Disclaimer: JKR owns everything but my OCs and the plot.
Thanks to my awesome beta Everybody-knows55! You rock!
March 9, 2018: Hogwarts Greenhouse
"Um, sir?" A quiet voice began from behind Neville Longbottom. He sighed, as he had just started working on pruning a rare plant and hated being interrupted. He turned around to face the annoyance.
It was the Goyle girl. Why was he not surprised? She was no doubt going to try to make his life as miserable as her father had before her. Sure, she seemed harmless and shy, but surely, it was an act. It was a good one, good enough to fool the Hat into placing her in Hufflepuff, good enough to fool Rose Weasley into befriending her.
That still made absolutely no sense to Neville. Why would Rose hang around with those, those, those death eater spawn? Why? Had they out a spell on her, had they given her a potion? In his mind, he knew that they hadn't but his heart, that was a different thing.
"Sir?" The Goyle girl asked, her voice trembling. Yes, he thought, it was a good act.
"What do you want, Goyle?" He answered harshly, perhaps too harshly as the girl started shaking. Remember, he told himself, it is an act.
"I- I just wanted- just wanted to- to give you my assignment, s-sir," the girl trembled.
"What?" Neville asked in surprise, "That assignment wasn't due until next week."
"I finished it early," the Goyle girl answered in what would have been pride if she hadn't still been shaking.
Neville paused for a moment there, trying to remember if had ever seen her father shaking the way she was now. It was almost as if, almost as if she were sincere. No, it has to be an act!
"How could you have finished it? How is it possible that you made the Bowby bush settle and pick one colour in only two days? The normal time is more than a week, which is why I set the due date then!" He himself had been the only one to finish early when he was a first year…but he stopped his thoughts from going down that road.
"It wasn't all that hard. All the bush wanted was its branches untangled and its leaves straightened. Then I had a talk with it and I could sense it wanted a colour but it couldn't decide so I showed him my favourite color. It quite liked purple as well and picked that one, as you can see." The tremble was out of the Goyle girl's voice now leaving only the pride as she showed off the still, purple Bowby bush.
Neville stared in shock. Young Bowby bushes quivered and shook when approached and constantly changed colours. Their leaves, used in some colour potions, were no good until the bushes were calm and only one colour. It normally took a first year a long time to calm the bush and here this Goyle had it done in only two days! And he had given her (randomly, he told himself) the youngest, most nervous bush of all.
"Did I do the assignment right?" The girl asked, made nervous by Neville's silence.
"Yes. Yes you did." Neville had to admit it, much as he hated it. He wished this girl was not the daughter of his old tormentor because otherwise he might like her. It's an ACT! He reminded himself. Then another voice inside his head said, And what if it's not? Neville silenced that other voice immediately. It had to be an act.
"Can you take it now, sir?" The girl offered up the purple bush to him.
"Why don't you wait until it's due? Keep it calm until then." Neville told himself he was being fair to the other students. He secretly hoped that it would be messed up before next week.
The girl's face fell. Neville noticed something – was she crying? Very good act, he thought. But the other voice was back, It's not an act! She's really crying! Fix it. This time Neville (almost involuntarily) listened to that other voice.
He knelt down and looked the girl in the eyes. "What's wrong?"
"N-n-nothing sir."
"Tell me."
"It's just – just- if I bring – bring the bush back," the girl managed to say, "my-my dorm mates they'll- they'll – mess it up."
"I'm sure if that happens, I'll still give you a passing grade. I did see it in perfect condition today." Neville hoped that this attempt would placate the girl and the other inner voice. They both were annoying him.
Instead, the girl kept on crying.
"Why are you still upset? I said I'll pass you!"
"But- but-the poor- bush," The girl sobbed, "it'll- it will –will – get hurt! They might even k-ki-kill it!"
If Neville had thought he couldn't be any more surprised, he was proven wrong. A Goyle caring about whether a plant got hurt? Now he had seen everything. He was so shocked, he said, "Okay. I'll take it now."
The girl looked up with happy surprise on her face. She hadn't been expecting him to do it. "Thank you! Thank you, sir!" She smiled – then ran as if she was afraid he'd change his mind.
It has to be an act, he tried to get himself to believe it again. The other inner voice just laughed and said, It's not, and you know it.
A/n: How was it? The idea just came to me and I had to write it!