Disclaimer: You know this. I don't own HP or the canon characters or events, just Selcah, some of the plot, and most of the plants.

Author's Note: Another updated chapter.

Author's Second Note: I asked my parents about the lichen, but I'm still not sure I got it completely correct, so if I'm wrong, please tell me.

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Chapter 5

Pathetic Plants

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The next day, Selcah went down to the Potions room at five to five. Snape already had everything set up. "What are we looking at today?" Selcah asked.

"We're going to go over what we did last week to see how well you remember it."

"All right." Selcah sat down in the next row. "Fire away."

"Toad eyes?"

"Add iron to the solution. They also extract aquali pollen, thus making them a critical ingredient to the vivaci potion."

"Good."

An hour later, Snape started putting the ingredients away. "At least you can remember some of it."

Selcah rolled her eyes as Snape put the preserved ingredients in the cupboard. "Thanks. You're helping. You explain things differently than Professor Brand." She stood and started passing jars to Snape. After the room was straightened up, they left. Selcah shifted her notebook in her arms. "So, first Herbology test of the year. Do you think you'll be ready?"

Snape snorted. Selcah watched him steadily, and he glanced sideways at her. "Herbology and I do not get along."

"Ah." Selcah bit her lip. "I could teach you."

Snape turned to her, his eyebrows knitted. "That's all right."

"Are you sure? It's the least I can do in return for you tutoring me in Potions."

"I think I'll make it."

She shrugged. "Okay. If you change you're mind, you see me every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday."

"Sure. See you later." Snape turned abruptly into another hallway. Selcah watched him stalk away, his black robes flaring around him. She shrugged and left for the Great Hall.

—next Tuesday—

"Here are your tests, class, and may I say that you did an excellent job overall. I'm glad you got to see the Sparks bloom; I think that really helped most of you on the essay question."

Severus took his test. He winced; the parchment was covered with red marks. He stuffed the test into his bag. "What did you get?" Robert hissed. Severus shook his head. Robert grinned. "That bad?"

Severus pursed his lips, but before he could respond, Professor Higglepot spoke. "Do you have any questions? Good. Then let's open to Chapter 5. We're going to study aqualis next. Who can tell me about the aquali? Selcah?"

"The aquali is a water-dwelling, flowering plant. Its blooms release a pollen that has a heavy odor and will induce sleep; the pollen is similar to the secretion of the mossloth and is used in some sleeping potions. But the aquali is related to the land-dwelling crupal lily, and the skin of its leaves contains like chemicals. Thus it can be used as a less-powerful substitute in the vivaci potion."

"Excellent. Ten points for Ravenclaw."

Taylor smiled quickly over her shoulder at Severus. He was glad Robert and the other Slytherins were whispering over a prank they were planning, because he couldn't help but smile back.

—Wednesday—

When Taylor came in for tutoring, Severus finished setting up the potion ingredients in silence, as usual. Then he turned to Taylor, who looked up from her open notebook, her quill poised to take notes. Stupid Ravenclaws, always studying. Severus shook his head. Taylor quirked an eyebrow, but Severus ignored it. "Armadillo bile."

Taylor sighed quietly and dipped her quill into the small inkpot.

After they had put away the ingredients and were walking in the hall, though, the image of that red-marked test came back into Severus's mind. He pursed his lips. "Taylor?"

"Yes?"

"Um...I...that is... "

She waited patiently, her blue eyes flicking towards him.

"Could you tutor me?"

Taylor smiled. "Of course. When?"

"Um, Friday at four?"

"All right. Meet me by the greenhouses. I'll ask Professor Higglepot if we can use any of the plants. See you tomorrow."

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The next day, Severus made sure he was at the greenhouses early, but Taylor was no where in sight.

"Hey, Snape."

He turned; Taylor was in the first greenhouse, the door open. "Come on in," she said. Severus went in and sat down on the other side of the table Taylor was at. The table was covered with plants. "All right, where do you want to start?" Taylor asked. Severus shrugged. "What do you already know?"

Severus looked at the plants. "Leaf, stem, root—the basic anatomy."

"And this?" She picked up a lichen and pointed to the fine strands hanging down from it.

"Roots."

Selcah bit back a laugh, though she was beginning to see a certain trait of hers mirrored in Snape. She answered. "Rhyzomes. They're root-like structures that are used to anchor the plant, but they don't gather nutrients."

Snape frowned. "Then how does the plant feed itself?"

Taylor put down the lichen. "Chlorophyll. The lichen is actually in three parts. The top and bottom layers are moss, the middle one is algae."