Scene Twelve
Remus stopped outside and looked down the cascading lawn, trying to remember what his mother said about the head teacher of Hufflepuff. She was a merry short and stout woman of the name Professor Sprout and loved to work in the greenhouses even when she didn't have to teach. From his schedule he knew they shared the class with other Hufflepuff first years so he ruled out following a group of older looking students down the left slope of the castle grounds and ruled out in going in the opposite direction. He curled one hand into a fist so that it was hidden in the fabric of a cloak sleeve as he picked at the skin around his fingernails nervously, hoping he was leading the pack to the right location.
He hated to think that he was acting like James earlier this morning in assuming where to go. Remus tried to think over what his mother had told him about her former house, knowing that she worked afterschool in the greenhouses with Professor Sprout in her later years at Hogwarts. She had told him that she hated it when it rained because they were located in the opposite area of the castle. Remus looked behind his shoulder as he led the group of equally clueless boys away from the castle, hoping that he was remembering his mother correctly. He wished he had been given a map or asked his mother and father exactly where his classes were located around the school but knew he would only have known to ask in hindsight. He sighed and nervously twitched his heavy shoulder bag to the other side of his body as he saw the peak of an iron point in the distance. He picked up his pace and wandered up the small hill where the roof of the building in question revealed more of itself. Rising before him and the other Gryffindor boys was the iron-gated entrance to the Green houses.
"Ugh," Remus heard Sirius grunted. "I was hoping we would never find the Herbology classes in favour of playing in the water flooded hallway again," he grumbled. "Herbology isn't going to be interesting unless we are dealing with extremely dangerous plants," the boy stated in a matter-fact tone of voice.
"Think about the possibilities though," he heard James counter in his hopeful tone, "we are in greenhouse. Which means that we don't have desks, so we aren't going to be stuck behind tables and have to worry about taking super detailed theory notes." Remus opened the rusty iron-gate and walked down the dirt lane lined with six different greenhouses. He headed for the closest one on his left and allowed himself to smile outwardly at it being the correct one. A copper plant holder with some sort of tall, flowering organism held the door open. Even though it was only midmorning, the temperature in the greenhouse made Remus question why he decided to wear a jumper. In the centre of that particular Greenhouse was an extremely wide wooden table with plants held in trays on all sides of the interior, soaking in the sunshine. Remus walked toward the large group of students in black cloaks in the front of the room and tried to get a peek at the professor who was heard making small talk to the group of students there. He turned around just he heard the school's bell announce that it was nine o'clock sharp.
"All right, dears," he shuffled in the direction of the voice and managed to see a section of the teacher. "Even though the bell started, I will wait for the other first years to arrive." The tall boy in front of Remus moved left and Remus eagerly took his place. From his new position he was able to see the short professor that was his mother's favourite teacher and also head of house. Underneath the thick witch's hat tied underneath the professor's chin, short greying blonde hair poked itself out of the confines of the hat. Remus smiled without realising it, happy to see someone whom his mother adored. In that moment, when he was alone in a crowd of his classmates, he felt happy and oddly at peace; he felt closer to his mother in that instant. Professor Sprout continued to talk with a cluster of students around her; Remus surmised them to be first year Hufflepuff students.
She could have been his head of house, Remus thought. He wondered how she would react at knowing about his condition and wondered if she had any clue that not all of the students in her class were human. It was a sick, twisted sense of humour but it was one Remus learned to like. Instead, though, Professor Sprout was blissfully unaware of Remus and what his father called his 'circumstance'. From his safe distance away from the bubbly professor, Remus was able to overhear her talking about the process in which she selected plants to be in the Hufflepuff Common Room in response to a question posed by own of her own.
A few more first years entered the green house minutes later and in response Professor Sprout clapped her hands. In immediate response everyone quieted down and shuffled around the professor in a semi-circle to accommodate all of the students vying for a position to see the professor. James and Sirius stood close behind Remus, craning their necks to look at the teacher.
"I think a few of your classmates are missing," she announced clapping her hands together as she turned to look the class surrounding her. "But I congratulate all of you on finding Greenhouse One! We will meet here for classes unless extreme weather conditions disallow us to go venture outside, and in the event of that scenario we will meet somewhere in the ground floor or basement classrooms. My name is Professor Pomona Sprout and I will be your instructor in the art of Herbology."
"Look at her hair," Remus overheard Sirius comment to James.
"And I thought I had bad hair," James replied and Sirius muffled a laugh.
Remus shuffled in discomfort, trying to not overhear them. "You get away with it though, like in the way it looks like you don't worry about your looks and that it just happens naturally."
"That's because I don't worry about my looks and it does just happen naturally. My dad has the same thing happen to his hair; he calls it the 'Potters' Curse."
"Oh," Sirius breathed out. "Don't tell any girls that."
"I always ask the faculty to make a map of the school to hand out to students—especially to first years," Professor Sprout said merrily to the class, "but as you can see my suggestion never seems to be picked up by the other teachers. Oh! It looks like more of the class is coming in," Remus and his classmates turned around to the entrance of the greenhouse to watch a handful more of students walk in. Remus spotted shoulder length red hair and strained his neck to single Lily out in his vision walk in next to the other Gryffindor girl first year, Mary. Lily saw Sirius and James and narrowed her eyes, crinkling her nose as if she smelt something horrible. She jerked her head to Mary in the direction of the front of the class. Remus stepped aside to give the girls room to walk by and wondered what Lily's problem was with the boys, did she know them before the start of term and gotten on wrong with both James and Sirius? But that did not explain how James and Sirius were immune of Lily's ill feelings to them.
"Hello, hello, walk-ins!" the teacher announced the late group. "I am your instructor, Professor Sprout. Welcome to beginner Herbology, and as well as the first class in your Hogwarts career." Even though the announcement was spoken in a merry, carefree tone, it still sent chills down Remus's back and other student's. Professor Sprout stopped in her speech as the students murmured from shared anticipation.
"This woman is so typically Hufflepuff, it's a little sad," Sirius spoke to James much to Remus's discomfort.
"I was thinking the exact same thing! Like, it's no wondered how she became their head of house. It is so obvious that she would go with them. I know she must be really smart or whatever with plants, but she looks like such a loser. She seems nice, but so Hufflepuff, you know?"
"So glad I wasn't sorted there," Sirius whispered back to James, unaware that they were in a shared class with the species they seemed to despise so much. Remus had enough and began to walk away, feeling sympathy towards Lily who seemed to hate James and Sirius. "Woah," Remus turned his head sharply as someone grabbed his arm. Sirius had grabbed his elbow, "Where are you going, man?"
"Uh," Remus flicked his eyes left and right as he thought of a lie. "I can't see. I thought I would get a closer view."
James and Sirius nodded in understanding, "Too bad there isn't much to see, right mate?" James joked and Sirius had to control the volume of his laughter. Remus faked a smile, which he thought was unconvincing but Sirius let go of his arm and allowed him to walk to the front of the crowd. He slid in the spaces between students and stopped behind a girl he recognised as Lily Evans. She brushed back her recognisable hair and made eye contact with Remus. Her emerald green eyes met his icy blue and Remus blushed as he glanced down at the dirt floor; embarrassed that she had caught him staring.
He hated that she was pretty because it made hard for him to stare anywhere else. He was entranced by her hair and by her similar disinterest in James and Sirius, and by her seemed unhappiness at being in sorted into Gryffindor last night at the Sorting feast. He knew nothing about her yet he thought he liked her; he chastised himself for this. His father had told him numerous times through the years that it was useless to fall in love with looks since they would fade, but he could not help it. He hated that he thought he liked her especially since he knew next to thing about her and what he did know was just speculation. And while his father had never advised him against falling in love, Remus knew it was useless for him to even allow himself to like someone. What was he thinking, deluding himself into believing he would be able to properly like someone? He was a sufferer of lycanthropy for Merlin's sake. He had never shared knowledge his romantic affections, not even with his most trusted companion, his father, but he knew that it was futile. Who would want to love a werewolf?
Remus shook his head as he thought over the truth, listening half-heartedly as Professor Sprout spoke to them about their agenda for that year. No one had ever broached the subject of love with him before, but he knew it was impossible outside of his parents loving him—which was all together a different kind of love, Remus thought with furrowed brows. He nodded his chin to his chest, yes; he would get over his little fascination with the girl Lily Evans. He hadn't even been here two full days and he was already holding a flame for a girl; he came to Hogwarts to learn, not to fall in love.
It made sense, he reasoned, he was in he middle of people who he had never met before and people who knew nothing about him. Statistically he was bound to like at least one girl. He forgave himself for his emotions but he told himself that he was allowed to feel them but not allowed to act upon them. It was ridiculous, he told himself, futile. It was one thing by thinking he liked this girl, it was a whole different thing to act upon it, he scoffed. He tightened his grip on the leather strap that was slung diagonally over his chest so that his knuckles turned white. She was only a girl, and it was only a crush.
"The subject that we know as Herbology is a history rich in ritual and detail," he forced to listen to Professor Sprout's words. "It was once known as Herbalism in medieval times and was even practiced by Muggles who saw the healing abilities of the subject. This of course was in the times where witches, wizards, and Muggles coexisted in overall peace," she added sorrowfully, as if she was personally sad about the split between the Muggle world and the magical one. It is also connected to potions, as many of you may know. What would potions be if we did not study and learn the importance of the ingredients as well as their healing or harmful abilities?" She paused at the rhetorical question she posed to the class. "Herbology, or Herbalism, is also essential to magical education because it is vital for all of us to know how to handle particularly dangerous species. In fact, that was how the knowledge of Herbology was passed on during times when the literacy rate was low; when needed to go on journeys, legends would be told for wizards to look out for some plant species that were known to be harmful. Because of this, fantastic legends were borne for some plants, but a basic understanding and knowledge of Herbology was born.
Because of the vital importance of this subject matter, we are going to start off this semester of the year with a project. Each one of you is going to be partnered up with another student and your group's responsibility is going to be to raise a garden successively for a multitude of plants." She paused, "but do not worry, nothing will be too dangerous for you all. That is for the years to come in the higher levels of Herbology," she added playfully. Remus shifted from one foot to the other nervously, unhappy to hear the knowledge that he would have to work with another person. He knew no one else besides his Gryffindor housemates and Andrew, but could not imagine himself approaching someone to be partners with someone else. How should he go about asking a stranger to be his partner for the entire semester, possibly with Remus missing classes because of his transformations? He leaned so that he could see Andrew, but he was talking confidently to one of his beloved housemates. Remus sighed and looked around for Peter, figuring he would be the next best option. Perhaps, after all, behind Peter's lost demeanour was a knowledgeable person on the magical properties of plants and a natural green thumb.
"Because I feel like it is a bit of a punishment," Remus stopped his search for the squat boy and looked back at the Professor holding her glove covered thumb and index finger apart less than an inch away from each other. "To force you to work with someone you have never met, I am going to place it upon myself to sort you into groups. Hopefully you will work with someone and learn more about your classmates; and this way, if things go sour, then you can blame me!" Professor Sprout clapped her hands together and beamed at the class. Remus actually sighed in relief at hearing her words. He laughed in his head at people like James, Sirius, and Andrew, people who were confident and friendly without any trouble or thought. Now they were all on the same playing field, with the teacher picking out everyone's partners.
"Everyone form a line down the greenhouse to make the process quicker," Professor Sprout shouted. This was easier said than done considering an extremely large working table blocked the route for most of the class. Remus tried to compose his face in a nonchalant fashion as he was forced by the mob behind him to literally rub shoulders with the particular shoulders of Lily Evans. He swore he felt a tingling sensation radiate from the spot on his right shoulder all the way to the tips of his fingers. "Now then," Professor Sprout stood near Remus's end of the line and looked down at her students standing all the way near the entrance. "Organise yourself in order of date of birth, as a nice little ice breaker." Remus widened his eyes, her command would force him to interact and talk with complete and total strangers. "I merely jest," Remus returned his eyes to their normal size at Sprout's joke as his classmates laughed in shared relief. "Starting with you," she tapped the shoulder of the first year standing next to her, "starting with—"
"Dean Ciero," the boy answered.
"Yes, starting with Mr Ciero, I will pick out everyone's partner down the row." Remus watched over his left shoulder at Lily, not admitting to himself that he should have done something to ensure that he stood on Lily's left instead of allowing Mary to take that spot as he tried to scramble in a position in line. He looked over the way Professor Sprout was tapping out partners and he determined that the boy to his right would be placed as his own. Remus tried to not make it apparent as he looked over the all right looking boy. He was almost positive that the Hufflepuff first year had great qualities; the only problem the boy could not resolve was that he was not a first year Gryffindor named Lily Evans.
What was he doing? Had he not just been chastising himself for the rashness and total improbability of him having an actual crush on Lily Evans? Had he not just rationed it out that of course he was going to have a crush on at least one girl at school merely because he had never been in the presence of so many girls before? Had he not just been granted a chance in a lifetime by being able to attend school, and he was really going to risk it on the second day of term, the first day of classes, on a crush? Because that is all it was, he told himself. It was only a crush because he hadn't been exposed to a lot of pretty girls like Lily before. He was a waste, he told himself, a waste that was acting like a lovesick puppy. Yes, he decided, it was better for him not to have the option of working with Miss Evans. Who was he anyway, using her first name like he knew her? He was deluding himself that was all. Remus forced himself to fix his mouth into a semblance of a smile as his mother's favourite professor made her way to his area in the line and turned to introduce himself to the Hufflepuff student next to him when Professor Sprout tapped his left shoulder with the right shoulder of the person standing to his left. He quickly jerked his head in the direction and blanched when his desire and fears were made a reality as he looked into the face of Lily Evans—Miss Evans.
"Well, what are you two waiting for, introductions are in order," Remus gladly looked away from Lily Evans to the Professor. The ruddy professor smiled widely to them both before moving on to pair the Hufflepuff boy to Remus's right.
"Uh," Lily started, extending her right hand in Remus's direction. "I'm Lily Evans. We met last night at the Gryffindor table."
"Yes, yes, I remember," Remus wiped his sweaty palm on the fabric of his trousers before shaking her hand. "Shall we begin then? How are you at Herbology?"
"Your name?" Remus looked up from the ground at Lily, trying hard not to look at her eyes and instead focused on the area behind her right shoulder.
"Excuse me?" he questioned as the others around them talked with their partners.
"Your name. I remember you from last night; you're the one that shared the chocolate. But I don't remember your name."
"Oh, yes, right," Remus cursed his nervousness that wasn't caused by an anticipation for classes. He had learnt to deal with that anticipation, but never had he experienced the sort of nervousness that stemmed from a girl. "My name is Remus Lupin."
"I am glad everyone has this chance to know one another." Everyone quieted as Professor Sprout began to speak again. "I am not going to pass out the list of ingredients you will have to be responsible for because this year Professor Slughorn from potions is teaming up with me. In all of your next potion's class you shall all receive a copy of the list of plants so you can all begin research on how to properly care of each plant's individual needs. Next class each group shall receive their growing kits and seeds. You all will have access to your plants, which will be stored in this greenhouse, during school hours and before curfew. This project shall run until Christmas Break, but don't take that as me trying to scare you. I will meet multiple times with each group and help anyone with any sort of problems that could arise." Remus sucked in a nervous breath; he made a mental note to write his mother about the list of plants in case she held any advice in to proceed with the important seeming project.
"As for now, since we have plenty of time remaining in this class, I would like you give you all a general tour of the Greenhouses and the facilities that you will work in for at least the next four years."
