𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧 - 𝑨 𝑺𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒖𝒔 𝑺𝒏𝒂𝒑𝒆 𝑭𝒂𝒏𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏

CHAPTER FIVE - Moonflower

It was the early hours of midnight, when Severus left the castle grounds to venture into the Forbidden Forest, with a slightly frightened maid who was ever so confident in joining him, yet now, she was clinging onto his robes as if he were her life support.

He tried to fight the smug smirk off his face as he watched her struggle to walk on the dry leaves in fear of stepping on a spider, or an aggressive ant hill.

He debated on telling her about the Acromanulas that often wandered these woods at night, but Mia was already complaining about the faces she was seeing in the dark, when really it was the crooked shapes of trees and branches that gave off the unsettling illusion.

"I thought no one was allowed around here...." She says softly, eyes rushing back and forth with her tight fist clasped around the hem of his robes.

"The students are not, the professors however, are." The Potions Master used the bright spark of light conjured from his wand to light up their path.

"So how close are we?"

"Almost there."

"Okay.....What about now?"

He rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Have some patience Mia, you've been asking me that for the past few minutes."

Soon, they both walked into a large clearing where moonlight finally touched. Mia scurried into the area, abandoning the dreadful woods behind her as she sighed softly, looking around as Severus joins her by her side. It was a rather secluded area with thick forestry surrounding it, almost like a barrier. It wouldn't be easy to navigate through the woods to get to this specific place yet the Potions Master managed it with ease.

"Is this supposed to be your personal garden or something?" Mia asks softly, her eyes falling on the thick patches of plants that littered the grass.

"Something along those lines." He walks past her, robes bellowing behind him as he reaches a patch of white flowers. She followed after him, taking a closer look at what she assumed to be a bed of Moonflowers. She admired their white petals, blooming proudly under the moon with a soft hue of yellow in the center.

"Approximately a year ago, I stumbled upon this clearing and decided to transform it into a secluded herb sanctuary." He knelt down on the ground, and used a spell from his wand to carefully pluck the white flowers from the stems. "The unruly students are unlikely to venture this far, and I have also charmed a protective barrier around it to ward off any wildlife that could pose a threat to my precious plants."

Mia sat down on the grass beside him, setting down the basket she brought along. She watches with interest as Severus levitates the flowers into the basket, although most of her interest was aimed at his stern expression as he concentrated on handling them.

Surprisingly, he tears one of the petals off by hand, holding up the piece of cellulose pinched between his fingers. He wordlessly taps his wand ever so gently on the tip of the petal, and Mia watches it transfigure into a blanket.

"Take this and go sit over there. Count all the flowers I send over, understand Mia?"

With a nod, she took the blanket from him and laid it over a clean patch of grass, placing herself, along with the basket on it. Severus remained knelt over the patch of Moonflowers, a stream of glowing petals floating over to the maid from her master.

She started counting as instructed, and just after she reached fifty, he stands up from his position and walks over to her, sighing softly as he sits down beside her.

"These are quite a lot. What potions are these needed in, sir?" The maid smiles softly, ruffling her hand through the pile of flowers he had collected.

"They're used to treat ailments, such as anxiety and insomnia. Promfrey has been requesting a new batch every week, given the O.W.L's are right around the corner." He stretches his arms, and loosened the button on the neck of his robe to get more comfortable.