𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬 ; 𝘤𝘦𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘤 𝘥𝘪𝘨𝘨𝘰𝘳𝘺

four

04 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐥𝐲

          𝐈 𝐅𝐎𝐋𝐋𝐎𝐖𝐄𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 dirt trail that lead the way to the greenhouses, the spine of my book cracked opened, and eyes tracing across the printed words. I trailed a little ways behind Maeve and Claire, who were chatting away at Merlin knows what.

After a few more absentminded steps were taken, the entrance of the greenhouse approached, the sight alone making me breakout into a warm smile.

Passing by a group of younger Slytherins and through the doorway, the fresh and familiar scent of greenery instantly swept over me. I took all of it in for a short moment, as the comforting scent never failed to bring me happiness.

"Good afternoon Professor!" I chirped to Professor Sprout as soon as I spotted her adjusting ceramic pots in the corner of the greenhouse.

"Ms. Brooks, how nice it is to see one of my best students!" She exclaimed, shifting her focus from the pots over to me and giving an approving nod as she looked over.

I proudly beamed at her praise before I continued towards one of the rectangular tables that held multitudes of potted Fanged Geraniums. I ended up standing between Claire and a red-headed Ravenclaw girl, whose name I couldn't quite remember.

I was attempting to fit my thick book in my bag, that was already packed much too full, when the sound of a certain laugh made my actions suddenly halt.

I tried. I really did try to keep my eyes planted elsewhere, but of course, my curiosity never allowed for things to work out that way. My head lifted up and my gaze centered in towards the doorway where I saw Cedric and a giggling Cho Chang standing.

My eyes fell from the laughing pair at an unbelievably quick pace, and I stared blankly at my now meaningless book.

Seeing him brought an unsettling sentiment.

It took willpower to clear my throat and regain focus, tossing my book aside so I could slip my dragon-hide gloves onto my hands.

There were a lot of bustling students around in the greenhouse, so I reassured myself that it was unlikely he even noticed my presence. That turned out to be a momentary period of relief though.

Out of the corner of my sight, I watched Cho say a goodbye to Cedric, in an almost whispering tone of voice. Cedric remained in the doorway as she strode across the room, making her way closer and closer to where I stood with every step.

Cho stopped when she approached a red-headed Ravenclaw girl. A red-headed Ravenclaw girl that also happened to be placed right next to me.

I finished pushing my gloves rightfully into place, just in time for me to look up and lock eye contact with Cedric, immediately freezing in place.

"Greetings everyone! We'll get started very shortly." Professor Sprout declared to the class, which broke the tension in the air and the eye contact Cedric and I held.

I didn't know how long my eyes were connected onto his, because before I knew it, I was focused on the back of his head along with his retreating figure.

I exhaled a defeated sigh, mostly just because I was annoyed at my self for acting so dense.

I turned to face the Fanged Geranium that was placed in front of me, trying my hardest to block out the sounds of Cho's laughter that was coming from besides me.

But fortunately, I knew I could count on Herbology to take my mind off of everything, so I squinted at the plant and allowed for my thought process to completely take over.