She's a Wildflower Closed

Nova scurried through the halls, still not used to the layout of the castle. Coming out of the trophy room, Nova thought she was going in the right direction by going downstairs, but seemingly could not find any downstairs until she went up, then went back down again and again. Am I running in circles? Nova thought, until she stopped and looked up at the Small Hall. She breathed a sigh of relief. I finally know where I am, at least.

In her arms was a leather-bound Muggle notebook that her mother had given her before she left. Even though her father insisted that she'd get used to scrolls, parchment, and quills, her mother winked and tucked a little graph-paper notebook in her trunk. Graph paper, of course, because she assumed her mother had lofty goals of her practicing mathematics--arithmancy--while at Hogwarts. As if Nova would be doing that.

No, in her notebook, Nova had written a few names and years from a picture of a 1970s Slytherin Quidditch team--a picture of the team where the Keeper looked to be her father. She couldn't tell, of course, because she had never seen young pictures of him, and he wouldn't tell her his name before marrying her mother. S. Polaris was listed as the Keeper's name. Sirius Polaris. I bet that's my father's name before he tried to leave the Wizarding World behind. So, I could've been Nova Polaris.

Nova opened her book to see the other names listed--really any other Polaris names she came across in the trophy room. Vega Polaris, Class of 1979. Altair Polaris, Class of 1975. Sirius Polaris, Class of 1975. Denebola Polaris, Class of 1972. Suddenly, Nova felt eyes on her and looked up from her notebook to see a professor standing right in front of her.

[font=Times New Roman]Isabella’s first year at Hogwarts had gone by fast, too fast for her liking. She felt like she had barely had the time to roam the many halls before the summer holidays had been thrust upon her, leaving her with only few minutes to spare each day for her to explore the castle with. Throughout the year, the only reason she had moved around the castle was to be somewhere - never dilly dallying or stopping for more than a few minutes at a time.

Second year had been a title she had earned recently, after completing a full year at Hogwarts. It felt odd, different. It was weird for her to think that when September first came a new batch of firsties would enter the school, thus moving her up from the baby of the school to a witty second year.

The summer program that Hogwarts held this year had been a perfect opportunity for her to explore. Her adventurous nature paired with an owl from home asking her to stay had made her name on of the first on the list.

Every spare moment she had was spent exploring the giant castle that had now become her home. The sheer vastness of it, paired with her 12 year old body, meant it took her a few days to explore every nook and cranny of the floors.

A place dubbed the Small Hall had been one of the many places she had yet to explore. Waking up in the morning, she had decided today she would visit the quaint little place she had heard so much about.

The sunlit halls warmed her shoulders and made her happy as she meandered around the first floor of Hogwarts, trying to get to her destination.

Upon her arrival, the dark brown hair of an adult alerted her to the presence of one of the newer and younger professors of Hogwarts. Snippets of conversations that had drifted to her ears told her of the woman’s love of baking.

Seeing this as a potential conversation starter for the chance to meet the new professor, she walked over to the newest professor of Charms. A new professor would always be more important than a simple room - she could look around later.

“Hello! Are you the new Charms professor? I’m Bella, Bella Hills. I’ve heard you like to bake, is that true professor?” Her voice was cheery and polite, hopefully making a good impression on the new professor.[/font]

Hurried footsteps could be heard rounding the halls that day. The small Egyptian wizard was always in a rush of some sort, and today was no exception. If anything, he seemed a bit slower today, his steps more careful than the common rush that usually accompanied the boys abandonment of some sort of accident or situation. Considering his appearance at the moment, one might even consider the hat-thief's lack of rush puzzling.

A bruise on his jaw was fresh and blossoming, and there was still a bit of blood crusting on his upper lip, dripping down from his nostril. It wasn't hard to tell the youth had already been in some sort of scuffle not long before, but his footsteps had a sense of restraint to their urgency. The care behind his speed was quick and easy to explain when one took a simple glance at the bundles in his arms.

Ahkar was carrying a large number of Gnarls.

Why the youth had so many of the spiny creatures at the moment was a curiosity indeed, but most students that saw the boy whispered among themselves with the suspicion that he'd lowered from stealing hats to stealing animals. Simple passing things that he ignored as he walked with his chin out and head held high, save for the occasional glare. He didn't have time to start fighting with someone over a name or two when he had other things on his mind.

Honeyed hues ducked when he felt one of the creatures snuffling, followed by a whine. A flicker of softness was present, and his steps picked up. He needed to find a Professor quickly enough, in the hopes one would be more approachable than his last introduction to authority within the school. His prayers didn't last long, as he'd just run through his list of gods up to the guardian of death for mercy when he spotted one of the faces he had studied at the teachers table.

He didn't waste a moment, briefly glancing towards the other two students before shoving the entire armful of Gnarls towards Violet. One glance made it clear that most of them were quite injured, about as much as Ahkar himself currently, but he would stare at the woman wordlessly, his expression almost constantly wearing some form of faint glare that was sharpened by the bruising climbing his cheekbone. Not a word was given, only an armful of injured creatures and a very questionable situation.

Lara was looking for a new place to hide. She couldn’t stand being in her Common Room for more time than it took to fall asleep at night and get dressed in the morning. She couldn’t go to the library or a study room, because chances were she’d run into one of her brothers. She couldn’t go out into the courtyard, because she’d probably find her sister. And if she went into the Great Hall, she’d have to sit at the Slytherin table. All of these self-imposed restrictions were leaving her with few places to be.

With a quiet sigh, she glanced around the corridor. There were a few students milling around - none that she knew, none that she could talk to. She’d anticipated having a much easier time making friends at Hogwarts, but after being sorted into Slytherin, she’d found herself feeling awkward and uncertain around other people. It was hard to get to know somebody when she barely knew herself anymore. Sunlight cast a warm glow on her side, and she wished she could be out there, enjoying the weather while it lasted.

Seeing no place else to go, and having grown tired of aimless wandering, Lara made for the small hall. At least she’d feel less alone surrounded by other students.

As she approached, her dark eyes caught on a small, slim boy hurrying down the hall. He was carrying a bundle of… something in his arms, but she couldn’t quite tell what it could be. Whatever he was holding seemed to be numerous, and… alive? Lara stepped closer, intrigued, just in time to see him approach a dark-haired professor, standing with two Slytherins - was one of them Nova? - and shove his armful of oddity toward her. Lara’s curiosity got the better of her, and she darted forward to stand beside the Slytherin girls, eyeing the creatures.

[quote]The interruption of her thoughts came slowly at first, then all at once, as a young girl, nose in a leather bound book, followed closely by a second, who paused a moment to chat. Exuberant, the young Slytherin had introduced herself and Violet smiled warmly, "Why, yes! I am. Violet Henley. You may call me Professor Vi. And indeed, it seems my reputation precedes--"

Whatever she was about to say was truncated by the sudden and gratuitous arrival of a third student, a boy, arms full of spiny little creatures resembling Hedgehogs. How the boy got ahold of quite so many Knarls, however, fled from Violet's mind as she took him both the state of the creatures and the boy who held them.

"Good heavens!" Nearly half a dozen wounded animals were thrust upon her and arms outstretched, Violet's eyes widened for a moment. But only a moment. Composing herself, she nodded, "Right. You two... Bella, my dear and you... I'm sorry, I don't know your name..." She pointed to Nova, smiling delicately, "If you could just take two eat, please... And hang on to them. Nice and gentle, now."

With her arms unburdened, Violet crouched down and gingerly, lay the remaining two Knarls on the ground, "Now, my dear boy and... Hmm. Ah!" Gesturing over the newest arrival, she pointed the two to the pair of pitiful beasts, "Hold tight, now... It won't help if they're squirming about. Mind the spines, of course." Fishing her wand from her sleeve, Violet swished it downward at a diagonal, towards the first Knarl, "Episkey..." With a soft glow from the tip of the wand, the wounds on the animal began to fade. Smiling with satisfaction, she repeated the spell on the second, the waved over the others. Within perhaps five minutes or so, the Knarls had been divested of their injuries. Lastly, she turned to the boy who had brought them to begin with, "Last, but certainly not least... Hold still, Little Duck." Carving the same diagonal motion and murmuring the incantation, Violet directed the healing spell to the boy. For a moment, he would feel very hot where his injuries lay, then all at once cold. When the sensation had passed, the injuries would, too, be gone, "There, now. That's better. Let's get these poor creatures outside where they belong... And then perhaps, you would all like a bit of tea and some scones? And you..." She said with a small point towards the boy, "Can divulge us with what must be a very interesting story... Shall we?" And with a wave of her arm, she ushered them out of the door.

It felt as though a second before, Nova was merely reading names she had scribbled down quickly in her notebook. All of a sudden, she was holding two spiny, scabbed creatures in her hands while they writhed in pain, standing next to what seemed to be an older Slytherin girl, and a badly bruised Gryffindor boy himself holding another creature. And after all that, she noticed Lara peering at what she was holding from behind here, not even realizing her friend had been there, possibly the whole time?

Nova could barely say anything as the professor gave out instructions, then whisked her wand in a neat way that seemed to calm down the creatures and make them look less in pain. She performed the same motion and incantation, now in the boy's direction, and his injuries faded as well. Episkey... haven't heard that one before... I'll ask my dad about that later, Nova thought.

"And then perhaps, you would all like a bit of tea and some scones?" the professor said.

Nova tuned back in to what the professor was saying, then nodded her head eagerly. Who's going to turn away fresh scones? Nova delicately placed the two creatures that lay comfortably in her arms on the ground, letting them nuzzle next to their friends, all now recently healed. She then turned and walked in, taking one of the comfy chairs in the professor's office, motioning for her friend Lara to come sit next to her.

Lara had seen Episkey at work countless times in her life. Her grandmother had used it on her cousin, after he’d fallen from his broom playing Quidditch in the courtyard; her brother Joshua had used it on her black eyes and broken fingers when games of rugby with the neighbourhood kids got out of hand. She came from a large, active family, and one of the kids was always getting into some sort of scrap.

But there was something different about seeing it performed here, at Hogwarts, by a proper professor and not just one of her own family members. It seemed more… Magical, for lack of a better word. As a girl who’d grown up surrounded by magic, Lara was almost never impressed by it anymore - but she was now. She watched with wide eyes, entranced, silent. For a moment, there was nothing she could have said that would properly convey how she felt.

The spiny creatures the Gryffindor boy had brought inside left her with more questions than answers. They looked like hedgehogs, and initially, that’s what she thought they were. But there was something off about them, and the longer she looked, the more difficult it was to believe that she could’ve ever mistaken these… things for any non-Magical creature.

When the Professor, who’s name Lara couldn't entirely recall, began to tend to the boy’s injuries, Lara leaned closer to Nova.

“What are those?” she whispered to her friend, not quite looking away from the creatures before her. She didn’t think that Nova would know, either, but still felt she had to vocalize her confusion.

When the Professor invited them for tea, Lara didn’t think twice before nodding and following the group away from the small hall. She had a dozen questions, and she wanted answers. This seemed like a good a way as any to get them, she figured, taking the offered seat beside Nova.

[font=Times New Roman]She couldn't help but feel slightly annoyed at the fact her answer from the Charms professor had been cut off by the arrival of a flobberworm boy. He seemed to be exactly the kind of boy Isabella disliked. The quiet ones she didn't mind, but the ones who came running down a hallway with an armful of poor creatures that he shouldn't of gotten a hold of in the first place and interrupted the start of a conversation between her and a new professor? She did mind.

Taking two of the creatures in her arms, she watched in delight as professor Vi performed a spell on each of them, evidently restoring them back to full health. Amazed by the spell, she spoke as the professor led them outside to free the poor struggling creatures.

"Professor Vi? That was awesome! Are you gonna teach us that spell in one of your lessons?" Placing them down on the ground outside, she followed the group back inside and into the professors (office? Classroom?).

A word the professor had said before had confused her. Scones? What in the name of Merlin were they? She had heard briefly of them before, but had never light further information about them. By the way the professors sentence was structured, she guessed they were some sort of food.

Two Slytherin girls had already made themselves quiet at home, already sitting in two of the professors chairs. She had been raised in such a way that she considered it impolite to sit before your elders, especially without direct invitation to sit. Standing by a seat, she waited for the professor to sit and hopefully give her permission to sit. [/font]

The boy that had stepped forward with the animals didn't move far from them, even after handing them off. He watched like a hawk over day old chicks as they were passed on, staring just for a moment longer than necessary at Nova. He faintly recalled seeing her before, but in his current state his mind was too muddled with worry to think of how. Despite this, he outwardly appeared rather calm, though small telltale signs such as his rapt attention to every movement near the Knarls and his shifting digits as they curled and uncurled betrayed how anxious he really was.

The pain of his injuries was on the backburner for the moment. He'd left those responsible in a worse state, and the Knarls had done some damage too. The patches of missing quills here and there were proof of that, and he was sure those two ape's were picking them out of their skin in the infirmary already. He didn't spare a thought to them though, too consumed by watching over the animals he'd snatched away during their mistreatment.

He nodded along with the instructions, taking those he was handed. His grip was firm, but gentle, and even as some the quills poked and cut at his palms he barely flinched. The spell was fascinating to watch unfold, one he would have loved to learn as soon as possible due to its applications currently being shown, but for the moment all he really worried over was how well it worked. Once they were done, he visibly worried over the Knarls, making sure it had done the trick, and nodding again when he was satisfied.

Then it seemed to come to his turn. He opened his mouth partly to protest that it wasn't important, and that getting the Knarls somewhere safe was more important. There wasn't enough time for his limited skills with the language to managed that, and he shut his mouth soon after with a small, somewhat grumpy huff and a mild scowl as the magic did its work.

Once she mentioned about getting them outside, he nodded with some hesitation. He hoped they wouldn't just be scooped up again, but at least they were safer in their own environment than within the school walls. Especially now with their injuries tended. He had no idea what tea and scones were- wait, no, he knew tea. Tea was familiar, but scones? Maybe some sort of.. bread? He usually had some pita with olives, labneh, oil and za'atar, so maybe it was something similar?

He shook off thoughts of food even as he felt a touch of hunger, and instead nodded, climbing to his feet while cradling the animal to his chest. His eye softened when he looked at it, simply glad to see that the quills now lay in a relaxed nature, and that it had begun sniffing his hand for hints of food. He could already tell the little creatures would be just fine, thanks to the Professor, and as he followed the others, he spoke only a single, heavily accented word for the first moment since he'd run into the group.

"Thankyou."

Once they were back in a proper environment, he would join the others with a bit more reluctance, avoiding any seat and simply standing with his arms crossed loosely and a bit of distance between himself and the others. The best word for his posture would have been awkward or stiff. He hadn't answered the girls question despite hearing it, if only because he had no idea what the animals actually were. They could have been poisonous for all he'd known, but he'd still rushed in without hesitation when he'd seen them in trouble, and didn't regret it or second guess himself for even a second, despite the danger he could have been in.

At least he wasn't the only one loitering. He noticed the older of the three staying on her feet, and then noticed another interesting, slightly troublesome fact. All three of them were Slytherin. He hadn't had.. that much to do with the serpentine house, but the adamant obsession of his family with them was enough to incite him to steer clear. Something he'd failed to do, as he now stood amidst a whole group of them.

He wondered how they'd feel if they knew he'd just sent two members of their house to the hospital wing, and the corner of his mouth briefly twitched, otherwise his features remaining in their usual light frown.