Disclaimer: I own nothing .:sniff:. Rated for possible future 'chapters', FUTURE SLASH WARNING!
A/N This is the nineteenth of the series of drabbles and one-shots I'm writing for the 100 Times Challenge
Set after DH, which may or may not have happened.
19. Damaged
Neville was on the verge of tears. Herbology was his best subject, without a doubt, but right now he was about as confident in the greenhouse as he had ever been in Snape's classroom. After finishing school last summer, Neville had talked to Professor Sprout about working in the greenhouses at Hogwarts. He was to look after the species in the greenhouses, he was to re-plant those that needed planting, make sure the Venomous Tentacula was well fed, water the plants as necessary. Neville loved his job, it was where he felt comfortable, however, he had long believed that Mandrakes were not his friend. He held a healthy respect for the screaming plants, he knew they were very valuable, but that did not mean he enjoyed working with them.
Today he was supposed to be replanting the baby plants, unfortunately he had forgotten his re-enforced ear-muffs. The only pair available were pink and fluffy, Neville didn't mind looking ridiculous because there was nobody around to see him, what he did mind was the fact that although the ear-muffs did prevent the cries of the Mandrake from causing him to pass out, they didn't actually stop the noise reaching his ears. The high pitched screaming reverberated in his inner ear, he was certain that his eardrums would never recover from the damage. He hated the noise and he hated the shriveled bodies of the Mandrakes, but he was determined to complete his job and complete it quickly, before any more damage could be done.
As he covered the last Mandrake in soil Neville removed his ear-muffs and tried to shake the ringing out of his ears. In that moment he decided he would rather work with Devil's Snare or the Venomous Tentacula any day.