Rylee was very clearly more than a bit lost lately. With Professor Myers no longer here the flower garden that had once belonged to the man wasn't here anymore either. It had been one of the spots she enjoyed most when she needed some downtime or just wanted to be around the beauty that was plants and flowers.

How she ended wandering about near the new Professors office she wasn't quite sure but once could probably chalk it up to he just missing the former professor and her old habits. It was her wandering that had her now currently standing there staring at the overly large busy pink rose bushes with a look of pure interest and longing to both touch and smell them, however the young teen did neither.

Hugging the small fluffy white kitten in her arms just a touch closer she willed herself to not be sad anymore. If this man could have such lovely rose bushes maybe he wasn't so bad after all?

Joshua was slowly getting into a very good daily Hogwarts routine where he got up early to tend to the plants, herbs and vegetables in the greenhouses before breakfast. Then he went to breakfast in the great hall or prepared something in his office that he ate before he started to teach until late afternoon.

On this day after he had finished his classes he headed over to the flowery student garden that he had renamed to be called the hidden terrace. With some shearers and other tending tools in tow Joshua headed into the terrace. Heading over to towards the very bushy pink roses bushes he saw that a girl was standing in front of it. He identified her right away as Rylee of Gryffindor. Nearing Professor Wishart called out cheerily. "Good day Rylee!" as he came to a stop some steps away from her he asked "So what brings you to the oasis today? Do you have a flower here that you grow?"

Rylee's thoughts were suddenly interrupted by none other than the man himself. Turning around to face him she greeted him with a warm smile as always. "Hello, Professor!" Her smile quickly turning to a look of confusion. "Oasis? Why would you call this spot the oasis?" This didn't look like any type of oasis to her, was she missing something here?

"Can we do that? Professor Myers allowed us to last term... he had a special garden for flowers, vegetables and fruits." Is didn't look like there was anywhere around here to plant anything. At least nothing visible to her anyhow. "I have a garden back at home that my big sister is looking after for me." The flowers and plants were tended to year around so she could continue to work on her flower crowns and learn about each plant when she was ready.

After having done the required tickling and whispering to the rose bushes, Penny stepped into the hidden terrace and smiled widely. This place was by far, her favorite place at Hogwarts. Ever. How could it not be everyone's favorite? It was hidden and had a waterfall. What was there NOT to love?

Even better, she had managed to come at a time that no one else was around. Yassss! Pen immediately kicked her shoes off and settled down near the pond, foregoing any of the cushioned chairs that were there. Who needed those when there was so much lush grass and flowers to be admired?! Digging into her rucksack she chewed her lip as she searched, without looking, for the book she had been desperate to come here to read. And it wasn't long before she located it and gave a triumphant smile. Good times! Now to settle in with the apple she had snagged from the kitchens and a good book!

Not an Oasis? Professor Wishart gave the terrace a once over before he turned his gaze to Rylee furrowing his brows in some confusion but with a kind smile etching his features. "You’ve entered the sanctuary that I've dubbed the Hidden Terrace, this is not the student oasis Rylee. The Oasis is out to the right of the last greenhouse."

Getting curious and intrigued Joshua asked "What is wrong with calling a spot the oasis rather than just a garden when it is so much more?" He for one had always felt the herbology gardens to be an oasis where he in his own time could care for plants, herbs, flowers, fruits and vegetables without the need to stress.

"You are more than welcome to plant and grow your own plants in the Student Oasis Rylee. Or even help me take care of the sick plants in Greenhouse 5 that I’ve turned into a plant nursery." That is if she was interested in treating sick and ailing plants that was?

Oops. Rylee crinkled up her nose shaking her head at the look on her professors face. She had clearly done her again. Her words hadn't been the correct ones for what she had been trying to say. Now she was very much confused as well. "I thought you were talking about this spot when you asked what brought me to the Oasis... why is this called the Hidden Terrace then? Is something behind the roses?" That was the likely guess here as the roses were beautiful and drew you in like a moth to a flame.

"Nothing at all, Professor. Just the typical oasis is an island of sorts normally but I suppose it doesn't have to be. It could be anywhere you're happiest." Rylee smiled looking around at the flowers and inhaling the sweet scent that rose from the afternoon breeze.

The smile that came onto her face was immediate and bright. "I would love to help you tend to the sick plants in Greenhouse 5. Perhaps you wouldn't mind helping me with some of my own creations sometime, professor?"

Why was Rylee crinkling her nose like that? The head shake though gave joshua the impression that she was confused too, and not just him. They were in the same boat so to speak. Gesturing around them Professor Wishart responded "Yes Rylee, I meant the spot we are standing in right now that is called the Hidden Terrace because if you pet the rose bushes in a certain way behind you then you’ll get access to a closed off terrace area with a waterfall that spills into a beautiful pond with water plants and you can also find tables and chairs there that all students and staff are welcome to lounge at."

Listening to Rylee’s explanation Joshua smiled "You are correct, many refer to an oasis as an island but it can also be anywhere where you are happy or a sticky plant material for flower arrangements just to name a few." Like many other words oasis had many different fields of use depending on the context and so on.

His smile broadened as the sweet scent of roses came with the afternoon breeze and into his nostrils. "I’d be happy to help you tend to your own creations sometime Rylee. Just give me heads up when you’ll be down in the greenhouses and i’ll come and assist you. Are you creating any special flower arrangements? Did Prof Myers let you help him tend to sick plants too?"

Truth be told, Anna didn't have a clue about this place. That didn't mean she wasn't willing to explore, though!

After her run - that wasn't related to the SORE exercises they were doing, mind you - she decided to go and see what new things some of the new professors had brought along with them that term. Since she had been running around the grounds, she thought an easy first stop would be the Herbology area. Anna wasn't particularly interested in plants and Herbology was far from being on e of her best subjects, BUT she had to admit plants were an interesting thing to walk through hence her odd fascination with the Forbidden Forest. Okay, it wasn't because of the plants, but whatever.

Aaaand being totally oblivious about a hidden terrace, the Gryffindor stood on the other side of the rose bushes, looking around. Tickling and whispering? Not on Anna's mind. She had no CLUE plants even reacted that way. Silly her.

They did look nice, though.

The nose crinkling was mainly out of habit and nothing to worry over. Rylee was very much confused but that confusion was quickly easing away with every word the man spoke to her as he explained how the area behind the rose bushes opened up into a hidden spot.

A hidden waterfall and pond with plants behind rose bushes?! That was amazing! Rylee smiled brightly rocking on her heels. "Really?! All I have to do is pet the roses a certain way?" She could do that! If it granted her access to that lovely place Fletcher was telling her about she would likely try anything.

It was quickly apparent to the young teen that while the new professor was not Myers he did like plants and flowers. "I haven't so much been working on creating my own flowers as of yet... but I have been trying to work on making their beauty and scent last longer. I create flower crowns and I prefer using real flowers as opposed to fake ones... only real ones don't last forever." There lay the dilemma. "He did, yes. As long as we knew what we were doing and we were caring for them properly."

Joshua gave off an inaudible sigh of relief. If Rylee’s body language was anything to go after then she was slowly going from confused to interested and excited as he spoke about the hidden place beyond the rose bushes. If only that was the case with all his students, especially those who showed dislike for plant lessons. Anyway, focusing on Rylee he confirmed excitedly "Yes, all you need to do is stroke the rose bushes and say the right magical words eg ’green thumbs are awesome’ and then you’ll be allowed entrance to the terrace. It’s really a lovely and serene place that you should check out and tell your friends and housemates about." Perfect if you wanted some solitude from the other students and the hogwarts life.

Joshua nodded thoughtfully. "Sadly Rylee, but that is the way it is with real flowers they don’t last forever, every flower and plant has a life cycle. If the flowers grow in a flower bed though then some of them regrow when spring comes again. But if you want flowers that are beautiful all year, every year then its better to go with fake ones, they can be really pretty too." He prefered real flowers and plants over fake ones but his twin brother had fake flowers because he sadly never remembered to water the ones he had until they had died a slow death.

"Flower crowns, how interesting! Have you got some flower crowns in the student oasis/garden that you grow now? I’d love to see them." Professor Wishart said with a smile."I will let you students care for your own plants too. It’s good practice, don’t you think?"

If there was one thing anyone should know about Rylee Prichard it was that she was never sad for very long. There was always a reason to smile no matter how big or small it may be and she would find it sooner or later. It was only a matter of finding that something that would spark the smile and get it going again. Like now. Plants and flowers were that something.

Rylee smiled listening to the very simple instructions on how to get into the hidden terrace. "That doesn't seem very difficult at all! I can do that!" And she would too! No doubt about that. It was likely to become one of her favorite spots if it was as warm and welcoming as the Professor was making it out to be. Ooooh! He was giving her permission to tell all her friends and housemates too! The third years eyes shone brightly as she nodded her head excitedly. "I will."

Not what she wanted to hear Professor Wishart. This was the same thing she had been hearing for the last three terms now expect for that man that had been at the job fair expo thing back in her first year who had told her to dip the flowers in wax. "Well I do grow my own flowers at home. I have an entire garden there. I love watching them grow and the scent of them." What she didn't like was how fast they died when used in making her flower crowns. Hence her problem.

Grow flower crowns? Was that... a thing?! A very brief look of puzzlement flashed across her blue-gray eyes as she took in this question making very special note of looking into this. If this was a thing she needed to know about it... NOW! "I... is that a thing?" No doubt did she sound silly right now. Flower crowns were her thing and here she was asking him if this was possible! Oh my gosh! Rylee shifted from foot to foot a little awkwardly. "I usually grow my own flowers and use those to make my own crowns by fitting the stems together. Sometimes I use faux flowers if I want a certain look or want the crown to really last a long time..." There was an internal battle happening within her on telling him about the whole dipping of flowers in wax thing, she wasn't sure how he would reply to that. Truthfully it was a stepping stone for her towards something better but the better part hadn't happened yet.

"I think it's wonderful practice. I miss having my garden to take care of." Rylee smiled already making a mental list of different plants and flowers she would like to begin growing.

Joshua smiled, feeling elated as he murmured "Great!" It was really great to hear that Rylee was going to visit the hidden terrace and tell her housemates about it’s existance. It needed to be visited by plenty of students and not just him and the occasional other staffer. He got the instinct feeling that he hadn’t made Rylee exactly happy since she went from excited to mellow in just a few moments. But he couldn’t really pint point exactly what he had said that had caused it.

Impressed Joshua asked having a hard time masking his surprise. "Really? You have your own garden? That’s impressive Rylee. I didn’t have that when I was your age. I agree though watching flowers grow from a seed to a grown plant and smelling their scents is wonderful and something i love too."

"A thing?" A brief look of puzzlement crossed over Joshua’s dark eyes before he thought he understood. "Oh you mean if growing flower crowns is popular? I honestly don’t know but i do know that some of my buddies make them like you do and then they sell them in their plant shop. They’ve also experimented with adding some steel into the plants, but it hasn’t been very successful since the plants they’ve tried it on have died quicker."

"You are always welcome to help down in the greenhouses with the plants and flowers Rylee and you’d of course get some house points for the trouble." He couldn’t expect her to do a lot of work without something in return aside from valuable practice and experience.

Rylee was the type of kid that enjoyed sharing things. Whether it was her favorite snack, a secret place or tips on how to do something better.

"My sister is a perfumist. She has a huge garden at home so she taught me how she care for flowers and plants properly." Her love of flowers had started very early on.

Rylee could see the puzzlement in Wishart's eyes and knew instantly that he didn't catch on to what she had been trying to say right away. When he did the third year nodded quickly. "Uh-huh." Adding steel into the plants? Well that was interesting. "Besides the plants dying quicker... they are already formed into the flower crowns? There's no... crafting them required?" This was a very interesting concept for her. It might be worth looking into.

"Thank you, Professor! I'd love to help out in the greenhouses however I can." He can count her in for helping out!