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You're Starting To Grow On Me

Waking up at 5 in the morning was not what Harry had planned for Friday. Neville had been trying to be quiet, he really had! Despite this, he managed to trip over his own shoes and land directly on a peacefully sleeping Harry. They had understood and didn’t yell at the frantically apologizing boy, instead deciding to go with on the early morning excursion.

This is why the two were in greenhouse 3 with Professor Sprout, who didn’t seem excited to have Harry there. They ignored this and began to expertly tend to the Dragon Lilies, a plant that even Neville was wary of. Harry easily pruned the lilies while cooing at them about how pretty they would look fully grown and how their petals seemed to shine. The flowers loved the attention, preening proudly.

“Well Mr. Potter, we may make a Herbologist out of you yet!” 

“No thanks. I’d prefer to do something else. Gardening has always been more of a hobby than a career. Though I’d love to come in and help more, if that is okay.”

“Of course! I do expect you to put in this amount of effort in my class!”

“I will.”

Professor Sprout soon ushered the two out of the greenhouse, telling them to eat breakfast before classes started. The first class of the day was DADA and both were eager to see if they had a decent teacher this year. The two chatted amicably on their walk to the Great Hall.

“I never knew you liked gardening,” Neville had come out of his shell slightly with the lack of insults or derision. “Do you have a favorite plant?”

“It started out as a chore, but I learned to love it. And, I’ve never really thought about having a favorite plant. I think I like growing mint the best because I can use it in new recipes!”

“Could you teach me how to cook? It sounds really fun.”

“Sure! We could start this weekend! I just have to ask the house elves if they would lend us the kitchens!”

The two met up with Ron and Hermione in the Great Hall for breakfast. Harry had decided on a bagel with cream cheese and raspberry preserves. The four talked about what they could be doing in DADA that day, since everyone who had the class the day before had been crowing about Lupin’s teaching.

They had all gotten to class easily, all the students piling into the small classroom. All of the desks were on the far wall, stacked up to keep them out of their way. The students milled around the room as they waited for their newest professor. Though it didn’t take long for a large black dog to bound into the room bringing Lupin with it. The dog transformed into a madly grinning Sirius Black who then perched himself on Lupin’s desk.

“Hello everyone! I am Professor Lupin and the idiot on my desk is Sirius Black. Now can anybody guess what we will be learning about today?” A few hands went up on both sides of the class; The golden trio and Draco’s posse were all ready to answer. The lesson in question involved the large armoire that was shaking violently near the teacher’s desk. “Let’s see. How about you, miss?”

“Granger, sir. We’re learning about Boggarts. They are a creature that turns into whatever you fear the most.”

“Wonderful! And does anyone know how to beat a boggart? You, Mr?”

“Zabini. Laughter is the only way to get the boggart to retreat. There is no known way of truly ‘beating’ a boggart.”

“Excellent! Let’s get a little bit of hands-on experience starting with Mr. Longbottom!”