There's a new garden out on the Hogwarts grounds, lying off the path from the Greenhouses to the Groundskeeper's Hut. Like many magical things, it seems smaller on the outside than it is on the inside. It's surrounded by yew hedges which stretch all around the boundaries, opening into one arch-like opening in the center of one wall.

Once inside, winding paths will take you through many different habitats containing both local and cultivated plants, each growing in its season. There's the Meadow, with grasses, flowers, and the pollinator garden, which at the right times of the year is filled with butterflies, hummingbirds, and bees. The Woodland area has all sorts of raised wooden walkways and platforms which let you reach right up into the shady tree canopies. A boardwalk maze made of split logs threads throughout the Mars, which is filled with its own mysterious plants growing on the shoreline and in the murky water. And then there are the water gardens, with fountains, waterfalls, and several convenient benches in case you get tired.

Among the many small gardens dotted here and there is the Culinary Garden, which is filled with various edible and medicinal plants, each with its own little plaque describing what it is and what it's used for. Don't be afraid to take a sample of something that strikes your fancy--there's nothing dangerous growing here. And then there's the Sensory Garden, with sections of plants designed to tickle your five senses--sight, sound, touch, smell, and taste. Go ahead and take a sniff, touch a petal, or break off a leaf to taste--that's what this garden is for.

Some grassy, shady areas here and there along the boundary line are just perfect for a rest, a picnic, or to sit and catch up on your reading. Feel free to enjoy this fascinating space in whatever way you wish! (without breaking any school rules, of course).

The Hogwarts castle was massive. To Mia's credit, she had warned him - but there was nothing that could have prepared her younger brother for the giant that was his new home for the next seven years. Even still, Alfie was starting to finding it suffocating (it had been exactly one day). Alf had spent the first night getting throughly aquatinted with the underside of his covers - there were way too many people hanging out in the common room - so the natural best place to get to know was the grounds.

Immediately upon stepping outside he felt lighter. In fact, each step he took only made it easier to breath.

So he allowed himself to get lost for a good while, just exploring.

That was, until he found a garden that no one had told him about - which was borderline insanity as his dad had practically given him the verbal blueprint of Hogwarts and its surroundings. Excited and eager, Alfie scuttled inside its bounds and began an enthusiastic exploration of everything it held within. He found himself in the meadow first, admiring a butterfly before it landed right on his nose.

"Oh, hi," he whispered to it.

Butterflies were much easier than people. They never demanded too much of you.

If she thought the Great Hall had been magnificent, the castle didn’t compare. It was enormous with so many halls and rooms, and those staircases! They moooved. Sure, her uncle and cousins had told her about the moving staircases, but…she had not believed them and that was her fault, honestly.

Anyway, she didn’t like them. What she did like was the prospect of visiting the greenhouses. Apparently it housed a lot of plants, both magical and normal ones.

As it was, Yulietta had gotten lost. When she had been ready to give up and go ask Feebee if she’d help her, she somehow ended up here. In a secret garden of sorts! She could have sworn her heart leapt out of her chest and planted itself here amongst all the greenery. There was so much to explore and she wanted to do all of it, but she reasoned she had nine months to do so. Besides, she wanted to take all of it in.

She had been exploring the area with edible plants when she found a hummingbird. Or did it find her? Whichever it was, it fluttered around playfully, inviting her to follow it. Doing just that she didn’t even realize she had reached the meadow when she spotted a familiar face. With a butterfly resting on it.

That was adorable. She wanted to say something but held back for fear the butterfly would startle. That and she needed a moment to gather the words she wanted to say. Even if Alfie was already great at charades and *tambien.

*Also.

The butterfly and the Alfie. One enjoying its new perch, the other attempting his greatest stint of stillness. It was a strange sight to behold. Stranger yet was how the butterfly looked from up close. Alfie tried not to stare too hard (he didn't want to be impolite), but it was a magnificent thing, this butterfly. Even if he was hurting his eyes by trying to look down the length of his nose.

Fortunately, the little insect didn't scare when the other first year found herself in the garden. It was surprisingly-- Oh no. Alfie could feel a sneeze coming up. He willed himself to tamp down the urge and it worked the first time.

Well. Until, "AH-CHOOO!"

Thankfully he had to foresight to sneeze into his elbow, but it did mean the butterfly was no longer sat on his face. Whiiiich, he was disappointed about. They were having such a good time.

Embarrassed, little Alfie tugged on the sleeves of his robes as he turned to explore another section of the garden. It was only then when he noticed Yulietta (from the bookstore this summer) and smiled. "Hola!" he waved enthusiastically, though still from a distance.

Yulietta dodged the butterfly as it flew into her direction after Alfie sneezed. She may love gardening and all plant things, but she didn’t do insects. Yes, those two came hand in hand, but she just couldn’t do it. There was something about their tiny creepy crawly legs. The pincers. She shuddered at the thought as she straightened up.

His greeting was received with a bashful smile. She hoped he didn’t see her little moment.

“Salud,” she said after his sneeze. Bless you. She waved and inched closer. “How is…are…you?” Tutoring coming in clutch. Or so she thought. She was well aware she wasn’t going to grasp the language from one night to another, but she was working hard on it.

Alfie had seen, but he quickly diverted his attention to give her a private moment as she looked to be embarrassed about it. There wasn't anything to be embarrassed about though, not that Alfie thought. Things spooked him all the time. It was just part of life.

Salud. He repeated the word to himself silently, committing it to memory. Salud was what you said after a sneeze. He was slowly building up a strange collection of words. He was patient as she inched closer and even stepped over a bit too, to meet her half way. "I'm good," he answered with a smile and thumbs up. "I..." He thought for a moment, trying to think of what he wanted to say next and how he would add motions to go with his words.

"I-I like this garden," is what he came up with, putting his thumb up again before then flattening his hand, palm up and gesturing openly to the space around them. And then, he quietly followed up with, "How are you?"

Yulietta still felt that little gnawing feeling that her communication skills were an inconvenience. Alfie never expressed that, of course, but she couldn't help feeling it. It was something that had been deeply rooted in her. Maybe one day she'd stop feeling that way.

Reading his hand signs, she nodded in agreement. "I...good." She then glanced around, a little smile dancing on her lips. "This...new my favori...teh." She remembers how favorite is spelled but the silent letters always got her. English was not easy, okay.

This place was her new favorite place, though. Yulietta could already imagine herself spending a lot of time in this place. It was perfect for doing homework, reading, picnics, napping--the list was endless!

"More fa-vo-ree-teh..." she said, pointing into the direction of edible plants, the place she enjoyed most. Then she lifted a green leaf and chewed on it. A mint leaf.

The youngest Adair tugged on his sleeves so that they swallowed up his hands. He liked that his Hufflepuff jumper was just a bit too big, despite his dad's insistence that he sized down. In the end, his mum managed to do all the convincing, and here Alfie was, much more comfortable because of it. Thanks, mum!

Seeing her smile, he matched it with one of his own. His excitement ready to burst out of him, though he stayed calm and quiet. It was rumbling within. That's how Alfie's excitement manifested at the confusion of his sister who had quite the opposite way about her, all of her emotions were so LOUD. Though they were quiet, his were there too. "It's, um, it's mine tahm-beein," he replied, somewhat sheepish to be using the word he had learned from her over the summer. The one that he had figured meant "too". "I think," he added softly as an after thought. He hadn't explored it yet, not in full, but from what he had seen, it was one of his new favorites too.

He turned to look where she pointed, eyes brightening ever-so-slightly. Little Alfie Adair, the flower child, couldn't be more delighted to be surrounded by leafy plants. "I haven't gone there yet," he explained, pointing to himself, then shaking his head, followed by some walking in place and another point towards the edible plant section.

He wanted to ask if she wanted to go there with him, but he stopped himself short of doing so, feeling embarrassed.

The word ‘garden’ itself was usually more than enough to get Drake to enter a vicinity. Perhaps that was also one of the reasons that he also should have been a Hufflepuff really considering he heard rumor they actually HAD a garden in their common room. Listen, he LOVED the Slytherin windows to under the lake but a garden!? The only thing that was enough to make him not regret his begging request of the Sorting Hat was the fact that Aryan was his dorm mate.


So instead he’d just to get his garden fixes elsewhere. Which is exactly what brought Drake down onto the grounds and into the Discovery Garden. It’s true it didn’t have nearly the same splendor now in winter as it would in the spring and summer months, but there was still plenty of plant life that did thrive in the colder climate and those were what he was set to enjoy today.

Making his way to the culinary garden, Drake plucked a leaf of mint of an plopped it into his mouth - chewing a little as he made his way through other plants, more sprigs collected here and there to taste later, until he found a large tree (that would NOT try to attack him) and settled underneath it.

Was there anything more relaxing?

Unlike Alfie’s comfy looking clothes, Yulietta’s were made just for her frame. Everything tailored to her every inch. Don’t get her wrong, her clothes were top of the line and comfortable, made to fit right, but…that was sort of the problem. Sometimes the fabric touched too much. She couldn’t explain it, really. She would rather wear oversized sweaters and comfy pants, but she was much too shy and too grateful to voice that out to her aunt. Her aunt whom went all out for her wardrobe. Imagine complaining because something fit so right? That'd be ungrateful of her.

Tugging at her own sleeves, trying to stretch them out, she gave up when they receded back to where her palm and wrist met.

It made her silly happy hearing him use the words she’s said. It made her feel seen in a strange way. “I…tink,” she repeated, nodding in understanding. “Way…wa…why?” Yes. That’s the word! “Why tink?” She was biased when it came to plants, so even without exploring more of what the castle had to offer, she was certain this would be her all time favorite. But she was curious about Alfie.

Even more so when he started with charades. Head tilting, she took in his movements.

Himself?

Shakes his head. No?

Walking?

The edible plants?

”No…like?” she asked, pointing at the area. Then looked at the other mint leaves in her hand and sloooowly hid them behind her back. Why? She didn’t know. She just thought that if he didn’t like the edible plants and she had some in her hand, he might not like her.

Thank you, anxiety. Much appreciated.

Even the most adventurous, hyperactive, loud second year such as herself needed some downtime every once and again. Typically her quiet time took the form of ninja warrior training but not today. This girl needed a little bit of flowery goodness. The sweet scent of grass, flowers and plants. She wanted to watch the hummingbirds flit about as quickly as she did at times.

Bouncing along one of the trails, a picnic basket filled with goodies held in her hand and Back perched up on her shoulder, Bry paused to glance around at where she was. At some point she must have gotten turned around somewhere and ended up in the culinary garden. There was nothing at all wrong with where she currently was at.. it was just not where she had planned to end up.

Perhaps it was time for a small snack though?

Why... Why think? "I-" The question made him pause with uncertainty. "I-" Again he pulled at his sleeves, making the limp arms of his jumper look rather comical. "I don't know," he admitted finally, feeling embarrassed for his lack of answer. "I haven't seen everything yet." He felt lost, not knowing how to mime this and upset with himself for not being able to mime it.

Which made what happened next his worst nightmare. "No, I-" Um. "I do like," his panic palpable as he moved his hands around. "I mean, not no," he swallowed hard, feeling overwhelmed by his own actions.

Dear Merlin.

"I..." Not knowing how to make this any better, he slipped his backpack strap off his shoulder and began rummaging through his bag, which really didn't take long as his backpack only contained one item: a plain notebook, stuffed with contents.

He opened it flat, and held it out as a last ditch effort to explain himself. On the page, there were a few pressed petals, labeled with a date, species, and location. His flower journal. Well, plant journal. There were more than just flowers in here. It was something his gran had gifted him, the very first pages used for observations he made in her greenhouse. He liked it here very much. And he was sure he'd like it over there, in that other section too. See?

The vibes had greatly morphed into something else. She suddenly felt insecurity creep up, her hand clutching tightly to the mint leaves behind her back. Alfie also looked like he wasn't faring too well. She strained her ears to pay close attention to the words coming out of him mouth, and even though she could hear him, understanding him was something else.

She understood I don't know because that was a phrase she repeated a lot, but the rest...He liked...but...

Not...no...

No, no?

Watching him curiously as he took something out of his bag, Yulietta remained firmly planted in her spot. It wasn't until he opened a notebook that for a second her insecurities drifted away. She softly gasped, eyes shining as she approached him. She carefully turned a page and grinned. "Amas a las plantas," she grinned at him. Why else would someone have a notebook like this? So carefully detailed. "You...you love the plants."

He’d been really content underneath the willow Drake had found himself to perch beneath, but he worked his way through his leaves far too quickly and within minutes he was ready to chew on some more. The mint was his favorite - the burst of freshness it presented. But the basil was tasty and everything too. Standing up, he skipped his way back to the culinary garden, grabbing leaves here and there as he did so, before he caught sight of the familiar head of blond hair.

But without their favorite brunette??

Drake paused wondering if he should greet her or not before determining yes, he should. With a wide smile which perhaps was not as natural as his usual, he approached. “Hi Bryony! What are you doing out here?” The alone was implied but not asked.

Standing right where she was for what was perhaps only a few short minutes, did a couple of things for her. Firstly, it allowed her the time to regain her bearings enough to know where she was, mostly. It had also done something else, she had been found by one of her housemates. One of the very few that she wasn't about to go running up to or hugging like she would with most others. Sigh. Well at least he wasn't with Ary without her.

"Hey Drake!" She chirped happily, wiggling her fingers at him in greeting. Yep, she could be all cheery too. That was her thing, after all. "Having a picnic with Bacon.. what about you?" Oh, she knew exactly what he meant by that. Why was she out here all alone and without Ary... well, little did he know she did do things without him. Plus it wasn't her fault that he was busy... SIGH.

The difference in how Bryony treated him versus their other housemates was not something that was lost on Drake. Even outside of Aryan, considering it seemed she and Etta also got on as thick as thieves. But it wasn’t something he could feel particularly hurt or confused by, considering… well, wasn’t he guilty of the same thing? With anyone else from their house, he wouldn’t have even asked himself the question of if he should greet them or not. So no, he could not fault her that the hello was not as enthusiastic as with any of the others.

Besides, it’s not like she was THAT different, he supposed. “Oh! That’s fun! Do you ever feel weird eating bacon when it’s also your pets’ name? I wouldn’t think so, but I wondered.” It was as random of a question as most of his were, but asked nonetheless. Also, it at least gave him SOMETHING to say.’

Alfie was so sure that he ruined everything. He felt so embarrassed, out-held arms wobbling as he held his notebook out before him. He wanted so desperately to fix this. Violetta was his first Hogwarts friendship and he- he didn't know what to do to save the situation.

So he held his breath as she approached his book, eyes full of worry as she reached out to turn the page. He'd never be able to forgive himself if he hurt her feelings, accident or not. Hurting feelings was the very last thing Alfie Adair ever wanted to do. It's why he usually kept quiet and observed. You couldn't hurt feelings if you didn't involve yourself. But. But.

But she was smiling now? And ..... he hadn't ruined everything (yet)?

Unable to help himself, Alfie met her grin with a terribly shy one of his own, wanting to hide behind his hands, but resisting the urge (mostly because he was still using them to hold his book). "I amas ..... plantas," he tried the words for himself. "Si, yes," he was nodding a lot.
....

"You, taaam-bee-ein, amas?" he asked in return, hopeful.

She was trying. Honest. There had been a time during their first year where she may have considered trying to turn away and act like she hadn't seen him. That wasn't something she did now. While still awkward at times, Drake and herself talked, not the way she did with others but.. it was something. Certainly much better than it had been in the very beginning. They had a few things in common so that was always helpful and they were in the same house after all.

"Mhmm, you can join us if you like." Lookit her trying to be friendly! Ary would be so proud! "There's a blanket in the basket we can sit on when we find the perfect spot to eat." This hadn't been the spot she intended to have her picnic but it would do if he wanted to stay here. Bryony laughed at the question, shaking her head spending blonde hair all up into her face. "Nope, I got him when I was really little so I don't think I was much thinking about that sort of thing. Bacon was my favorite food and he was all my own so I wanted his name to mean something to me." Only having been around four years older or so at the time, it had made a whole lot of sense to her back then. Perhaps if her were a piglet, now that would have made things a little weird." She giggled.

Yulietta briefly wondered if Alfie was cold. He was trembling. She almost reached out a rubbed his arms the way her grandmother would on a cold rainy day, but she didn't know how he felt about physical contact.

Tucking her hair behind her ear and smiling, she nodded. "Yes," she blushed faintly. "I really really love the plants." She wanted to tell him that her favorite were herbs and that their properties fascinated her, and now with new magical ones she was excited to explore them all. Alas, she didn't have the words and settled for asking something else.

"Are you...uhm..." How do you say? She wrapped her arms around herself and pretended to shiver. "Frío...freeze...cold? Cold!" Yes, that was it. Take two! "Are you...cold?"

Desiree could hardly believe that her final year at Hogwarts was almost over! Her NEWT exams were just around the corner, and she needed all the study time she could get. Bored with studying in the library and the Hufflepuff common room, she made her way outside instead. It was such a beautiful day, it seemed a shame to spend it cooped up indoors!

As she wandered the grounds, she eventually found herself in the discovery garden. What better place to study Herbology? She took a seat on a bench near the culinary garden, looking at the plants to see how many she could identify without using her textbook. There was lavender, useful in calming potions and sleeping draughts. And peppermint… used in the Elixir to Induce Euphoria. Elsewhere she saw thyme, of which a tincture was used in Felix Felicis, and valerian, used in forgetfulness potions. What else? She opened her textbook to help her identify more plants.