The Bug Collector | marauders

Herbology

After a small break Rose continued onto her final class of the day, Herbology. The class she was most excited about despite noticing the other students didn't seem to share her same enthusiasm for the subject

The class was taught in the Hogwarts greenhouses and Rose had been dying to see them since she hadn't had the chance to explore them the night before and they did not disappoint.

Walking into the greenhouse reminded her of the first time she had ever used magic, exploring an insectarium in muggle London. It had a botanical garden-like habitat with indoor trees, flowers, and a fountain for live insects such as butterflies as well as preserved ones in frames like her own that was purchased later on that same trip. When you walked into the habitat the humidity seemed to rise along with the temperature, plants filled the room and the sounds of buzzing from bees hard at work could be heard throughout the facility. Others would zoom by and spook you if you were not paying enough attention. The habitat itself was inside of a big glass dome with white ornate metal holding it all together.

She had felt a strange energy in the habitat, but blamed it on the sudden change in the climate around her. The feeling only grew as the day went on however and eventually when they visited a room filled wall to wall with vibrantly colored framed butterflies something happened. It had been an accident, or not an accident per se just not on purpose. Rose had been looking at the butterflies and simply wished she knew what they would have looked like when they were still alive like the ones from the habitat and all at once each and every one
started flapping their wings inside their frames, as if for a moment life had been brought back to them.

She got the same feelings from the classroom as she did the butterfly garden. Greenery littered the room, BIG and small plants that seemed to move on their own, grow or shrink at will, colorful and flowered plants, fragrant plants, and Rose's personal favorite, green and viney plants that seemed to climb the walls and exit out of the glass paneled ceilings. Some form of incense was being burned in the corner of the room which also gave it a warm ever so slightly smoky smell. The sounds of a wind chime hanging from the outside could be heard and overall the classroom was lovely.

The students gathered around a table filled with potted baby plants that had a similar look to ginseng.

Regulus was also in this class so Rose took the opportunity to stand next to him as they waited on the professor to finish taking roll. The teacher then introduced herself, her name was Pomona Sprout, she was head of Hufflepuff house and honestly Rose had never heard anything more fitting. Professor Sprout was short, had brown hair with a touch of grey tied into a messy low bun that sat right under the brim of her orangish-brown hat that looked as if it had seen better days. She wore a green apron half covered in dirt over her brown robes with yellow gloves covering her hands.

The professor took a few questions as well as asked a few before starting the lesson on the history and application of the mandrake.

Considering this was a topic Rose had done her own research on before, she couldn't help but let her mind wander during the lesson. Though she enjoyed the professor, looking around at how beautiful the classroom was had proven far too distracting.

From the overgrown plants wrapping around things to add a bit of green to most objects in the room to how the sunlight came through the glass ceiling filling the room with beams of light and heat that hit everyone's faces, it was once again, lovely.

Even Regulus beside her seem to have a glow to his skin in this light, his cheeks pinker than she'd seen them before. His features really showed, grey eyes took on a greenish hue from the color being so prevalent in the room and probably reflecting back on them, and while they were so faint she doubted even he knew they were there she noticed how a few almost tan pinkish freckles danced across his nose.

She wouldn't quite call him handsome. Regulus was bloody pretty.

And he had already decided they would be partners in this class when on the walk there he realized they were going to the same place. Something Rose was thankful for. The boy spoke

"Why are you looking at me?"

"Oh!"

Rose slapped her hand over her mouth to quiet herself. Then whispered.

"Sorry- I was just looking at the light and it's really green- did you know you have a total of like- six freckles? Maybe seven?"

"I...yes I know that...."

"Right...As you said, I was looking, perhaps a bit too long." Rose said, as his cheeks seemed to grow pinker.

"Cheers."

The rest of the class went by as smoothly as it could after an interaction like that.

Once class was concluded and Rose could escape she took some time outside to go over the notes she had taken from the day, reading over it and adding more drawings to help understand some concepts better. She also decided to read ahead in her herbology textbook, curious about the course.

The sun had slowly begun to set by the time Rose decided to go back inside, when she got to her dorm and noticed the other girls had yet to return she decided to take a shower humming to her self as she did so.

Feeling far more refreshed(though she could have still probably used a nap) Rose thought about starting a letter home but couldn't find the right words just yet so instead made her way back out of the dorms and common room, past all the portraits and stairs to the Great Hall. She would have a quick dinner and then finally get some sleep.

Waving to Lily as she entered the Great Hall Rose was unsure if she should be impressed with Lily for fixing it or disappointed in her own work for being too temporary, Lily's hair was bright and fiery red again.

The green had come out.