"Friends Are The Family We Choose For Ourselves"

Summary: "Do you like plants, Neville?" Pomona inquired as she handed him the cup, almost accidentally spilling it on him because he wasn't paying attention. He nodded.
Prompt(s): A cross-generational friendship
Rating: K, Genre: Friendship, Characters: Pomona Sprout, Neville Longbottom, World: Hogwarts, Post-Hogwarts
Word Count: 1,439
Beta: TheNextFolchart

Notes: The word count is without the author's note as it reads in Doc Manager. This is my first time uploading anything I've written so I hope you like it

Sprouting Friendship

Pomona Sprout hummed away to herself happily as she tottered about in the greenhouses, making sure the Puffapods were all set for tomorrow's lesson with her Third Years and that the Asphodel were getting enough light because the Venomous Tentacula had grown larger then she'd anticipated at this stage of the year. There was so many different aspects to think about when caring for so many varieties of plants to ensure they all grew healthy enough for her classes. It was hard work, but she smiled to herself; who was she kidding? She wouldn't have it any other way.

"Trevor!" a boy's voice called abruptly, and she paused in surprise. "Trevor! Trevor!"

The voice seemed to be coming toward the greenhouses rather than getting farther away. She shuffled out of the greenhouse and peered around the corner. One of the Gryffindor First Years—the clumsy one—was meandering his way around, still calling for this Trevor. Was there even a 'Trevor' in his year? The school year had only just started, so she was still learning the names of the new students. At any rate, she couldn't see any reason why he would be hanging around the greenhouses on a Sunday. The boy ducked into one of the greenhouses and Pomona headed over worriedly. There was a reason she liked to keep the First Year more theoretical.

"Trev-"

"Boy," Pomona called as she poked her head in the door. The boy jumped and spun to face her fearfully. "Come now, it's not safe for you in there."

"I-I know, that's why I'm staying well away from the Fanged Geraniums," the boy stammered out nervously.

"Yes, well Trevor's clearly not in there so if you could—wait, what did you say?" Pomona changed her sentence halfway through as she realized he'd said something Herbology-related that was actually correct.

The boy must've misunderstood her question completely, though, because he started blubbering. "I-I'm r-really s-sorry, I jus-just was looking f-for Trevor and I thought h-he mi-might be in here because—pl-please d-don't expel me."

"Oh dear boy, I'm not going to expel you. Calm down. I just don't want you to get hurt," Pomona assured him gently as she approached the boy, putting an arm around him to navigate him out of the greenhouse. "Come on now, we'll find Trevor. Let me get you a cup of tea and you can tell me all about it, Mr…?"

"Neville Longbottom," the boy sniffed and she cringed inwardly at his unfortunate name; it would be Neville. "And thank you."

"No problem at all, my dear," Pomona insisted as she continued to guide him to her office. "So this Trevor you're looking for, why did you think he'd be in the greenhouses?"

"Because he likes Shrivelfigs," Neville said simply and she actually stopped in surprise.

"What kind of boy likes Shrivelfigs?"

"Trevor's a toad."

"Oh, right. That makes much more sense," Pomona admitted. She started moving again before something else struck her as odd. "Wait, what kind of a toad likes Shrivelfigs?"

Neville laughed.

"Well no matter, we'll track down this toad," Pomona assured him, pleased the boy was in better spirits.

They reached her quaint, comfortable office, and Pomona started busying herself with preparing the tea. She turned back to Neville to see he was wandering around her office, admiring the various plants crowding virtually every surface in the room. She brought the tray over to the desk, pleased to find just enough space to wedge it between her favourite shrub and a stack of homework she still needed to mark. Neville sat down politely on the other side of her desk. When she started pouring the tea, she saw he seemed far more interested in her shrub.

"Do you like plants, Neville?" Pomona inquired as she handed him the cup, almost accidentally spilling it on him because he wasn't paying attention. He nodded. "Any idea what kind of plant that is?"

"No," Neville said quickly as he took the cup, "I erm… I mean I think it could err… maybe possibly be some kind of a shrub?"

"Absolutely correct!" Pomona praised him and Neville gave a sheepish smile. "You were right, you shouldn't be afraid to have a go. You just need to be a bit more confident."

"Well, I don't know everything," Neville pointed out, his smile deflating. "I don't know what kind of shrub it is."

"Well of course you don't, no one does. That's the point of Herbology class, to learn what you don't know," Pomona assured him. Neville sipped his tea thoughtfully. "And for future reference, it's a Self-Fertilising Shrub, and… well, its name kind of gives away what it does."

"It can make its own fertiliser?" Neville looked impressed, and not put off in the slightest.

Pomona grinned as she launched into an explanation to a student who was actually interested in hearing about her passion. She had a good feeling about this boy.

"Oh!" Neville cried abruptly, interrupting her mid-sentence and slapping a hand to his face. "I just remembered, I had last had Trevor down in the dungeons for Potions!" He jumped to his feet and bolted to the door, almost knocking over her shrub in his haste. Pomona heard the skidding of his footsteps before he poked his head back in the doorway.

"I'm really sorry, Professor, we should do this again sometime but I just really have to go ge-"

"It's fine, dear," Pomona assured him with a wave of her hand for him to go on. "Get your toad."

"Thank you, Professor Sprout!" Neville blurted out gratefully before tearing away again. Pomona sighed, shaking her head fondly at his forgetfulness as she sipped her tea.

Many years later…

"Here, let me get that," Neville offered helpfully.

Pomona moved aside readily to let him make the tea, shuffling over to her desk to rest her aching feet. And knees. And back. And whatever else part of her old bones felt like aching these days. She sighed to herself; she was getting too old for this. She was finding it harder to enjoy teaching her classes these days. Bustling about on her feet all day and spending her nights squinting at handwriting on homework was becoming too much to her. She was exhausted just caring for the plants, and the new school year hadn't even started yet.

"Thank you, Neville dear," Pomona said gratefully as the boy—or rather, man, as he was grown now—came back over with the tray of tea. She still liked this part of the job: keeping in touch with her favourite subjects.

"Professor?"

Pomona realized she'd been so distracted that she'd almost spilled the cup.

"So you were saying?" Pomona prompted, wanting to continue the discussion and forget her clumsiness as she sipped her drink.

"I was saying…? Oh yeah," Neville recalled after a moment's thought as he idly stirred his own drink, looking conflicted. "It's not like I don't want to be an Auror anymore, I know it's important what we do and all but… Well, we have pretty much taken down most of the Death Eaters who evaded arrest after the Battle of Hogwarts, so the worst is over with. And I—I don't know if this sounds selfish, but I am a father now, and every time I go out there I feel afraid of something happening to me. I just don't want my son to grow up like I did. Children should be able to know their parents."

"You're not selfish," Pomona assured him as she patted his hand comfortingly. "It's okay to feel like that. You've done more than your fair share in making the world safe over the years. You deserve to be able to enjoy that safe world with your son."

"Thank you." Neville smiled sheepishly. "Of course there's the other problem, if I do quit being an Auror then I still need to something. Preferably not just work at Hannah's pub."

Pomona felt as if someone had just cast Lumos in her brain.

"Do you like plants, Neville?" Pomona inquired, and her former student looked at her in surprise before nodding suspiciously at the very obvious question. "In that case, there's a career in Herbology opening up that you might be interested in."