Written by Muriel Maple
Hey, it’s me again! Your friendly forager! Today, I invite you to a hopefully bountiful harvest around the castle grounds! Since the last foraging guide, the scenery around our beloved school has gone through a vivid change. There is something so soothing and cosy about walking around all the colourful trees and foliage; among the pops of colour, maybe you can also find something for your next potion!
Preparations
As you already know it! Bundle up in warm clothes, slip into your sturdiest boots, grab your trusty dragonhide gloves, and don’t forget a solid basket for your finds! A word of caution, though: no matter how tempting a sprig of aconite or a particularly plump flobberworm might seem, never leave the castle grounds. No rare forageables are worth not getting to experience autumn ever again! If you struggle with identifying or harvesting a plant, don’t hesitate to ask for the help of an older student or a professor!
Leaving the Greenhouses
Last time, we explored all we could about the Greenhouses and the plots of fields around them! This time, I will show you my route around the rest of the castle. Passing by the last greenhouse, which is home to many Hairy Caterpillars, we are heading towards the Owlery. Just around the corner from the Transfiguration Courtyard corridors, you can find yourself by a little meadow of trees with stairs leading down to the Quidditch Pitch and the Owlery. I like to look closely at the ground, as around these ancient oak trees you can notice a few red mushrooms with coarse black hairs! This is something that can confuse the beginner forager, believing these angry-looking fellas are mushrooms, but they are actually creatures called Horklumps! Their pressed juice is crucial for any Herbologist’s potions, namely the Rejuicing Potion and Herbicide! Healers also appreciate its properties for the much-needed Wiggenweld Potion! I always like to stock up on these; if you don’t end up using them, you can always sell them in Hogsmeade or donate some to the Healers in the Hospital Wing or in St Mungo’s Outreach.
Around the Owlery
During my walks, and every time I want to send a letter to my dear papa, I like to check around the trees and humps of fallen leaves and bushes around the Owlery tower. The crimson-capped Horklump also likes to hide around here, and from the autumn foliage, you might easily notice the dark green, stalky Lovage! While its seeds and fruits are used in cooking, be careful: despite it resembling a celery stalk, DO NOT even think about snacking on these! To quote our Potions textbook, “These plants (including scurvy grass and sneezewort) are most efficacious in the inflaming of the brain (…)”, and therefore Lovage is crucial for the not-so-well-meaning potions, such as the Confusing Concoction, Befuddlement Draught, Dizziness Draught, Jaw-Bind Potion and, if you wish to do a mean prank on your Prefects and ensure yourself a month’s worth of detention – the Maximum Turbo Farts Potion. A rare and costly use of Lovage can also be the pricey creation of the Invigorating Draught, but only if it is well brewed by an experienced potioneer!
While we are talking about potions for good and bad, around here you might also spot a plant quite similar to thistle: Burdock, with its prickly bulbous head and purple flowers, is also a good herb to stock up on during autumn! Despite being used in the flatulence-inducing potion, Burdock Roots have many good uses! It can relieve itchiness in the form of the Mouth-Itching Antidote, the Rat Tonic can help your beloved critter feel better, the Laxative Potion can relieve your Post-Halloween-Candy Hangover (PHCH for short — and consult a Healer before consuming!), and the Manegro Potion can help our Bald-Eagle-Ravenclaw-Waterboy have luxurious locks once again! However, this author’s favourite use is to make a refreshing tonic drink in the form of Dandelion & Burdock soda!
By the Groundskeeper’s Hut
As we walk further down the hill towards the Groundskeeper’s Hut — and also make sure we stay a safe distance away from the Whomping Willow — we arrive at this author’s very favourite place at Hogwarts: the Pumpkin Patch! This cosy little patch not only provides our decorative Jack-o’-Lanterns year after year, but also, among the few big gourds, we can find some smaller pumpkins to harvest! You can ask my dormmates — I always have a Pumpkin Stew simmering or a Pumpkin Juice cooling in one of my cauldrons beside me while I am studying. Also, our humble patch homes several herbs to gather for cooking and potions, such as English Thyme, Peppermint and Burdock! If you check between the patch and the gate leading to the Forbidden Forest (still do not go near it, though!) in the shade of the big oak tree, sometimes I can find a Nettle bush or a Horklump hiding! Once, an older student and I actually found a Unicorn Hair hanging on one of the branches behind the hut! As we walk by the hut’s front, you’d better ignore the chicken coop; this author has had enough run-ins with the fire-breathing chickens that have overrun this fine poultry establishment. (Plus, we are currently forbidden to prod, poke, or even check on our beloved hens while these fiery fiends are about!) If you are lucky, between the laid hay and the door, you might find some late-blooming Lady’s Mantle or Hellebore. If you cut one or two sprigs of these flowers for your next potion, surely they won’t be missed, right? Right?
Ending by the Wooden Bridge
As we leave the Groundskeeper’s Hut and walk up the hill, it is good to look out by the edge of the forest to notice any more red mushrooms, nettles or the like. Once you reach the end of the Wooden Bridge leading towards the castle, we arrive close to former Headmaster, Professor Oreyn Fox’s memorial. While you are there, spend a minute remembering him, his achievements, his sacrifice for us, and if you can, conjure some lovely bubbles in his memory.
I hope you enjoyed this foraging guide! I know I promised to make this one all about forageables around the water, but this author couldn’t help herself being mesmerised by all the wonders autumn can bring to our school grounds! Enjoy your walks, may your baskets be full, and stay away from the coops!
