A Squat Little Witch

J.K. Rowling's early drawing of Professor Sprout, made seven years before the publication of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, shows the character surrounded by the plants studied in her Herbology class. At Hogwarts, Herbology included the study of normal plants as well as magical ones. Are the tendrils spreading from one of the pots actually sneaky Venomous Tentacula, looking for something to chew on? Professor Sprout herself is pictured in her witch's hat, with a spider hanging from its tip, handy for keeping her greenhouses free from plant-eating insects.

PEN AND INK DRAWING OF PROFESSOR POMONA SPROUT BY J.K. ROWLING (30TH DECEMBER, 1990)

J.K. Rowling

Professor Sprout was a squat little witch who wore a patched hat over her flyaway hair; there was usually a large amount of earth on her clothes, and her fingernails would have made Aunt Petunia faint.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets