Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all related characters belong to J.K. Rowling. They are used without permission, and no money is being made from this story. All original characters are my creation.
Lessons Taught, Lessons Learned
Chapter Three: Group Assignment
Trista woke up the next morning, and it took her a moment to remember where she was. When her mind caught up with her and she remembered she had come to Hogwarts, Trista checked to make sure her wings weren't showing, and then pulled open her hangings. She saw that Amy was still in the room and was already dressed in her uniform.
"Your uniform's at the end of the bed," Amy said in a quiet voice, and then she grabbed her book bag and started out of the room.
"Wait," Trista called as a plan formed in her mind, "I want to apologize for last night."
"What?" Amy asked.
"I'm sorry," Trista said, "It's just that I was tired and I can get cranky when I'm tired…"
"Oh, that's all right," Amy replied and smiled, "We all get like that sometimes."
"It's no excuse," Trista said, and then subtly changed the subject, "How much longer do I have for breakfast?"
"Oh, a good while. An hour at least, I'd say," Amy replied, checking her watch.
"Hmmm," Trista hummed thoughtfully, "Hey, I still need to take a shower. Do you think you could maybe go grab me something and bring it up here?"
"Oh, umm, sure," Amy replied.
"Thanks," Trista said, "And if you see the other girls, tell them I'm sorry."
"I will," Amy said as she was heading out the door.
Trista smiled to herself as she gathered her things for the bathroom; that girl was too easy.
Now that she didn't have to worry about making it to breakfast on time, Trista took her time in the bathroom. After her shower, Trista used her wand to dry off and then put on her undergarments. Then, she used her wand again to wrap her wings and secured the dressing around them. She pulled on her robes, frowning slightly and the yellow and black badge that had been embroidered onto them, and checked to make sure there were no tell-tale bumps or bulges. When she was satisfied that no one could tell something was amiss about her, she brushed her hair and went back into the dormitory.
Upon entering the dormitory, Trista saw that Amy had dropped off her breakfast. It was tied up in a napkin and sitting on the night stand next to her bed. Trista sat on her bed and opened the napkin. Inside were two pieces of toast, an orange, and a hard-boiled egg. Trista grabbed a piece of toast and noticed that it was still warm. Had Amy actually cast a charm to keep it warm? Well, Trista decided, she might just have to keep that girl around.
After finishing her breakfast, Trista found Amy in the common room and convinced the girl to help her find her classes. Amy agreed, and while they walked to their first class, Herbology, Trista managed to keep up a conversation with Amy. She had to pretend to be interested, but that wasn't that hard at all. She just smiled a lot and sounded excited when necessary.
--
As Trista and Amy reached the greenhouse they would be working in, Trista saw that they had Herbology with the Slytherins, and her high spirits sank. She saw Scorpius Malfoy talking with a group of Slytherin boys; he hadn't noticed Trista yet.
"Oooh, I hope the Slytherins aren't too mean this year," Amy lamented.
Trista didn't want to console Amy, but at the same time, she also hoped the same thing. She could feel Scorpius watching her as she walked by, but she did her best to ignore him. She followed Amy to join the other girls from her dorm and dared to take a glance over at Scorpius. He gave her a look of disgust and turned away.
"Welcome to greenhouse eleven, sixth years," Professor Longbottom said coming into the greenhouse to start class, "This semester, we will be working on a new project; a group project. You will be working with your dorm mates, so, Hufflepuff boys will be a group, and Hufflepuff girls will be a group. Same with the Slytherins. Is that clear?"
"Yes, Professor," the class chorused.
"Good. Now then, then project you will be working on is to grow snargaluffs from a seedling and collect the pods," Professor Longbottom explained, "You will keep them in your dormitories until the second week of November. After that, you will bring the snargaluffs back to this green house to plant them in the ground. Today, you will work in your group to plant the seeds into these special pots. I want each group to choose a leader, who will then come up and get a pot from me."
Trista looked at the other Hufflepuff girls waiting for one of them to jump at and claim leadership, but none of them did. They all just looked at each other and shrugged. Realizing that this wouldn't get them very far, Trista decided to take up the role herself.
"I'll do it," she said and went to go get a pot before the girls could react.
Much to her dismay, and very much not to her surprise, the Slytherin boys had chosen Scorpius their leader. She joined the line right behind him determined to ignore him.
"So, what's it like being so thick that you can't even convince a ratty old hat to put you in a decent house?" Scorpius asked, smirking. When Trista didn't reply, he continued, "You would have been a terrible Slytherin anyway. You fit in with the Hufflepuffs just fine, don't you? I guess we finally know what your last name means; Trista Nott in the Slytherin!" Malfoy stopped to snicker at his own joke.
"Oh, ha ha," Trista replied sarcastically. "You're the very epitome of wit, Malfoy."
"Oooh, good comeback!" Malfoy replied just as sarcastically, "Did your new Hufflepuff friends teach you that?"
"At least they act like their sixteen and not ten," Trista replied noticing Professor Longbottom was holding a pot out for him and frowning. "Take your pot and go away."
Malfoy took his pot from Professor Longbottom and gave Trista one last dirty look before returning to his group. Trista took the pot Professor Longbottom was holding out for her. She returned to the girls and sat the pot on the table.
"Were you talking to Malfoy?" Gertrude asked. The way her cheeks were turning red made it very clear that Gertrude had a crush on Malfoy.
"Unfortunately," Trista replied.
"Oh, I wish he would talk to me," Gertrude said wistfully.
Trista made a noise like a combination of a snort and a laugh, "Trust me, you don't want him talking to you," she said hoping to nip Gertrude's crush in the bud.
"Why not?" Gertrude asked.
"Well for one thing, he's a Slytherin and you're a Hufflepuff," Trista replied.
"So?" Gertrude replied, "Romeo and Juliet were from rival families and they fell in love."
"Who are Romeo and Juliet?" Trista asked, but before Gertrude could answer, Professor Longbottom spoke up again.
"Now that we all have our pots, I would like for the group leaders to send another member of your group up to collect seeds from me," Professor Longbottom said.
Trista sent Isabella up to get the seeds since she'd been the one who'd actually approached Trista before. Isabella got the seeds and returned to the group a moment later.
"They're bright pink!" She exclaimed holding the seeds out in her palms so that everyone could see.
"That's odd considering how ugly the plant will be once it starts growing," Allie observed.
"Yeah, it won't exactly be the most cheerful houseplant ever," Amy agreed.
The girls marveled over the pink seeds for a moment before Isabella realized something.
"How are we supposed to grow a plant in the basement? There are no windows in our dorm to let sunlight in!" she said.
"Oh no, that's right!" Gertrude lamented. "We can't grow snargaluffs without sunlight."
"Ask Professor Longbottom about it," Trista suggested.
"But we can't just announce that our dorm is in the basement," Allie said in a conspiratorial whisper, "That's supposed to be secret!"
Trista sighed and raised her hand to show the girls how to handle the situation. One would almost think that she was the one who'd been attending Hogwarts for years and those girls had only just transferred in.
"Yes, Miss Nott?" Professor Longbottom asked.
"Is there a spell or a charm to use to simulate sunlight?" Trista asked, "Our dorm doesn't allow in much sunlight, and it would also be helpful on rainy days when there is no sunlight at all."
"Good question, take twenty points," Professor Longbottom said, "The answer is yes. There is a spell to simulate sunlight, and if you'll all take out your wands and watch me, I'll teach it to you."
There was a rustle of movement as everyone took out their wands. Trista reached into the pocket of her robes and pulled out hers. It was ten and a half inches long, made of cherry wood and contained a unicorn tail as its core.
"Now then, watch me," Professor Longbottom said. He held his wand up, "Sol," he said and a spot of yellow light appeared at the tip of his wand. He drew a clockwise circle in the air with the light, and when he reached the starting point again, he said "Solis," and the circle filled in with the yellow light and looked almost like a tiny sun.
"All right now you lot give it a go," Professor Longbottom instructed. There was a lot of noise as everyone copied his example.
"Sol," Trista said and saw the yellow light appear. She drew the circle and when she reached starting point, she said, "Solis." The yellow light filled in the circle she had drawn, and Trista noticed that not only did it look like a miniature sun, it was also pleasantly warm. She would have to keep this spell in mind on those cold winter days.
"Good, ten points to both houses," Professor Longbottom said. "And if you'll all look up here again, I'll teach you the counter-charm." He held his wand up again and said "Vesper," this time, a dark blue; almost black light appeared at the end of his wand. He drew an 'X' over his tiny sun and said "Conticinium" as he did so. The tiny sun faded almost instantly.
"Now you," Professor Longbottom said.
"Vesper," Trista said watching for the dark blue light. When it appeared, she drew the 'X' over her tiny sun and said "Conticinium." Her sun took a bit longer than Professor Longbottom's to fade away, but it faded more quickly than several others.
"Good, ten more points to each house," Professor Longbottom said. "Now then, let's talk about project some more. As I have already explained, you will be keeping your snargaluffs in your dormitories until the second week of November. During that time, you will care for your snargaluff, and each member of the group will keep a journal of the plant's progress."
"This seems sort of easy, doesn't it?" Isabella whispered to Amy.
"It really does," Amy agreed.
"Now then, after you've brought your snargaluffs to be plant in the greenhouse," Professor Longbottom continued, "Your group will have one week to compare your journals and write a report on your snargaluff. Are there any questions?"
Malfoy raised his hand, "Sir," he said without a drop of respect in his voice, "Sir, since this assignment is done outside of the classroom until November, we are permitted not to attend class until then, aren't we?"
"No," Professor Longbottom replied frowning, "I never said we weren't going to study other plants or aspects of Herbology. I'm sorry if I failed to mention this before, but this project will count as half of your final exam."
There was an audible groan from the class after this announcement. The end of class bell rang, and the class gathered their things, grumbling as they left.
"What class do you have next, Trista?" Amy asked.
"History of Magic," Trista replied after checking her schedule.
"That's on the way to my Divination class," Amy replied, "I'll show you the way."
"Someone needs to take the seeds and the pot to our dorm," Trista pointed out, "Why don't you do it, Gertrude?"
"Why me?" Gertrude asked.
Trista beckoned Gertrude over to her and whispered, "Scorpius likes girls who are athletic. If he sees you running at a good pace, he might take interest in you."
"Really?" Gertrude asked her face lighting up in excitement.
"Really," Trista confirmed.
Gertrude grinned widely before turning away and running toward the castle. Trista had to bite her tongue to keep from laughing. Amy, who hadn't heard what Trista said, bemusedly watched Gertrude run.
"Something funny?" a new voice asked startling both girls.
Amy yelled out in shock, and Trista spun around. A boy had approached them quietly and was looking at Trista. At first glance, she thought he was rather nice looking with light brown hair, green eyes, and a slightly crooked smile. Then, however, she realized he was another Hufflepuff and was disappointed.
"I don't believe we've met," the boy said extending his hand, "I'm Patrick Fannon."
"Trista Nott," Trista replied taking his hand and shaking it without enthusiasm.
"Well, then," Patrick said and smiled; "Now that we're all introduced…Have a nice day."
(Author's Notes: I meant to get this chapter up sooner, but well, I didn't. Oh well. I've only had one review so far! That's partly my own fault, though. I need to get out there and review others' stories. You know what they say, "Tit for tat" or whatever. Thanks for reading!)