Legal Disclaimer: I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

Warning: This work may be offensive to some readers. Feel free to back out if need be.

Author's Note: Okay, but picture being sweet on the kid who turned you lime green at a public event. Imagine thinking about this embarrassing event (where said kid lost control to turn you green) and thinking "you know what would be an excellent thing to reminder her of when I ask her to date me?" He's right, of course, but still!

Submitting Info:
Stacked with: Hogwarts (Term 16); MC4A (Year 5)
Individual Challenges: Red Bull; Happy Birthday; Rainbow Rainbow; Slytherin MC; Slytherin MC; Magical MC; Magical MC; Rian-Russo Inversion; Booger Breath; Setting Sail; Lunar Era; Old Shoes (Y); Bucket Listing (Y); In a Flash; Two Cakes (Y); Eating Cake (Y); Green Ribbon; Greatest Gift (Y)
House: Slytherin
Assignment No.: Term 16 – Assignment 12
Subject (Task No.): Quidditch Lessons (Task#2: Write about a task taking longer than it should.)
Other Hogwarts Challenges: 365 [233](Approve); 1000 Prompts Challenge [10](Gardening); Hogwarts Gardens [Gnome](Only Slytherins)
Other MC4A Challenges: TrB [2E](Door Roulette); SuB [5C](Dust); Ship (Stellar Legends)[SpBig (Planter); SpMic2 (Green); SuBig (Flowers); SuMed 1 (Meet Cute/Meet Ugly); SuMed2 (Flowers); 2A (Getting Together)]; Chim [Dyx] (Lime; Life/Death);Hunt [Su Set (Greenhouse/Solarium)]; Fire [x3](Pride); Garden [Soils (Greenhouse/Solarium); Mixed Bag (Garden); Badges (Ace/Aro)]; Harvest [AU (Turned Left Instead of Right); Items (Knife; Metal Statue); Settings (Garden/Greenhouse/Solarium)]
Representation(s): Greengrass Family; Aro-Ace Daphne Greengrass; Pre-ship Draco Malfoy/Astoria Greengrass; Brier Rose Elements
Primary & Secondary Bonus Challenges: A Long Dog; Larger than Life; Unicorn; Second Verse (Ladylike; Not a Lamp; Nontraditional; Mother Hen; Unwanted Advice); Chorus (Pocky Pockets; Wabi Sabi; Bee Haven; Machismo; Peddling Pots; Mouth of Babes; Tomorrow's Shade); Demo 1 (Under the Bridge; Over the Hills; Sweetest Burn); Demo 2 (In the Trench; Misshapen Pods)
Tertiary & Generic Bonus Challenges: War (Ennui); Once (Inchworm); FR (Satisfaction; Evolution)
Word Count: 520 words

(^^)
Stellar Roses
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Daphne sometimes wondered if Draco Malfoy wasn't actually aware that he had already won. In all other things, the swarmy git seemed so confident—to the point of arrogance, really—but somehow, he seemed to be completely unaware of how utterly gone for him, Astoria already was. She had been since she had first seen him at some gala or another when she had been five to his seven. As much as Daphne loved her sister, she would never understand what she saw in the blond. But she also knew that when Astoria set her sights on a goal, she was more than willing to do whatever it took to achieve her goal and woe to anyone who stood in her way.

Not that any of the Greengrasses were willing to deny Astoria anything, let alone something so simple. They all knew that the curse that haunted their family had flared in Astoria. They all knew that her time was limited. No one from their family would tell her that they didn't approve of her suitor of choice. Even if the idea of having Draco Malfoy as a brother-in-law—and if Daphne was understanding Astoria's explanation of her plans, the father of at least one nibling—set Daphne's teeth on edge, the smile on Astoria's face whenever she received any kind of direct attention from the boy was absolutely worth it every agonizing moment.

And yet—

And yet, for all that Draco followed Astoria around like a besotted puppy (a very nice change from the stalkery way that he obsessed over Harry Potter), the idiot had not actually spoke a word to Astoria since the gala after the one that they had met. He had greeted the Greengrasses with all the polite manners expected of their station. When it had finally came time for him to kiss the back of Astoria's hand, she had squeaked like a house elf at the touch of his lips and in a fit of accidental magic, turned him lime green from head to toe. Which was as hilarious as it was embarrassing for both of them. Astoria had gotten over it. Was that the only thing holding him back? Even after all these years?

Just when she had planned to confront the little ferret about the situation, she stumbled across him in what had probably been a herbology classroom at one point. The glass walls of the solarium were clouded with several decades of highland dust. All of the walls except for one, that was, which had been cleaned to perfection. Under this wall, there grew a thriving teacup rosebush with its brambles carefully guided to twist around a sturdy trellis that was in turn tied to an imposing metal statue of a dragon in rampant.

As she watched, Draco used a sharp pruning knife to cut off a sprig of blossoms.

The flowers were a shade of lime green that Daphne still distinctly remembers, even after all these years.

Daphne decided to put off the confrontation for another day. She had the sudden feeling that Draco was finally going to make his move.