Chapter 53: Herbology.

Ash and Rachel had made a mess of their room; Books resided on the oakwood flooring, and clothing draped over the headboards of their beds, suitcases lay open on their duvets, which were crimson in colour and embroidered with golden line work which read:

Gryffindor House

They had spent the night telling stories to one another of how they'd spent their previous years at Hogwarts, recalling all the times when they'd cast a spell wrong, or when they'd accidentally ended up eating one of the famous products, produced by Fred and George Weasley, the greatest pranksters in Hogwarts history.

Rachel had grown curious as to why Fred had been named after his uncle, and Ash told her all about how his uncle had passed on, defending what he loved in the Battle of Hogwarts all those many moons ago, along with Rachel's parent's, Remus and Nymphadora.

They set aside their sad emotions as they danced around the room, enjoying what few hours they had left until the new day dawned, leaving them with a mass of school work and mock exams, due to the fact that they were taking their O.W.L's later in the year.

Before dwindling off into dreamland, the two girls lay there, quite content, as they spoke to each other about their plans for the future, it brought resolve to them as they pictured themselves as upperclass witches, smiles embedded on their faces as they fell into a blissful nights sleep.

" Hoot. Hoot Hoot! "

Hooter, Ash's owl, had taken to hooting continuously in order to wake up the two girls, who shuffled around in their bedspreads, mumbling something along the lines oh:

Not now, five more minutes, silly owl.

Hooter, however, was not going to give in.

The girls had left a window open the night before, due to the high temperature that flooded throughout the Gryffindor Common Room and into the dorms as they were packed with anticipated and ecstatic students, eager to rejoice with their friends for another fun year at Hogwarts.

Hence how Hooter had got into Ash and Rachel's room in the first place.

The frost feathered owl fluttered over to Ash's bedspread, gripping his talons on her duvet as he tried to pull it off of her, resulting in Ash batting him away with her hand, groaning as she sprung up out of the bed, her hands instantly coming into contact with her face as she rubbed her eyes.

Her eyes fluttered open as she smiled at owl, cooing as she stroked his feathers.

" Good morning Hooter, how are you buddy? " Ash turned to the owl, patting his head softly as she reached into her messenger bag, which had hid itself under her bed.

The owl gave a little hoot in return, receiving a chuckle from Ash as she encased her hand around some pellets, lifting them up to Hooter.

" These are for you, little one! " she exclaimed, giggling as the owl hopped with excitement, pecking at the pellets, and then taking wing as he left through the open window.

Ash reached over to her dressing table, straightened out her hair and added finishing touches, before clasping her wand in her hand, keeping a firm grip as she shouted:

" Accio, Robes! "

Her robes flew at her, landing in a pile at her feet, along with her jumper, trousers, shirt and tie, which was crimson and gold in colour.

Trailing behind the pack was also her shoes, which walked on their own as they came trudging toward her, stopping just as they met the tips of her toes.

By this time, the racket had already woken Rachel up, who jumped out of bed, wand in hand, and glared across the room, she more than likely assumed that someone had snook into their room unattended.

Her bright red hair hung over her face, knotted and a mess, it looked like a wild animal was living on her head, her eyes were fixed on Ash, as she blew her hair out of her face, a smile curling onto her lips that she realised it was nothing more than her room mate getting dressed.

" I thought you were an intruder for a moment there, heh. " Rachel said, making her way over to her dressing table and perching herself on the wooden seat, whisking it round so that she was sat facing Ash, who just stood there chuckling as she nodded towards a clock, which stood rather profoundly on her bedside table.

" You'd best be quick, we've got a class in twenty five minutes! " she chimed, piling some books into a small, knotted bag, a thud was heard as the book reached the bottom of the endless pit, Hermione probably gave the bag to Ash for safe keeping.

" I love magic. " Rachel stated,a sigh escaping her lips as she stretched her arms, letting out a rather long yawn, causing Ash to giggle, before she quickly covered her mouth, reaching around for her wand.

When she finally grasped her hand around it, she pointed the wand at her robe, which was hung on a bed post, and chanted:

" Wingardium Leviosa! "

With a swish and flick of her wand, the robes drifted through the air and onto her dressing table. She quickly changed into her uniform before bringing the robes over her shoulders.

" It feels good to wear my Gryffindor Robes again, it makes me feel like i'm part of something once more. " Rachel sighed, brushing a finger over the Gryffindor emblem, which was perched proudly on her ebony and crimson robes.

Ash couldn't help but smile. It was hard to imagine what kind of hardships Rachel had to go through, what with having no mother or father to look out for her, however, she did have her god father, which happened to be none other than Harry Potter himself.

Ash was taken out of her thoughts, as a wait landed on her shoulders, even if it was for a mere second or two.

Sherlock had taken this opportunity to come in from the window, and jump onto Ash's shoulder and then off again, bounding across the room and onto Rachel's instead, nuzzling the girls neck as she giggled and stroked behind his ear, receiving a purr from the rather content feline.

" It's nice to see you too, Sherlock. " Rachel chuckled, picking him up and placing him on her bedspread, much to his displeasure.

" She'd love to have you come to class with us, sherlock, but you know Rachel isn't allowed to bring you into class, it's against the rules! " Ash added, walking over and scratching the scruff of his neck.

The cat seemed to make a Hmph sound, before nodding his head.

" That's very true, Miss Phoenix. Now, you and Rachel should get running along, it's almost time for class. ~ " The cat purred, curling up onto Rachel's duvet, before falling asleep in a matter of seconds.

Without a second thought, Rachel grasped Ash's hand in a firm grip, leading her out of the dorm, she had most likely used magic to straighten out her hair, which flowed beautifully down her back, reaching her hips.

" Which class have we got? " Rachel asked, pondering the though as her mind went blank.

Ash thought about it for a moment, as they walked past the painted lady and down the first set of steps.

" Oh, I remember! " Ash started, Rachel turned to face her, along with some paintings, curious as to what she seemed to be talking about.

" We've got Herbology with Professor. Longbottom! "

The two girls walked merrily through the courtyard, when Rachel suddenly started to prance around Ash in circles, singing as she did so, much to Ash's entertainment, and the other students around the halls.

" Hogwarts, Hogwarts, hoggy warty Hogwarts,

Teach us something please,

Whether we be old and bald,

Or young with scabby knees,

Our heads could do with filling,

With some interesting stuff,

For now they're bare and full of air,

Dead flies and bits of fluff,

So teach us things worth knowing,

Bring back what we've forgot,

Just do your best, we'll do the rest,

And learn until our brains all rot! "

Rachel twirled around on her heels one last time, bowing down to Ash, causing an eruption of laughter to come pouring out of Ash's mouth, as she pushed Rachel a little and said:

" You're such a weirdo Rachel, honestly, but heck, that's why we love you! "

Rachel smile, taking Ash's hand once again as they proceeded throughout the courtyard, that is until Rhea came over and decided to walk alongside them.

Rachel grunted, and started to walk ahead, Ash sighed turning to Rhea, who just shrugged and looked on, as if she couldn't give a care in the world.

" Rachel come back! No hard feelings, right? " Ash called, in the hopes of getting all three of them to get along and walk to class together.

By this time, there were other students pacing around the halls, their voices clashing as it soon became packed, although Ash couldn't hear much too clearly, she heard what Rachel said next just fine.

" The wound may have healed, but there's a scar in it's place! " Rachel retorted, before disappearing into the distance, she was referring to what Rhea had said at the party, and both Ash and Rhea were well aware of that.

" I'm really sorry about what I said to her Ash, I just don't see why she's so worked up about the whole thing. " Rhea stated rather bluntly, her voice was rather monotone, as if she felt no emotion in what she just said.

Ash sighed for a second time, shaking her head as her and Rhea headed down to the Greenhouse.

" It's complicated. " was all she could say.

" Alright class! We'll begin with a presentation on the dangers of various wildlife, and then we'll get into a discussion about various toxins nature can cause and their cures, I am Professor. Longbottom, and i will be teaching you Herbology for the remainder of this hour! "

Some people chuckled at the professor's name, while some shook their heads, holding their laughter in. The professor shook it off, continuing with the lesson at hand.

The greenhouse was rather humid, the glass pains had already steamed up due to the temperature, and some students had even resorted to removing their robes, draping them over their shoulders or knotting them around their waists.

There was a long, thick wooden counter, which stretched through the greenhouse, there were various etchings on the mahogany surface, silly notes or drawings, probably from what bored students had wrote.

Rhea had made her was over to Sid, who greeted her with a peck on the cheek, before wrapping his arms around her waisted and resting his head on her shoulder as they watched the professor's presentation.

Ash, on the other hand, had tried to find Rachel, and caught sight of her with Fred, they were laughing away at the back of the class, James was there too, his eyes lingered over to Ash, a beaming smile emerging on his face, as he motioned for her to come over.

" How have you been? " James asked, maintaining eye contact with Ash, a light blushing grazing her cheeks as she replied.

" I've been good, me and Rachel had a great time, uh, unpacking last night! " she mentally slapped herself across the face for coming up with such a bad response, Great time unpacking? Really?!

James laughed a little, running a hand through his ebony hair, oh how much he resembled his father, it was rather frightening.

" Uh, anyway, I was wondering if I could uh... " James started, pulling a rather peculiar facial expression as the blush on his face grew more and more visible with each moment.

" If you could what? " Ash asked, tilting her head to the side, like a puppy would if it had heard a strange noise, James found her facial expression to be adorable beyond belief, swallowing some saliva before continuing his end of the conversation.

" If I could talk to you later on, you know, in a uh, a more private location? "

He barely managed to say the words, for they came out rather fast, it was a miracle that Ash had managed to understand what he'd said.

" I'd love to. " she beamed a smile at him, which he gladly returned, he felt on top of the world right now, and nothing was going to bring him down.

The two of them turned back to the lesson at hand, they now had plans for tonight, so they could think that over whilst also paying attention to their classes, which were pretty vital at this time of year.

" And then I gave him a puking pastel, and the results were horrific. leeet's just say that I won't be entering that classroom for the rest of my days, what a mess! "

For the past fifteen minutes or so, Fred and Rachel had been joking around with each other, by that I mean Fred had been boasting about all the pranks he'd pulled, whilst Rachel did the same, in a sense they were competing to see who'd done the best prank, when in reality they were trying to decipher whether the other was lying or not.

" Ha, is that so? " Rachel laughed, nudging Fred's shoulder, he turned and looked at her, and couldn't help but laugh along.

To him, everything about her was perfect. Her hair colour, the brightest shade of red he thought he'd ever seen, and eyes the colour of emeralds, not to mention she had a killer smile which was to die for.

" Well, that's to be expected from the Prankster Prince! " Rachel added, poking him in the cheek as he stuck his tongue out at her.

" Prince? Are you sure that i'm not the king? " He asked, faking sadness as he pouted, shuffling away from Rachel, who shook her head, taking hold of his hand and pulling him back, much to his surprise.

" Well, as long as your dad is still up and walking, then you will remain the prince, because, let's face it, he IS the prankster king! " She exclaimed, motioning something with her hand as she sent Fred another one of her killer smiles, which he returned, only his was more cutesy than killer.

" Well, " Fred started, sneakily snaking his arms around Rachel's waist, causing her to jump a little, before blushing madly,

" He may be the king, but I can easily take the throne, just as soon as i find my Queen~ " he purred, causing Rachel to shiver a little, she chose not to object to him wrapping his arms around her waist, for she liked being there, and quite frankly, he did too.

The Herbology lesson has been running rather smoothly, everyone had managed to somewhat quiet down, allowing a content feeling to seep throughout the greenhouse, everyone seemed rather peaceful and at ease, as the tasks the Professor had given to them weren't that difficult.

For example, they had to guess which plant from which, and the effects it has on various things such as weather and the damage it could, or could not cause to a wizard or witch if they weren't careful.

Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves, they had paired up for the remainder of the lesson, Rhea with Sid, James with Ash, Fred with Rachel, it was all going well until Ash took an abrupt turn and left the classroom.

" Where's Ash off to? " Fred asked, glancing over to James, who stood awkwardly on his own.

" Oh, she's just gone to the bathroom. " James replied, Fred nodded and turned back to his and Rachel's work.

Ash had made her way into the girls bathroom. It's once white tiled walls and flooring, were now covered in grime and god knows what; messages were wrote on the cubicle doors, and there was a rather unpleasant aromas that made it's way throughout the area, it reeked like rotten corpse. Ash shuddered at the thought.

She finished up, washed her hands and looked into a large mirror, she manoeuvred her hair a little, before something caught her eye, was there someone else in there with her?

" Hello? " she asked, both curiosity and nervousness flooded her being. She glided across the bathroom floor, checking each corner, until, with one sudden move, her hands were restrained, and were being tied together with rather itchy and uncomfortable rope.

" H-hey, what are you doing! " Ash whimpered, trying to see the face of the culprit, however, two pieces of thick cloth were wrapped around her eyes, and her mouth preventing her from seeing anything but the black abyss of the linen stitch work. Preventing her from shouting for help, as she was lead helplessly into the unknown.

" Hey, Rachel! "

The voice came from a boy, Sora to be exact, he was a 6th year student, and a member of the Ravenclaw house, he was stood next to his friend, Jack, who was also a 6th year, and a Ravenclaw.

Sora had rather sleek and shiny hair, it flowed in a somewhat messy, yet controlled manner as it swooped just above his eyes.

His eyes were cyan in colour, and brought out the best of him, he claimed that his eyes were his best feature, due to their eery glow and warm colour.

Jack, on the other hand, had rather straight, and somewhat ' swoopy ' golden blonde hair. He too had blue eyes, which contrasted his hair in a rather subtle manner. He wasn't much of a talker, and stood absent mindedly next to his friend as he looked out of the steamy window panes of the greenhouse.

" What's up, dude? " Rachel asked, whisking her head around, along with Fred and James, who stood at either side of her, Fred's arm slung lazily over her shoulder, they exchanged eye contact for a moment, before looking away, smiles creeping up onto both of their faces.

" I was just wondering.. " Sora started, stretching his arms as he let out a sly yawn.

" You're a metamorphmagus right? " he added, bewilderment planted on Rachel's face as she looked to both James and Fred, who shrugged their shoulders in response.

" Yeeah...? " she replied, thoroughly confused. Sora chuckled, shaking his head slightly.

" Well, i'm one too! " he exclaimed, before changing his hair to all the names under the sun.

" O-oh, really? That's uh, that's great! " Rachel spluttered, forcing a smile, when in reality, she was rather bummed by the fact.

" Isn't it just! I mean, now we can both show off with our abilities, what do you say? " Sora enquired, looking at her intently.

Show off with our abilities? Who does he think I am, a prankster might be one, but someone who deliberately shows off in front of other people? That isn't going to happen. Rachel thought, before shaking Fred's arm off of her shoulder.

" We can't show off with our abilities, and quite frankly, we won't. " Rachel huffed, picking up her books and trudging towards the doorway, followed closely by Fred.

" Did I say something wrong? I didn't mean to sound cocky or anything! " Sora exclaimed, biting his lip as he looked at James and Jack.

" Beats me. " Jack replied.

" Just leave her with Fred, she'll be fine, she's had a rough time lately, and quite frankly, she needs a bit of fresh air, she'll pull through. " James added, as the three of them turned back to their work.

" Rachel, wait up! " Fred called as he jogged down the hallway to her side, taking hold of her hand in one swift movement, he had to admit that he felt rather defensive of her, and it felt like he had to know what was wrong.

" I always tried to be different, you know? I was ecstatic when i first realised of my abilities, you should've seen me, I was constantly changing my features and scaring the heck out of Bill and Fleur, especially that time when I came in with a dragon snout and a pigs tail. "

Rachel chuckled, recalling the memory, as the two seemed oblivious to the fact that they were walking down the corridors together...holding hands.

Fred let out a sigh of relief, he was glad to hear her laughing.

" So, what's up? " He asked. They stopped for a moment. Rachel turned to him and stated rather bluntly.

" It sucks when someone is exactly the same as you, especially now that there's a second metamorphmagus. " she half said half whispered.

Fred enveloped her into a hug, before whispering into here ear.

" He's nothing like you, you're the most amazing person i've ever met, if he was the exact same as you, then I wouldn't be here with you right now, would I? There's a reason i'm friends with you, and it's not just because you're pretty, or because you're my prankster in crime. "

Rachel was rather flustered, and was turning red in the face, so was Fred, to be honest, but they couldn't see each-others faces, so all was well.

" It's because you're different. "

They released themselves from the hug, and Rachel gave Fred a cute smile.

" Thanks, Freddie. "

" Any time, Roo. "

She chuckled at her new found nickname, it suited her, I suppose, she took hold of his hand once again, before leading him throughout the great castle, before they reached their destination, the girls bathroom.

" I'll just uh, wait here... " Fred mumbled, leaning his back against the cobbled walls, Rachel gave him a nod, before walking into the bathroom.

" Ash? Ash where are you dude? " Rachel called, looking around the grime stained room. Something wasn't write, she could sense that. Ash had been gone for way too long.

She took one last look around the room, before her eyes landed on a discarded sheet of paper, snatching it from it's perch on one of the sinks, she looked at the piece of parchment, before crumpling it up and shoving it in her pocket.

We've got your pretty little Ash.

If you want her, come get her, and bring James along will you?

Me and him have got some unfinished business.

Meet us back here after nightfall, make sure crabby old Filch doesn't catch you sneaking around at night, though.

We wouldn't want anything to happen to your little Ash now, would we?

We hope to see you there~