Greenhouses and Gardens

Greenhouses and Gardens
hogwarts grounds

The Hogwarts greenhouses are where Herbology classes are taught at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Occasionally, the greenhouses are also used by the Potions Club. The greenhouses have statues of long, serpentine dragon statues running along the peaked roofs. They are home to many exotic and magical plants including some that are extremely rare, difficult to cultivate and maintain, or even dangerous, such as Mandrakes Venomous Tentacula or Snargaluffs.

Chrysanthemum von Mirbach

gryffindor, sixth year
ateleia

Logg had wanted someone in Herbology to care for the whomping willow saplings in the mornings while the trees are more dormant. His old age prevents them from wanting to come to the greenhouses in the morning, they said, and Chrysanthemum is bright and eager enough to want to impress them and doesn't mind the little loss of sleep. Hopefully, Maya doesn't mind either because she has been coerced into coming along. Their stroll is long and is characterized by little whirls of morning wind and a short distance between them that Chrys threatens to close any second, wanting to reach her hand out to grab hers. "Thank you," she begins, glancing over at her friend one they reach the greenhouses and she is left reaching her hand into her pocket to find the keys. It gives them a fantastic opportunity to admire one another and Chrys seizes it, eyes bouncing between her features. "I appreciate you coming. I will owe you one." Smiling, she turns down to open the greenhouse for the afternoon, bringing the door open for Maya to enter first. "I will not have class until later, so we can rest in my dormitory after this if you want..." Her suggestion is shy and she reaches to push her hair past her ears as she enters behind her, letting the door close. For a moment, she has time to admire Maya from behind and again uses the opportunity to do so, glancing down over her before she turns. Chrys' face is turning red, so she immediately moves to start down one of the rows of willows.

Maya Crawford

begonia, seventh year
paintedred

Maya is by no means a morning person, but she will really do anything for Chrys. She absent-mindedly ponders on this during their walk together to the greenhouses, wondering if Chrys realizes this power she has over her. Once they stop, she is snapped out of her musings and she fully focuses on watching as the other girl unlocks the doors, fully taking in her beautiful features. A smile forms on Maya's face; perhaps mornings are not so bad after all. "I would love to go back to your dormitory after this." Maya says, "I miss cuddling." They have not had an opportunity to since term started, though Maya is being dramatic seeing as the school year has *just* begun. Still, it has been too long since their last sleepover. Maya lets our a yawn before she can help herself, turning a bit pink when she does. "You don't owe me anything. I like spending time with you." She enters as Chrys gestures her to, looking inside at the plants before following her to the row of willows. "What did Logg want you to do again?"

Chrysanthemum von Mirbach

gryffindor, sixth year
ateleia

Her yawn soon follows even though she is not that tired. While yawning, she turns and glances over at Maya before her eyes squint and soon after close. Her eyelashes bat once she's done and she smiles happily at her companion. "I miss cuddling too." Sleep is much nicer with Maya in her arms. It's something Chrys decided a long time ago. "Hopefully we will get more opportunities to, right?" she suggests, hopefulness thriving in her voice. Her face brightens before she turns and starts hunting down the fertilizer for the willows. "Logg wanted volunteers to fertilize the whomping willows and prune their dead twigs every few mornings while the willows are more dormant. Some other students are doing it too." Hopefully all of them are competent, so she will not be blamed for their deaths. It's a dramatic thought process considering they won't die so easily. "Are they not *so* cute?" Chrysanthemum grabs her gloves out of her bag before lifting the located fertilizer onto one of the nearby benches, then grabbing one of the potted saplings and extending it towards her friend. It starts slowly swatting and thrashing around, but is too small to reach her.

Maya Crawford

begonia, seventh year
paintedred

Maya eyes the willow saplings before glancing back up at Chrys. They are not *that* cute, but Chrys is adorable and when she glances back down at the plants, they are suddenly ten times more appealing. It is kind of funny how Maya is so infatuated to the point that Chrysanthemum simply appreciating something is enough to make it more beautiful. "They are!" She giggles at the saplings thrashing around as they are picked up and then looks down at the pot she was offered. "As long as your roommates don't mind, then I can be there like, everyday. And then we can cuddle everyday!" she says, "Or you could always come to my dorm! My roommates this year are cool." Oh, Maya already adores Demi and is so certain that she and Fionn would be such an excellent match. It is so amusing to her that even these two weirdos can find love. "So, how often will you be getting up early to do this? I can join you." It is a thinly-veiled attempt to spend more time with Chrys. "I wouldn't mind waking up early if it meant more time spent together." Maya is well aware that she is not being subtle anymore, but her feelings are already so obvious that she does not see the point.

Chrysanthemum von Mirbach

gryffindor, sixth year
ateleia

Her arms absentmindedly bend, bringing the willow in closer to her before it thrashes and she sets it down. Her eyes glisten with hope as she grins at Maya, enthused by her friend's words. Hopefully she won't be just a friend for much longer. "Actually, you raise a great point." Chrys laughs though her voice is a little bitter. Since she is still rooming with *Nadja*, it probably isn't a good idea to be affectionate in her dormitory. "We should go to yours! Everyday!" Her smile is reinforced, feeling her heart start to race as the interaction continues. "We could hide me in your dormitory one night too," she suggests, raising her brows as if to question whether or not Maya would also want that though she's certain by this point that she wouldn't mind. Chrysanthemum turns around, no longer facing her as she begins shoveling small amounts of purple fertilizer and quickly dumping it into the saplings' pots. It gives her time to try to calm her heart down as well as stifle her giggling. "Hmm, Tuesdays and Fridays for now. I would love if you came along, but we could find other things to do together too," Chrys says, turning to face her for a moment and her face is suddenly starting to flush. Her smile is more sheepish as she continues, "Or we could do this *and* other things." After all, she wouldn't mind spending more time with Maya. Not one bit.

Maya Crawford

begonia, seventh year
paintedred

"This *and* other things sounds nice." she agrees, pushing away the potted sapling that a bit farther from her as it continues to thrash around and try to reach her. It would probably do Maya well to start waking up earlier, anyway. "And I could definitely hide you in my dorm, I think. I don't think Demi will mind too much – she's my roommate, I think you might be yearmates with her brother Kian? – and I don't know about Prunella and Britney, but they can just *deal*." She lets out a little huff shortly followed by a laugh; Maya is not at all used to not getting her way. She grew up spoiled and it works in her favor now because it just means that she is always so determined to get what she wants. She doesn't know what problem her roommates could possibly have with Chrys being over, anyway. It is not like they will be bothersome, and Chrys is so lovely. "You can come over as much as you like. Everyday!" she matches Chrys' enthusiasm, "I would love that."

Chrysanthemum von Mirbach

gryffindor, sixth year
ateleia

Her eyebrows raise at the sound of the familiar name. "Oh, yeah! He is the other boy from the beach date." Her voice raises as she gets excited, thoroughly enthused for the both of them. It's an amusing situation, having thought it was such a miserable and hopeless one months ago. "Love is so cute," she muses, glancing over at Maya curiously and almost as if to gauge her reaction to such a statement. "You are so cute! I would love to come over everyday... I will try." It's a little unrealistic, but the smile on her face shows she doesn't mind in this exact moment. It's the thought of being closer to Maya that matters. It brings a warmness to her face that she makes no attempt at hiding, glancing over at her again with a sheepish little smile. "Are you excited for Morp Hop? I thought we could get ready together again."

Maya Crawford

begonia, seventh year
paintedred

Maya watches as Chrys handles the saplings, approaching her so that she can be closer to the other girl. Hopefully she will not be too distracting, but also she wants to be able to touch Chrys. She doesn't really have an excuse for it but she feels there is no longer a need to come up with pretenses for being able to be near the other girl. Maya stands next to her, their arms brushing, watching as the little plants thrash about. "OMG, he is? That is soooo cute." she says, drawing out the word as she smiles at Chrys' excitement. "And *you* are so cute, too. You better come over everyday or else I will miss you and I won't know how to cope." Maya laughs at her own melodrama before continuing. "I would love to get ready together again, but I was also thinking... Maybe we could just go together?" she asks. She is trying to sound confident, but her voice is a bit shakier than usual, which betrays her nervousness. "We could be each other's dates."

Chrysanthemum von Mirbach

gryffindor, sixth year
ateleia

When their arms brush against each other, her hand instinctively reaches to pat Maya's arm gently. Her face is visibly flushed now, and she's left biting her lip and furrowing her brows to force any sort of concentration. Maya is actually proving to be quite distracting, but it's a distraction she would love to have forever. Her laugh flutters in her ears and Chrys starts to gush the moment Maya reaches her proposal, setting her things down and turning to stare at her with wide eyes. "You want to go together?" Her voice trembles from excitement, face rapidly filling with enthusiasm as she starts to grin. Despite suspecting that her feelings with reciprocated, this offer surprises her and she is tossed into some sort of haze. "We should. I think that would be perfect." Her face starts to melt and slowly find peace as the pressure built up inside of her is released. The feeling from this has been far better than when any boy ever confessed to her. It's not full of anxiety and obligation. For the first time, she understands what this love is supposed to feel like. Chrys giggles. "I will have the prettiest date. We can coordinate our outfits! It will be so beautiful."

Maya Crawford

begonia, seventh year
paintedred

"We will be!" she says. She can already imagine it. The fact that Chrys brought up that they can coordinate their gowns makes the butterflies in Maya's stomach flutter about even more – Chrys is truly so perfect. She is so intelligent, and beautiful, and has an amazing sense of fashion. And she is kind, and she smells nice, and she is so good to her. In Maya's head, she is already planning a trip to Moonstraw so that she can buy them more accessories for the pair to match. She is so excited and her grin spreads across her whole face to the point that it hurts from smiling. She cannot stop, though, only feeling an overwhelming sense of love and relief that her offer was accepted. "I think it will be perfect, too. Of course I want to go together!" Maya takes Chrys' hands in hers, caught up in her excitement. "And no, *I* will have the prettiest date. You are *so* beautiful, Chrys, I can't even begin..." Maya can feel the heat rushing to her cheeks. She is being so painfully obvious, but that is fine. She wants to be obvious! She wants Chrys to know. She runs her thumb nervously over the back of one of Chrys' hands before continuing. "I actually have something to say, if the willows can wait for a couple of minutes." It is very unlike Maya to be shy, but she is typically not the one confessing and it has never been to someone so gorgeous or so dear to her.

Chrysanthemum von Mirbach

gryffindor, sixth year
ateleia

Her world pauses when their hands fall into one another and she squeezes it gently when she has a moment to closer her eyes and collect herself. Perhaps she will even be able to prevent herself from falling- from becoming too invested in a reality that might not be. It's important to consider she might just want to go as friends, but Chrys would despite that sort of torture. Maya is too wonderful and too beautiful for her to pretend any longer that she is just a friend. It feels ridiculous to pretend that she would not have to have these feelings for her. There is no preventing them even if she wanted to, but she certainly doesn't. "Oh, *stop*. You are gorgeous," she insists, and she's being truthful. No one beats her, and Chrys is satisfied knowing she will have the prettiest date and she will be the one showing off by her side. Maybe then they would be able to share the kiss that she has longed for for so long- Her dreams are cut short and she stares at her, confused for a moment before removing her hand from hers and dusting her bare hands off. "What is it, *mon chou*?" she questions, grabbing Maya's hand and dusting it off before slipping her own through hers once more. "You are scaring me," she adds, laughing and bringing her free hand up to push some of her hair behind her ear.

Maya Crawford

begonia, seventh year
paintedred

Maya gets scared when Chrys drops her hands from her own. It did not even register to her that it was because of the dirt, and when Chrys slips her fingers into hers once more, Maya is able to breathe again, relieved. "Don't be scared." she says, admiring the way Chrys tucks her hair behind her ear before her gaze drops again towards their hands intertwined. "*I* am scared. Only one of us is allowed to be scared." Maya giggles nervously, and she can feel her heart racing in her chest. She did not have a plan, exactly, for how she would confess, instead trusting that the opportunity would eventually present itself and she would be brave enough to take it. She was not sorted into Gryffindor for nothing. This seems nice, she thinks, here in the greenhouses, where she gets to admire the girl she loves so much in her element, and on a beautiful morning too. "Do you remember that time in the common room?" she decides to begin with, "When God spoke to you." she adds, teasing, as if to make herself feel less anxious.

Chrysanthemum von Mirbach

gryffindor, sixth year
ateleia

Chrysanthemum laughs nervously, not accepting that as a reason to not be scared. If anything, the situation becomes even *scarier*. Her heartbeat starts to race and she feels as if she can see Maya's doing the same, glancing down at her chest before regaining eye contact. It coincides with the reminder of her head resting on her own chest, feeling the weight of her as her arms engulfed her. As much as she attempts to resist it, the memory makes her weak. "How could I forget?" It would be impossible. It's a memory she is sure she will always remember even if she isn't with Maya (God forbid). Her face falls when she's teased and she glances down at the willows to hide her embarrassment though it isn't done very well. "Hey..." she whispers, still frowning even when she has the guts to face her again. "If you want to know what they told me, I will not tell you. It is too embarrassing, *mon chou chou*. You are already laughing at me." If pressed at this point in time, perhaps she would, but she is nervous at the thought of confessing those feelings to her. It feels too daunting.

Maya Crawford

begonia, seventh year
paintedred

"I'm not laughing at you." Maya insists, "You are just *so* cute." She is smiling fondly now, her nerves beginning to settle. She is still very much anxious, but it helps that Chrys is so beautiful and distracting. "God told me something that day, too." Maya remembers very clearly the dream she had that early morning during their quick nap and how Chrys had kissed her in it. She recalls waking up feeling panicked, only to be calmed by the feeling of the other girl cuddled up next to her. Maya takes a deep breath, ready to rip the bandaid off. "I realized then that I have feelings for you." she says, glancing down at their hands again before quickly redirecting her gaze to Chrys' features so that she can admire her and also properly gauge her reaction. "I still do. I've been pining since then – it is ridiculous how much time I wasted before telling you now." Maya thinks of all their subsequent sleepovers, of Isaac, of Nadja, and all their moments together in between. She realizes then that she may be being a bit too presumptuous now, so she moves to drop her hands before saying, "It's okay if you don't feel the same." All the signs have been pointing towards Chrys reciprocating, and until this moment, Maya has been rather confident. Now, though, she is suddenly nervous that she had been reading it all wrong.

Chrysanthemum von Mirbach

gryffindor, sixth year
ateleia

Her face fills with surprise and wonder as the butterflies in her stomach start to settle and she can finally release her breath. When her hands are dropped, they reach for her heart as she sighs before recognizing that her hands are no longer in Maya's and scrunching up her face. A little peeved (but mostly clingy), she reaches down and grabs Maya's hands again. "No, Maya. I love you," she insists, not wanting to let the moment pass them. It feels as if they have let so many pass by them that she cannot let this one go. To her, she has wasted so much time not being with Maya despite knowing all along that that is what was meant to be. It all feels foolish now and has for a few months. "I love you a lot. I have said it so much- I thought you would notice." Her feelings were *obvious*, but then again, she has time to reflect and recognize that this whole time things were not as hopeless as they had seemed. It had been right in front of her. "I should have noticed sooner, but for a moment it was difficult to accept that someone as beautiful and talented and- hmm, *soft*-" Chrysanthemum laughs, pulling one of her hands to bring it up to her face in embarrassment. "- would love me so much." Her words start to jumble in her head and she glances down at Maya's lips as she regains her focus. "You kissed my forehead that morning, and I remember at that moment that I had fallen. My pining has burned so long, *mon chou*..."

Maya Crawford

begonia, seventh year
paintedred

Maya is elated to hear her feelings are reciprocated, and immediately she blurts out, "I love you, too." It is so wonderful being able to say so without having to pretend it is wholly platonic. Suddenly, she does not care about all the wasted time because this moment is so perfect that she would not have wanted it to happen any other way. She suspects though that any way this would have gone would have been utterly blissful, simply because there has been nothing more pleasing to her ears than the sound of Chrys confessing her feelings. "I didn't know you had feelings for me." she tells Chrys, "If I had known, I would have acted sooner. I'm sorry that it took so long for me to realize, but you already know I've never been the brightest." She laughs a little at herself before continuing. "You, on the other hand, are so intelligent and gorgeous and amazing and... soft." She smiles at the use of the adjective. She notices the way Chrys' gaze drops to her mouth and Maya bites her lip. "Can I kiss you?"

Chrysanthemum von Mirbach

gryffindor, sixth year
ateleia

Chrysanthemum isn't bothered by the fact that her feelings had gone unnoticed for so long even though she was once tormented by it. It matters significantly less now. What matters is that the two of them are something now though they have not yet clarified. "You are plenty bright to me," she responds with a quaint smile, which hides a buzzing range of emotions threatening to burst out again at any moment. Maya immediately gives them the perfect reason to as her face illuminates with a grin. Her heart races, having daydreamed about this moment for so long. "You can!" Chrys rushes out, but she brings her hands to Maya's face and presses their first kiss to her gentle lips. It's difficult not to smile too much into it, far too excited by the fact that this is happening. Or maybe it's an appropriate amount. Her excitement is well-deserved after all of this. When they part, she beams. "My apologies. *Now* you can."

Maya Crawford

begonia, seventh year
paintedred

Maya is red when Chrys pulls away, and there is a small smile on her face that only grows bigger and bigger. Kissing someone has never felt like that before, and it occurs to her that she will be able to do it again and again for as long as Chrys will have her. "You – you don't need to apologize for that." she manages to say, euphoria nearly corrupting her ability to string words into sentences. She leans in again and kisses Chrys softly, this time taking more time to really appreciate that she is now able to do this with the girl she has pined after for so long now. "I want you to be my girlfriend." she whispers when they part, resting her forehead against the other girl's. They have pined for so long that it seems useless to Maya for them to put this off. "If that is alright with you." she adds, when she realizes she might be being a bit demanding. "We don't have to rush things." she says, though it agonizes her to say it. They have spent so long already burning so slowly, and she wants to make up for the lost time. "But I would really like to be able to say my *girlfriend* is the prettiest girl at the ball this weekend."

Chrysanthemum von Mirbach

gryffindor, sixth year
ateleia

Her heart melts when Maya starts to fumble her words, smiling gently until she leans in to kiss her again. It's greater than she thought it would be. Kissing Maya is one of the best things she has ever experienced and she melts in her touch. When they pull apart, she opens her mouth to tell her she loves her again, but is stopped by Maya's confession. Her smile widens and she huffs out her amusement as her hand moves to push some of her soon-to-be girlfriend's hair behind her ear. "I thought we agreed *my* girlfriend is the prettiest of them all." Calling her her girlfriend immediately makes her heart flutter. It doesn't fill with the dread and anxiety that she had become accustomed to. Her love for someone else has never been so strong. Her heart has never felt so alive in its joyous celebration. "I would want nothing more than for you to be my girlfriend. We have waited long enough." Chrysanthemum smiles, letting out a small laugh before she leans in to kiss her again though this time it's far more brief. "I love you, *mon chou*," she whispers.

Maya Crawford

begonia, seventh year
paintedred

Hearing Chrys refer to her as her girlfriend fills Maya with joy that she did not know she was capable of feeling os intensely. "You're right. We *have* waited long enough." she agrees, nodding. Maya is smiling so much and she is sure that she will continue being on this high for the rest of the day, well, for the rest of this relationship (which she intends on having last for as long as possible). "I love you, too." she says after Chrys pulls away from the kiss and she lets out a content sigh as she lets go of Chrys' hands and turns back towards the willow saplings. "Finish what you have to do." she says, "So we can go back to my dorm and nap." The idea of being able to cuddle with Chrys as girlfriends is so perfect to her that she nearly melts on the spot just thinking about it. She drops a kiss on Chrys' shoulder, clinging to her arm as she watches her girlfriend continue to work. "I love you so much."