Venom & Virtue

chapter 16

"Everyone order, order! That's right Thomas, very good. No Longbottom, I said in a circle around your assigned portkey," Sprout yelled over our heads, forcing all the sixth and seventh years to position themselves correctly.

Nearly everyone in the older years had signed up for the open trip to Kew Gardens, excited about the idea of getting out of Scotland for the day, rather than the topic of the venture itself.

Violetta pushed through part of the crowd, dragging us with her until we reached our portkey, an everlasting pumpkin picked from the grounds the previous morning.

Our group circled around it, squishing together in the grass until we were all in position as we waited for the other sets to order themselves.

Once Sprout was satisfied everyone was near their assigned transport, she blew a spark out of her wand and we leaned forward, making contact with the portkeys.

In a sickly blur, we whirled away from the school grounds, spinning through indescribable space for what seemed like forever.

Eventually, we were thrown outwards, landing on a different patch of grass with a loud thump.

We all groaned as we attempted to stand up, stretching our stiff muscles and checking there were no serious injuries.

"Here," Adrian offered me his hand, which I took gratefully, rising from the damp ground.

I looked around as I stood up, taking in the park-like estate, covered in all manner of botanical material that could be imagined.

There were several enormous greenhouses dotted sporadically, visitors rushing to and fro.

"Alright everyone, follow me," Sprout instructed, beginning to march in the direction of a smaller greenhouse.

We all traipsed after her, forming a long line like cattle.

The plump witch had made sure to place charms on us so we would go fairly undetected by muggles, not wanting them to interfere as she educated us on their plants.

It was obvious that most of the students hadn't come to hear any of the woman's herbology theory; rather, a decision motivated by the opportunity to be in London for a few hours.

Our group had come for the latter reason; only Terence had stayed behind, stating that they had no interest in walking around a muggle tourist spot.

I didn't blame them really, it was awfully busy in the gardens, and the London chill made the city seem particularly uninviting.

Sprout pushed open the doors of Waterlily House, bustling through the winding rainforest with purpose.

When we were significantly deep into the space, she stopped, handing out some clipboards and ink-spawning quills.

"Now, you have 40 minutes to go around this area and write down as many species of muggle botany that you can find."

She arched her arm in the direction of a sign drilled into a large boulder, "most plants in the collection have placards to tell you all about it. There will be extra house points awarded for drawings and sketches."

She threw us a beaming smile before shooing us with her hands, indicating the time had begun.

Students dispersed in all directions, fleeing quickly into the tropical vegetation.

The three of us took our time, winding our way through the greenhouse and noting as many details as we could.

It wasn't a thrilling activity, monotonous more than anything else.