Seeing Green

Getting permission to harvest ginger from the greenhouses had been a long and arduous process, but eventually, by pulling every string she could think of within the faculty, Amelia had finally convinced the herbology professor to let her into the glass building. She needed the roots and leaves for her potions kit, as she had always thought fresh ingredients were better than the dried version they sold at the apothecary.

When Amelia got to the greenhouses, she unlocked the external door and stepped into the building, letting the glass door swing carefully closed behind her. Inside, the air was hot and sticky, and the humidity was bearing down on her like a heavy blanket. She was alone, though, which is how Amelia preferred to spend her time. More and more lately she found herself uncomfortably in the company of others, and so she took this solitude as a gift.

Moving among the plants, Amelia allowed her arms to extend from her body as she ran her fingertips lightly over the foliage of the lower pots. The leaves came in many varieties – soft, smooth, waxy, spiky – and she relished the changes in texture until she got to the back of the greenhouse where the ginger plants grew. From here, she dropped her bag onto an overturned crate nearby and extracted from it an empty mason jar in which she was planning to store the roots and leaves.

Looking around, Amelia spotted a spade and began loosening the soil around the first plant, humming idly to herself as she worked. She had to be careful if she wanted to pull out the root without tearing the leaves. Luckily, Amelia was in no hurry, and could spare the time it would take to do the task properly.

((Cue Mira))

It was amazing that something Mira had such a distaste for had such a calming effect. Even though it was probable that she would fail herbology Mira still found the plants comforting. The smell of the raw soil had done from being, well, dirty, to homey and warm. At this point in her life journey Mira needed some warmth and happiness. Elijah and her were both changing, a strange experience, and she needed some time to herself to keep sane.

For this reason Mira had been spending lots of time in the school greenhouses. Not many students visited there beyond classes so she could find her desired solitude. Mira made her way through the rows of green life, soaking in the energy of the place. She was just starting to find that happy place and feel the negative energy fall away when she spotted another figure. Tall and beautiful, Mira would recognize the form of Amelia Lyons anywhere.

Mira had a valid reason for her dislike of the Ravenclaw. Besides the girl being generally unsociable she knew Elijah genuinely cared for her. Amelia had been his date to the Yule Ball, rather than her like it should have been. Elijah had loved Amelia long before he had loved Mira. Where most of the girls he slept with irritated her, Amelia was worse. The fact that they hadn't slept together showed he respected her. A concept that had never been present in her relationship with him. For this reason Mira also envied Amelia. Like Chase, Amelia had started to tame the beast. 

But now the beast was broken. And no one would ever take him away again.

Mira moved closer to the girl until she stood across from her, only a row of green plant life between them. "Hello" Mira said, her even voice filling the quiet room. The hiss of the sprinkler went off in the background and Mira felt the humidity in the room rise slightly. The warm, wet air calmed her nerves and removed all anxiety. Perhaps she would get through this conversation without even raising her voice. One can dream, right?

The melody Amelia was humming was unbridled and not to the tune of any particular song. The Ravenclaw girl had spent enough time around music throughout her entire upbringing to know which notes followed sequentially behind others to make an aesthetically pleasing sound. Amelia was happy to let her mind wander from note to note, changing keys when she felt it was most appropriate, or whenever the whim struck her. Music was actually the only arena in which Amelia allowed herself to be spontaneous, so she took liberties with it that she would not take elsewhere.

The ginger was packed deep into the soil, and Amelia had only just loosened the first root when she was startled by a voice in front of her. Amelia had been looking down, engrossed in her work and the tune in her head, and hadn’t heard anyone approach. She jumped at the voice, yanking the root from the dirt more violently than she would have liked, and simultaneously spilling flecks of soil down the front of her shirt.

I just can’t be left alone, can I? Amelia thought begrudgingly as her eyelids flicked up to take in the blond girl standing across the row from her.

The girl looked vaguely familiar, but Amelia was certain she had never spoken to her before. Blond and lithe, with petite features and fair skin, Amelia would have remembered her if they had met before (then again, Amelia remembered everything, so the girl’s appearance had little to do with it.) Amelia didn’t think this girl was in her year or many of her classes, but she couldn’t be sure. The girl had approached Amelia without being prompted to do so, and that in and of itself suggested she had some prior knowledge of the person to whom she was speaking.

Or that she’s just one of those annoyingly friendly people that this place seems to be crawling with… Amelia’s subconscious chimed in as Amelia looked down at her shirt to brush dirt off of it, buying herself time to think of how to respond.

Really, I can’t see why she is here in the first place, her subconscious continued, undeterred, If all she has to say is hello, that’s hardly enough to bother with, is it?

But Amelia couldn’t say that aloud – she might be socially challenged in practice, but she was aware of all the social rules – and etiquette required that she give some sort of response. So when the girl had cleared every speck of dark soil from her shirt, she looked up again and inclined her head slightly in greeting.

“Hello,” she echoed stiffly, slightly irritated that she had to be making small talk rather than working on what she came here for, “I have permission to be in here, if that’s what you’re going to ask. Professor Stretton gave me leave to collect some of the ginger plants for my potions kit.”

((Just made up the name of a herbology professor, since we don't actually have one.))