Details for Flowers in the Library |
Summary: | Aiden is having trouble preparing for Herbology when he runs into a cousin. |
Date: | November 29, 1941 |
Location: | Hogwarts Library |
Related: | — |
Characters |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Aiden is sitting at a table his Herbology textbook quill ink and parchment around him. He seems to be grumbling about something the look on his face shows frustration and aggravation. All of a sudden his quill seems to scratch across the paper a mile a minute scratching something out. The young pale dark haired boy in his Slytherin robes sits grumbling again as he throws his quill back down to the table sighs and starts to massage his temples.
Medea bustles into the library, quieting a little as she pauses to cast about for a table. When you're taking so many N.E.W.Ts, you need good study habits! She seems set to pick a table, then hesitates. The older girl glancing down at the younger student as he seems so obviously unhappy with what's in front of him. It takes her a moment before she finally slows and peers over his shoulder. "Having trouble with Herbology? Maybe it's something I can help with, hm?" Even if she has her own work to do, stopping to help a little Firstie won't distract too much, will it?
A boomingly cheerful — if strained in a theatrical whisper for the library — voice erupted from behind the two. "Didnae figure ye for much of a green thumb, t'be perfectly honest. For aye I figured ye the sorta Bee that makes 'oneys an' stings silly numpties whit get too close, not collectin' the pollen."
Phoenicia popped up a few feet behind Medea, books clasped to her chest. She had a teasing smile on her face, recalling a few of the more humorous moments in their herbology classes. "So what's all this, then? Young Mister Aiden feelin' inspired after the boy wi' the fiddle and the flowers?"
Aiden looks to Medea and smiles slightly at her. "Aye, ye' see I 'ave ne'er been one fer plants. This bloody classel be the death o' me ye' Miss. Pu' me on a broom, er tranfiguration, potions e'en I can do all tha' but no no' this herbology." He says sounded a tad bit frustrated. Its when Phoenicia shows up teasing he grimaces and looks at her. "No no' a' all I cannae stan' this herbology stuff. An' I still say since plan's donnae have any ears the cannae be affected by music i's no' possible." Aiden says irritatedly but the irritation is at no one merely his class assignment that hes having trouble with.
"I'm not much for Herbology myself—" She scowls over at Phoenicia as she's teased and even give an impertinent little sticking-out of her tongue! "It's First-year Herbology—not like it's something I'd struggle with. Hmph!" Medea rolls her eyes, then her ears prick as the boy speaks and Phoenicia gives his name. She knew he'd seemed familiar! She squints at him for a moment, then grins as she reaches down and wraps the boy up in one of those aggravating older-relative hugs that children the world over fear and despise. "Aiden! Little Aiden Merrythought? I didn't know you'd started Hogwarts yet! I thought you'd a year yet!"
"I dinnae, I seem tae recall ye sayin' somethin' similar afore ye accidentally walked intae the NEWTS level green'ouse and picked the wrong thing." Phee flashed a bigger grin now. She didn't usually get to be the one teasing! Still, she took a seat next to Aiden and decided to steal a peek at his textbook while he was being immersed in a warm hug. She didn't quite get how someone could fail to recognize their own cousin.
Aiden stumbles slightly at the hug and he looks at her still not quite sure whats going on. "Aye…tha's me tha' is Aiden Merrythough' an' ye' are?" He asks confused after all its been about 3 years or so since hed seen her she does look familiar though. "Ach are ye' from Mums side O' the family?" He asks with a smirk.
Medea huffs quietly at Phee. Serves her right for letting the other girl get to her, she supposes. "Medea? Medea Summerbee? And no, you're my cousin on my mum's side and your dad's. Gosh, but you've gotten taller since I saw you last—you're a regular weed, you are!" She laughs and finally pulls away to slip into a seat at the table across from Aiden and Phoenicia, still smiling. "It's good to see you! How's the family? We haven't got over to Ireland recently."
Phoenicia continues to focus intently on Aiden's book, not wanting to interrupt the bonding — and a little awkward about that, personally. She's never had 'extended family.'
Aiden shakes his head and laughs. "Aye tha's roight, they used tae 'ave you keepin' me out o' their 'air while they were talkin' ye' were a lot o' fun. Aye Mum an' Da are grea' theyre proud o' me o' course an' said tha' I shouldn' be feelin ashamed o' bein in Slytherin despoite the fac' tha' mos' o' the res' o' the family is Gryffindor or Ravenclaw." He says happily. "Aye Im one o' the talles' in me year mum and da 'ave missed 'avin you lo' aroun' the 'ave." Aiden says happily smiling broadly aside from Dae this is the first relative hes met here.
Phee breaks into a big, stupid goofball smile for a moment and does not do a very good job of hiding it before returning her attention to the book. She ignores the bit about Slytherin being a great house for a moment… "Well… if I'm readin' it right, looks like young Mister Aiden's 'avin' some difficulty wi' the maintenances of Betony and Centaury. That about right?"
Aiden looks to his cousin and laughs at the ruffling of his hair. "Aye Im doin' moighty foine I promise ye' an' Im no' down abou' bein in Slytherin I mean a' firs' I was worried how Mum an' Da woul' take i' ye know Da bein' a Gryffindor an' Mum a Ravenclaw an' all. But Im lovin' bein' im Slytherin." Its Phee's response that brings him back to his work for a moment. "Aye i' is I donnae unnerstan' wha' takin car o' plan's 'as tae do wi' wizardry." He grumbles.
"Magical plants, herbology is the tending and usage of magical plants for all sorts of purposes," Virgil explains as he sets down a book not far down the table, a huge tome the size of a firstie, which he himself struggles to move. Taking a seat in front of it, he says, "Like letting a person swim underwater like a fish, or curing someone of any number of magical ailments. A good wizard ignores no aspect of his learning, because everything is connected."
"I've never really gotten it either, Aiden, but it's something we've got to learn," Medea replies with the air of someone resigned to her herb-y fate. Phee's big goofball grin gives her a muted little giggle that dissipates as she hears someone else join the conversation. She glances over at Virgil and gives a nod. "Virgil's right, y'know. Annoying quality of us Ravenclaws." A teasing wink towards the younger Ravenclaw and she leans forward onto the table, resting her chin in her hand. "I know it's not very interesting, but you should do your best to learn it, or you'll end up like me—I can't tell Nightshade from Rosemary."
Phee took … mock umbrage wasn't quite correct, but it was certainly (probably?) a bit exaggerated; she sat up straight, put her hands on his hips, and nodded in solidarity with Virgil. "Oy, what d'ye mean it's nae interesting? They're beautiful plants. Y'ever seen prunus avium in th'spring? Loverly white petals everywhere, great for a bushel of spells, the fruits are delicious, an' the smell's pure divine. Picked enough I 'ad me invisibility potion an' made cherry pie for me 'ouse in me second year. An' you!" She rounded on Medea with hyperbolic defensiveness, "what sorta sweetbee dinnae like plants?" Phee sniffed disdainfully. "Dinnae listen to 'er, Mister Aiden, ye'll ne'er enjoy a subject ye study 'cause someone told ye it's important. Ye 'afta find what ye like about it!"
"I, in particular, am usually right," Virgil adds and tips an invisible hat to Aiden. He flips open that huge tome then, and pulls out another book out of his satchel, and immediately starts making notes. He goes about fiddling with his plans. He lets the quill move quickly, and glances up once or twice, hearing Phee, but not wanting to intrude beyond a comment to a firstie. Positive reinforcement. He looks toward Medea then, and stares for a second before he looks back down at the book
Medea snorts at Virgil. She'd been teasing (though there's a certain amount of house pride, certainly) and hadn't expected quite such a deadpan response. The boy's stare gets a blink and a cocked eyebrow before she hears Phee, which solidly distracts her. She dissolves into giggles, covering her mouth with her hands as she looks back at the other girl. "Sweetbee? Did you call me a sweetbee? Oh my /goodness/!" She's giggling madly, trying without much success to muffle the sound.
Phee snorts a little bit nervously, trying to focus on teaching Aiden. "Well, what d'ye like about spells and potions? We can start there an' work backwards."
Aiden smiles around at them with pride and his own knowledge. "Well iffin I were tae be honest. Id say tha' I loike the fac' tha' spells an poitions can alter the worl' aroun' me."
"So can devil's snare, if you land in it, your world changes right quick," Virgil intones with a snort and looks around toward Phee, then back to Medea for a longer moment, before he looks at Aiden and smiles. Pushing his hair back from his face, he yawns a little and gets a bit of ink on his face in the process. Scribble scribble. "And joking aside, I'd say the right plants cause change about as readily as potions."
Medea's giggle slowly subside and she somehow manages to get herself under control. Her eyes sparkle a little as she looks across the table at Phee again, then takes a breath. "I suppose they do at that. Some magical plants do change things without needing to bein a potion. Think of herbology as… um. Finding what in the plants lets you change things. Herbology helps you make those changes…" She glances back to Virgil and smiles. "There's a lot to learn about all of this stuff."
Phoenicia tapped her fingers along the table thoughtfully. "Well, I s'ppose we all like magic for different reasons, Mister Aiden. But the way I see it, if ye dinnae know what the world around ye is, 'ow do ye expect tae do much changin' of it that's worth a snickerdoodle? Th'trees give us our wands, our food, an' yes, our potions. An' if ye just change 'em before ye know what they are, yer mostly going tae hurt y'self, I think."
Aiden looks around at those gathered than looks for a longer time at Medea. "Ye' really thin' so? I mean yer me kin so Im sure ye' ain' gonna nudge me in the wrong direction. Im glad tae see I got kin tae go ter iffin I cannae figure somethin' ou' i's jus' 'ard an' confusin' is all I jus' seem tae na'urally take tae an' be goo' a' the wand stuff. Speakin o' Wands ye' wan' tae take a look a' moine?" Aiden asks his cousin than giving a polite nod to Virgil. "Aye Im guessin' yer roight abou' tha' bu' I mean wi'h me wand I can change me worl' no' 'ave the plan' change moine. ye' un'erstan'?" He askes trying hoping hes making some kind of sense.
"Something wrong with your wand?" Virgil asks, he nods at the rest, but doesn't feel like hammering the point anymore. The boy would either learn, as so many others had, or he'd fall behind and have problems. Some did. Flipping the pages of the book, he turned them a few times, and then seized upon the book and pulled it toward him so that he could better see the top edge, which was rather far away, given the size of the massive table-sized tome.
Medea snorts quietly, her head turning to watch as Virgil wrestles with his massive tome. Okay, that was pretty amusing, she had to admit. A smile touches her lips and she shakes her head before looking back to Aiden. "Your wand? What about it? I mean, certainly, I'd love to see it—what did you up getting at Ollivander's? I mean, I assume you went to Ollivander's…"
Aiden nods his head happily and excitedly. "Nothings wron' wi'h i' jus' wanted tae show me cousin me wand." He says to Virgil. "Aye Medea i' was from Ollivanders, I go' an Ebony with dragon 'eart strin' core an' i's 13 inches." Aiden says producing the black wand at the end of the handle is a carved wolfs head as he hands it towards Medea.
"Oh, well, that's good, I knew a boy once who broke his wand second year and didn't get it fixed proper for three months, and he kept having it explode on him," Virgil tells Aiden, perhaps exaggerating how bad it was, as older students tend to do. Looking toward Medea at the word cousins, he smirks a little. "How are you liking classes so far, besides Herbology?"
Medea accepts the wand graciously and dips her head. "Thank you, Aiden…" She murmurs and flicks the wand, her head tilting as she gets a feel for it. "Lovely wand. Not much spring to it—which I like. I never liked springy wands, you know." She flicks it once or twice, then offers it back with a smile. "Very nice, Aiden." "I remember that. I kept hearing bangs in the corridors!" She winks at Virgil, grinning broadly.
Drawing his wand with that quick speed of his, Virgil spins it and says, "Springy is good. It mieans flexible magic. Adaptability. Unflinching, unyielding, they are strong, but any good duel is going to require quick thinking," he defends his springy wand before putting it away. He leans all the way across his book then, and stares at a paragraph that for some reason is far too small, given the size of the book. "Interesting," he says to himself.
Aiden looks between the two after taking his wand back. "ye' two are jus' teasin me ya?" He asks curiosly as he starts scratching away with his quill again. "I mean I donnae thin' tha' Ill be breakin' me wand anyway bu' I mean yer jus' teasin roight?" Aiden asks nervously looking almost pleadingly to his older cousin. Its at this point that he catches Virgils question. "Oh Aye, were cousins we are, cant ye' see the family resemblance?" he ask curiosly.
Medea laughs at that. "Distant ones, at the least. My mum's branch of the Merrythought's starts way back before his great-granddad. So, my great-great-grandfather and his great-great-grandfather are the same, which I suppose makes us… third cousins, I think?" She scratches idly at her chin, thinking over the idea for a moment. "Yes, I think I have it right." She pulls her own wand free from her robes with a smile. "Oh, I rather like having a wand that's a bit less flexible. "Maple, nine inches, unicorn hair. Would y'like to see it, Aiden?" She smiles at him. "Of course he's teasing—it only blew up the once." She winks again, enjoying that she can get away with teasing a little.
"I thought we were all third or fourth generations, in the Pure-blood families," Virgil points out with a laugh, half serious. He gets up and uses both arms to push the book down the table and takes a seat nearer to Medea, and as it happens, Aiden. "The librarian was giving me a look," he explains, quieting down a little. "How are your classes going, Medea?" he asks her.
Aiden looks very happily at Medea as his eyes brighten up. "Sure thank' ye'." He says taking her wand from her and he gives it a couple of waves feeling it out a bit. "Aye i's a goo' wand ye' go' thar Medea I loike it meself i's as ye' said no' much spring tae i' I loike the way i' feels though as Im sure moine fel' fer you a li'l off yers jus' don' feel roight fer me." He says smiling handing it back to Medea. And than he realizes Virgil asked him a question he smiles almost embarassedly "I apologize fer not answerin' yer earlier question Im lovin the rest o' me classes." Than back to Medea. "Wait yer sayin' i' really did blow up?" Now hes getting a bit more nervous but he seems to have found what he was looking for because his quill is right back to the parchment.
Medea smiles in an indulgent fashion as she watches Aiden swish her wand a few times, then stows it back into her robes once he's gotten a feel for it. "Mm. Only the wand that's picked you feels just right, i know." She looks over to Virgil, her smile bright. "Ah, my N.E.W.T.s are all going well. I think I'll be on track for a strong finish." She bobs her head in a brief nod, her gaze sliding back towards Aiden. "Oh yes, it really did. I remember. Poof! Bright pink smoke and everything."
"I thought it was yellow smoke, but yes, really, a broken wand shouldn't really be used unless you absolutely have to, replace it as soon as you can," Virgil counters, and wonders if they're thinking of the same person. It happened more often than some people thought, but he was happy to discuss it either way. He listens to the two going on, and then nods at Medea when she talks about her NEWT classes. "What are you taking, again?" he asks, though he suspects he knows which classes she'll be focusing on, from previous encounters.
Aiden gets a bit more of a worried look in his eyes as he absently pats where his wand is within his robes. "Aye Ill be makin' sure tae be takin car o' me wand noice an' proper loike. I even have polish fer it I don' wan' it tae be mad a' me or blow up in me face." He says nervously. "Is there anythin' ye'd wish me tae tell Da when I wroite 'ome next?" Aiden asks Medea. "I know 'e loves ta 'ear from kin."
"Yellow, pink… Hm." Medea shrugs. Really, she's just teasing Aiden because it makes her smile. "Ah, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Ancient Runes, Charms, and Transfiguration. Bit of a heavy class-load, I know…" She sighs and pinches the bridge of her nose, glances over to Aiden again. "Good! Take proper care of it! And tell him that cousin Medea says hello and that my mum is doing well. And that I hope we can come over to Ireland soon to see everyone again."
With a look of realization on his face, Virgil smiles. Hopping to his feet, he says, "Medea, .. firstie, I'll see you guys around," and then waves at them both and quickly moves from the room. Having to stop and hand over the tome, which he looked like he was intent on carrying out of the room. He apparently has had some sort of thought that is pulling him elsewhere in Hogwarts and it won't be delayed for anything.
Aiden screws up his face when he looks after Virgil as he looks back to Medea. "Did 'e jus' call me firstie? Me names Aiden did I no' give i' to 'im?" He asks curiously. "Ill definitely tell Da tha' fer ye' an' I know 'e's been sayin 'e cannae wait fer the family tae start comin' back 'ome again."