Sparks Fly || A George Weasley Story

Year 4: Packing Up

Word had quickly spread about what had happened to Colin, and every student, except those who put themselves on a pedestal as high as Malfoy did, were absolutely terrified by what it could mean for them, or really anybody for that matter. Now more than ever, each and every student, muggleborns especially, were counting down the days to Christmas holiday. On the twentieth of December, we'd have our bags packed, and be on the way home for the next two weeks, or longer. I feared that many parents wouldn't want their children to come back after they'd gotten word of what was going on, no matter how desperate the staff was to just sweep everything under the rug.

But I was trying to keep my fear and thoughts of the enormous creature out of my head as I hustled around the greenhouse, Fred and George outside in the snow. I'd told them that they could go into one of the other greenhouses or off to do their own things, but they insisted that was too far away and there was just no way that was happening. And this time, I didn't mind how close they were hovering.

Sure, they were only fourteen just like I was, but that didn't mean that they couldn't make me feel safe just by being there. That's what friends were for, right? I mean, if you can't trust your best friends with your life, are they really even considered your best friends?

So, while the comforting presence of Fred and George huddled outside the door calmed my nerves, I tended to those who needed help. Technically, no one needed a lot of help, but I tried to stay at the end of the table around where Hermione, Ron, Harry, and Neville were stood. At the moment, I was trying to stay focused on helping Neville figure out which leaves needed to be pruned and which ones were still healthy.

With magical plants it can be hard to tell as some have been known to play dead to keep any animals from trying to eat them. No one wants a wilted, unseasoned leaf for lunch. However, something that did enjoy dead leaves and other such carcasses was fungi, and that was certainly something to look out for when caring for a garden of magical plants. Honestly, in my opinion, if you're going to have a garden, you should probably stick to non-sentient plants as they're just so much easier to care for. But I digress.

"So, this one looks a little limp, but I think it can be salvaged, so we'll leave that one alone for now," I whispered to Neville as I pointing at the leaf whose stem he had in the grasp of his shears.

"Are you sure?" He asked, "It looks a little yellow around the edges."

"Well, I think that this might be because of something called moisture stress," I said, nodding as I looked over the plant, "Now we just need to figure out whether the plant has too much or too little water. Both of those can turn the leaves yellow."

"Finnicky little things aren't they," Neville laughed as I moved the plant closer to me.

"Oh yeah, certain plants can be quite the drama queens," I said, sticking my finger down into the soil and shaking my head, "But, I think this one might be drowning. How often are you watering this plant?"

"Every day."

"That's the problem, this plant takes in water super slowly, for reasons unknown besides that it's magical and annoying. You only need to water it once or twice a week." I said, "But don't fret. All we need is a new pot and we'll fix him right up in a new little home."

I wiped my hands on my apron and made my way over to the shelf where all the extra supplies were stored. Thanks to me, things were much more organized this year than they had been when the twins and I were supposed to be cleaning up in here last year. I stood on my toes and grabbed a pot from one of the higher shelves. Professor Sprout would have to have used magic, but I think that's a small price to pay to keep yourself and others from tripping over the pots and breaking them because they were sat on the floor.