new injuries today."

Even more complaints and cries were already ringing out in the greenhouse.

A Hufflepuff girl had been pricked and was frantically shaking her hand, while two Ravenclaw boys backed away at the same time and nearly knocked over the workbench behind them. The plant in the next group had even begun shaking violently, as if protesting.

Emma's tone was clearly delaying the inevitable. "Um, so... who wants to go first?"

Lucretia quietly observed the Stinging Nettle before her.

She carefully sensed the plant's emotions. It really was nervous.

Lucretia picked up the silver scissors and reassured Emma beside her. "I'll do it. It looks like we just need to follow what the professor said. Watch my movements and do the same."

Before starting, she deliberately checked Professor Sprout's position.

The professor was busy helping other groups around the greenhouse and was not paying attention to this side.

Lucretia moved closer to the plant and gripped its stem as demonstrated on the blackboard.

The Stinging Nettle's leaves trembled the instant she touched it, then... calmed down.

Feeling the plant's nervousness, she softly said in her heart, It's all right. I won't hurt you.

The scissors came down, cleanly snipping off several young leaves.

Throughout the process, the Stinging Nettle cooperated obediently.

Emma cautiously leaned closer. "Huh? Why is it being so well-behaved? I just saw the plants in the other groups shaking around."

Lucretia smiled and stepped back. "Good luck, perhaps. Maybe ours is a bit gentler. Helena, do you want to try? Remember what the professor said: keep your movements smooth, don't pause."

Helena frowned as she took the scissors. "If I get pricked, you have to help me find some ointment."

But just as she steeled herself and prepared to approach the plant, another cry came from nearby.

A Hufflepuff boy's sleeve was caught by a Stinging Nettle. He began wildly flailing his arm, but the more he struggled, the more violently the plant reacted.

His panic triggered a chain reaction, and the plants around him began shaking furiously as well.

"Careful!"

Emma reacted quickly and pulled Helena aside, narrowly avoiding an unidentified object and several thorny leaves flying from nearby.

Lucretia hurriedly held down their own Stinging Nettle, preventing it from being affected by the commotion around them.

Not far away, several other Ravenclaw girls took turns trying to approach their potted plant, but each time, they were frightened back by leaves spreading open in their faces.

Professor Sprout raised her voice. "Quiet! Everyone, quiet! Remember my demonstration! Your movements need to be smooth! Miss Terman, please control your volume! Mr. York, stop at once! Don't point your wand at the plant, that will only anger it!"

The worst scene was at the other end of the greenhouse.

A group of Hufflepuff students stood helplessly around an especially irritable Stinging Nettle.

The plant shook violently amid their screams, leaves scattering everywhere.

The pot tipped over, spilling dark soil all over the ground.

In the soil, the Stinging Nettle's roots continued to writhe uneasily.

The courage Helena had just gathered vanished again. "What a mess. I'm starting to wonder whether this class was specifically designed to torture first-years."

"Th-then I'll try?"

Emma took a deep breath to encourage herself, but she was obviously nervous, her fingers trembling slightly.

The plant sensed her unease, and its leaves immediately rose, their tiny thorns glittering.

Lucretia offered softly, "Relax. Imagine it's just an ordinary plant."

"It's not ordinary at all. It's fierce!"

Emma pulled a face and brought the scissors forward. At the spot Lucretia had touched earlier, the Stinging Nettle's guard had already lowered somewhat, and Emma finally managed to snip off a leaf.

However, she became a little nervous as she pulled her hand away and was lightly pricked.

"Oh, that was better than I imagined. It feels like a paper cut."

Seeing that Emma had succeeded too, Helena cautiously completed her task.

Though she was pricked twice as well, she fared far better than many of the students around them. Lucretia handled almost all the remaining work.

Their group progressed the fastest, and the leaves in their collection basket were the most intact.

Professor Sprout wiped the sweat from her forehead as she walked over to their group. When she saw the neatly arranged leaves in their collection basket, she stopped in her tracks.

"You're making excellent progress! Miss Crouch, Miss Clark, and Miss Mills, your teamwork is wonderful."

She bent down and carefully examined the potted plant.

The Stinging Nettle sat quietly in place, its leaves neat and orderly, showing none of the signs of disturbance seen in the other groups.

Lucretia held her breath.

She remembered the look on Slughorn's face during Potions class when he had noticed her unusual cutting technique.

But Professor Sprout merely nodded. "It seems you've found the trick to getting along with plants. Very good! Keep it up."

As soon as she finished speaking, another scream sounded from nearby, and she hurried off to help the other groups.