As Merlin and Draco parted ways with Merlin heading to Herbology and Draco to Arithmancy, Merlin tried to salvage the mood.
"So I'll see you in Defense yeah?" He turned to Draco with and inquisitive smile.
Draco gave a small smile back. "Yeah."
Merlin headed out towards the greenhouses and, upon arrival, stood confused. Which one was his class in? Well, he had a one in three shot in getting it right. He began to head towards the third when he heard Neville call out from behind him.
"Marvin! Hold on!" He ran up next to Merlin and gave a small tug on his sleeve, directing him towards the second greenhouse. "Class is in here today."
"Ah." Merlin sure was glad that Neville had shown up. Knowing him, he would have sat in the other greenhouse all class waiting for anyone else to show up. "How'd you know?"
Neville scratched the back of his head with his hand. "Herbology's my favorite subject. I love to help out in the greenhouses, and, well, I helped Professor Sprout plan today's lesson."
"That's brilliant Neville! I'm sure it will be great." Merlin replied back with a grin.
"Thanks Marvin. I'm a bit nervous though. What if it doesn't go well?"
"I'm sure it will be fine." Merlin gave Neville a pat on the back as he began to make his way over to the proper greenhouse. "Now come on, Professor, wouldn't want to be late for your own class."
Neville laughed. "Yeah, I guess you're right." He began to walk with more confidence afterwards.
The class, of course, went perfectly. Even though technically Professor Sprout was teaching, Neville gave out great tips about the plants they were working with that day. He literally seemed to know anything and everything to do with Herbology. Merlin did pretty well. The plant they were working with was a magical version of grape vines. The objective of the class was to encourage the plants to grow around their pieces of crosshatched fencing. Neville had no trouble completing the assignment, but some of the other students were already drenched in wine. He carefully made his way around the greenhouse and showed his classmates how to wrangle the vines onto the fencing. Under his careful tutelage, soon the entire class had presentable arrangements.
==IM==ONLY==GONNA==BREAK==BREAK==YOUR==LINE===
As Merlin and Neville headed out of the greenhouse at the end of class, Professor Sprout approached them. Well, more specifically, she approached Neville.
"Mr. Longbottom, I am very proud of how far you have come in the field of Herbology. You did wonderfully today, and I think that you will make a wonderful teacher in the future." She beamed at him and he blushed, shuffling his feet.
"Thank you Professor, but I owe it all to you." He replied bashfully.
Merlin decided to speak up. "I thought you did brilliantly too Neville. I mean, this could have been a disaster but you swooped in and saved the day, like, like a..." Merlin searched his mind for a good comparison. He snagged a bit of information he learned during his week or so in muggle "London". "Like a muggle superhero!"
Neville looked at him for a second before replying. "Thanks." He stood for a second before continuing. "But what's a "Superhero?""
"Sort of just a hero that is super, I think. I'm sure I heard that one of them could fly though. But I think they're fictional." Merlin replied back. He shrugged.
"Anyways," Professor Sprout continued, "I would love to have your input into the rest of this classes for this year, and if you would like to I can transfer one of your free periods into a Herbology class for younger years and you can be my teaching assistant."
A huge grin immediately spread itself across Neville's face. "Really?"
"Of course! You are my best student. I would love to help with your future ambitions. Now, I will give you some time to think about it, and when you dec-"
"YES!" Neville shouted loudly before clapping his hand over his mouth. "I mean, I would love to. I don't really need time to think about it." He finished with a blush covering his entire face.
"Wonderful. Well, I won't keep you two any longer. Go on to your next class before you're late!"
They walked out of the greenhouse and up to the castle, keeping a steady stream of chatter about some basic herbs that Merlin had seen during class. They weaved their way through the students rushing past and headed towards their Defense classroom. They were quickly intercepted by Draco.
"So how was Herbology?" Draco asked, making small talk as they entered the classroom.
"Amazing! Neville is so amazing that Professor Sprout wants him to help teach the lower years!" Merlin said excitedly.
"Congratulations Longbottom." Draco said and gave a small nod of his head to the other boy. They all sat down as they waited for Defense class to commence.
Well that's it for now! A HUGE thanks to the reviewers that reinspired me to continue. I hope this lived up to your expectations.