"Hello, children." A woman called. "I am Professor Sprout." Jackson heard hinges squeak. "Come on, inside the greenhouse. Need a hand, lad?" She laid a hand on his shoulder.
"I think I've got it, Professor, thank you." The greenhouse smelled nice, like warm, freshly turned dirt.
"Right. Seeing how it's your first day, we'll just go over the basics. There are dangerous plants in these greenhouses." Jackson heard shuffling feet and felt children pressing closer. "As such, you will do what I say, when I say it, no questions asked. You will not touch any plant I do not tell you to touch, even if you think you know what it is. Follow these simple rules and you'll be alright. Now, who wants to help me?" One girl started crying. No one spoke. "How about you, lad? Jackson, was it?" All of a sudden, none of the other students were touching him. Finding the narrow path between the other children with his cane, Jackson made his way forward. "Right. Now, I want you name as many Muggle plants as you can, and I'll tell you if we have them here at Hogwarts. Ready?"
"O-okay. Um, poison ivy?"
"Oh, I expect you can find that in the Forbidden Forest."
"Er, Rosemary? Thyme?"
"Yes, those are probably in the kitchens."
"Mint?"
"Mmm, Madame Pomfrey likes that with her tea."
"Er…"
"You're doing fine, just say whatever comes into your head. We won't laugh."
"Grass, moss, seaweed, oak trees, pine trees, maple trees, sycamore trees, apple trees, pumpkins-"
"Woah!" Professor Sprout chuckled. "One at a time! Let's see, there's definitely grass and moss, probably seaweed, we've all kinds of trees in the forest, though I'm not sure about apple, but Hagrid does have a pumpkin patch. Good show, 25 points for Hufflepuff. Anyone else want to take a guess?" Jackson made his way back to the group of students as they called out plant names. Someone squeezed his hand.
"That was really good." Mallory whispered.
"Thanks. Say, I slept through the speeches last night, what're points for?"
"They measure how well your house is doing. There're big hourglasses with gems in the Great Hall, one for each house. The teachers can give and take points for just about anything. At the end of the year, the house with the most points wins the House Cup."
"What do you get when you win the House Cup?"
"I dunno. Bragging rights, I suppose."
"What class've you got next?"
"Potions. You?"
"Same." He grinned. "Will you sit next to me?"
"Sure."
Author's Note: Sorry about the weird update times, my sleep schedule's all screwy.