Two hours later and, with help from a few of my classmates, I had almost obtained all of the items on James' list; one woven basket, a handful of sweets from Molly's stash below her bed, one rug and vile 'borrowed' from the Gryffindor common room and Potions class respectfully. I was only a few corridors away from venturing outside and into the Herbology greenhouse to collect whatever plants I felt suitable, for what purpose I was not sure of, so I felt it would be best to pick a wide range.
My father had tried to pass down his passion for herbology onto me through countless conversations on the matter and trips to our allotment for educational purposes, to which no avail, however throughout the years it seemed that this knowledge had been drilled into my head, therefore I was fairly skilled in his class and knew a great deal about almost all plants and fungi. This came as an advantage in situations such as these.
Good job I had at least one talent at Hogwarts. I was only just scraping an Exceeds Expectations in Care for Magical Creatures.
There were barely any students around when I managed to enter the path that took me to the greenhouse, only a group of Ravenclaws hanging around the bushes and what looked like third years leaving Charms class. After all, it was getting close to the evening which meant dinner was approaching, and it would be a shame to miss that. The wind hit me sharp and brisk, like a wave of icicles jabbing against my revealed skin, and my teeth started to twitch. My legs were stimulated by the cold which accelerated my pace, items in hand. My mind pondered over what James could want with these plants: I knew he had a guilty pleasure for making potions, which would require plants and a vile, but it was the sweets that threw me off.
I had not stayed on task for very long as I found my thoughts seeking other encouragement. Entering the greenhouse, I caught sudden movements from the corner of my eye and gazed up to see a Bowtruckle dancing around the leaves. I placed my basket down and watched with zest. Its needle-like fingers scored the surface against them until there was nowhere to move, rapidly falling atop the clear panels of the building and nearing ever closer to the ground. I heard faint humming from outside the greenhouse but my mind was displaced at that moment to even care. The small, flat-faced creature made a horrific sounding screech before it landed safely in my hands that I had outstretched just in time. Lucky for him, however my palms were bleeding slightly from the sharp spikes of its fingers. Nevertheless, I placed it gently on top of the soil on the tables and with that it scurried off into a small tree.
My mind was just about to focus back on task until I turned around and came face to chest with a rather tall seventh year student. The impact of the collision shocked me enough for my heart to race and for me to intake a short gasp of air.
We both moved back one step and composed ourselves. "Sorry," I muttered.
I looked up to see the boy in the black and green robes and took in his appearance. Striking platinum blonde hair that had a dishevelled bed head look -although the length falling only to his ears-, blue eyes lidded, a face clean of stubble or spots but a redness to his cheeks and nose.
This was none other than Scorpius Malfoy.
After six years of Hogwarts, this was the day I finally met the infamous Malfoy. I tried not to be swayed by my father's opinion, but it was difficult not to be on edge when all I had heard of his family was purely negative.
"I guess it's alright" he said with a low chuckle. "Not as if I've been waiting to get past you for a little over a minute now." His lips pulled upwards into a small smile, but I was certain that sentence was intended to be more of a warning than a joke.
His posture changed from disorientated to that of dominance. He definitely mastered the art of how to gain attention.
"Right," I replied with an uncomfortable smile before turning my back on him to tend to the plants.
I could hear him scuttling around the greenhouse, his presence ominous, but I pressed on and picked out suitable plants. Dittany, hawthorn, hemlock, fluxweed, water lily, puffapod, valerian; all with different uses and powers. I stopped when I came to dandelion root as a voice erupted from the silence.
"What are you doing?" I looked behind me to see Scorpius eyeing me diligently, his back rested lazily against the wall.
I quickly focused my attention again on the plants. "Collecting samples for my father." Droplets of sweat were running down my forehead.
"You're Professor Longbottom's daughter?"
"Yes, why?" I heard him move closer.
"I was only curious. You look too pretty to be a Longbottom." Standing up in a haste, I gathered the courage to spin around and face him, my eyes squinted and cheeks ablaze. He looked taken back and his eyes widened as he found the right words to say. "I mean, it was a compliment! Not an insult on your father. He's a great Herbology teacher, you know! Much better than Sprout! Sorry. I'll stop now." His facial features turned sheepish as he ran a hand through his hair.
I paused for a second to regain composure.
"Why are you here?" I asked rather sharply, my cheeks still as colourful as a rose and my hands just as clammy.
"Uh, just researching valerian for my mock in a couple weeks. Maybe you could help me find it?"
"I thought valerian wasn't on next year's exam?"
"Oh, I know," replied Scorpius with an apprehensive chuckle, the same hand ruffling his hair again. "It links to asphodel, I thought it might get me ahead."
My eyebrows raised slightly as I relaxed into the conversation. "I never would have picked you Slytherin's as the love-to-learn type," I said bashfully, a smile creeping onto my face to which he mirrored. I bent down to collect the valerian from my basket. "Just a quick tip: it's known for its sedative properties and is a remedy for treating epilepsy."
Scorpius looked down at my arm, outstretched and waiting for him to take the plant. "Thanks, I guess I'll have to keep you in mind for when I want quick tips."
As he grabbed the valerian from my grasp, his hand grazed mine. It was a feathered touch which felt of pure silk. A wave of emotions washed over me, from guilt to appreciation, then finally delight and amorousness. It took me back and my legs wobbled in reaction, almost tripping me up. Stupidly, that landed me pushed up against Scorpius again instead of the floor, although I would have much preferred the floor at that point.
Scorpius caught me, however, and with his two arms under my armpits he lifted me back onto my feet. "I never would have picked Gryffindor's as the clumsy type." He laughed at this comment, but I could see his cheeks were just as enflamed as mine. "I better get going anyway."
With dismay I bent back down to pick up my basket and listened as Scorpius exited the greenhouse.
"What is your name by the way, Longbottom?" I saw his head peeping around the wall one last time and I smiled.
"Coraline."
"Right, okay, well I'm-"
"Scorpius Malfoy."
He laughed. "Did my hair give it away?"
~#~
The bell rang eight 'o' clock so I hurriedly carried my basket to the Forbidden Forest. To the lily pond about half a mile in, I recited while pushing the items back in that seemed to be flailing around due to my bounding strides. It read eight thirty on my watch when I eventually got there, looking like a drenched puppy panting from a day in the sun.
"Why are you late?" questioned James demandingly from behind one of the lone trees. I could see his robes soaring in the air from the breeze.
"It's... exactly... time." I answered through long breaths.
"If you hadn't ran you would have been late," he replied with wit before taking the basket from my hands. I didn't even have energy to comprehend what he was doing when he dropped the items and took hold of my hands. "What happened?"
I stared down to realise what he was referring to, which were my palms, still bleeding from earlier in the day.
"I was helping a Bowtruckle in the Herbology classroom, that's all. They might be strong but they sure are stupid."
James completely disregarded my joke, and instead guided me over hastily to the pond to cleanse my hands. While massaging my palms, which felt insanely relaxing, he smoothed his thumbs caringly over the cuts.
"You are such a motherly figure, Potter." I joked happily, resting my head against his shoulder.
"That's only because you really do need taking care of." We both laughed at his statement.
The pond was a beautiful crystallised blue which made this setting even more calming and natural for the both of us. Toads were hopping around the water's edge while water droplets were falling down to the pond from the dew of the leaves, which was all we could hear in this desolate forest, apart from the breeze settling against the tree tops that made an audible 'whoosh'.
"Why were you late then, Cora?" asked James protectively.
"I bumped into the infamous Malfoy while collecting the plants. He called me pretty."
He looked down at me, a hand over his face, masking an enormous laugh. "He didn't!" I nodded as my answer, trying not to giggle myself. "Well you are mine, Coraline Longbottom. I don't know what that bloody ponce is thinking." He puffed out his chest and hooked an arm over me, pulling me even closer to his side.
"He's not all that bad, really."
James took my face into his hands and gaped at me for a moment. "Who are you and what have you done to my Coraline?" he joked. I laughed in response.
Moments passed before I remembered what we were actually here for.
"Why did we come here, James?"
He suddenly shot up with excitement which made me fully attentive of his presence. "Okay, right, I think I'm ready." Running over to the tree he once hid behind, James pulled out a hefty amount of racks containing potions among potions. My confusion turned into worry as my mind wondered to the worst.
My first reaction was to amble over to him and his potions, muttering why's and how's under my breath before resorting to, "What?"
"I just want you to hear me out." His happy demeanour changed to weighty in a matter of seconds, and I noticed his hands were fidgeting. "I'm not stupid. I overheard you and my father talking. They're back, the death eaters, and Albus and I aren't safe. I totally get it. I'm not angry, but I want to fight back. And I know exactly how to do it."
His outburst took me by surprise. I understood mine and Mr. Potter's conversation was anything but subtle, with it just being by his bedroom door, however I hadn't prepared for this conversation with my best friend. Truthfully, I was scared.
The sky settled into darkness.
"How?" was all I could think to reply. There was no point reasoning with a Potter, especially James.
"I want to try and -now hear me out!- I want to finish off what all great men couldn't. I want to actually make a proper protective potion, against dark magic –and I know all of them out there are fake! I just think that's the only way I'm going to be able to fight back, to truly get rid of them once and for all. I have all these potions to test out that I've made by scratch, the plants I need if I'm onto something and the vile for duplicating concoctions."
There was a long pause before I smiled lovingly, took my last steps over to him and embraced him into a hug. "I'll help you." He wrapped his arms around my waist with not even a moment to waste and kissed my forehead, muttering "thank you" against my skin.
"So... what about the rug and the sweets?" I asked inquisitively, an eyebrow raised with a smirk on my face.
James chuckled before speaking dramatically. "Well, it's going to be a long night, I thought a picnic was overdue."