Twenty minutes later, outside Hogwarts Castle.
In one of the rows of huge glass greenhouses on the side nearest the Forbidden Forest, another Herbology lesson for the first-year students of Gryffindor House and Hufflepuff House began under the instruction of Professor Pomona Sprout.
And those greenhouses were why Annie liked Herbology.
Because, you see, she didn't have to sit in a boring classroom. To her, lessons in these fun, interesting greenhouses were far more enjoyable than learning those dull wand-waving techniques and spells, or studying textbooks and the like!
Although Professor Pomona Sprout had learned her lesson and moved any potentially dangerous plants to other greenhouses in advance, Annie could still always find something fun or interesting among the many beds of familiar and unfamiliar herbs.
Like the Squirting Cucumbers from the lesson before last, or the Dandelions from the previous lesson, which had floated all over the greenhouse and once again managed to get everyone dismissed early.
"All right."
"Class is starting..."
"Everyone, pay attention!"
Once all the students had arrived, Professor Pomona Sprout clapped her hands to get them to focus, ready to begin the lesson.
"Come on!"
"Everyone, look over here!"
As she spoke, she led the dozens of first-year students from both Houses over to two rows of herb beds. Then she pointed to the various herbs growing there, in every stage from sprout to maturity, and said:
"I'm sure you've all noticed them, right?"
"That's right!"
"These herbs are Dittany, Fluxweed, Sneezewort, Mallowsweet, and Shrivelfig!"
"They're all grown from seeds I bought a month ago at the Magic Neep in Hogsmeade. They've only just finished growing."
"Normally, I wouldn't cultivate these herbs until next spring. But since we need them for class, and Hogwarts has suitable greenhouses, I decided to grow them now."
"And to