Quinn walked up to to the Professor's office, Violet the dahlia in pot, pot in hand. It was the day after the feast, and even though circumstances had changed drastically, Quinn thought that he should probably still bring his dahlia to the Professor as instructed. Eden tagged along with him, like he said she could on the train. He wasn't too eager to run around the grounds on his own, anyway—the school had been taken over, and there were probably weird creatures in the forest that would snatch him up if he got too close. "I know you wanted to look around at the greenhouses, but we should probably drop off Violet first. And even then, I'm not sure if we'll be allowed to, given... the circumstances." Quinn looked away, the discomfort he felt at what was happening showing on his face.

Quinn knocked on the door. "Uh, hello? Professor Flamsteed? It's, uh, Quinn Kinglsey. I was supposed to see you about my flower..? Is... is that still, um, necessary, or..?"

Eden walked alongside Quinn in semi-comfortable silence. He'd taken the events of the opening feast worse than her, and she wasn't the consoling type. Feeling vulnerable made her squirm, and seeing vulnerability in others made her cringe. The last thing she wanted to do was bring up how they were feeling about what was going on. She already felt a tiny weight of dread settling on the inside of her ribs, and actually thinking about the future (or present, she realized) after the feast's events just made the weight heavier.

The eleven-year-old gave Violet another looksee as Quinn spoke. "You're probably right," she agreed, but privately hoped they'd be able to get a closer look at the inside of the greenhouses. She stared at the closed door while her friend knocked.

June hadn't slept at all. She was worried and so were allll her plants. They could feel her energy and she could feel theirs. And they were all collectively distressed.

It was not a fun place to be in. Not to mention, she just wanted to go hug her niece and nephews right now - but was it wise? Nope. Not at all.

So, June was doing what she did best when she was terribly worried - she was pacing her office and ignoring the noise her kettle was making - which was also why she ALMOST missed the knock on her door, but a friendly vine opened it for her instead and made her take notice.

"Oh?" A flower? "Oh - yes, come in, come in, children" Immediately shaking off the distress she felt, she guided them toward wooden stools to sit on. "Would you both like to have some tea before you tell me about this plant of yours?"

As soon as the Professor opened the door, Quinn was in awe of her office. The plants seemed to have overgrown every inch of the room; it almost felt like a jungle. As Quinn stepped inside, he noticed that a vine had opened the door, not the Professor. A smile crept across his face as he tried to drink in every inch of the perfect room. It took his mind off of what was going on at the school. Quinn was pretty sure he was in heaven, honestly.

He pulled his attention back towards the Professor as he sat down on one of the stools. He could hear a kettle screaming somewhere in the room. "Er, yes, I would love some tea. Thank you, Professor." Having tea in here was definitely something Quinn could get used to. It reminded him of having tea parties with his mom in the garden when he was small. They hadn't had one in years.

As she stepped into Professor Flamsteed's space (the door had been opened by a vine - wicked!!!), Eden became very grateful to have made a friend in Quinn. She felt safe here. It smelled so fresh, and everywhere her eyes went there was an interesting plant to look at. She felt a tension she hadn't known was there leave her shoulders. A smile broke out on her face.

"Tea would be lovely, Professor. Thank you," Eden said as she sat on a wooden stool. She couldn't keep her wide eyes from roaming the room.

The kettle was screaming alright, and June finally put it out of its misery as she poured it for them all, "have you guys ever had chamomile tea before?" she asked as she flicked her wand to guide the cups toward the two students "It's supposed to calm your nerves, you know"

That's what the entire school needed too; a healthy dose of chamomile.

"Now" she began as sat down as well "Can I see this plant of yours, Mr Kingsley? And what can you tell me about it?"

Quinn's eyes lit up at the mention of chamomile. "Yes, chamomile is one of my favorites, actually!" He eagerly caught the cup that was sent his way, then took a small sip. This cuppa in a room full of plants was exactly what he needed. The DADA lesson was... rough, to say the least. "Thank you very much, Professor."

Quinn held out the pot carrying his purple dahlia (dubbed Violet) to the Professor. "Well, this is Violet. That's it's name. I—I know that could be mistaken for me thinking that's what flower this is, but it's just what I named it. This is just a mundane dahlia flower. But I wanted to, um, bring it because I wanted to make sure it stayed alive while I was away. This is one of the flowers I'm most proud of, and there's no one at home who knows how to tend my garden. Save for my mother, and she's, well, very busy, recently." The past couple years, in fact. "But, uh, we can't put Violet outside. Well, we could, but only for maybe another week or two and we'd have to bring her into the greenhouse, and I think that would just be more trouble than it's worth. The cold will kill it, and especially this far north the fall weather could be damaging, not to mention winter. It needs to be watered 2 to 3 times a week, so normally I just water it every three days. I would like to come and do that myself, if possible. Other than that, it's a very hardy plant and can survive by itself. Normally what I have to do is dig up the tubers every fall, store them, and then replant in the spring. But if we keep Violet in the greenhouses where it's warm, I don't think we'd have to do any of that!"

Quinn blinked. His face turned red. "Oh. Um, I'm very sorry. I just.... that was... um.... very long, wasn't it...? Sorry, again..."

"I haven't," Eden confessed. Her family just bought store brand black tea in bulk. "It smells nice."

Aw. Quinn really liked plants. It was sweet, and Eden listened contentedly while she took small sips of the soothing tea. This was great. She could do this every day.

She didn't really have anything to add to the conversation. She was just here as a tagalong. And so she kept quiet, eyes flitting around the room. Were there any poisonous plants here?

Look at that.

June had definitely not smiled in a while as she was listening to the boy speak on about his flower. It made her heart feel warm and happy. It was rare to see someone so passionate, and when it was about the subject so close to her heart - it became special.

Smiling softly still, she shook her head as the boy apologised, "there is absolutely nothing to be sorry about, Mr Kingsley. I am actually very pleased to see your enthusiasm and love for this plant of yours"

"Now, I know the ideal thing would be to keep Violet with you - but given the circumstances -" namely the invaders "- you are more than welcome to house Violet here in Greenhouse One. You are then welcome to visit anytime, and take care of her as you please - and I am more than willing to do the same in case you can't come in to do so"

"Does that sound good to you?"

Quinn perked up at the Professor's kind words. No one had ever been happy to hear him talk about plants—it almost always turned into a one-sided conversation—so he was very pleased to hear that the Professor not only didn't mind, but liked that he loved plants as much as he did.

Quinn's smile only grew as she laid how how Violet would be taken care of. "That sounds absolutely lovely, Professor! Thank you very much."

Quinn still had another question or two to ask. "Uh, Professor, sorry if this is, uh, intrusive, but... are you related to Atlas and Aries? I was just wondering because of the last name." Was Flamsteed a common last name in the wizarding community? If it was, this could be a little embarrassing.

"Also, um..." Quinn looked over at Eden. He didn't want to be the only one talking this whole time, and Eden was the one who really wanted to look at the greenhouses, so he thought to let her ask.

Eden was just...there. She was enjoying just basking in the presence of the plants, the warmth of the tea, and the wholesome nature of the conversation Quinn and her professor were having. It was a welcome stress reliever from the previous night.

Aires and Atlas? She vaguely remembered hearing two Flamsteed's be called at the feast, but hadn't yet met either of them.

Annnd Quinn was looking at her now. Her peaceful silence had gone on for a respectable amount of time, so she supposed it was her turn to talk. She took a small sip of her tea, looking between the two plant-heads. "Oh, um...professor, we were wondering if we could see the flesh-eating plants sometime?"

Quinn sighed, thinking they had been over this. "Eden, I really would rather not look at the flesh-eating plants. The flesh-eating part is really putting me off of that idea." Quinn looked back at the Professor. "I was wondering if we could take a look around the greenhouses in general. Eden was wondering if she could look at the flesh-eating plants."

That question brought back all that June had been thinking before these kids had knocked on her door. So, along with a proud smile - there was a tinge of sadness as she nodded, before adding quite fondly, "yes, they are my nephews - I have a niece here too - their sister"

"Have you made friends with them? Oh you should" Yes, because that was not embarrassing at all - setting up your nephews with potential friends.

Speaking of, her head turned in Eden's direction before she chuckled, "I don't mind at all if you both looked around, but I am afraid if you want to go near flesh-eating plants - you would need my supervision."

Quinn nodded. He remembered Atlas talking about Andromeda being in Ravenclaw with him, but Quinn hadn't properly met her yet. He could tell that the Professor was worried about them. "Oh, I'm pretty good friends with Atlas. Aries seems nice, but I don't know him very well yet. I'll drag Eden along to meet them sometime." He smiled a bit. "I talked to Atlas this morning, actually. He's not doing amazing—I don't think anyone is, really—but, given the circumstances, I think he's doing alright." Quinn hoped this would help the Professor's worrying somehow.

Quinn let out a small sigh of relief. He wasn't super keen on going to see the plants that could kill him, but he probably wouldn't die if the Professor was there, right?

At some point after speaking with Quinn about flowers, Dahlia had decided to make the journey down to Professor Flamsteed's Garden Studio. She really wanted to speak with her about growing some of her own plants or flowers while she was here at Hogwarts. With everything going on... it would give her something to enjoy and look forward to watching grow.

Lia gently knocked on the greenhouse door, hoping the Professor was inside and she wouldn't be bothering her.

June positively BEAMED. Because this was good. Aries and Atlas needed friends. It was almost necessary when times were so ..... dire.

It was also why she shook her head and put her best assurance face before replying, "Thank you for letting me know this, Mr Kingsley. But I am sure things will be ... right soon" Lie. Yes. Good. "Don't you lot worry"

June was there alright. Only - she was a little occupied trying to hold a vine steady so she could clip off some of it's dead leaves. And the vine was making this task very very hard.

Half wrapped in a thick vine, the brunette was about to pull at a dead weed of sorts when the knock happened - and the vine quickly shifted out of her hands, "Oi!" she huffed, before looking at the door.

"Come in, Come in - I am here" she yelled quickly before once again trying to grab a hold of this rude little plant of hers.

Dahlia pushed open the greenhouse door when she heard the shouts for her to come inside. The first thing she did of course was try to locate her professor. It didn't take much to spot the older women though as she walked further inside.

"Pro-..." What in the name of Merlin was going on?! Lia blinked as she saw Flamsteed struggling with the plant, it's vines trying to grab at her. "I can help, Professor! Just tell me what to do."

She could try to hold onto the vines or whatever was needed.

"Ah, dear girl - yes, yes, come in" June quickly beckoned the first year, and then gestured at the playful vine in front of her.

"Why don't you try holding on to Nina over here from the OTHER side" she said sweetly while still looking at the wiggling plant in front of her. "And I'll try to get her from this side"

It was going to be a PERFECT trap. Yes.

Lia nodded her head quickly as she took in the plant that was wiggling about all over the place. If it hadn't been for the fact that the Professor was in need of help, she might have giggled at the sight.

"Nina? Is that her name?" she asked walking around to the other side as instructed. "Okay! I can definitely do that!" Bouncing lightly on her feet she watched the plant and where it's vines were going. "Oh, no, no... I've gotcha.." she wrapped her small arms around a vine or two as best she could, all the wiggling and squirming it was doing making her giggle.

"Professor, how do you know that Nina is a girl? And what type of plant is she exactly?" While she was good at identifying most plants there was just so many! Lia knew of many plants that had vines like Nina's but all she was seeing was vines! Nothing was coming to her that made sense.

A girl? This vine?

HMM.

"I don't know actually. She just feels like a Nina, you know" June commented while trying to make a grab at the vine from front too.

"OH. Atta girl!" she cheered the first year on - as she held on to the vine. "Now, HOLD STILL" the brunette cautioned and made a move to use the clippers.

"She - uh --" June tried explaining as she plucked away few dead leaves and pulled at a dead end, " -- is from the family of Wisteria, beautiful beautiful plant - I got her as a gift" SNIP SNIP.

"Steady - steady ---- ah, and we are done!" , June chimed triumphantly before offering the first year her hand for a high five, "Good work, Dahlia!"

Oh!

Well that actually made more sense than one might think. "I think so. I have a pygmy puff named Sir Frederik the Pink Pygmy Puff because when I got him he felt like a Sir Frederik to me."

Lia grinned up at the professor as best she could. Holding tightly onto the vine that was being trimmed. "She is really strong!" Lots of wiggling from the plant, at times enough to nearly knock her over. "Oh! Wisteria's are so pretty! I love how they just seem to take over and grow how they want." They had such lovely flowers too!

Once Flamsteed announced they were finished, Dahlia let Nina's vines go. "Yay! Thank you, Professor!" she beamed at her, clapping her small hand against June's for the high five. "Now Nina can continue growing and be strong and healthy."

"I was hoping I could speak with you for a moment about possibly growing my own plants during the school year... unless you have more plants to tend to right now. Which I'd be more than happy to help with."

Petting her vine with a smile, June grabbed a rag to wipe off her hands as Dahlia spoke.

"Oh of-course," she assured, definitely looking excited at the interest this first year was showing. "Maybe you can meet me this coming weekend and we can see what all you can grow? And what all you can help me with? I always encourage students to work in the greenhouses outside of class" It was always the hands on stuff you get to learn more from. Mhm.

There was many many things that this young Ravenclaw liked. One being plants and flowers. She had a fair bit of knowledge about most of them but she was no expert at all. The amount of plant related information was extreme and while she loved to read and learn about all different topics, she could only process so much at any given time.

Professor Flamsteed's next words bright a bright smile to her face. "I can do that. I'll bring my container of seeds along with me so you can see what I have." Brought a specially charmed container with little compartments that were all labeled and held seeds of various kinds from home. "Ummm... I can help with most things. Watering, trimming leaves, giving medicine or re-potting them too. What I don't know how to do I'm willing to learn." Very much a hands on learning type of girl.