School: Hogwarts

Theme: Floral Shop - Chosen by Hogwarts Fourth year

Prompt: [negative pairing] Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley [Main]

Side:[action] standing under an umbrella

Side:[Description] Hate-filled gaze

Year: 7th

Story Title/Link: A Scents of Meaning

Word Count: 1857 (before Author's Note)

A Scents of Meaning

Harrison "Harry" Potter and Ginevra "Ginny" Weasley became a couple in University, much to his parent's chagrin. Neither Lily and James had anything against the fact that Ginny had come to University by way of scholarship. Some of their best friends, like Sirius and Remus, had done the same when coming to University. They had done well in making a name for themselves after graduation by doing what any good alumni would and giving back to the community, but that wasn't the point.

There was just something about this girl that Lily didn't like. Neither she or James could put it down to one specific thing. James had tried to warn Harry about her, but Harry was so blinded by the vivacious young redhead, and he wouldn't listen to either one of them.

Unfortunately, both parents suspicions had been correct when Ginny had up and left Harry after five years heading for greener pastures with one of their business rivals younger sons, Draco Malfoy. Both James and Lily agreed that they would not be the ones to say 'I told you so' to their son. All they could do was be there for Harry when he needed them.

Harry sat in the silence of his front room when he heard the rain as it first started to come down. Each drop hit the windows of his now almost empty home, a home that he had created with her. He hated to say that his parents had been right from the beginning. Oh, how he hated that. The young man had no one to blame because it was his fault that he wouldn't listen when both his parents tried to warn him.

He could hear her now saying 'I told you so' even without them saying it.

Five years the green-eyed teen had given her, and then she goes and leaves him for the blonde, rich, daddy's boy, Draco. Five years of arguments, tears (coming mostly from her), spending all of his available time with her, which now Harry felt was a waste of time. Time that he could have spent elsewhere. Time spent on bigger and better things. Granted their time together wasn't all bad, but Harry couldn't help but wonder how much of it was a facade.

"How much was actually real?" He wondered. "Did she fake every part of our relationship?"

Not that it would matter after today. His mind slipped back to when he had started his schooling.

It was a small little mom and pop flower store that Mr. and Mrs. Granger along with their daughter, Hermione operated. It was a small, quaint little store with an assortment of flowers on an array of shelves, and a striped green and white overhang that covered the flowers when customers first came to the store. Inside the shop, there was very little room to move around in because of shelving that lined the floor as well as along the walls.

He had been working there during the first summer when he came home from school. Harry, who was in his late teens, had learned a lot from the couple because they made working for them fun and interesting. During this time both Harry and Hermione had become close friends. It was the work he was doing for the Granger's that made Harry change his major in University to Botany.

During his schooling, Harry found that each flower had different physiology, and by grafting the right ones together by combining the genetic structure could very well hold the answer to which plants had healing properties. Hybrids that could help by using the medicinal properties that he could come up with to help create new medicine. When he found out that it would require more areas of study, and more years to do what he wanted, he was willing to go that extra step. Ginny, on the other hand, didn't seem to be that enthusiastic. Hermione, on the other hand, was ecstatic about his chosen course and encouraged him to do so.

Harry, confused at the time, had never thought in a million years that one Ginevra Weasley would be more interested in being in the limelight than helping people. Now the little redheaded bints actions had proved otherwise. The angry young man looked down at her parting note his anger growing with each word.

"Harry -

Since you seem to be more interested in "saving the world" than being with me, I have decided to go be with someone who values me far more than you do. I have taken my things and moved in with Draco Malfoy. Goodbye Harry.

-Ginny"

To keep himself from going and doing something reckless Harry began throwing himself into his studies and work. Through research, Harry had found ways to make a hybrid form of different elements of plants to make them untraceable, and unless you knew what you were doing, it would be the same chemically as well.

For many hours and days, he had poured through school books, and thesis papers in his never-ending search to find the right combination. It was almost an obsession, though finding the right selection of flowers and plants, both toxic and non-toxic, had been a problem. It was something to occupy Harry's mind as well as time. It had taken a better part a few months after their separation that the young prodigy had made the discovery of a mixture of Nerium Oleander, Belladonna, and ironically enough, Lily of the Valley combined in the right amounts could give the desired effects Harry was searching for.

It was the following day after his discovery that Harry went to the Granger's Floral Shop and spoke with the Granger trio. Both the older adults and their daughter offered their sympathies about the breakup and did their best to cheer the young man up. Especially Hermione, as she had always liked him, but he was too wrapped up in Ginny for her to approach him. Maybe now that Harry was available things would be different.

He smiled his thanks, but he had a small favor to ask of them. Harry explained that he wanted to put together a special series of flowers to give to Ginny to show that there were no hard feelings between them. He wanted to wish the young red-head the best in the future. After all just because they weren't together anymore didn't mean they couldn't remain friends.

The Granger's thought that it was very mature for Harry to do that. They had seen the aftermath of a breakup go very bad because one or both of the people held a vendetta against the other. The end results had gotten very messy afterward. Luckily from what they could tell this would not be one of those results.

Each flower had a different significance and meaning, and it took a bit of searching on the internet to make sure he got his message across to her. Not that she would understand the significance of the floral arrangement.

The red of the Geranium symbolized his stupidity in believing she still cared about him while they were together. He had to give her credit for her acting skills; he had had no clue what was going on.

The orange of the Marigold symbolized the grief when she had left him in the middle of the night with no explanation, after taking most of her stuff with her.

The Petunia was ironic because of his aunt, and her dislike for his family. It was meant to show his resentment of the wasted time they had spent together. Its hued purple coloring matched his face that had contorted in anger as his blood boiled when he first found out.

The paleness of the Orange Mock for her leading him on thinking things were alright. He smirked as he thought of the look on her face when he would confront her.

The variation of whites and purples in the Hellebore while beautiful to behold left an underlying message of the deceit he felt at her lies, and manipulations, and the scandal it brought with their split and who she had chosen to be with.

Finally, the single Black Rose topped it all off, and what it signified to him as to what lay in store for the little tramp.

Each flower had its own scent, and they meshed together beautifully. It was almost as overwhelming as the kaleidoscope of colors in the flowers. It was a shame that they were wasted on the red-haired little...well, he couldn't dwell on that right now.

Harry stood outside her apartment underneath an umbrella as the rain came down around him.

Watching from the shadows, Harry went unnoticed when Ginny stooped down to pick up the bouquet that Harry laid against the door oh so gently. He had to be careful to keep his mouth covered to keep from inhaling the deadly mixture he sprayed on it moments before.

With a hate-filled gaze filling his green eyes, Harry watched as Draco and Ginny exited the car heading to their apartment. Harry almost felt a sense of pity for the poor bastard because he too would be dealt a lethal dose from the fragrance he concocted.

Harry smiled with glee at the look of confusion on Ginny's face when she picked them up and silently laughed as he watched her inhale the scents from the flowers, even more so when she offered them to Draco, neither of them knowing what was going to happen next. Both of them quickly moved into the apartment to get out of the rain.

Through the large glass window, Harry watched as her face broke into a smile as she picked out the card that accompanied the flowers, reading the inscription. Then as her face went white, she fell to the ground, grasping and clawing at her throat. It was only a few seconds later that Draco followed suit. He waited a couple of minutes before he made his way over to the front door.

Slipping on a breather mask and rubber gloves, he made his way into the living room, where he found their bodies still twitching on the floor. Looking down at them both, he watched as the life left their eyes before he started cleaning up. Pulling out a small plastic bag, he picked up the flowers to dispose of later.

Moving around the room, Harry removed any evidence that could be obtained from their thrashing about. That meant every petal, and every leaf while leaving everything else where it lay. Looking down he spotted the simple white card. Picking it up, he smiled as he looked at the inscription before placing it with the flowers.

To Ginny,

I hope you enjoy the flowers, no hard feelings. Enjoy your life with Draco.

All my love,

Harry

After making one final check, he walked out closing and locking the door behind him before he opened up his umbrella, walking down the street whistling a tune and he headed toward the Granger's Floral Shop. He wondered if Hermione had any plans for the evening.