My mind was elsewhere when I took my place in the greenhouse for Herbology class; it was difficult to process the antics of the night before. Instead of testing the potions like James had hoped, last night enabled me to cut out some of them that I knew would not work, if for example the ingredients made some other type of elixir.
I was still rather bewildered over James' devotion for the plan he had formed. It was clear to everyone that James was born to be in Gryffindor; he was courageous and daring, and would never let injustice go unnoticed. However, to say that he was going to fight back was one thing. Acting on it was taking it to a whole new level.
I would always be by his side, and it wasn't like I was afraid of the danger that came with the notion of death eaters, no. It would be much more sensible, however, if he had mentioned this to his father. The death eaters nowadays were notoriously more violent, more uncontrollable, and much more desperate. Voldemort was dead, but it did not mean his followers were any less passionate about the cause. Dark magic would always be around. Although, without a leader, who was to say that they couldn't be beaten for good?
With the amount of potions that James had made, it would seem so, right?
The sheer extent of viles were immense, filling up at least thirty compartments in a rolling trolley. He told me that it had only taken him since the start of term to complete; only. Indeed, only two months of pain staking hardship with a copper cauldron as his exclusive companion. I had forgotten to ask him how he had managed to hide such a huge task without me being any the wiser.
I regained attention for the lesson once my teacher had entered. He placed himself along the narrow section of the circle which we had made around one of the tables. Molly, who was at the top right area of the circle, stood beside her good friends, Penelope Fisher and Jane Lynch. She gave me a smile and a wave, which I mirrored, before settling herself for the lesson.
Professor Longbottom banged his papers on the table to neaten them. "Venomous Tentacula; one of the most dangerous plants we have on the Hogwarts grounds," he said with enthusiasm, but from the look on the student's faces, not everyone shared such passion. "Today, we will be learning how to successfully collect samples."
There was murmuring from all of us that grew louder. "I hope we still get to swear if they hit us," said Justin Gudgeon from beside me.
"Actually, Mr. Gudgeon, contrary to popular belief, they bite. Some have seen them fire spore-like balls from their mouths." Professor Longbottom finished with a proud smile. "-And they tend to strangle, too."
This shut Justin up, his bug eyes open wide even more than usual.
Lorcan Scamander raised his hand with a finger over his tightly pursed mouth. He had permission to speak once the rest of the class had silenced. "Professor Longbottom, if I may ask, is it true that the vines are mobile to catch prey?"
"Yes, Mr. Scamander! Five points to Ravenclaw."
Lorcan was the only one to clap in reaction while the rest of students sniggered and chortled.
Professor Longbottom continued. "You ought to be extremely careful with these plants, so please wear your dragon-hide gloves if you're going to be handling them. If you want to sniff some valerian to calm your nerves, they're right beside each station."
My mind hazed up with the thought of my encounter last night; the exchange of valerian. Scorpius was a character, alright. His nature was something to admire, and I felt quite guilty afterwards for type-casting him so effortlessly. He was more than just a Slytherin; he was friendly, clever, and really rather charming. The thought of seeing him again, to learn more about him, thrilled me- more than it should have.
"Miss Longbottom, would you like to share with the class what you know about collecting samples from a Venomous Tentacula?"
My vision cleared to see everyone in the greenhouse watching me. I tried to hide my embarrassment.
My father did this to me whenever we were taught something new; a 'Longbottom fire round quiz', he liked to call it. The only reason for it was because he expected me to be as passionate for Herbology as him, which was far from the truth.
"Use the severing charm to shear off the vines." I answered without thinking, before hearing a grumble of insults from the Slytherins.
"Exactly! Five points to Gryffindor. Does anyone else know how to take the samples after that?"
A collection of silence filled the room.
Professor Longbottom clapped his hands in excitement. "Excellent. That's what today's lesson is for. However, since last year's lesson went… not so well." One student was left with a deep scar across their cheek. "-therefore, my seventh year students have come to my rescue and each of them will be paired up with one of you. They are here to help and advise, so use them while they're here!"
As if on cue, the seventh year students came darting in, and our class began to converse and joke with a rumble. Some plants began to shake from the vibrations of sound erupting from the room, and I saw the Bowtruckle from yesterday evening peeping from a hole in the small bush in the corner of the room, then immediately rushing back in with a hiss. The clear panels of the greenhouse were becoming more condensed than before. Students were overcrowding the narrow halls of the small classroom, and towering over my already tall stature. A boy with ginger hair rushed over to Molly and wrestled her into a hug from behind. I did not see his face, but it was most likely one of her cousins, possibly Fred.
Most students had already found their pairs while I walked over to my father, textbook in hand.
"Everything okay, Coraline? Do you know what you're supposed to be doing?" he said professionally.
"I think you've taught me well enough by now, professor." I joked, then chose to hush and lower my tone of voice, just enough to be heard from the room full of cheer. "Any word on mum?"
His expression changed, smile drooping to a stern line. "Now is not the most appropriate time to talk about this. We'll speak about this later, tonight sometime, is that alright?"
I nodded in response and took a large gulp.
After Professor Longbottom had swiftly moved around me to tend to some of the more docile plants, I felt a finger lightly tapping on my shoulder. I swivelled on my feet to meet the culprit, which was none other than Scorpius.
It was true what they say about coincidence being an illusion.
His blonde hair looked neater and tamed today, a tuft of hair at the front slicked slightly to the side. He had a cleft in his chin, which I had not noticed earlier; it gave him a sweetness to his strong features.
"I probably should have realised that I'd be seeing you today as well, huh?" said Scorpius with a slight smile while pulling his dragon-hide gloves on, then following to pass me a pair. I took them graciously.
"What makes you think you can pair up with me then?" I questioned light heartedly.
Scorpius surveyed the room, to which I followed, and I saw that everyone had been partnered up already and waiting for instructions. He looked back at me and smirked.
"Does it look like I have a choice?" he said, and my cheeks turned crimson red.
"Looks like neither of us have a choice." We took our place next to one of the stations in the greenhouse with the Venomous Tentacula concealed by a white sheet. While we were given instructions, Scorpius had already started by taking the sheet off and seizing his wand from the back pocket of his trousers. I looked up at him, perplexed, a hand over his wand. "I know what I'm doing."
"Oh, I know," he replied, his smile contagious. "Just repaying the favour from yesterday."
The plant began spitting and hissing, a dollop of drool inching down its body, and we had to stand back to avoid the vines that were flailing powerfully. We stood there in silence to focus before I grasped my wand.
"Diffindo," I exclaimed.
This caused the plant to convulse as a bright, hot pink light flashed before us both, leaving two large vines chopped from the body and onto the table. Scorpius repeated this with the other vines. His spell was much more authoritative than mine. As was his voice.
"What are you doing after class then?" asked Scorpius, his eyes attentive on me while I buried my head down and squeezed slime from the thick leaves of the vine.
"I-." I paused for thought, trying not to become too distracted. "I don't know."
"Oh. That's alright."
"Why'd you ask?"
The slime was then decanted into a container by Scorpius.
"I just wanted to know if I'd see you around after dinner. I don't really have a clue what Gryffindor's do in their own time."
I stared at him, amused. "Nothing out of the ordinary of what Slytherins do." It was a statement, but there was a hint of inquiry and genuine perplexity in my voice.
"You haven't answered my question." Scorpius smiled cheekily.
"Do you really want me to answer now, when I've got a nasty plant to research?"
"I want nothing more than for you to answer."
"-And what if I don't?"
"Then I haven't done my job right."
"Are you saying that you, Scorpius Malfoy, are that desperate to see me again?"
"Can you please answer the question?" Scorpius proclaimed with a laugh, crunching the leaves into a paste.
"You answer mine first."
It did not even take him a split second to think about the answer.
"Yes."
I couldn't help but beam, and my hand moved over to hide my face. I hadn't expected that, but on the inside it make me slightly happy.
"Then, yes." I replied, not meeting his gaze nor his smug smile.
"Yes, what?" he asked with wit.
"Yes, you can see me after dinner."
As he moved his wand onto the table, the side of his hand brushed against my fingers. He decided to leave them there and I gazed up to meet him, but he quickly disconnected. It looked as if he was holding back a radiating grin, and my breathing became sharper.
I knew I had failed the moment I took my attention off the task. By then, we couldn't have dodged the incoming fireball that came our way; Scorpius tried to help by pulling me towards him, however it still scraped the side of his shoulder. His body trembled from the impact and he reluctantly let out an obscenity.
"First one of the lesson! Who bet ten minutes?" one of the students joked, which I believed to be one of the Weasley boys.
Another cried "Malfoy, you suck!"
Professor Longbottom raced over as Scorpius tried to swat the burning sensation from his skin with a newspaper. I senselessly stepped backwards while my father tended to his wound. He lifted Scorpius' robe and shirt sleeve up to see a deep, round gash the size of an egg, and I couldn't help but squirm.
"I-I-I'll take him to the hosp-pital w-wing," Professor Longbottom sputtered nervously. "Students, p-please pull the sheets over the Venomous Tentacula before you leave. You are di-dismissed."
Scorpius took one last look at me before being rushed off to Madam Boothby. His smile never faded, yet it was more gentle and subdued, and a little bit displeasured. I waved once, uncomfortably, before tending to my plant.
A/N: Wow, this took me a while to write! I completed it two days ago but I had to come back to tweek it, especially in regards to Neville. I found it really difficult to get his personality right, but I hope I did him justice! I kept a little bit of his nervousness and passion for herbology, but I think I had to make him sound more professional cause… well… he's a teacher now haha!
I hope you liked it anyway!