MC4A - Paranormal Phantasm
Fill #12
Representations: Luna Lovegood; Neville Longbottom; Plants; Magic
Bonus Challenges: Casper's House; Second Verse (Not a Lamp); Second Verse (Tomorrow's Shade); Second Verse (Hot Apple)
Word count: 503
Beta: Aya Diefair
She saw him. He was silent most of the time, hidden in the background, but so was she. She saw as he trembled at the mention of Professor Snape, but perked up at the ingredients of potions. She saw as he devoured the texts on plants, how he focused his entire self on being good at this one thing. She saw the disappointment that ran through his shoulders when he received a letter from home. She knew that all he wanted was to make his family proud. She also knew that he needed to stop before he hurt himself.
She made herself known by handing him a small potted fireblossom one day. He had spluttered and asked why and she had merely smiled, you need it, she had said before waltzing off to watch the thestrals. He had walked up to her a few days later and presented to her a single bloom. It was a perfectly cultivated fireblossom flower and she had beamed. I knew you could do it.
He had blushed fiercely and she knew her words would stay in his mind. She was encouraging him to keep going. When she had handed over a moonflower plant and quirked an eyebrow at him, his face had set with determination. The next fortnight, he presented the blooming moonflower to her and she hugged him. You are better than you think you are.
A ghost orchid was next and it took several weeks for him to make it bloom. When she passed him in the hallways, he looked away ashamed but she always smiled encouragingly at him. It was a hard plant to grow, she knew. He knew it too, and that was why she had chosen it. If he could grow a ghost orchid, he might see just how brilliant he was. Finally, he met her gaze and showed her the fully-grown ghost orchid. She kissed him on the cheek. You are worthy of all that is good in the world.
He rose an eyebrow when she next gave him gillyweed and she grinned. It was a challenge of a different nature. A water plant was not like a land plant. He had to learn how to deal with different factors, both in gardening and in life. She was merely guiding him on his path. It took him more time than the moonflower and less than the ghost orchid. You are capable of so much.
The jade flower was the next gift. A notoriously hard plant to grow but she knew he could do it. She told him as much and she saw her belief settle as fact in his bones. Every single time she had given him a plant, he had been able to grow it, no matter how difficult it was. He would succeed with the jade flower just as he had with the others. Just before Yule, he took her to the flower and she saw the healthy plant in all its glory. I love you as you are.