Time witchcraft

15

Surrounded by mountains, Cokeworth has always had a slightly more pleasant climate than the rest of England, with less cold winters and less excessive heat in summers. But the summer sun was fierce everywhere, and the deep shade cast dappled shadows, and the deep green almost melted into the ground. The sky was blue and everything was gilded in the hot sun.

Petunia was momentarily distracted as she looked out of the window. Sensing it, her companion touched her arm and asked thoughtfully, "Are you all right, Petunia? It's just too hot."

It was fine. Petunia recovered her senses with a thank you and looked back at the variety of flowers on the table.

They were taking a class in flower arrangement, a core subject that Elantu Girls' School prides itself on. The school is determined to train the students to be elegant and respectable ladies, and believes that these courses can well demonstrate their refined taste.

The long white table is packed with dozens of different accessories, from showy roses to elegant irises, classic cornflowers and tender stars, as well as some of the usual summer flowers. The girls each have their own vase, and they have to carefully select the right kind from these ingredients to match their own best bouquet.

Next to the woman chose pure lily with blue hyacinth, the whole bunch of flowers have taken shape. She invited Petunia cheerfully. "Well, Petunia? I think it's good."

Very beautiful, pure and elegant. Petunia duly praised her, and her companion was pleased with the comment. She returned the compliment by moving her eyes to Petunia, but paused hesitantly when she saw the match.

"Well..." She organized her words. "It's summer. But Penny, don't you think it's a little too colorful? In kind, perhaps..."

She paused gently.

Penny knew what this meant, and she chose petunias for her vase because, despite how common they are, the timing of the morning flower meant that it was not suitable for afternoon use. It looked a little dehydrated and out of its best early morning bloom.

In addition to petunias, she also chose sunflowers to go with them. The golden sunflower gives people a feeling of vitality, but it is not very suitable to match with the same bright color and warm petunias. If the overly bold color contrast is not good, it will not show the elegance of taste. And Petunia's bouquet didn't even have any fancy accessories -- it did look a little too plain, as if it had been plucked from the side of the road, and far less tasteful than other bouquets.

But what does it matter? Penny is petunia. She was born to be an ordinary person. Unlike her sister, who had a pretty face and a lovely enough personality, she was even a wizard, who fit all the beautiful imaginings of the lily that everyone had. Perhaps, when she was born, her name had already acted as a spell to determine everyone's fate.

Accepting her own ordinariness and powerlessness was always something someone like her had to go through.

"It's unimpressive, but I like it." Petunia said simply to her companion, carefully tying a ribbon around her bouquet. "There's always someone who likes even the most mundane flowers, isn't there? I don't mind being the one who appreciates it."

All right. Her companion looked at her quizzically, shrugged, and made no comment on her thoughts. After the teacher graded their works, the flowers became their own. Petunia left at the end of the class with her bouquet of flowers -- which had probably received the same mediocre passing grade as hers.

As she walked through the summer trees, Petunia habitually looked up at the sky for the sign of the owl she wanted to see, even though it had not been there for some time.