Harry Potter did not care for botany. So it was rather troubling for him when he suddenly found himself in the care of a flower. Where Sirius had acquired one was a mystery, and why he decided to send it to him was just confusing.
'It's dangerous to go alone, take this.' The letter had said. Enclosed with a singular Elpis flower.
What exactly Sirius expected him to do with it was unknown as well. The man hadn't even told him what species the flower was, he had to look it up in the library after prodding Neville for his botany knowledge. The most the boy knew was that it could change color based on emotions. One would think that such a specific detail would be of great help, but the thick and dusty tome of flora proved otherwise.
Two hours it had taken him to find the page on it, but infuriatingly enough, it was sparse and had more empty space to it than text. The only thing that it had explained was how excruciatingly rare it was to find them in the wild, how they have no consistent patterns for where they grow, and how it was nearly impossible to grow them in any sort of man-made garden or greenhouse.
But other than that. Harry figured it was nothing more than a glorified mood ring in flower form.
Harry wondered if Sirius actually sent him one just to set him on a wild goose chase. It didn't sound like something he would do, but he also wouldn't put it past him to pull something like that for his own amusement. Harmless fun Sirius would say. Harmless indeed, but fun? Not if you're on the receiving end.
Harry let out a sigh as he pushed the tome away and grabbed the Elpis flower, inspecting it closely with both hands. The petals looked similar to a daffodil… or perhaps a lily. It could even be similar to a rose if he bunched up all the petals. The center, stamen being the correct term if he remembered right, was similar to a daisy. Or was it closer to a forget-me-not?
The closer he inspected the flower, the closer it seemed to resemble many other flora just like it. It was a very stark reminder that while he could certainly take care of a garden, 'courtesy' of his aunt, plants were just not something he was interested in.
He doubted he ever would be.
"What are your secrets?" Harry whispered to his dull grey flower. It shined brightly back at him despite its grey colour scheme. Occasionally it would dim until it was just barely giving off a glow, before it jumped back into a shining light show. He wondered if it was sentient. Magic worked in strange ways, he wouldn't put it out of the realm of possibility. If Hedwig was smarter than some of his classmates, who's to say that a moody flower couldn't be too?
"Glow twice if you understand me." He tried again.
"Pardon me. But are you talking to your Elpis flower?" An accented voice from behind him.
Harry jumped in shock, pulling his face away from his flower. His cheeks flushed red in embarrassment at being caught doing such a silly thing.
"I-uh..." He stuttered out as he turned to face whomever had called out to him.
It was an older girl, a 6th or 7th year student, if he had to guess. With silvery blonde hair and eyes a deep oceanic color. She was pretty, very pretty. Beautiful even. Perhaps on any other occasion, beautiful enough to leave him tongue tied. But he couldn't afford to be like that now. She had said a very important fact at the end of her sentence.
She knew what his flower was.
"Yes… You know about Elpis flowers?" He asked, feeling a bit lame at the question. Of course she knew about them. She had already said that. His mouth just… refused to work the way he wanted it to.
The silvery blonde girl either didn't notice his mouth troubles or didn't care. Either way he was grateful.
"Of course." She nodded. "If you don't mind me asking, where did you get yours? I'm sure you know they're quite rare."
French. That's what her accent was. It was french. So she was a Beauxbatons student then. It was obvious now that he was looking for it, but she was particularly well spoken in English.
"I got it this morning from my godfather. I've spent the last two hours trying to find out exactly what they are. But the dusty old book barely had anything to say about them." He nodded towards the tome.
"Mm." The french girl made a noise of acknowledgement, shifting her attention from Harry and the flower to the book in front of him. "Mind if I have a look?" She asked.
Harry nodded his head in affirmation, bringing his hand to the book to push it towards her, but froze as the girl instead peered over his shoulder to read. There was a sweet scent that enveloped him. One that was most certainly floral, a perfume of some sorts. It wasn't overpowering by any means, subtle enough that he hadn't even noticed it until she had closed the distance. Despite that, it was more than enough to wrench his attention from everything else.
Perhaps lavender perfume?He couldn't help but wonder. But that didn't feel correct. Not that he was an expert in this subject, but he vaguely remembered the chaser trio dousing the Weasley twins' jerseys with lavender perfume in revenge for a prank. This smelled a bit stronger, with tiny hints of vanilla.
Locks of silvery-blonde hair settled in front of him. Harry twitched minutely away from the nearly translucent strands that were nearly tickling his nose. He resisted the urge to take a lock into his to see if they were as smooth as they looked.
"A shame that Hogwarts is sorely lacking in this particular flower."
Harry watched as she pulled back, a tiny part of him felt disappointed that the close proximity of the girl was over so soon. Not necessarily because he enjoyed it, but because he felt like he was on the verge of figuring out whatever floral scented perfume she used.
…Why did he care though? Simple curiosity? He hadn't the faintest clue. Maybe he could message Sirius about it.
It took Harry a few seconds to realize that she was silent and awaiting his response. He took a moment to recall her comment, before replying.
"It's disappointing for the Elpis, sure. But it has an overwhelming amount of information about everything else." He told her, meeting her eyes. He felt the need to defend his school from the judgment of a mysterious french woman.
She quirked an eyebrow at his words. "Are you interested in botany then?"
Harry made a face at the question. "Not particularly… I've managed my aunt's garden before but the only reason I'm here is because of this." He said, lightly waving the Elpis flower around.
It was a radiant silver now, rather than its previous mellow grey. He didn't know exactly what the change signified, but he was guessing it was because he was less bored talking to someone.
Probably. Maybe. Who knew with these bloody flowers.
"You don't like flowers?" She asked him.
Harry silently wondered if she could read his mind. "Never been interested in them." He told her honestly.
"Yet you managed a garden."
"Only because I had to. It was part of my chores."
"That is how most people start non?" The blue eyed girl pointed out.
"I guess…?" He hesitatingly said.
Frustratingly enough, she had a point. Harry didn't want to start cooking. But he had to for his relatives. Over time he came to enjoy it. But could that really be applied to gardens and flowers of all things? Harry, at least, didn't think so.
His doubt must have been obvious because she let out a quick laugh.
"You will." She said as if she knew the secrets of the universe.
"Right…" Harry said sarcastically. It only brought another round of laughs from the girl.
"I'm Fleur." She told him.
Harry blinked at the sudden change in topic. "I'm Harry."
"Well Harry. You are going to come back to the library in two days, after dinner. We will have a chat about your little Elpis flower. You are free then non?" Fleur asked him, a tiny amused grin on her face.
"I… what?" Harry sputtered, his mind trying, but failing to comprehend the words said by the woman in front of him.
"Perfect. I'll see you then."
And with that. Fleur exited the library, her silvery blonde hair disappearing behind the closing library doors. The only remnant of her presence being the ever fading perfume she left behind.
Oh. Harry thought, realizing exactly what scent it was. It was lilac.
Start: October 3rd. 2022.
End: October 5th. 2022.
Words: 1417.
Cute flowerpot goes brr idk what I'm writing.
Elpis flower is from ffxiv go play ffxiv wooo.
Next update will happen within this lifetime.
-FN