A Little TLC PV Starlee Kennedy fin

Herbology. Starlee's favorite subject. Ever since her first lesson, she was hanging onto every word that Professor MacTavish had told them. Of course, growing up with a healer as a father, she knew everything. Well, everything about the basic care of mundane plants, and that was all they needed to know for now, so Starlee felt like she already had the upper hand on most of her classmates. Magical plants were a lot more... chaotic than their mundane counterparts. Some of them had to be harvested during the full moon, others required more specific schedules... but mundane plants? Just water and make sure they get the appropriate amount of light. Easy Peasy.

During one of their lessons, they were tasked with growing a few dandelion plants to show what they had learned about mundane plant care. Starlee tried not to laugh out loud at the simplicity of it. 'Dandelions? Really?' It seemed many students around her shared the same sentiment, as some students groaned out loud. But she wasn't upset that they were dandelions, like most of the other students, just that it was going to be so... easy. She practically lived in the greenhouses as it was, offering to help out Professor MacTavish whenever she could, so she knew her plants would be perfect.

And of course, they certainly were. She checked up on her little sprouts every few days, checking to see if the soil was dry, and, if so, giving them an appropriate amount of water. Her little sprouts were coming along quite nicely if she said so herself, nodding in approval at them. She had managed to make all fifteen of her planted seeds sprout, which was to be expected of course, and her diligent checking of them was certainly showing in their vibrant coloring and stately stature. They had even begun to flower sooner than some other students, which Starlee was rather proud of. Herbology was simply so much more rewarding than Charms... she didn't know what that class had ever done to her for her to fail so horribly at it, but at least she could make up for it with that glorious O she was expecting in Herbology and Potions.

The day had come when she realized her dandelions were most likely fully flowered by now. She would want to show Professor MacTavish as soon as she could, depending on how they looked of course. She didn't want them to start seeding before he saw that beautiful yellow color and perky leaves. She quickly grabbed her bag and left with a group of students after a stress-inducing Transfiguration lesson. She was so ready to just relax in the warmth of the greenhouses for the rest of that Friday. She certainly wasn't expecting anyone to be there, and she burst through the doors of greenhouse one quite loudly and headed over to the area where their dandelions were planted.

Starlee stopped as she noticed another student, another first-year she recognized from her lessons, staring deeply at the bed of dandelions while holding a watering can. Her face... well her face didn't look happy. Starlee looked down to where the girl was looking to find five rather sad looking dandelions… that were now completely drenched. Starlee dropped her bag and ran over to the girl shouting, "Whoa, whoa, whoa there! What are you doing? You're gonna drown them!" She stopped next to the girl, acting as if the whole thing was a murderous flower crime scene. "Put that down now," She said while motioning to the watering can. "Don't you remember Professor MacTavish saying not to overwater plants?" She rolled her eyes a little with her hands placed firmly on her hips as she said this. "You're gonna need to replant these if you have any hope of saving them."

@Piper Clark

@Starlee Kennedy

Piper jumped, nearly dropping her watering can, as the doors obnoxiously banged open and a fellow blonde first year bombarded her on sight. "Whoa, whoa, whoa there! What are you doing? You're gonna drown them!" the girl shouted in an accusatory tone.

Piper actually vaguely remembered the other first-year's face. She was that show-off girl who did just about everything perfectly. She had even brewed her Cure for Boils perfectly in Potions class. And now she was here, criticizing Piper all-around. "Put that down now. Don't you remember Professor MacTavish saying not to overwater plants?"

A jolt of anger shot through Piper. She felt her face go bright red, partially with embarrassment at being yelled at and partially with anger. Who the bloody hell did this girl think she was? The girl annoyingly put her hands on her hips and kept talking. "You're gonna need to replant these if you have any hope of saving them." Scathing words ran through Piper's head and she tried to select the best ones, though her mouth mainly said the first things that came to mind. "I didn't ask you." Her anger and resentfulness only grew as she spoke. "Why don't you mind your own business!? Take care of your own PERFECT plants." Piper was going to put the watering can down, but now that she had been commanded to, her grip turned iron. "You should stop kissing up to the professors. Nobody likes a...a, a prissy show-off."

Though dimly aware that she was precisely the same way in Charms, Piper brushed it aside. She glanced down at the girl's dandelions. They were near the ones Piper had resisted the urge to rip out. Fifteen neatly, linearly planted dandelions, flourishing in bright yellow. In comparison to Piper's sad, drowned flowers, they were quite cheerful. "Maybe I'm not interested in saving them. Maybe I'm conducting a...an EXPERIMENT. Yes. About cells on plants as they die and are uh...overwatered. But like I said, it's not your business."

The fib covered the fact that Piper had completely forgotten directions on watering. She felt rather impressed with herself; it was a good lie. It would show that girl, anyway. Besides, now that the plants were almost dead, an experiment might be fun. Piper certainly wouldn't be replanting hers now that she had been told to by some first-year who thought she was soooo perfect. Perhaps her mother would find an alternative; otherwise, experiment it was. What did everyone else know, anyway?

While Starlee was simply trying to help her fellow first year out, it seemed that her passion for Herbology and caring for plants was seen in a more negative light by the other student. She could see the girls face turn bright red as she reprimanded the girl for overwatering, but... honestly, it was such a simple rule, as well as something that was learned pretty early on, so how this girl managed to forget, Starlee wouldn't and couldn't understand.

However, the girl's response made Starlee's jaw drop. "I didn't ask you. Why don't you mind your own business!? Take care of your own PERFECT plants." Starlee stood there simply staring at the girl, mouth agape. Sure... Starlee's plants were perfect, but that's because she loved her plants, and they loved her back. Clearly not like this girl could understand that. "You should stop kissing up to the professors. Nobody likes a...a, a prissy show-off." Ugh. Show-off? Sure, Starlee tended to volunteer... well okay, she always volunteered in class and answered every question the professor would let her... but 'show-off?' I mean come on.

By this point, Starlee could see where this interaction was going, and her mouth snapped shut and her eyes began to narrow. She was not going to let this girl talk to her like this. Starlee thought for a moment as she began to collect her thoughts for a retort. She then realized she recognized the girl... the one who always did amazing in charms classes, the one class Starlee just couldn't seem to understand. Not only that, but this girl was certainly the show-off in that class... if not more so (in Starlee's opinion) than she would show off in Herbology. Before she could answer with a brilliant retort, the girl continued.

Maybe I'm not interested in saving them. Maybe I'm conducting a...an EXPERIMENT." Starlee frowned, and her forehead furrowed. An experiment? Why wasn't Starlee chosen to help with an experiment? When did they ever conduct experiments in school? That surely seemed like more of a Muggle school thing. Plus, she was the best first-year when it came to plants... and wouldn't Professor MacTavish have told her if there was a side opportunity? Surely he would have... Starlee's naivety caused her to initially believe the girl's lie. However, Starlee was still a little unsure that this was legit. She had some questions for the other girl, and she decided to save her retort for later.

"An experiment huh?" she held her hands up to her face in a pondering sort of motion. "When did Professor MacTavish offer this side experiment to you? It certainly wasn't on the handout we were given about the Dandelion project... I mean, it clearly said to grow living dandelions... and to show the Professor each stage of the plant's growth... how can you do that if they won't ever seed because they died?" Her face scrunched up even more as she pondered further. "Plus... what is even the point of it? I mean... only a few potions even use Dandelions... of course, I'm sure you know them, but they all require live dandelions, not dead one's like yours soon will be."

@Piper Clark

@Starlee Kennedy

"An experiment huh?" The other girl didn't look convinced. Piper set her jaw and tried to hide her nervousness. "When did Professor MacTavish offer this side experiment to you? It certainly wasn't on the handout we were given about the Dandelion project... I mean, it clearly said to grow living dandelions... and to show the Professor each stage of the plant's growth... how can you do that if they won't ever seed because they died? Plus... what is even the point of it? I mean... only a few potions even use Dandelions... of course, I'm sure you know them, but they all require live dandelions, not dead ones like yours soon will be."

Piper stared at the other Slytherin as she went on a long external tangent. So she thought the "experiment" was assigned by the teacher? Of course. Only a stuck-up show-off like her wouldn't even consider that one would do anything other than what was assigned. Piper rolled her eyes (something she had become quite fond of). "No, this experiment wasn't for Professor MacTavish. It was for me. Because honestly I don't care about this stupid, stupid project. I could raise these if I wanted to. But I wanted to study..uh..what dandelion cells look like when they're...dead." she finished lamely, playing with her hair with her free hand. She hoped she didn't look as though she was fibbing. Piper conveniently ignored the potions remark - she in fact did not know her potions very well.

She had calmed down before, but now she was getting worked up again over the stupidity of the project and the fact that the other girl was still here. Normally she cared very much about satisfying her professors, but not losing face in front of a classmate currently took precedence. Piper huffed. "Your dandelions are just so great. Why don't you keep them to yourself? Because frankly, nobody cares. Not. Even. Professor. MacTavish." Not excelling in this class was bad enough. A student rubbing it in? Intolerable.

Piper hated how much she could feel her jealousy rise, but she also hated people who thought they were better than everyone else. The watering can grew heavier in her grasp. She had wanted to place her comments where they could most make the girl feel sorry for intruding. Piper tipped the watering can and dumped part of it on her sad plants, glaring. That would prove her point.

Starlee finished her little outward monologue feeling quite proud of herself. If anyone was to be offered some special side project, it was certainly going to be Starlee and not... well... this girl and her dead dandelions.

And yet again, Starlee was taken aback by the girl's response. It was an experiment... for... her? What sense did that make? Didn't she want to do well in school? And not only that, but she wanted to study the dead dandelion cells? Starlee thought back to her previous muggle schooling that she had attended to the adamance of her muggle mother. She had remembered studying cells in science class... but didn't you need a microscope for that? Would a microscope even work at Hogwarts?

The girl was beginning to look less confident to Starlee, as the girl twirled her blonde hair in between her fingers. Plus she had said she didn't even care about the 'stupid project.' Well, Starlee couldn't disagree there, it was certainly a 'stupid project' and the dandelions were quite boring, but that didn't mean that Starlee didn't care. Quite the opposite, clearly.

The girl began getting angry again and Starlee took a step toward her, just in case something were to happen to her perfect dandelions. "Your dandelions are just so great. Why don't you keep them to yourself? Because frankly, nobody cares. Not. Even. Professor. MacTavish." She said this as she dumped the rest of the water from the can onto her sad and now certainly drowned dandelions. Starlee put her hands out in an instant reaction to try to stop the girl, but thought better of it, and placed them back down at her side. After those snide remarks, however, her temper also began to rise.

"Study the cells huh? And how on earth do you plan to do that? You would need a microscope. Don't you know electronics don't work here?" She tried very hard not to roll her eyes at the girl, but her face was certainly heating up and getting redder and redder as she continued. "Plus, who does a school assigned project, and then suddenly tries to change the rules, for themselves? Like, do you even care about school? Cause there is no way you aren't getting troll level grades with that pool of water that your poor dandelions are drowning in. I may be a teacher's pet, but at least I care about my grades, unlike someone."

After her outburst, she felt a lot better, but she also felt as if she had been too mean. Well, it was all this girl's fault anyway, she justified. All Starlee was trying to do was prevent the girl from getting a failing grade. Help someone out. Even make a friend. But if that's what she wanted, then so be it. She then began to turn to gather her belongings that she had tossed aside when she ran over to the girl, planning to leave the greenhouse and come back later, when a certain someone wasn't there, to check and care for her dandelions.

@Piper Clark

@Starlee Kennedy

Oh, Piper was mad.

She did her best to show calmness on her face. A completely wicked idea had crossed her mind, and it was all she could do to stop from letting a smirk spread over her face. She let her muscles relax as she responded to the girl's counterarguments. Of course fury raged inside of her, but she had to be calm and let herself think, so it was forced down. She'll be sorry in a second. The girl had made some hard points, and Piper did suddenly feel less confident about her fib. And there was no way this girl would have the last word.

Piper took a deep breath and gave her most heavy, icy toned response to the girl's back. "I don't need a microscope. A microscope only shows super detailed cells. I only need to see bigger details. Don't you know what a magnifying glass is?" There. Confidence filling Piper again, she continued. "Of course I care about Professor MacTavish. But some things are worth more than grades. Like learning. And scientific research. But I don't think you'd know about that." It was such a ridiculous idea, to care about something more than grades, and both of them knew it, but Piper had to have something to say.

"Also, herbology is the worst subject of ALL time. If you want to be a suck-up, go right ahead. But I'll be doing what I can to get the most out of my classes. Plus my dandelions are SUPPOSED to drown. Like I said, I could totally raise them if I wanted to."

Piper's temper was spiraling again as she went on her rant. It was time to initiate Project Revenge. "In fact, speaking of perfect dandelions..." Piper gave a (failed) smile and made sure the girl was watching, putting down the watering can. Without hesitation, she marched over to the girl's gorgeous, bright yellow flowers, bent over, and tore. Them. Up. It was the most satisfying thing Piper had done all month. Piper ripped them out of the ground from the roots and tore them all apart. She gave a real smile this time and let the shredded petals and stems flutter to the ground.

Now they were even.

Piper gave the smuggest grin on the history of the planet and slung her bag over her shoulder. "You know, maybe in a few days I'll just come over and study your plants for my experiment." The furious monster raging in her stomach had settled with the sweet taste of revenge. All for a simple word of criticism.

@Piper Clark

Ugh.

Piper was still trying to have the last word even though Starlee's clearly superior argument simply couldn't be argued with. The girl was just going to use a magnifying glass? Oh yea sure, like that would actually help see the cells.

Moreover, the girl thought that there were things more important than grades? Poppycock. Starlee couldn't understand why anyone wouldn't think the same as her, although Starlee's need to prove herself to her blood-purist grandfather wasn't the most typical of situations. Starlee rolled her eyes at the comment, the strap of her brown messenger bag now strung over her shoulder as she just waited for the girl to finish so she could leave.

And then, she started dissing on herbology. Truthfully, it seemed the girl wasn't quite so alone on that opinion. Most people Starlee knew generally disliked the course, but that just meant more attention from the Professor, which Starlee certainly didn't mind. However, she really failed to see how the girl could revive the surely drowned dandelions as she claimed, but oh well. Starlee was done with this whole conversation. Whatever other insane claims the girl was about to spout were just going to fly off Starlee like raindrops. Well… after what the girl was about to do, maybe not.

"In fact, speaking of perfect dandelions..." Starlee watched... and a pain began growing in her stomach of something bad about to happen.

She was right.

She watched in horror as the girl stood there and ripped her dandelions out of their perfect little patch... and tore them to shreds. Starlee's jaw would have dropped to the floor if it was possible. Her face turned the brightest of reds. Her heart felt like it was about to burst forth from her chest. She was now, quite literally, a star: a hot little ball filled with rage.

"You know, maybe in a few days I'll just come over and study your plants for my experiment." The girl slung her bag over her shoulder, her face looking as smug as it possibly could be.

Oh. No. She. Did. Not.

Starlee tossed her bag aside quickly and practically WWE-style rush tackled the girl to the ground.

Reducio

The girl landed on her back, with Starlee now atop her. "What is WRONG with you?" Starlee screamed in the girl's face. She was almost nose to nose with her, waving her hands around maniacally, as she didn't have the ability in her to punch the girl. "All I was doing was trying to HELP you! And this is the thanks I get? You DESTROYED my dandelions. I can't grow new ones back that quickly!" she continued, her waving becoming weaker as she did so, finally balling up her hands and slamming them on the ground on both sides of the girl. Tears were welling up in her eyes, and one or two fell on the girl. She hovered there over her for a few moments, contemplating her next actions. Starlee wasn’t one to hurt people… she was a healer. This wasn't like her. But this girl... she took things too far... destroying her homework.

Slight godmodding of Piper approved.

@Starlee Kennedy

Of course Piper had known the girl would be angry. That had sort of been the point of ripping her annoying little flowers to pieces. However, whatever Piper had expected, this was not it. The girl's face immediately flushed a hot red when she just stood there in shock. And then she was a manic dog, racing towards Piper and slamming her to the ground with strength Piper had not expected.

Thud.

Piper landed flat on her back, the cold stone and bag under her seeming to bleed through her robe. The other girl was on top of her, and for the briefest moment, Piper felt a flicker of fear. She had never seen such absolute rage. And then the flicker was snuffed, and Piper felt nothing but anger and contempt. All this for a couple dandelions; how dramatic of the other Slytherin. Her first instinct was to reach into her pocket for her wand.

The other girl was shrieking something about how she had only tried to help. "Get off of me, you absolute animal! What are you going to do, punch me?" But no, angry as she was over her lost homework, the girl didn't punch Piper. Perhaps she simply didn't want a detention, but Piper thought it more likely she wasn't strong enough to harm someone. Interesting.

Staring into Starlee's eyes which were three inches from hers, Piper brought her voice down to a hiss. She searched her mind for the most hurtful thing she could possibly think of. This girl would pay for tackling her. Tearing her dandelions was too good for her. "You claim you were helping? No, you were trying to play the teacher's pet even while the professor wasn't here. I shouldn't be thanking you." Piper's fumbling hand finally curled around her wand. She put every last bit of hatred and contempt into her next seven words. "Well, guess what? You are nothing here."

With that last remark, Piper brought her wand up and jabbed it into the other girl's stomach. The other first year might be too scared to use force, but Piper? No, Piper would use every last resource she had. No matter who she hurt.

"Now get. Off. Of. Me." Each word brought another sharp poke.

@Piper Clark

Anger. Fear. Confusion. Hatred.

All of these feelings were flowing through Starlee's mind, spreading like wildfire inside it. Her face was almost empty, as she didn't know what she should be outwardly expressing anymore. She was lost. Drowning inwardly in her emotions.

She was still straddling the other girl; both her hands were balled into fists that she had slammed against the stone floor. She hadn't realized how hard she had hit the ground, as the sides of her hands now lightly bled from where the stone had managed to scrape it. Starlee was only half paying attention as the girl began hissing more insults at her, but the last line that she caught from the girl certainly struck her deeply.

"You are nothing here."

Her thoughts began to spiral into everything that had happened so far at Hogwarts. Why is it that so many people felt she didn't belong? Thought that she wasn't good enough? First Elizabeth Issacs and now this girl. Plus her stupid Purebood grandfather. Why where people still like this? Why couldn't we just treat everyone with kindness and respect?

Again, while lost in her thoughts, she began to notice a sharp jabbing sensation in her abdomen. The dandelion destroying girl... was jabbing her with her wand. Starlee quickly rolled off the girl to the side, her back now against one of the planters. She sat there for a moment, still feeling numb. She rubbed her hand against where the girl had jabbed her, supposedly caressing the pain. But she felt nothing. Empty. Her homework was ruined. And this evil girl was the one who ruined everything.

Starlee stood up. She looked down at her robes and brushed off the dirt and dust that had collected on her knees and elbows from the tackle. Retrieving her messenger bag, she flung it over her shoulder, now not caring about anything.

She looked back at the girl, her face still blank, and then quickly spun on her heel, her hair flying around her, and headed for the door to the greenhouses. With both hands, she shoved the door open in quite a grandiose manner, the door flinging open, hitting the wall, and then slamming shut with a loud thud behind her.

She walked down the long corridor, heading for anywhere that was as far away from the greenhouses as she could, still drowning in thoughts from what just happened. 'No, no, I wasn't the bad guy here. This was all her fault. I'll just plant a new patch. Surely Professor MacTavish will just give me new seeds if I explain the problem to him... Or maybe someone will lend me a few so I don't fail.' She sighed, fully realizing the gravity of it all. Her shoes clicked loudly against the stone floors of the castle, echoing around her. She stopped, took a deep breath, and let loose all the emotions that she had been bottling up after that dramatic exit. Tears began to flow, and she began sobbing there in the middle of the hallway. She looked down at the new scratches on the insides of her hands, realizing she had almost hurt someone. Over flowers. Was that too much? No. This girl really deserved it. 'What. A. Bitch.'

She looked up at the few students who had stopped, intrigued as to why the girl just broke down in the middle of the corridor. She wiped the tears from her face with the sleeve of her robe, took another calming deep breath, and marched forward, determined to put this whole incident behind her and to prove that she could do whatever she put her mind to. She would show them all.

Starlee leaves the thread.