NEVILLE AND RHII COALES
It was sunny outside, with only a few puffy, white clouds and a cool breeze. All of the windows in Greenhouse number 3 were open as wide as they would go. At one of the stations, Neville was tending to the Venomous Tentacula, trimming the leaves carefully for Professor Sprout while she was harvesting the Mandrakes. At the station across from his, Rhii Coales, a fellow Gryffindor, was trimming the Fanged Geranium. He looked over his shoulder at her, the sun glimmering off her brilliant red hair. She worked quickly, her nimble hands moving faster than the plant, not allowing it to bite her. She was careful not to hurt the plant and refused to use the calming spray Professor Sprout had procured for the two of them. She said that there was only speculation on how it really affected the plant, they only actually cared if it affected the properties of it. She was humming quietly to herself as she trimmed it. The plant didn't look as vicious as it did when she began. He looked closer and noticed that she was stroking the leaves as she cut, as if it was a furry animal and she was petting it. He smiled, turning back to his plant, and he continued to trim as he was instructed. About an hour later, he had almost finished up, trimming the last of the necessary leaves. He was thinking about Rhii still, her soft hands and her shinny, red hair, and he hadn't noticed that the Tentacula was starting to wake up from the spray. He reached his hand in towards the back of the pot, trying to get that last sprig of leaves. He felt something move against his arm, and a several sharp spikes shoot into his arm. He yelped in pain and reached for his wand, but he had set it on the table behind him. "Diffindo!" yelled a female voice from his right, as Rhii ran up to his station. The plant let go of his arm. Well, more like loosened its hold, as it was no longer actually attached to the plant, but the spikes, still embedded into his arm, kept it wrapped securely to him. "Hold out your arm carefully. Try not to bend it much. I have to remove the vine and stop the flow of the poison before it spreads too far." She grabbed some rope from the back of the greenhouse and wrapped it tight around his upper arm, hoping to slow blood flow. Carefully, she unwrapped the vine from his arm, removing the thorns one at a time. As the last thorn came out, Neville began to feel light headed and he started to sway. "Hold on, I've got you." She grabbed his shoulders and helped him sit on the floor, leaning against the station. "This will sting a bit, but you MUST hold still." She said, looking into his eyes. He nodded and she held up her wand once more. She pointed it to the points where the thorns had punctured his skin, starting from the bottom, and muttered a spell that forced the poison back out of the wounds and sealed them shut. Slowly, his dizziness began to fade and the pain from his arm began receding. As she was finishing up, Professor Sprout walked in to check on them, "Oh my! Mr. Longbottom, what happened?" she rushed over to them "The Tentacula woke up just as he was finishing and he didn't see it wrap around his arm." Rhii answered for him. She was studying the now closed wounds carefully, and looked up at his face as she replied. When she saw him looking at her, she blushed a soft pink and turned to Professor Sprout. "I've removed the poison and sealed the wounds, but I think it'd be best if I took him to Madam Pomfrey." She said, gesturing to his arm. "Yes, yes; of course dear, take him to the Hospital Wing. Mr. Longbottom, you are very fortunate that Ms. Coales is planning on becoming a Healer. You would very well be pushing daisies by now, had she not been here." With that, the two women helped him from the ground and Rhii wrapped her arm around his waist and slung his arm over her shoulders. She helped him up through the grounds and into the castle before she had said anything. "What happened?" "I was being a clod and didn't notice the thing wrap around my arm..." He replied. "What were you thinking about?" She pulled them to a stop so he would look at her. "U-uh, n-nothing." He blushed and tried to look away. She stopped him by putting her hand on his face and gently guiding it back up so he could see her. "It's not like you to be caught off guard while pruning." She said, her eyes searching his. "I-I was a bit distracted." He said quietly. "By what?" she turned her head to the side a bit, an odd habit he noticed that she did when listening intently. "You." He said breathlessly. He looked back into her blue eyes. She blushed again, the pink growing darker than it had earlier. Up until that point, he hadn't noticed how close they were, because then, she kissed him. Her lips were as soft against his as her hand was against his face. Their kiss was sweet and innocent, but more brilliant that a thousand fireworks.
