Closed Green thumbs, blue waters errand solo

22 May 2025
Alyssa: #409675	Words: 599

The Great Lake was a place Alyssa was familiar with. Some mornings, she would settle on a couch in the Slytherin common room and read a book while the beginnings of the sun peeked through the plants and fishes in the water. It was mesmerizing to see the way the light refracted off the glass, creating ripples across the bookshelves and carpets in the room. It made the entire room feel like it was underwater.

Now, climbing down the sloping hill to the shore of the Great Lake, Alyssa saw the same beauty through a different lens. The light of the rising sun still shone onto the water. But instead of ripples, it made the lake glisten and shine like a rare jewel. How Alyssa wished she had a camera with her to capture the sight in a photograph.

The sound of rustling leaves filled the air as a cool breeze swept through the trees that lined the shore in front of her. With a huff, Alyssa placed a crate she had been carrying down on the ground. It was certainly a workout, having carried the crate all the way from her common room in the dungeons. Inside the crate were pots of seedlings that Professor Sarai, the herbology professor, had entrusted her with. There were a variety of wildflowers, ferns, and sedges that had been germinated and sprouted with the utmost care. Upon prying open the crate, Alyssa caught a whiff of fresh soil that reminded her of the plants her mother tended to at home. She remembered the way her mother would charm the garden tools to do the hard work of digging the soil and potting the plants. Gardening always seemed so effortless to her. Well, that was until Alyssa started taking Herbology lessons. Without the knowledge of the necessary charms, Alyssa had to do everything with her own two hands. It was tedious work, and in that moment of contemplation, Alyssa wished she hadn't agreed to help Professor Sarai. Yet, here she was. Might as well get it over and done with.

Looking around, Alyssa spotted the perfect place for the plants' new home. A few feet from her sat a large, lonesome boulder near the shoreline. She could imagine how the plants would adorn the surroundings of the boulder to match the beauty of the lake. With a nod to herself, Alyssa set to work on the soil around the boulder, digging up the ground with the tools she had borrowed from the Herbology classroom. When that was done, she carefully placed the numerous seedlings and plants into the ground and patted them down.

By the time she was done, the sun had risen high and the lake was reflecting the brilliant blue of the sky above. Alyssa was sweating profusely from the laborious work, and she felt icky and sticky all over. It was definitely time for a good scrub in the bath. Stepping back, she took a few seconds to admire her work and pulled out her notebook and pen. With grubby hands, she jotted down the type of seedlings she had planted, listed the date, and finished with a quick sketch of the rough location of where she had planted them. Perhaps she would drop by again later in the year to see how the seedlings were doing.

Stuffing her notebook and pen back into her pocket, she gathered her gardening tools and the now-empty crate and hurriedly made her way back to the Herbology classroom, dreaming of the rosy bath she was definitely going to soak in to reward herself.