The Boy // A Harry Potter Story

5

Herbology. It's an.... interesting subject taught by Professor Sprout, the Hufflepuff head of house. The greenhouse is full of different variety of different plants. Some of them are tranquil and peaceful, giving off soothing scents of lavender and strange, but all the same, pleasant citrus . A lot of them thrashed wildly and made sneering noises. Some of them actually gave off a musical tune, most of them uneven and ragged and almost sounded broken, but a few of the long tubed ones actually played soft melodies, just vibrating through the thick tubes.

The colors were unreal. I expected a lot of green, but there REALLY wasn't a lot. Some of the plants had green stems, but most of them were tangerine sprouts with violet leaves and lemon colored blossoming flowers, deep maroon shoots and pale blue vines covering the ceiling and pots, and even a few spotted eggplant shaped pods.

"Wow," I said, stepping into the odd, but beautiful lab. Slytherins had this class with the Ravenclaws. Which meant....

"Hey, Sapphire," Calliope Magnolia appeared at my side, as though she had been invisible there herself.

"Hi!" I hugged her. It was nice to see something- someone so calm and, no offense, but plain in the contrasting world of this wild greenhouse.

"This is really something, isn't it?" she said, not in very much awe, but in strangled overwhelmingness.

"Yeah, it is." I replied, staring up as a circling teal vine entangled a hanging light. "This class looks really strange."

"I feel really strange." Calliope said shyly.

"Why?" I asked.

"I can't see-feel-hear anyone." she replied, shivering slightly.

"What do you mean? Everyone-everyTHING is so loud!" I laughed.

"That's the problem. The ghosts don't like it here. Too much unpredictability. Chaos. Noise. No one's here." she said, even in the midst of the chaos, she sounded tranquil yet worried.

"Oh. Right." I said. "Well, have you ever wanted to get away? From the ghosts, I mean."

"I've never really thought about that," Calliope said curiously.

"This can be your chance! Enjoy it, spend time with people! Trust me," I told her, smiling. To my complete surprise, she returned the smile.

"I guess I've never talked to people much," she said. "It might be nice. I guess you're right."

"I usually am," I smiled and we joined the rest of the Slytherins and Ravenclaws, holding hands and grinning widely amidst the crazy plants.