“Riddikulus with Elise & Sydney” is a column about the Harry Potter series. A new column is posted every other Wednesday. Columns may contain spoilers.

While muggle students are expected to excel in subjects such as English, math and history, wizarding children have an entirely different list of academic priorities.

Rather than having to recite the presidents in chronological order, young witches and wizards learn about the historical figures of their own world as well as practical skills such as Defense Against the Dark Arts, Potions and Care of Magical Creatures.

This is the third installment of a three-part series intended to give muggles a better idea of what a wizarding education entails. For the third part, we will be featuring Herbology and Care of Magical Creatures.

Background on the subjects

In the world of muggles, pets and gardens are often simple things that bring joy to their owners. They are typically so low-maintenance that most muggles get their first pets and plant their first plants at a very young age.

However, in the wizarding world, raising plants and animals is a science. The steps to caring for living things can be so complex that Hogwarts has two classes dedicated to teaching students the proper way to go about raising magical plants and creatures: Herbology and Care of Magical Creatures.

While plants are not necessarily magical beings, they do possess magical properties. In Herbology, students learn how to use these magical components for making potions, medicines and various other things.

Probably the most well-known plant in the series is the mandrake, also known as mandragora. In wizarding hospitals, these plants are used to create a painkiller, much in the same way that muggles use morphine, and the mandrake restorative draught, which cures those who have been petrified.

However, it is not remembering what each plant is used for that makes Herbology difficult; rather, it is raising the plants themselves. Depending on how much power a plant possesses, it can be quite complicated to care for. If done wrong, the plant could die or, worse, kill.

To continue with our example, the mandrake bears many similarities to human beings. As adolescents, the plants get acne and throw parties, and as adults, they climb into each other’s pots to mate.

Because of these behaviors, mandrakes require constant attention from the professors and students who raise them. Throughout the series, Hagrid often alludes to the trouble that these strange creatures cause.

Mandrakes also have the potential to be dangerous. In Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Professor Sprout, the Herbology teacher, requires her students to wear earmuffs while working with the mandrakes. This is because they produce a fatal scream when unearthed. As a baby, the mandrake’s cry can only knock a person out for several hours. An adult’s, however, can kill those who hear it.

The perils of Care of Magical Creatures

While mandrakes may seem dangerous, they pale in comparison to the beasts encountered in Care of Magical Creatures. In this class, students must learn to interact with everything from hippogriffs to flaming lizards such as blast-ended skrewts.

While most students simply consider Herbology a chore, Care of Magical Creatures has the potential to be dangerous — especially when it is taught by Rubeus Hagrid, the gamekeeper, who also is half-giant.

Upon introducing hippogriffs to the class, Hagrid informs the students that these beasts are very proud animals that need to be respected. Harry follows Hagrids instructions carefully and actually gets to ride a hippogriff called Buckbeak. Draco Malfoy, on the other hand, insults the beast and gets seriously wounded when he is bitten.

Like all subjects at Hogwarts (except Divination), Herbology and Care of Magical Creatures must be taken seriously. They require time and skill to master.

Even though Harry and his friends never particularly enjoy either of these classes, we feel that their unusual natures demand recognition. When taught by the correct teacher, both of these subjects have the potential to be student favorites.

For the previous installment, read the Feb. 23 column, Riddikulus with Elise & Sydney: Potions.

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