Leaving one garden for another, perhaps, could be Paul's life story. But he had just been in his own outdoor garden near his greenhouses when he decided he needed a change of tea. He knew River had his own thing going up here. SO the trek into the castle was well worth his panting, out-of-breath face he was now wearing. It smelled like...Earth in here.

Paul loved it.

He hadn't actually been last term, it being Reed's first term, and Paul had been so busy getting adjusted to Deputy duties. Oh, that sounded fancy, yes? Probably the alliteration. Deputy duties on deck! Paul smirked as he neared the tea leaves. These were for the taking, yes? He assumed so? They were all..out in public and such. It'd be a shame to be accused of theft.

Ahem.

What River didn't know couldn't hurt him.

All Olly was doing was searching for a quiet place to read. His dormmates were rather nosy and never let him do anything in peace. The common room was just a bit loud for his taste at the moment. He'd considered the Astronomy tower but that was just so far away. He'd already climbed a few flights of stairs before thinking of going to the grounds. It was a nice day and he was sure to find somewhere quiet. Olly had just decided to turn around and go back down when he caught sight of a familiar professor. His favorite professor, to be precise.

So Olly hopped off the stairs and followed him a bit down the third floor corridor. Hopefully that wasn't too creepy. He just happened to be going to the same place, right? Not really but it was a reasonably story.

Suddenly Olly found himself in a nice little garden right there on the third floor. What a beautiful spot. He was distracted for a moment, as he often was, and looked around at all there was to see. There were a lot of tea leaves. And, oh yeah, there was Professor Myers. "Hello Professor!" Olly greeted him cheerfully.

"I AM NOT A THIEF--!" Paul had whipped around exclaiming.

Right.

Believable.

Paul saw it was only Oliver, and merely smiled. "Obviously, I'm not a thief. Clearly not. No thieves...here..." Paul waved over at the tea leaves. "We can take those, right?" he asked. Surely Oliver would be familiar with River's protocols? Maybe? Hopefully. "Well, even so...Healer Reed wouldn't really mind I suppose."

Olly had not accused anyone of being a thief but suddenly there was insistent yelling and Olly was trying to keep a straight face and trying not to laugh at his professor who was definitely not a thief. "That sounds like something a thief would say," he said very seriously. Definitely no laughing. The edges of his mouth might have lifted in just a little smile but he was doing his best to keep a straight face.

"What is that, exactly, that you're definitely not stealing?"

HMPH! Paul put his hands on his hips. "I...am most certainly NOT a thief of these...tea leaves --" Paul cleared his throat and gestured at the section of leaves River had set off. TEA LEAVES. Paul could tell them from anywhere. And a variety, too.

"But...you won't tell Healer Reed, right?" AHEM RIGHT? Paul just..nipped a few of the leaves from River's PLENTIFUL BOUNTY and placed them in a plastic baggy. "Shhhh," he pressed his finger to his lips at Oliver. OLIVER. DON'T BE A SNITCH. SNITCHES GET STITCHES EXCEPT NOT REALLY PAUL WOULD NEVER BUT STILL. "I'll brew you a cup. Now. To look casual." He put the baggy in his back pocket and crossed his arms. "I suppose we could water things in here. Looking a bit dry anyway..."

OLIVER YOU ARE IN ON THIS NOW.

There had been shouting, and a very clear statement too, as River cleaned up the ink spill on his office table. He'd been refilling his inkwell when the shouting happened and he could not help but smirk at the thought of Paul getting red-handed. Of course, he'd be the first to explore his Herbal Garden.

Amused and intrigued, he quietly made his way to the garden and folded his arms across his chest as he watched the interaction that happened between the Herbologist, slash, Hufflepuff Head of House, slash, Deputy Headmaster and the newly minted Slytherin Prefect.

Oi.

It's a good thing that the tea leaves are for everyone, and it was River's hope that it would be put to good use whenever they get plucked from the bunch because he too, took the time to grow those tea leaves in an almost perfect condition.

He'd been growing the rare white tea leaves for some time now, so he was aware of the leaves Paul took. "Most prefer black tea, I didn't know you had a preference for white ones as well?" River grinned and placed one of his hands in his trouser's pocket, as he reached out to his tea leaves with the other one inspecting it as he stood next to the Slytherin. "Mint goes well with it." Perfect for those who often felt bloated after a meal. After giving Paul a grin and I-know-what-you-did-to-my-tea-leaves look, he turned his attention to the student in their presence. "Hello, Prefect Borzekowski-Thomas. Congratulations on your appointment." Kid must be thrilled, eh?

And...did they want to brew fresh tea leaves? River has a tea apparatus stored somewhere. All they have to do is ask. He could even throw a free tea brewing lesson along the way...

Olly was just smiling. This whole situation was very amusing to him. "I suppose Healer Reed won't mind." He did, after all, have this whole garden of tea leaves in plain sight of everyone. He had to assume that at least someone would try picking from it. And since there was no sign specifically saying not to pick anything, then it was probably allowed. There usually were signs when thing weren't allowed. He stepped a bit closer to see what sort of tea leaves Professor Myers had picked. He liked tea. He could definitely go for a cup of definitely not stolen tea leaves. He was about to say as much when suddenly Professor Myers was suggesting watering them.

"Water? Oh, yeah, that would be good. I'm sure Healer Reed would appreciate that." Might as well do the man a favor, especially after stealing picking some of his tea leaves. Sort of like repayment, right? The Herbology professor was certainly the expert on what needed watering and how much and all that. Before Olly could ask there was another voice and Olly turned at the sound. He smirked at the appearance of Healer Reed himself. It was good that he did not, in fact, seemed to mind any thievery of his tea leaves.

"Hello Healer Reed. Thanks." Olly shuffled his feet a bit awkwardly at the congratulations but smiled nonetheless. He'd received plenty congratulations on his badge. A bit too much for his comfort. He never did well with praise. Didn't know how to respond to it. "Uh, we we were thinking we might help with some watering? Did you need a hand with that?"

Paul could have JUMPED when River showed up, PULLED THE LEAVES OUT HIS BACK POCKET, and then started...talking. CASUALLY. "Well. I like most tea leaves, Healer Reed," he said simply, squinting one eye in the healer's direction. "Mint, you say?" he could see that. Maybe River would offer to brew some tea for them. It would save Paul having to brew some tea for them. Yes YES yes.

"And yes, we were, as Prefect Borzekowski-Thomas was saying.Watering, I mean. When was the last time you watered?" He trusted River to take care of his little garden in here. The man knew how to care for plants, he was a healer for Merlin's sake!

He was glad he wasn't really a thief. He would have lived with his thievery, sure, but it was nice to know you hadn't committed THEFT. How long did thieves go to Azkaban for? Or did they go at all? Was there a less horrible place those less horrible criminals went to? After 67? years of life, he probably should have known the answer. Alas, he did not.

He gulped.


"SOOO River, if you would kindly brew us tea, we can water things, and that's that!" AHEM.

River grinned at the Slytherin Prefect as he turned to fetch his tea apparatus. It was a good thing that those two turned up in time for tea in all honesty, sans the quote-unquote thievery. It's good however, that Paul knew how to harvest such delicate leaves. "How is prefecting so far, Oliver? Are you enjoying it?" Who wouldn't enjoy extra hours outside of the common room after curfew, yes? He could sneak into the kitchens while he's doing patrol, and no one would question it.

"Ah yes, mint. Would you like some of that in your tea?" River asked Paul as he filled the pot with water, and raised it in a bunsen burner rack, "How about you Oliver? Would you like your tea plain or?" he asked, moving towards the section of herbs where he keeps a good amount of mint sprigs, and carefully plucked out one. He does prefer the extra kick in his cuppa.

And...what was this sudden act of kindness? Was it to cover up their boo-boo? "Watering?" he asked giving his cozy indoor garden a good look, "Perhaps just a tad, gentlemen. I had my garden watered before I went for my morning jog a few hours ago." Grin.

Oh boy. Isn't this amusing or what?

If they were getting in trouble or theft here, Olly was having no part in it. He was not the guilty one. He'd just happened to come across Professor Myers. He turned his attention more fully to Healer Reed, offering him a shrug.

"It's...good. I'm getting used to it, I guess." He didn't know what he was supposed to say. What he wanted to say was that he didn't really like first years that much and therefore was not the best at helping them. They were annoying. But that did not seem like the proper response to that question. Everything else was going well. He liked the prefect's bath. Didn't mind the extra prefecting duties. The year at Hogwarts had been calm so far. "I'll have some mint too please."

Paul clapped an arm around Oliver. "It was Oliver's idea here to help water your plants," he grinned cheekily. "I say...I give him TWO POINTS for his wonderful idea." Literally, the points were for HELPING PAUL SEEM CASUAL AND SNEAKY AND COVER UP YES.

Even if this was not-thievery. Oliver would have been a helpful PARTNER TO THE CRIME CLEARLY.

AHEEEMMMM!

"Just a tad, then. Just a tad." Paul waved his wand and began watering the plants. Lightly. Gentle trickle of water.....reminding he had to pee. But it wasn't too bad, yet. His bladder would be okay, hopefully. "With the sunlight pouring in...water is good."

Being prefect wasn't just having a good time though, it meant extra work too, which, he supposed will be a piece of cake for the Slytherin. Speaking of cake, he should've asked one of the elves to bring them cake, but...yeah, he was watching his diet. He'd offer of course, but that will ruin the taste of the tea.

Nonchalantly raising a brow, River found him amused with Paul and just...let him carry on being...Paul. "You're being stingy Paul. You should've given the boy 5 points at least," for not exposing him and being loyal to the deputy headmaster. "Mint for you both, got it." River plucked more mint sprigs, and went back to his tea apparatus. "I got this set of leaves dried earlier..." he said pulling out a tray from underneath the table and started to slice it into four parts, "White tea needs to be dried naturally, but since we don't get much sun, I had to use magic to do the trick." River filled the tea pot with water, and charmed it to boil. After a few minutes of cooling it down a bit, he dumped the chopped leaves inside with the mint sprigs, "With white tea, it is important not to over steep it. The tea will taste bitter if we're not careful." He said glancing at his watch, "Four minutes would be enough to get the full flavour." River subconsciously took a deep breath while Paul was busy watering his plants. Nothing beats the smell of earth because wet earth means outdoors.

After four minutes, River took out cups from under the table and started to pour the golden liquid into it, offering the first cup to Oliver, and then to Paul. "I would love to stay and chat but I have things to finish inside," he said pointing towards his office with his thumb. "Do enjoy your tea, gentlemen. And...you may take fresh tea leaves with you." he said with eyes twinkling. "Thanks for watering my plants, Paul." he said as he finally turned and went back to his office.