Summary: Minerva was never good at caring for plants.
Rated: K
Genre: General
Tag: N/A
Withered
Pomona heard the soft crying before entering Minerva's private quarters. Concerned for the other witch, she entered the small quarters without knocking to see Minerva kneeling in front of the window cradling something in her hands.
"Minerva?" Pomona half-whispered, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. "What's wrong? What happened?"
Minerva immediately quieted herself and went still, swiping a hand over her face before trying to hide the source of her anguish. "It's nothing, really."
Pomona knew when her partner was lying based on the tone of voice she used. It wasn't as assuring as it could be. She moved to kneel beside Minerva and saw the potting soil scattered on the floor.
Minerva dabbed at her eyes again with the hem of her robe's sleeve.
"Oh, dear. Your lambs ear..." Pomona said, leaning in to collect the almost unrecognizable plant that now barely clung to a lump of dry soil. "It's nearly dead."
"I know," Minerva said, sobbing. She tried to carefully collect the broken terracotta pieces. "I moved it over to the window to give it more sun and… I'd forgotten it was there when I jumped in as a cat, and well…"
Pomona cradled the near-dead plant in one hand while rubbing circles on Minerva's back with the other. "These things happen, mere accidents."
"I shouldn't be crying about this," Minerva said, feeling herself tear up again. "It's my fault I managed to kill an unkillable plant you gifted me already, adding salt to injury on breaking its home just takes the cake. And now you've witnessed firsthand how awful I was at herbology."
Pomona couldn't help but chuckle at that, wrapping her free arm around her and planting a light kiss on Minerva's temple. "Nonsense, this lamb's ear can still be saved. It just needs to be repotted and have some good waterings for a while and it will perk right up."
Calming down, Minerva nodded and grabbed her wand. "You're right. It just needs some tender loving care."
"As do you, my dear."
Originally Written For:
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (Challenges & Assignments)
Word Count: 338
Originally Written: August 2019
