Not a Rose Garden

Minnie wasn't at all sure what it was about gardening versus Herbology. She loved the one and hated the other. Her results at the end of first year had been terrible for someone who'd been reasonably good with plants. At least she never killed any during her childhood. Herbology plants were a very different matter. It was puzzling because it wasn't that she found the plants weird. She was a pureblood for crying out loud. She was used to the things muggles called weird. They were normal everyday items or in this case plants.

She sat on the ground amongst the potted mandrakes and poked at one. The one she remembered from the most recent herbology lesson. "You know I would have found it easier in class if you hadn't bit me on the finger," she said. "I also know now why it is you like to hide in the soil so much. You're really, really ugly did you know that? Why couldn't have been roses. I can deal with roses. The ones with the deadly thorns." Of course there was no way dethorning those would have been trusted to a mere second year. Unfortunately at the rate she was going she didn't have much of a hope of continuing on the class in seventh year. She rested her chin on her drawn up knees. "If only I didn't have such difficult plants to work with."

Getting in trouble was something Rajan was good at. He was curious fellow who didn't really get along with others. Though he wouldn't admit it to anyone, he enjoyed his classes and did pretty good in them. He was an average student that got into big trouble. Partner work was something that he didn't do well and ended up just telling the person to shut up and let him do the work on his own. He had be scowled for this multiple times and yet he still didn't learn his lesson. He had made a scene in Herbology the other day and was told to come back that day to find out what his punishment would be. For a week, he would come back after all of his classes and help around the greenhouse. There wasn't much to do so once he was done tidying up (which didn't really mind all too much), he'd start his homework.

Today would be his last day and he had expected the room to be empty like it normally was. But today the girl that he couldn't stand was sitting on the ground talking to a mandrake. He made sure he was quiet when he entered so when he did speak up, it would scare her. After listening to her complain about the awful plant, he decided to speak up. "You know, you shouldn't call it ugly, it has feelings. Maybe it bit your finger because you hurt it's feelings." He was going to make a joke about how she shouldn't call the plant ugly because 'look who was talking'. But he decided against it. "They're only as difficult as you let them be."

Minnie was not pleased to find her conversation with the mandrake interrupted. More so interrupted by the boy she'd had the misfortune to meet at the petshop last year. She lifted her chin. "If you were listening properly you might have figured out that this is the first time I called it ugly. Not once in class did I mention it's looks yet it bit me anyway." Stupid boy and his stupid arrogance.

She stood and brushed the dirt off the back of her robes. "By the way you were wrong about Angelo. My roommate doesn't hate him, isn't allergic to him, and doesn't think he's smelly. She just thinks he's weird." Minnie then smiled slyly. "And that's just what I like to hear. "Speaking of difficult you might need to look in a mirror a time or two. That's a very good example of a difficult creature. Were you perhaps a mandrake in a past life? You've got the face for it."