Theodore Nott was having one of the most boring years of his existence. None of his friends ever did anything together anymore, though it wasn't as if he was really a part of their "gang" anyway. He detested all of them simpering after Malfoy, willing to do whatever the spoiled prat wanted. Blaise was about the only one whose company he could enjoy, but this year he was caught up being a part of the even more unbearable Slug Club. Draco had been moody and withdrawn since the train ride in, and Theo didn't doubt he was in the midst of a lot of unpleasantness surrounding his father's fall from grace and a new (perhaps unwanted?) house guest. Crabbe and Goyle, of course, disappeared with their ringleader constantly, though Theo had heard some disturbing girly impersonations coming from them when they had thought they were alone in the dorm. Pansy and the girls tended to stick together more often than not this year, hardly deigning to give any of the boys even a wave in their direction. And then there was Theo, completely and utterly and hopelessly bored.
Which had led to him walking that same listless walk around that same unchanging route surrounding the Black Lake at an unreasonably early part of the day. Unfortunately, practically nobody was sleeping well these days, which was a real disappointment because Theo could have done with anything to shorten the time he had to be awake in this damned castle. He supposed he shouldn't be too eager to leave. After all, his father would surely expect of him what had become of Draco once he came back for the summer. After all, he was of age now, and though he would be coming back to the castle for his final year at Hogwarts that didn't mean he had to wait any longer to pledge his life to… well, he didn't really want to think about it.
He made his way back across the grounds, his walk ruined by unwanted thoughts of the upcoming summer break, making sure to steer far clear of the oaf's hut with his slobbering, mangy dog, and ended up on the greenhouse side of the castle. For the first time in awhile, curiosity overtook him. He knew that Professor Sprout allowed open access to the greenhouses from as early as five in the morning and onward. There were plenty of N.E.W.T. level Herbology students that worked on year-long projects and apprenticeships with Professor Sprout, as well as a few advanced Potions students who preferred the freshest ingredients, and the occasional Healer-in-Training putting in work with the medicinal plant species. Theo had never deigned to enter the greenhouses before, as he had never really been a fan of dirt or bugs or sweat or anything that was dirty and required much more work than he was prepared to do. But he supposed it couldn't hurt to pop in for a few minutes and check out the projects. It wasn't as if he would actually have to touch the plants - probably safer if he didn't, to be honest - and perhaps he could find some ingredients for the next Potions class to get a one-up on Potter and his annoying and entirely suspicious new skill in brewing.
He pushed open the door to the greenhouse he knew was for potion and infirmary supplies and almost turned right around to walk back out. Right in front of him, up to his elbows in dirt and already sweating despite the early morning-chill, was Neville fucking Longbottom. Theo let out an irritated sigh that the idiot heard and, instead of ignoring him and allowing Theo to escape, Longbottom started up a conversation.
"What are you doing here?" Neville grumbled out, eyeing Theo as if he had come to pull his precious plants out from their meticulously cared for pots.
"Out for a morning stroll. Got bored. Thought I might get some supplies for Potions," Theo tried to keep it as short as possible. As much as he wanted to leave right then and there, he truly did need to fill up his embarrassingly low supply of even the more basic ingredients.
"In the back right," Neville grunted, turning back to his work. Theo rolled his eyes and went to move past, but he noticed the way Longbottom was working with the plants and it was almost mesmerizing and he found himself rooted to the spot. Gone was the bumbling, blubbery boy from previous years and various classes and Theo almost didn't recognize this boy who moved with such grace and care, exuding confidence. Theo realized that he had stumbled upon Longbottom in his best element, and was surprised to realize he felt a grudging amount of respect towards the boy. He was even impressed.
"You wouldn't happen to be working on anything particularly exciting would you? It's been a remarkably slow year for me and I'm interested in learning just about anything," Theo asked casually, and the truth was he really did feel a curiosity towards the boy's obvious knowledge in plant-life. Maybe he was missing something by not going outside to toil in the sun all day.
Longbottom actually stood at full height at Theo's question, staring at the smaller boy in disbelief. Whether that disbelief was aimed at the fact that he was being asked the question by a Slytherin (a Slytherin he had never had any particular conflict with, but a Slytherin nonetheless) or because he had had the audacity to suggest that this year, of all years, was boring Theo couldn't figure out. He could feel Longbottom scanning his face, studying his body language, trying to determine if he was the butt of some nasty Slytherin joke - again. Apparently, he could sense the sincerity in Theo's request and, warily, he shrugged his shoulders.
"I always feel that there are exciting things happening in the greenhouses, but almost nobody else would agree with me. I'm not really working on anything in particular today, just general upkeep and that sort of thing," Longbottom replied to him before turning back to his work. Theo shifted uncomfortably and he wondered if it was such a good idea to stick around with the more-confident-than-he-remembered Gryffindor when Longbottom looked back at him, smirked, and motioned his head for Theo to come over.
"There's a bag of fertilizer to my right. I'm going to need you to grab it, pop it open, and scoop a bit up," Longbottom's request shocked Theo even more. That the Gryffindor was willing to teach him, but also expected him to help were equally hilarious and unheard of and Theo had to control a cackle coming out of his mouth. His nose crinkled at the fertilizer and he made to complain before catching himself. He'd be damned if Neville Longbottom, of all the bloody people in the world, would get the best of him. The other boy probably not only expected but anticipated Theo refusing, and Theo felt a rush of spite as he pointed at the fertilizer with his wand and cut the bag open.
"No wands," Longbottom said immediately, and Theo was a bit put out that the boy's expression was flat. He didn't seem remotely surprised or angry or happy that the Pureblood Slytherin had decided to participate in his dirty plant project. Theo wondered why he cared what Longbottom thought anyway.
"Why no wands?" Theo asked instead of making a snarky remark like he had wanted to do. And again, he was genuinely curious. The Sorting Hat hadn't considered him for Ravenclaw for nothing.
"Some of the plants are a bit sensitive to various spells. Other than that, if you had missed your aim with that cutting curse it could have nicked something else and I'm not going to lose my privileges in the greenhouse because of you," Longbottom replied, and the words could have been biting, but the boy said them so matter-of-factly Theo couldn't bring himself to be irritated. After all, he really had been a bit careless with his spell.
He set back to scooping up the dung, his eyes watering a bit at the smell. He expected to feel disgust at the work, but he was honestly only disappointed in himself for being so affected by a damn smell when it didn't seem to bother Longbottom at all.
"What am I supposed to do?" Theo gestured a bit helplessly at the cup.
"The cup will be spread out among these sprouts here," Longbottom pointed at the row he had been working at, "and then you'll get another cup and spread it on the ones opposite. Shouldn't be too hard, even for a beginner. Just make sure you're not putting too much in one pot."
"I thought plants needed a lot of this shit to grow?" Theo asked, grinning at his pun despite himself. He saw Longbottom's mouth twitch at it too, and he felt a small victory.
"It's a common misconception. People put a whole bag of fertilizer on a small plot of land and get confused when nothing grows. Not only that, but too much fertilizer can ruin the taste of certain plants, and in a lot of these cases it can severely damage the potency of some that are used for Potions ingredients," Longbottom took the cup of fertilizer from his hands, took out a pinch, showing Theo the proper amount to put in, "what we're working with here is sage. They also have to be closer to the windows of the greenhouse to get all of the extra sunlight they can, as more sunlight increases the potency for this particular plant, too."
Theo could tell that Longbottom was in his element, and though he never dreamed of a day he would find plant-life interesting he couldn't deny that Longbottom knew what the hell he was talking about, and so he spoke with an easy confidence.
"Is the sage being grown for Boil Bursting Unction?" Theo may not know how to take care of plants, but he was no slouch when it came to their uses.
"Madame Pomfrey said she was running a bit low, yeah, but we use it for more than just that," Longbottom grinned to himself, a secret joke, but Theo couldn't bring himself to ask what it was, "we've also got lavender growing in the outdoor area that I need to check on before I head in for breakfast."
Theo found himself asking a multitude of questions as he followed Longbottom around the greenhouse, sprinkling fertilizer here, watering a few plants there, and even, after Longbottom deemed him competent enough to do so, snipping a few clippings for Professor Sprout to look over later. He could see why the boy enjoyed it, and he ended up enjoying it himself more than he thought he would. Theo was shocked when Longbottom checked the time and mentioned they had about twenty minutes to head back to the castle and shower off before breakfast would be served. Theo collected his Potions ingredients that he had picked up as the morning had wore on and he and Longbottom stood, both suddenly nervous, at the doorway.
"Thanks," Longbottom stammered out, his previous confidence a bit wavy at their unusual situation, "I actually was able to get a lot more done today than I normally am on these mornings."
"Thank you for teaching me a few things," Theo replied, not bothering to hide the gratefulness in his tone, "I would be lying if I said I didn't join you out of spite in the beginning, but I actually found it quite… educational," Theo struggled with what to say. It wasn't as if he complimented or extended gratitude towards Gryffindors on a regular basis, if he ever did.
"Should I expect to see you around again sometime?" Longbottom tried to ask casually and Theo was almost too shocked to reply, and a warm, pleased feeling ran through his body.
"Well, I mean we're not friends or anything," Theo found himself joking, and even Longbottom snorted at that, "but since you've offered the first real entertainment I've had this year it'd be difficult to not come back."
"Look at us, the Slug Club Rejects, bonding," Longbottom said in a mocking tone, though not a hint of malice was in his voice. Only amusement and perhaps a bit of perplexity.
"See you around, Longbottom," Theo gave a minute wave to the boy and hurried towards the castle, overcome with the urgency to shower. He didn't even want to imagine the comments at Slytherin table, especially from Blaise, if he showed up smelling like dung and soaked in sweat.
Neville watched the Slytherin go, a bit confused and quite a bit pleased, though he couldn't exactly put his finger on why. In any case, he thought to himself, amused, it would make for some more interesting mornings. Usually he preferred to be by himself, but Nott's quiet demeanor, genuine curiosity, and astonishingly helpful attitude had been a nice change from when he had previously had visitors come to the greenhouses. Even Luna, though she was also quite knowledgeable in Herbology as a whole, tended to eventually grate on him with her questioning why this or that plant species wasn't grown at Hogwarts.
Neville smirked to himself again at the memory of Nott working with the sage. It was particularly satisfying to see him care so intently for the subshrub that Professor Sprout gave to Firenze for the centaur herd in the Forbidden Forest. After he had taught at the school last year, the two Professors had struck up an agreement, as the centaurs used sage as a tool in stargazing. And if the lavender that Nott cared for was going to be used in the hospital wing as a mild soother, a remedy that was very entirely Muggle, well, he wouldn't mention it to the boy.
AN: So I wrote this with just some prompts/challenges in mind, but I'm lowkey interested in making a Theo/Neville multific? Let me know what you think! Also the title is a plant pun ahsgdghs
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