A Plant Project PV Wyatt Starkey FIN

Alina wasn't the type of girl to be the damsel in distress but right now she really wasn't too aware of anything going on around her. She could hear the frog choir although they sounded much further away then they were now and that was a good thing as they only contributed to her headache.

She held the sweater up to her and slowly began to stand with his help. Doing as told, she went to bring her arm over his shoulder and bring herself closer for support. It was curious that his arm had the bruises but she wasn't in any state right now to inquire as everything seemed to be spinning.

"I can make it," she told him, trying to say she didn't need any help but that was useless because if he let go right now the girl surely would fall right down to the floor of the corridor. She tried her best to focus, to help so she wasn't just dead weight for the Slytherin who was helping her. Her other hand though had to hold onto the sweater and apply pressure so that made it difficult since she couldn't hold onto the banister of the stairs even.

They got there. The Third Floor. The Hospital Wing. And just as Wyatt got her inside and to a bed, before they even saw the school nurse, everything went black.

The school nurse would be able to check her file, learn what was wrong, and help her. Alina was instructed to rest for one day and by the second she was good to go back to her normal studies. Before leaving, she inquired as to how to remove blood stains from fabric and was able to get his sweater clean. She then left for lunch and her afternoon classes, one of which included Herbology.

She got to the greenhouse early and waited for her partner, feeling horrible for making him finish some of the project on his own and having to deal with her pathetic self. "Can we talk after class?" she asked him when he arrived.

After Alina… well… passed out, Wyatt walked back down to the Great Hall to pick up his dear old plant. If you were expecting him to have named the thing by now, you would’ve known nothing about the Slytherin. There’s no logic in naming something that can’t think or breathe. It’s a plant. Though he wasn’t too emotionally attached to the plant, he was grateful it hadn’t been stepped on. It was his project, after all.

From the Great Hall, he went to the greenhouse and put his plant along with the other students’ plants, and got back to the common room right before curfew. Some of the kids leaving their clubs were giving him weird looks. Not only did he have about a million half-healed bruises, but he was wearing a t-shirt. Only his dormmates had seen his arms, really. And even then, it was just for sleeping and by morning the sleeves were back.

Wyatt wanted to get to class early. He wanted to get his plant on his desk before all the other kids got to class and rushed to get their plants all at once, which might cause his plant to fall on the ground and he (and Alina) would have to start over. What he didn’t see coming (even through his overthinking) was the possibility of meeting Alina before class started. He noticed her waiting by the entrance. "Can we talk after class?"

“Yeah, sure,” he said, face expressionless, though underneath the mask he was questioning what she could possibly need to talk about. He walked into the classroom and got his plant from the table and brought it to his (and Alina’s) desk. It wasn’t long before it was time for class to begin, and a cluster of students came shuffling in. As predicted, there was a lot of commotion at the plant table, and a few pots were knocked to the ground.

After class, Wyatt found Alina just outside the greenhouse and asked, simply, “what's there to talk about?” Wyatt knew Alina didn't want to talk about her bullies. Everything that happened had been cleared up. Their project was finished, and Alina got the potions she needed. That should've been it. Why wasn't it? He hoped she was returning his sweater... he shouldn't have left it with her.

_{@Alina Rosier}

Other than knowing he was a Slytherin and not too enthusiastic when it came to their Herbology assignment, or probably any assignment for that matter, she knew nothing of Wyatt Starkey. Still, he didn't seem to be on her level of openness with things.

Nevertheless, she had to thank him. If not for his help she probably would have passed out in the First Floor corridors and not found until after the frog choir practice and who knows how much more blood she would have lost.

"I wanted to tell you thank you. For helping me," she looked up to him due to being one of the shorter girls of their year. She then stepped closer and brought her arms around him, bringing him into a close embrace. "You're a good friend, Wyatt Starkey."

Friend. Maybe it wasn't the word he'd use. Maybe he didn't even feel that way. But did the relationship have to be two-sided to be such? Maybe one person could consider someone a friend while the other didn't. It was all in the perception.

She remained close for a moment, just holding him and appreciating it before pulling back. "Oh and I've got something to return to you. I asked the nurse and all the stains are out. Blood stains are apparently tricky but I guess I could become quite the successful serial killer now that I know the secret," she smiled. She opened up her bag and pulled out his sweater to give back.

It was quite difficult to process. He asked what she could want to talk about, and then she hugged him as a way of saying thanks? Thankfully he was able to suppress a flinch as Alina pulled him into the embrace. It felt strange being hugged, not only because Alina’s arms were on top of multiple bruises, but because it had been such a long time since he’d been hugged. It was quite sad when he thought about it.

Because of his inexperience with showing affection, Wyatt didn’t bother hugging her back. He just stood there like a statue. "You're a good friend, Wyatt Starkey." Wyatt confusedly raised a brow. Did he miss the part where they became friends? Shocked, he didn’t move for a moment, but when he noticed a few kids giving him weird looks, he quickly shrugged out of Alina’s arms.

Alina remembered something and opened her bag. From the bag, she pulled out his sweater. He was so happy to be getting it back, even though his face wouldn’t tell. "Blood stains are apparently tricky but I guess I could become quite the successful serial killer now that I know the secret," she joked. Wyatt offered a crooked smile, though he began to feel disappointed their project was being graded after their next Herbology class.

His smile lingered as he took his navy sweater back, and it faded as he folded it and gently put it in his bag. “Thank you, Rosier.” He felt like he needed to say something. To ask about the bullies who hurt her last night, but he wasn’t sure what. He also didn’t want to come off as nosy, or too pushy. “And-” he stopped himself before the second word. “Sorry, I forgot what I was going to say.”

The snake walked away as fast as he could. He hated running away from conversations or arguments, but he didn’t want to be asked any questions, and he didn’t want to say something he’d regret. He even skipped supper and stayed in his dorm in case she saw him in the corridor. The next day, he went to Herbology early, again to avoid the commotion at the plant table. He sat at the desk with his plant and buried his face in his hands.

_{@Alina Rosier}

She found him at their workspace, head in hands, and figured he probably just didn't get a lot of sleep the night before due to studying or something. At first she wasn't sure if she should disturb him or not but he was going to have to wake up eventually and better before Professor MacTavish saw him. She slowly came up to him and knelt close. "Hey, Starkey?" she whispered as her hand came to his back and gently rubbed it, "time to wake up, Sleepyhead."

This, in her mind, would be perfectly acceptable because 1) she was his Herbology partner and in part was entrusted with helping him get a good grade in the class; and 2) he saved her life and so she was forever indebted to him.

She then looked up as a flowerpot crashed to the ground and it was one of her fellow Hufflepuffs who groaned because theirs had been knocked out of their hands while trying to get it in the scuffle of all the others. Alina smiled because it wasn't a problem that she had to have. Her partner came early, two days now, to protect their plant from such a fate. Wyatt Starkey - saving Hufflepuffs and saving plants.

The Hufflepuff's partner scrambled to the front to try and save the plant best they could by scooping it up off the floor along with the dirt and in doing so bumped into a fellow Slytherin who almost dropped their plant. It was getting ugly.

Wyatt was wide awake, of course, just stressed, so he could clearly hear some Slytherin say, “watch it, ugly badger.” Not only was Wyatt angry at this Slytherin girl for being rude to Alina, who was just trying to help her housemate, but “ugly badger?” Could she really not think of anything more creative than ugly badger. The most questionable part was, Alina was not "ugly" in the slightest.

The dark-haired Slytherin felt he had to stick up for Alina. She’d been through so much in the last few days, and he was probably not going to see her much after this project was graded (which would be later that day). It wasn’t that Alina was unlikable, but Wyatt saw this relationship as something he was bound to ruin. Summer was also just around the corner, so Wyatt would be seeing much of anyone if he was lucky.

After a moment, he stood up and walked over to the Slytherin girl who’d insulted Alina. Her name was something Redbrook. She was mean to most kids at Hogwarts, and Wyatt had ignored her for most of the year. Wyatt just stood in front of her for a moment, wondering what to do. It got really quiet. Thank Merlin, MacTavish was taking care of some plants outside at the moment. Then, Wyatt got an idea.

He walked up to the brat and whispered something in her ear. So quiet, no one else could possibly hear. “I’ve spoken to your grandmother. In the afterlife, she’s still wondering how you could say such a thing to her.” Really, he had no idea if this girl’s grandmother was dead or what she could’ve said. But judging by the way Redbrook’s face went ghostly pale, something Wyatt had said reminded her of something.

The trick was easy. You just had to be so vague, you could be talking about anything, and then not only do your victims think you can talk to dead people, they wonder what they said to their loved ones, and they spiral on their own. Sure, it was very, very, very, very, very, very immoral, but it got the job done and most people deserved it. Alina didn’t deserve to be picked on. Redbrook deserved to be taken down a peg.

Redbrook breathed a shaky sigh and quickly walked out of the classroom. Everyone followed her with their eyes, but then they all turned to Wyatt. “What?” He asked the rest of the class, the single word containing so much venom they had to look away. Something in Wyatt was telling him what he did was wrong, but as always, he ignored it. Or maybe that voice just wasn’t loud enough.

Wyatt walked back to the desk and sat down as the class began bustling again. MacTavish came back inside and walked to his desk as though nothing had happened. Hopefully he hadn’t noticed the Slytherin leaving, and hopefully he didn’t ask questions.

_{@Alina Rosier}

She watched as Wyatt made his way back to their workspace and she was rather amazed. This time it wasn't just helping because of a medical emergency, it was standing up for her - against someone from his own house.

He was full of surprises. She wouldn't have expected him to do that, nor take their assignment so seriously - as ridiculous as the assignment was. She felt rather bad to judge him from the start. People judged her all the time - taking her friendliness, openness, perkiness for being odd. Weird. And maybe she was a bit, but at least she was genuine.

She slipped her hand over toward him and found his, taking hold of his and squeezing it ever so softly in a form of affection. "There you go again," she whispered, "always saving me. Thank you."

But class began and their focus had to go back to notes and details, puffapods and wormwood. There was a lot of information to take in that class and Alina tried to get it all down because the end of the year exams were coming up quickly and it was her last chance to improve her grade. At least there was hope for a subject like Herbology - she knew she wouldn't be so lucky with Transfigurations.

"I should plead, beg, and hope to convince you to come home with me for the Summer. You can save me from my father and my grandmother," she said as class began to wind down. Some of the students were getting a jumpstart on the assignment that had been given and others were starting to pack up their things.

Alina reached out and held Wyatt’s hand on the table. Unfortunately, he didn’t see it coming, and he wasn’t able to suppress a flinch as she squeezed his hand. He desperately hoped Alina didn’t notice, though it would have been quite a miracle if she hadn’t. "There you go again," she whispered, "always saving me. Thank you." Wyatt sighed. He knew he was being too nice recently. But Alina deserved kindness.

The Slytherin pulled his hand away slowly. “Wyatt Starkey, hero of Hogwarts... I can’t see it.” Alina was too nice for her own good. Usually, people like that would drive Wyatt crazy. Annoy him into throwing a small curse their way, occasionally. But Alina was too nice. She got beat up and even though she was seriously hurt, she still put the project first, over all else. It was stupid but respectable.

Rosier would never do what he just did, and if she found out what he said to Redbrook, she would probably never want to talk to him again. Wyatt Starkey was no hero, and he knew it. But he knew too much about pain and hurt to see it and ignore it, even if he was the one giving it most of the time. Wyatt was a textbook bad person, and most of the school had learned that already. Alina would find out someday.

"I should plead, beg, and hope to convince you to come home with me for the Summer. You can save me from my father and my grandmother," Alina said, pained in a joking way. Though Wyatt had a feeling she was completely serious. He raised an eyebrow. “We’ve known each other for less than a week,” he said. Why was she inviting him to her house after a few days of knowing each other?

Not that Wyatt was spying on Alina or anything… but ever since they were partners Wyatt noticed she hung around with some Hufflepuff boy a lot. One Wyatt didn’t know or care about very much, but one Alina seemed to be very fond of. “Don’t you have a boyfriend or something? Let him save you.” Wyatt just wanted the attention away from himself, which he found would be difficult in a conversation he was in.

_{@Alina Rosier}

"Yes, I do have a boyfriend," she answered him and tilted her head. "But I'm not looking for one of those, Starkey. All this was going to be was a partner assignment and what I found was a friend. Friends invite friends places. Friends do nice things for one another. Friends care."

He was just going to have to deal with it. Maybe he was cynical and was used to being alone but she wanted to be one of the people in his corner, one of the people he could talk to. He had certainly helped her a lot and was good at it so she hoped he continued to do so. Mutual help - one of the benefits of friendship.

"And you're not going to just up and stop talking to me after this assignment, are you?" she asked him sadly. She watched him, her bright eyes showing that sadness that she felt. "I don't like to show my vulnerability but you've seen that. You've seen me at my worst and I just thought..." but she paused. Probably what she thought was wrong. Friendship really couldn't be one sided, could it?

She stopped talking and began stacking her two books and slipped them into her bag. "Well, I might just be an ugly badger, but I'm one that's here for you if you should ever want it."

"And you're not going to just up and stop talking to me after this assignment, are you?" Well, that had sort of been his plan. That’s usually how it went with most (all) of Wyatt’s project partners, even if they got along well. It would be dramatic to say that Wyatt avoided all of the kids because he thought he’d hurt them eventually. That feeling was only with Alina because she didn’t deserve to be hurt, especially after her encounter with the older bullies in the rehearsal room. Just Alina, and no one else.

Apparently, Alina sensed his answer, because her face wore a pretty sad expression. The opposite of the face he’d usually get when he said he was leaving. Usually, it was a thrilled or annoyed expression (annoyed that it took so long for him to leave), but never sad or disappointed. "I don't like to show my vulnerability but you've seen that. You've seen me at my worst and I just thought..." she stopped herself. From what? Alina wasn’t the two-dimensional princess Wyatt judged her to be during their first meeting.

Wyatt didn’t know if he was interrupting, and Alina was just trying to find the right words, but he had to say it. “Your worst is being hurt by other people?” Wyatt’s worst was being the one hurting. Whether it was with magic or with words, he tried his best to be on the hurting side. It was much safer to be hurting someone than to be hurt. Alina was likely never on the hurting side, but on the side of the hurt. She was difficult to read, but it didn’t seem like she was trying to be difficult to understand.

There was a pause. It was barely awkward, it just felt very empty. Hollow. "Well, I might just be an ugly badger, but I'm one that's here for you if you should ever want it." It was difficult for Wyatt to hold back a “I don’t need your help,” but he managed to do it. Unfortunately, what came out was somehow worse. “Just because I helped my partner for the good of our project doesn’t mean I was asking for a friend, Rosier.” Wyatt was beginning to feel grateful that the project was (finally) being graded after this class.

Alina just saw his bruises and wanted to fix him like other Hufflepuffs who’ve tried. Who’ve tried to put back the pieces of this broken kid, who was unfixable. Wyatt didn’t need a “friend” who just wanted to lend a shoulder to cry on, because Wyatt was fine already. He was fine being the worst. It didn’t take him long to pack up his belongings, because he barely unpacked in the first place. He was an idiot for helping Alina at all. An idiot for almost falling for it. Who would want to befriend Wyatt Starkey?

He stood up right when it was time to leave and didn’t bother to sling his bag over his shoulder. He just held it tightly, Alina’s words ringing in his head. "I’m one that’s here for you if you should ever want it." She just wanted to be able to say, “I cured the evil Wyatt Starkey.” She wouldn’t be the first. He was like a trophy for kids who wanted to say, “I’m so likable, I got him to be my friend.” Wyatt was sick of people. He almost fell for it too… he almost let her befriend him. How naïve could he be? He sighed.

_{@Alina Rosier}