First Week: Herbology

First Week: Herbology

It was possible that Neville had an entirely inappropriate crush on Professor Sprout. Or, really, on the greenhouse. Neville’s potions always bombed, transfiguration was dicey, and his Charms had always been mediocre at best. But his Aunty Willow had always told him he was gifted with plants. Magical or mundane, they spoke to him. And Greenhouse One was, despite being for beginners, magnificent.

Millicent kicked him under the table they were seated at and Neville jerked back to hear Professor Sprout saying, “And this year, you’ll learn not only about the basics of caring for magical plants but also learn to identify several of the more dangerous, difficult plants that you will, over your school career, be dealing with here at Hogwarts.”

Neville squirmed a little in his seat, letting his gaze wander as Professor Sprout kept prattling about what would be expected of them, the things they would need to bring to class, and how the tests would be given. Connor’s eyes were drooping, not because he was tired but because he was bored. Plants just weren’t his thing. Honestly, if things weren’t blowing up or bleeding, they weren’t really Connor’s thing.

Neville smothered a giggle as Connor jerked in his seat, then scowled at Millicent who looked blandly back at him. He quickly looked to Blaise who was grimacing at all the dirt around him. Neville could never be sure if it was because of Ms. Braddock or whether Mom had had that much influence on him, but Blaise never liked to be dirty.

There was scrambling around him and Neville was startled to realize that it was the end of class. He glanced at Harry, who was still lounging in his seat, quill doodling flying figures and stakes. They were supposed to wait, they’d been told, after every class to receive their extra credit assignments. It might have taken them an entire year, but the Professors of Hogwarts had learned their lesson from Marcus.

“Now,” Professor Sprout said, clapping her hands. “Mr. Chase and Miss Summers-Giles have both professed to being less than inclined to Herbology but have accepted any extra assignments I can come up with. Do any of you enjoy or excel at Herbology?”

Neville slowly raised his hand, blushing when she perked up.

“Aunty says he’s gifted,” Connor said gruffly. “The rest of us, not so much.”

“But you can identify both the plants and the magical properties that pertain to them in this Greenhouse, correct?” Professor Sprout asked, even as her eyes kept wandering back to Neville.

Connor glanced around, then nodded. “Yeah. I don’t actually have much interest in them but I know what they are, what they can do, and what can be done with them.”

“Good,” Professor Sprout nodded. “I want a paper on each of them, at least a yard a piece. They’ll be due by the end of the school year. You can decide how many to do each week, as long as at least one gets turned in every Friday.”

Blaise held up a finger, grimace still present. “I don’t like dirt and this place is very…dirty.”

Professor Sprout nodded. “Then besides what we do in class, you are not required to spend time in the greenhouses. We’ll keep your extra work strictly research papers.” She turned and looked at Neville while Blaise nodded, relieved. “Do you plan to work with plants after you’ve graduated?”

Neville nodded. “I do. I’m either going to teach or run a specialist shop.”

Harry snickered. “He’ll probably be the Council plant expert.”

Neville grinned. “Or maybe that.”

It wasn’t any secret at the Hyperion that the Council was sort of terrified of the whole family. Any position that wasn’t in the field was off limits, simply because there would have to be regular interaction between the two parties. So, even if the Council needed a plant expert, they wouldn’t hire one of the Hyperion children.

Professor Sprout merely looked confused. “What would the Council need with a plant expert?”

“Potion work,” Millie shrugged.

“Plant demons,” Connor posited.

Neville shrugged. “Whatever they could think of. Not that they need one.”

“He’ll probably be doing the supply for our Aunties’ demands,” Harry said, wiggling his fingers and actually making his doodles fly around on the parchment.

“Which, after a fashion, means he’ll be working for the Council, anyway,” Blaise concluded.

“Of course,” Professor Sprout nodded, that oh so familiar look of bemusement on her face. Most adults got it after a certain amount of exposure to the Hyperion kids. “Well, regardless, Neville, you may consider yourself my apprentice, if you like, and we’ll center as much of your education as we can around Herbology.”

Neville beamed as the other kids grinned. They might not have any interest in plants but they loved him, he knew, and whatever made him happy made them happy.

“Thank you,” he said.

The others started tossing their things in their bags but Neville just sat for a moment, studying the building and the plants. He’d never really stood out from the crowd of his brothers and sister. There were just too many of them too close in age and they’d sort of blended together. And that wasn’t a bad thing, it just made being unique rather difficult.

Harry huffed and started to reload Neville’s bag for him. “We’ve gotta go, Nev. Snape’s going to have a stick up his butt anyway. We don’t need to be late on top of that.”

Neville nodded and followed the rest out of Greenhouse One, only looking back once. He was going to be doing something his brothers and sister weren’t. That was new to him but also exciting. Maybe Hogwarts would be good for them after all.