Gardening was Quinn's thing. There was no way he would miss out on a school-sanctioned gardening activity. He happily skipped up to the greenhouses, blue bracelet dangling on his wrist. "Hello, Headmaster, Professor Kazmi." He shot Emmerson a condescending look. "Too late," he said as he skipped past, "We're already here."

Quinn's smile returned as he made his way over to Ash, Claudine and Evan. "Hello!" he said, bouncing on the balls of. his feet. It had been a while since he'd done any gardening, so he was maybe a bit too eager for it. He shuddered a bit at Evan's jest. "Ugh, I hope not. I've had enough of calming draught. I just want regular, pretty, non-harmful flowers."

While she'd done plenty of exploring the grounds since she moved in, mostly to check for any creatures who might think her diricawls a nice snack, Mia hadn't been inside the greenhouses yet. But now that the board had arrived with these new plants, she didn't mind a bit of a new adventure. She nodded politely to the board members and other staff in the greenhouse, and smiled at the students who'd already arrived. Some of them seemed to be very interested in the plants. That was good.

"Afternoon," she said to every one and no one. "Y'all couldn't have picked a nicer day to get this project started." She adjusted her sleeves slightly, then slipped her hands into her pockets, checking that her gardening gloves were still there.



All they had to do was say the magic word, help, and Margaret wasn't about to miss the chance to do something productive with her afternoon. Not that flying or homework wasn't productive, but, well, she couldn't spend all her time flying, and homework was boring. Big smile on her face as she got to the greenhouse, her smile faltered a little as she saw Evan, Quinn, and Claudine were standing by Ashley. "Good afternoon, professors," she said politely, thinking about where she should go.

Ash still didn't want to be friends, she was pretty sure, so that meant she couldn't stand by Evan. He'd probably try to make her and Ash be friends again.

So, instead she took a stand over by Emmerson. "Hi," she said softly, feeling a little lost. Maybe once they got started she'd feel less awkward. Or maybe some of her other friends would show up. She shot Evan an apologetic look, she wasn't avoiding him, just Ashley.

Rosalie didn't mind a bit of gardening - plants certainly had a way of brightening up a place - but greenhouses were not quite her favorite place to spend her time. Still, she wasn't going to miss this. They wouldn't have to remain in the greenhouses for long after all, if the goal was to add them throughout the Hogwarts grounds.

She smiled as she joined her colleagues, the board, and the students that had arrived so far. "Good afternoon, everyone." And this was one of those times where it was both a greeting and also true. It really was a nice day out here. Perfect weather really.




This would certainly be interesting. They'd done some "beautification" work last term with "Healer" Poppy, but that had mostly been focused indoors and for other not-so-good reasons. But Ivy still thought the idea was a good one - y'know, just without the calming draught candles.

And there didn't seem to be any of those here, AND it was focused more outside, so maybe this would be better. The flowers that she could spot already looked really pretty, so this might not be too bad.

Although...she did miss the bread just a little bit. But it was likely for the best that there was none, since they'd probably be getting dirty and what-not trying to plant things anyway.

"Hi, professors," she said, smiling at them, and also giving a polite nod to the board members who were there. She didn't really know them, but she could be polite.

There seemed to be a couple groups of students gathering already, or at least one group and then Emmerson and Mamie, so Ivy decided to join them. "This'll be fun hopefully."

Lisa had seen the note on the Ravenclaw notice board and she simply just had to head down here to investigate the “beautification” work that the notice had mentioned. As long as there is no bread or candles involved in the beautification than she was in. “Hello Headmaster! Hi Professors! Hi,” she waved to the adults, readjusting her bouncing as she had almost ran into Professor Holden. “Sorry!!” OOPS! She then nodded to his suggestion and then turned to her fellow students.

Oof.

There were TWO groups already forming… WHO TO STAND NEXT TO?!?

She found it SAD to see Ash and Mamie still weren’t friends or standing next to each other. “Hi!” she greeted both groups before skipping past her brother and saying, “Hiiiii I need to talk to you after this. Privately. Mhmm.” And then she she joined Ivy, Mamie, and Emmerson to help balance out the groups. “Hi Pan!” Oh. If ONLY Evan was STANDING HERE…. NEXT TO IVY. SHE LET OUT A LOUD SIGH. Then her and Stewie’s plan could get started. Should she mention the dance idea now or later??? Hmmm???

She opted for later. “I do appreciate the lack of gluten goods here…” she proclaimed with a happy smile. Oh joyous day indeed.

”Hello!” greeted Simon as he joined the growing crowd in the Greenhouses. He nodded to his boss, peers, and students before standing next to Rosalie.

”Do slow down, Miss Nam,” he said. He didn’t want her to trip and fall onto some of the plants. Plus it wasn’t appropriate behaviour to run around like that. They were in a Greenhouse after all. He cast his eyes around the group and noted the two forming groups before trying to stay positive about this beautification project here at the greenhouse.

Simon wasn’t the biggest fan of Herbology or plants. While he enjoyed the wonders they could offer to the world like oxygen, sustenance, potions ingredients, helpful products, etcetera…. He didn’t enjoy getting his hands dirty, have a green thumb, or find gardening mentally stimulating. He preferred crossword puzzles and logic puzzles. However, perhaps this event today would be more like a puzzle to solve.

Do it for June, he told himself

He turned to Rosalie. “How’s the family?” he asked her, figuring they could talk a little while they waited for more to come.

Truth be told, Atlas was probably the last person you would want to have on your team for any gardening project. It was never on purpose, he was not cruel and had it out for all flora, but his version of a green thumb was more of a gangrene. In Herbology, unless someone was literally holding his hand through the process, he tended to rip stems and leaves which then left just a clump of roots with dirt falling off it it. Then there was the time he packed the soil in too tight and ... well ... let's just say that his marks in class fluctuated a fair bit.

But...he was here...ready to show some school spirit or at least give off the illusion that he was.

But if he was going to survive this and not demolish flowers, he was going to need Quinn...so he made a beeline over that way after greeting the headmaster and Flying professor with small hurried waves. "...help me not make an idiot of myself?" he whispered to his friend with a small nudge. He offered very small, and fleeting, smiles to the other students Quinn had stood by (Claudine, Evan, and Ashley) and then looked back at the flowers... suspicious. "Suppose this is the Board's attempt at redemption..." Since they had force the presence of Healer Poppy upon them and all the bread and then NEW candles.

New candles and now...new flowers...all meant to create a new ambiance at Hogwarts. Was anyone else on edge about this? Atlas sure was.

”You’re very careful with your plants.” She smiled. It was a weird thought because why would anyone ever think this, but it came to Ollie’s mind and she couldn’t really help it. She couldn’t help but think about the fact that Dahlia would make a really good mom. As soon as it came to her mind, she had a shiver go through her body. Why would she think that? That is so weird! But she would… that’s if she wanted children. Ollie wasn’t sure she did, so maybe Dahila didn’t either. But she wouldn’t bring it up because that was super weird and she might make her friend not want to hang out with her anymore. Maybe she would ask about her family. That wouldn’t be weird would it? “Don’t you have siblings? I think you mentioned a brother once or twice.” She hoped she was remembering the details correctly. She definitely could have mixed up who said they have a sibling and who didn’t.

She grabbed one of the small containers. Carefully, she scooped her hand into the side of the container making sure to not rip any roots. She cupped the plant in her hand, pulling it out and tossing the empty container to the side. Then she set the plant into the hole Lia had just dug out. “There ya go.” She said mainly to the plant but to Dahlia as well.

V hadn't really waaaaaanted to come, but after thinking over it for a bit, she was quite nosy about the board members. What was a board of a school, anyway? She'd had to write home and ask her dad or ask one of the professors. Why were they important? Being on a board sounded suuuuuuuuper important. Plus, all the cool older kids would probably be there. The headmaster's son, that broody fellow in her own house with Kinsay's older sister. AND EMMERSON.

AND OH LOOK ASH WAS THERE. She remembered Ash saying that the two didn't get along, so she just waved at Emmerson, then Ash, and beamed at both. All was well, right? SHE didn't find anything that wrong with either one of them, soooo....

She took a spot next to Ash. "Um. Ash. What's a board?"

Oh good, he wouldn't have to walk the castle bribing anyone to show up. This was fine, this was doable and the crowd was growing bigger by the second. He suspected they would be able to get most of it covered before the afternoon was out.

The Headmaster raised an eyebrow at Cambridge's suggestion, wondering how many points he would ultimately have to take from his house for their lack of chivalry and conduct this year. In the end, he let Kazmi respond, finding it a better response than he might've given before adding. "There will be plenty of opportunity to earn points through hard work and school service, Cambridge. Lions don't need a rigged cup."

Malachi found himself agreeing with his staff as they arrived. It WAS a good day to go beautifying the school, wasn't it? Likely wouldn't have another so nice, not for at least another few days. Best to make the most of it.

He greeted the students as they arrived, sparing only the occasional glance back at the board members, just checking they saw he did still have students with an adequate amount of school spirit....or some free time on their hands and nothing better to do. The reason wasn't so important as the outcome.

"Thanks for coming, everyone. I'd like us to make good use of this weather so let's get started. The Board of Governors have generously donated these plants to Hogwarts and have taken some time to help us see them planted. To cover more ground, we'll be splitting into teams. Please, do handle the plants with care, we'd like to see little gardens by summer."

Something to work towards. "I will be taking a set down to the pathways for any who will be coming with me, just grab the flowering pots here, if you're confident enough, levitate as many as you can. Fewer trips." A good opportunity to get in some spellwork...at the risk of accidents. He trusted only those who knew what they were doing would.


WHY was it ALWAYS Kazmi???? Always always always. He just wouldn't let her live, he wouldn't let her be great, he only wanted her unhappy and miserable and reminded of the horrid subject he taught and she wasn't even talking to him. UUUGggghhhhHHh.

Emmerson gave the man a nod, only just enough to be respectful because her head of house and Headmaster was standing right there--not that Kazmi couldn't make her life miserable on his own. He was getting better and better at that. She mumbled her understanding to Trent, not at all interested in hard work--did she look like a Hufflepuff?--before going to stand a bit away.

Didn't take too long before she got some company, first Mamie then Ivy then Lisa the good egg. Claudine got a "hey" in return, as did Evan before he kept it moving. In all this, she didn't see Quinn. Never did. Irrelevant as the Ravenclaw was, big as her problems were, Emmerson didn't have the interest to remember any of THAT group existed. She had a fulfilling and often hectic life. Bigger than petty squabbles from children.

"I dunno how fun planting can be," Herbology wasn't exactly her strong suit. "but it'll be nice to get in some fresh air." OH, there was Victoria. Emm waved at her little friend. Did she care she was standing with Ashley? Again, Emmerson didn't have the time. Too many bigger fish to fry. "Who are we going with?" She asked her little group, hoping Kizzy would catch up before they were gone. "We're NOT going with Kazmi."

Yes, they were here to help, here to make the school the shining beacon it once was. They were also here to observe, evidenced by the notebooks some held poised and ready. They had done this some time before, an audit of the school and with the events of the recent terms, it seemed as good a time as any to take stock of what was truly going on.

"It's not the board that needs redemption." The Chairman corrected the audacious Gryffindor. He spared a glance at Malachi, wondering if he really wouldn't do anything about it.

"And if we did, it wouldn't be an attempt." Capable and competent, that's what they were. The staff here? That was still to be seen.

The board exchanged glances at the mention of splitting up. They too would divide to make observations easier.

Ash nodded at Claudine. “Pretty.” But she wouldn’t be letting the flowers anywhere near her dorm, because she didn’t trust the board. She lowered her voice so that only Evan, Quinn, and Claudine could hear. “Honestly, they could totally have calming draughts in them or worse.” After all, the board hired Healer Poppy, and they were apparently not competent enough to stop Rosier from taking over the school. She didn’t really ‘trust’ or ‘respect’ them. As she looked up to see who else was in her group, she noticed Mamie standing by Cambridge. Of course. It all made perfect sense. Her ex-best friend had chosen Cambridge over her a long time ago. Ash didn’t know why it still hurt. She caught Mamie’s eye, then blinked and looked away. She ended up looking straight at Atlas, who didn’t like her. Eh. He was better than Mamie. Anything was better than Mamie. She nodded at him, mouthing the words I agree. The board DID need to redeem themselves. Whether they believed that or not. They had quite the high opinion of themselves, considering that everything they had done was either stupid or malicious. ”A board is like a commitee. They pretend to be helpful.” That quiet comment was whispered in the ear of V. She tried very hard to avoid drawing the boards attention, lest they replace Trent(who she hated) with another Rosier type(which would obviously be worse). Where should they go? Preferably not with Cambridge. DEFINITELY not with the chairman. She didn’t know how quiet she could keep her feelings on the board, so it was best to avoid them completely.

Yes, Eden was here. Late, but here. Her presence was out of suspicion, however, and NOT a desire to play with dirt. This had been a calm year so far, and her bet was on this ~board of governors~ being the ones to disrupt the peace.

Then again, maybe not. Maybe Hogwarts did need governing. But these people weren't impressing her. They reminded her of they very-unaffectionately named 'clipboarders' of her past.

She walked over to where a group of people she knew were clustered - obviously she'd be picking the group with Ash and Quinn and the crazy little ones she liked. Cambridge was still being ignored for self care.

She stayed quiet, for now.

Despite the fact his words had been meant as a joke, he still found himself actually eying the flowers suspiciously. Perhaps more beautification WAS another attempting at manipulating the students, though realistically he supposed they were just trying to create changes around the castle - and getting the students involved was a way for them to 'reclaim' the sense of safety and belonging they'd once had. Or maybe really they just all wanted something to look at. As Quinn approached and offered greetings, Evan turned his head to smile at his housemate and give a nod in greeting. Quinn was not someone he knew a lot about, but they certainly seemed nice. "Hi Quinn, how are you?" He certainly didn't disagree on normal flowers. But... "Can anything really be regular here?" Another attempt at a jest, but he opted to keep the darker 'or non-harmful' to himself.

Evan could see from the corner of his eye more people entering, and his head turned more so when he noticed Mamie among them and he gave a small wave in hello. He could see her look, almost apologetic in nature but... he didn't think she had anything to be sorry to him about. And while he certainly would have loved to see her and Ash friendly again, he wasn't so sure his getting involved was a good idea after his attempt at conversation with Ash on it. There was just too much he didn't understand and he certainly didn't want to do more harm than good. He made mental note however to find Mamie later and catch up with her.

Attention turning back towards the flowers, and attempting to establish if there were any he recognized, Ev didn't pay much more attention to any of the others entering unless he happened to hear greetings, which always received at least a polite hello. But then the loud energetic voice of his sister caught his attention, and Evan looked her direction. "Hi Li-" she was already moving on though, and his greeting trailed off because he caught her words. Needed to talk to him? Privately? Was she INJURED? Worried eyes followed her, as she had moved on too fast for him to even question. But considering she had said privately, he didn't think it was appropriate to go after her and question with Emmerson, Mamie and Ivy right there. So instead he just stared. The worry still quite prominent as he was squinting to assess whether or not there were any visible injuries that he could see.

So far, nothing to note.

With a soft sigh, he turned his attention back to his closer peers, noticing a Flamsteed had now joined the group as well. He was pretty sure Atlas was the one on friendly terms with Quinn, so he would hazard a guess that that was who was currently present. "Hi Atlas." He was going to comment that he was probably right on that count - this being an attempt at retribution, when a Board member piped up there was no need for that. But were they.... serious? They sent them Poppy who had seemed highly unqualified to help with trauma when she actually just managed to mask it until making it WORSE? She almost ruined the one thing they'd all had to look forward to all term while they were dealing with their demons. Was the Board not even willing to admit they'd made a mistake?

And the way they said it... it was so ominous sounding and Evan's eyes shot questioningly towards Trent to see his reaction. Were they insinuating it was Trent and the Professors? Sure, they hadn't been perfect. But he would much prefer the known Headmaster to someone new. It was hard enough adjusting to the new Professors, but for them to then replace Trent as well?? And right after they'd already shown they were terrible at checking resumes? Hard pass. Which he supposed meant they'd all have to be on their best behavior, make Trent and the others look good.

So when the Headmaster got the task underway, Evan followed without hesitation - choosing to use his wand to levitate three of the plants (he didn't want to risk more on the off chance he messed up) and readied himself to follow after the Headmaster. He was not really the pack sort, and had no ill will towards anyone who had thus far shown up so he didn't feel the need to coordinate with anyone specifically on where they were planning to go.

Violet was not much of a gardener, but the healers had told her she should try getting more fresh air and exercise to clear up her remaining mental fogginess, and since this 'not mandatory but highly suggested' activity had come up, she felt she might as well kill two birds with one stone. Her preference would have been to head directly into Greenhouse Two, where the potion-making plants were, but when she arrived, it seemed like everyone else was gathered in the first greenhouse, so she edged in at the back of the crowd, just in time to hear Headmaster Trent announcing the beginning of the event.

Violet looked at the small group of governors, highly unimpressed--this was, after all, the brilliant people who had practically forced Healer Poppy, the source of all her current problems, on the school and now it appeared they were not acknowledging their mistake or taking the least responsibility for it. Typical bureaucrats.

Violet was not a big fan of Malachi Trent--it was hard to get the image of that face melting into Lucien Rosier's during that Start of Term Feast a few years ago--but... Violet looked over at Professor Kazmi. Yes, he was nice enough, but...the last time she'd gone in his group to do an activity, she'd wound up in an overheated corridor almost in a trance.

She looked back at Trent--sure, he was a hard man to please, but he seemed to know what he was doing and not likely to put up with any nonsense. And she couldn't bear this crowd a minute longer. So when Trent took off down a path, Violet levitated a half-dozen plants, grabbed another in her hands, and hurried off after him with the levitated plants floating before her.

Quinn beamed at Evan—they hadn't talked much before, so he was delightfully surprised by the greeting. And that Evan remembered who he was, honestly. "Hi Evan! Pretty good.... excited to plant flowers!" He bounced with excitement, then chuckled a bit at the joke. "Well, I guess by my old standards, Hogwarts could never be normal, but by magical standards... I would like to just have one year without an evil plot of some sort, thank-you-very-much."

Quinn smiled as Atlas came up beside him—the only way this could get better would be if Eden came. Then it would be him and his two best friends all planting flowers together! But he knew Eden wasn't much of a plant person—but, to be fair, neither was Atlas. Quinn tugged lightly on his sleeve and winked at him. "I've got your back." Then Quinn hummed in agreement. "Hmph. After the whole Poppy fiasco—"

But then a board member cut in and was rather rude and snarky for someone who sent a crazy lady to be their new school nurse last term. Quinn did a double take at what the comment implied—the board was investigating the school? For what, more weirdos with horrible intentions that they probably sent here themselves?

But then Eden was there! He gave her a small smile even though his brows were still a bit furrowed from worry. He reached for her hand and gave it a squeeze. He kept his hand clasped in Eden's and slipped his arm around Atlas's, dragging them over to the flower pots. "What's with those governor people? Didn't they, like, send crazy nurse lady from last term here? And now they're inspecting the school??" he whispered so no one else but them could hear as he busied himself gathering flower pots. "Something seems off about that, don't you think?"

For a moment, when she saw a crowd of sorts gathering at the greenhouses, June thought she had forgotten she had a lesson -- had she really been that distracted lately? But then she checked the calendar and OH.

Today was the day! They were going to be planting new plants and all things lovely! Closing up what she had been doing, she locked her office door before moving in the direction of Greenhouse One. Fortunately she arrived just in time for Trent's little speech. Smiling, she moved to stand somewhere near Kamran -- before noticing the board of governors standing there too. They were really interested in being a part of this, weren't they? Merlin help them.

"I think I'll take some with me and head down to the lake if anyone wants to join me" she announced - moving to levitate a few pots herself.

Spotting Kazmi, Claudine gave him a smile. At least there would be professors that she trusted milling about. “Good afternoon, professors’’ She didn’t know Applewood and Paszek that well but at least the latter woman had allowed Claudine to continue caring for the Hogwarts creatures so that was a good start. “Oh hi, Evan.” The Slytherin knew exactly what the Ravenclaw was talking about. “Given all the weird things that have happened at Hogwarts, I wouldn’t be surprised if something like that’s in store for us.” She threw another suspicious look at the Board members. “Hi, Quinn. Love the bracelet, by the way.” Did Quinn know that he wore some very pretty bracelets? Claudine always admired them. Mamie got a smile, as did Atlas with whom Claudine unknowingly shared uneasiness with.

Okay, so they were going to be splitting up. The seventh year decided that she’d head off with Trent, Evan, Violet and the others. “Catch you lot later, if you’re going with another professor.” She directed her wand to the flowerpots, muttered an incantation which led a fair amount of said pots to be levitated.

To the pathways then.

Sheesh. SHEEEEEEEEEEESH.

Atlas could have jumped right out of his skin the way the chairman seemed to swoop in out of no where...and know what THAT reminded him of? The Hoods™. It took a couple of seconds, but the third year did manage to shake the series of icy chills that went shooting up and down his spine. Even if his skin remained all goosebumpy from the tone of contempt directed at him. His first impression of the Board was as stinky as a fresh pile of mooncalf dung.

Evan only received a small shrug of the shoulders in greeting, which was not the Ravenclaw's fault and just the tension of the moment getting to the Gryffindor. He was feeling a little fragile at the moment ... and now with these judgmental aristocrat sorts looming over everything with their shady notebooks...he was concerned about his poor performance reflecting badly on Auntie June Professor Flamsteed when it really was a matter of him being an idiot. Ashley staring at him, or whatever it was she was doing, mostly went unnoticed. He was just going to pretend she was finally admiring his square jawline. It WAS an impressive product of puberty, after all.

Atlas wanted to correct Quinn about not using the word crazy so liberally, even if Healer Poppy had been rather eccentric, and maybe imply that the woman was severely misinformed in her methodology, but it felt like an inappropriate time to do that. Or really say much of anything. So he simply shrugged his shoulders again. And as much as he was still MAD at her, Atlas felt like the only security blanket he had was Auntie June Professor Flamsteed. "...I dunno but...let's go down to the lake...okay?"

It was much more of a plea than a request.

And NO. He did not sleep with a blanket, security or not. Thank you very much.

He hadn't planned to address Flamsteed, not in so much as he may have reminded him there was a time and a place to air opinions. Before any of that could be considered, the chairman asserted his presence.

Not wanting to turn it into a whole scene, Trent simply turned and headed for the pathways as he'd said he would, seeing some students were already following.

There was work to do.

Kins was here!! She just... lost track of time because sometimes moping around did that to a person. Things with Matty were still terrible and it was taking all of her brainspace these days... Which is why she was kind of looking forward to the beautification project. Maybe it'd help take her mind off of all the awful things.

So, of course, when she walked over to the big crowd, she made a beeline for Emm (and Mamie, Ivy, and Lisa). She offered a small smile to each of them, before reaching for Emm's hand. "What about Professor Flamsteed?" Because Emm didn't want to go with Kazmi and Kiz did NOT want to go with the Headmaster. So Professor Flamsteed seemed like the best choice and Kizzy liked her, which also helped.

Also? These governor people were making Kiz feel kind of uneasy.

"I care deeply about all of my plants.. I work very hard to help them flourish and bloom to their full beauty." Sometimes it was a whole lot of work but getting to see the finished product was always amazing. Whether is was watching a tiny seed grow into a gorgeous flower or help revive a withering plant to its full glory. Lia couldn't help but smile whenever she talked about her plants but she did appear a little confused when asked suddenly about her siblings. Not that she minded at all, in fact she loved speaking about them as well. "Mhmm, several. I have sisters as well. I'm the youngest." Only by a few short minutes since she happened to be one in a set of triplets.

Lia watched how carefully Ollie removed the plant from the container and set it down into the waiting soil. "Looks like I'm not the only one that cares about the well-being of the plants. Thank you," she beamed at her friend. Leaning forward she gently soothed some of the soil over the plant that Ollie had just set into the hole she had made. "That looks great!"

Eden let Quinn hold her hand, even though she did not like it very much. She gave herself a mental pat on the back for being such a thoughtful friend. Take that, Atlas.

Anyway, Quinn did not disappoint in his assessment. "Very shady. I agree," she whispered back, grabbing exactly one flower pot. She wasn't trying to win any awards for helpfulness here. "They're pretentious old pot-stirrers, I can already tell."

She nodded at Quinn's favorite Flamsteed to be polite. "Hey, Flamsteed." How the heck it was third year and they still hadn't interacted much was mind boggling - but then again, Eden had been told she was difficult to approach.

Her jaw clenched when Flamsteed suggested they (yep, package deal now, sorry, joint custody of one Quinn Kingsley and all that) go with his aunt. Not out of dislike for the professor, of course, but because it looked like Kinsay James was heading her way, too.

"Maybe we should go with the Headmaster," she whispered to both of them. "If anything is going to happen, it'll probably be in his group." Really, that wasn't something she could possibly know - but she didn't want to spend the day dirty AND looking at the Worst Gryffindors.

But...she knew she probably would, because Quinn loved Professor Flamsteed and Atlas had already voiced his desires. And the argument that the drama would happen in Trent's group was likely exactly the wrong one to make. So she'd probably be outvoted. Maybe that was okay - the governors weren't the only ones she needed to gather intrigue on. Mhm.

It was true. Kamran had it out for Cambridge, was here to thwart her in every quest for happiness. Really just the worst, but at least he was self-aware, and didn't seem to think he just wanted her to thrive at school like all the others. Imagine.

As students and staff passed on their way in, Kamran nodded at each in greeting, addressing those who also addressed him directly by name - managing to remember one quick glance bracelet-wards to ensure he had the right of it today; it was becoming more of an ingrained habit now - and general hellos and good afternoons for everyone else. Turnout was good, better than Kamran had expected, and better yet, nobody who seemed likely to royally stir up the others. Always a plus, especially with the board here; he'd allow himself a little guilt for thinking it later, when all was done and dusted.

Definitely no guilt yet, if the rest of the Board were likely to be just as on the touchy side as the Chairman. If he didn't think it would ruffle far too many feathers, Kamran would have pointed out these kids had a lot of cause for doubt. But a lot of them were still learning about the wisdom of choosing words carefully and picking their battles, and this was one of those times it was better to lead by example. Hypocrisy did have its place, just not today.

"I'll join you at the lake," Kamran said to June, having heard her speak up from nearby, and acknowledging her now with a nod. Maybe he'd thwarted the plans of James and Cambridge in the process - unknowingly, this time - but what's a killjoy to do? Kamran levitated a bunch of newly donated plants as well, and paused to see which of the students seemed likely to stick with him and June. The Board members caught his eye once more; no doubt they'd follow as well. "Let's get moving."

June positively beamed at Kamran - it was a first for the term, but the activity called for it. "Sounds like a plan," she said, before levitating a bunch of the pots to move behind her.

"Alright, lets go, kids" she called out, before walking in the direction of the lake.

Well. Mia wasn’t quite sure what to make of the apparent distrust between some of these kids and the board members, but there was also nothing she could do about it, so she opted not to make anything of it at all. Instead, she surveyed the potted plants waiting to be rehomed around the grounds. And waited for the greenhouse to clear out a bit with the departure of the first two planting groups, so she could see what was left.

“All right, let's plant the rest of these over by the domes,” she announced, gathering several pots and levitating the lot ahead of her. “Anybody who wants to help, grab some plants, let’s get to it!”

-----

Margaret felt moderately better about this whole situation when Ivy joined her. And Lisa. And Kinsay. And all the professors, too, they seemed to know what was going on with these…these were the people who’d sent Healer Poppy? They didn’t look like the sort to send someone like that, but maybe they’d just made a mistake. People made mistakes sometimes. Even her.

As people started to disperse to plant the plants, Mamie looked around. She…she was going with Kazmi, with or without Kinsay and Emmerson. She glanced sheepishly at Emmerson, giving a little shrug of apology. “I’m going with Mr. Kazmi,” she said, going up to grab two plants before hurrying off after Professors Flamsteed and Kazmi.

For the record, Norman still thought this little beautification project was unnecessary. Why couldn’t they have done something more useful, like expanding the library or adding new features to the common rooms or new desks in the classrooms or pretty much anything else? But his opinions didn’t matter. He was here to show solidarity with his colleagues and the students. He had to admit, they had a beautiful day for this! If nothing else, it was an excuse to get out of the castle and get some fresh air.

He’d greeted the Board members, students, and other professors with a polite “good afternoon” upon his arrival. Then he stood at the back, both so as not to tower over students and staff alike and so as to have the best vantage point to observe everything going on. While he never called himself a trusting man, his experiences with Rosier and his goons, then Poppy had left him even more suspicious of outsiders than ever. Aquamarine eyes landed on the Board chairman. The implications behind that comment to Flamsteed were not lost on him, but he chose not to react. He’d learned long ago that the way to handle power-hungry people was to let them think they were in charge and give them enough rope to trip themselves up, so to speak.

Only when he heard Malachi say they were dividing into groups did Norman’s gaze shift. As he watched the crowd disperse, he made a mental note of who was going where and which groups might need an extra man. Mia’s group appeared to have the least amount of people, so that’s where he was headed. “You heard Professor Paszek. To the domes!” He addressed the students, aiming his cypress wand to levitate some potted plants. “Hurry up, get where you’re going!” And with that, he turned on his heel and headed toward the domes.


Heath had a weird feeling about this! Did everybody forget what happened the last time they had a “beautification” project? Because he didn’t. Somebody please tell him that no one would be possessed by a ghost this time! Come to think of it, where did the plants come from exactly? He got that they were donated, but where did the Board of Governors acquire them? And why were they here anyway? He stood with his friends, pondering those questions until Headmaster Trent’s voice jerked him out of his thoughts.

Okay, so they were splitting up, but which group should he go with? His dark eyes darted about the area as he considered the options. Definitely not Paszek and Carton’s group! He didn’t know Professor Paszek well enough to get an accurate feel for her personality yet, and Carton always struck him as a bit… cold. That left Flamsteed and Kazmi or Trent’s groups. This was going to be a tough call, as he liked all of those professors. It was only when he heard the girlfriend say she was going with Trent that he made up his mind, If this did turn weird - and this was Hogwarts! Weirdness was a regular occurrence - he couldn’t leave her to face it alone. “I’m coming too,” he said, following close behind her.