For the Love of Potions | A Garreth Weasley Fanfic

Chapter 12 - A trip to Hogsmeade and a new Broom - Part. 2

Garreth POV

I took a hold of y/n hand and pulled her through the door into the kitchen. She let out a soft gasp in surprise. The kitchen was in full swing, house-elves bringing lunch dishes back from the Great Hall, others had already started to prep for dinner. The most mouth-watering aromas imaginable filled the air, everything from peppered slow cooked meats, to seasoned vegetables, pumpkin pie, and all sorts of freshly baked bread. I pulled y/n with me past a few crowded tables until I spotted Feenky.

"Garreth! How lovely to see you!" the house-elf exclaimed; she looked over a y/n noticing our interlaced hands. "Oh, and you brought a girlfriend with you this time, what a treat!". I let go of y/n's hand, both of us taking an awkward step away from each other. I furiously brushed my neck with my hand, and shyly looked over at her. Her cheeks were a little red. Feenky kept talking as if nothing had happened, unaware of the sudden awkwardness between the two of us. "What can Feenky get for you? Maybe some scrumptious sausage with a side of mashed potatoes? Or perhaps some of the tasty pumpkin pie I know you adore so, Garreth". Y/n gave me an amused smile as the house-elf kept fawning over me.

Feenky led us to an empty table, and with a snap of her finger the table was suddenly filled with food. Feenky had always taken good care of me. I had missed out on many a meal in the Great Hall during my six years at Hogwarts. More times than I could count, I had been so engrossed in my potioneering than I did not realize how hungry I was until dinner was already over. Matilda had taken pity on me back in my first year and shown me to the kitchens. Since then, I have had many a meal down here, happily chatting away with Feenky, or reviewing my notes and pondering my next concoction. Y/n spent the time, enjoying our food, and having a fun chat with Feenky about the kitchens, and our classes. It was nice that y/n always treated the elves like she would anybody else.

After finishing our meal, we thanked Feenky profusely, and then made our way towards the greenhouse for Herbology. We had to jog through Central Hall but made it to class just in time. We made our way to each our potting table, and I noticed that they were already outfitted with a small pot containing a green leafy plant and a larger empty pot.

Professor Garlick made her way down the greenhouse, "Today you will be learning about Bouncing Bulbs. It is very important that you pay close attention in today's lesson, as they are extremely difficult to pot, and if you are not careful, we will have a whole lot of them bouncing around the greenhouse". She stopped in front of her potting station, smiling at all of us. "Firstly, you want to put some fresh soil into the larger pot, just like this.", her eyes scanned the room making sure everyone was paying attention, "Now, this is the important part, so please pay close attention. Take a firm hold of your Bouncing Bulbs, similarly, to lifting a Mandrake." She pulled the plant out of the soil and a furious purple bud appeared, violently moving in her hands. Then she stuck it into the larger pot, gently forming the soil around it, "You need to place in quite firmly in the pot and then quickly flatten the soil around it".

I put some fresh soil in the larger pot, before pulling the plant out. I was surprised at the force of it as it wiggled in my hands. I took a deep breath and placed it in the larger pot, firmly tapping the soil around it. To my relief it stayed put. Professor Garlick put a gentle hand on my shoulder, "Well done, Garreth!", she made her way through the greenhouse reviewing our work. I couldn't help but smile, there was a reason why half the boys in my year fancied her.

Leander let out a squeal, then a pained groan, as a purple bulb hit him in the stomach, furiously jumping around him. I met y/n eyes from across the room, and we both burst out laughing along with the rest of the class. Professor Garlick quickly jinxed the plant and swept it up off the ground. Carefully nursing the plant, she made sure that Leander was alright as well.

The rest of the day went by without much more incident. I was excited to try out my new broom at quidditch practice. The broom flew beautifully, and I found myself wanting to take it out for a joyride on the weekend, maybe I could get y/n to accompany me.

Practice was hard. Nellie had us doing intense exercises to start, then even harsher drills to follow-up, she was clearly unhappy about our loss to Slytherin. As I dismounted my broom, I was approached by Violet. She gave me an uncertain smile, and then proceeded to apologise for all the Bludgers sent my way during the game. I told her not to worry and complemented her on her strong swing. This made her laugh like I'd told a rather funny joke. She leaned in, putting a hand on my shoulder. I just stood there, smiling, awkwardly. What I had said wasn't even that funny. My eyes caught some movement behind Violet, and to my dismay I spotted Leander giving me a thumbs up, mouthing "I told you, Beaters get all the girls!". Behind him, I saw y/n leaving the ground with hurried footsteps.

I quickly excused myself from Violet, put my broom away, and ran after her. I didn't catch up to her before she'd made it to the fountain halfway through the castle grounds. She could really power-walk when she wanted to. "Y/n, wait up!" I called. I fell into pace next to her. She didn't look at me, nor acknowledge my presence. "Is something the matter?", I asked reaching out for her hand. She pulled her hand away and kept walking. "Wait, are you jealous?" I said with a laugh. The look she gave was both indigent and angry, which made me laugh even more. "It's not funny!", she protested, finally turning to face me. "No, you are right", I said. I really wanted to reach out to put her hair behind her ear, but there were too many students around. "I am just happy that such a beautiful girl as yourself would ever be jealous over me" I said with an earnest smile. You could see the tension leave her body, her brow softened, and her cheeks turned a little pink. I reached out with my hand, this time palm up, waiting. She grabbed it, though a bit rougher than usual, our fingers interlaced below our robe sleeves as we made our way back to the castle.