Open Always nice to see you

[Amortentia Layton]

This year was Ten's final year at school. She was a prefect, one of her closest friends was Head boy. Her girlfriend was a prefect. Her father in law, the Head of House. She led two clubs. The redhead was realising that if there was any time she was going to do exactly what she wanted, this year was it. Her time at Hogwarts had been somewhat of a rollercoaster. From trying to find her footing during the first two years, to spending her third at Scotland, it had been a rough beginning. By her fourth year she'd been trying to force her way back into what she thought people wanted her to be, only to realise by fifth year it was always better to be herself. Sixth year she'd grown into the person she wanted to be for her own sake, and now she'd come to terms with the fact that even if she no longer legally went by King, it was always going to be part of her personality.

Plants had always played a large part of the Gryffindors life, and she liked to think that she had found the perfect balance between exploring her own passions and beliefs while still finding a way to honour her mum and her family's potioneer backgrounds. She'd taken a legacy and made it her own. What more could she want? When Ten considered what she could do if she could do anything, it honestly just came down to having fun. She'd spent so many hours in the Herbology greenhouse, something she'd always have Professor Carter to thank for. It had given her the chance to carve out a path for herself in more ways than one.

She was just about finished sticking the last of the googly eyes to the plants in the Greenhouse before any students or staff were due to come in, and regardless of whether or not anyone figured out it was her that had added them, Ten had just done it to amuse herself. Besides, it wasn't like she was harming anyone. She turned to peer down the length of the glass house, smirking as it looked now as though hundreds of eyes were peering back at her.

 

[Professor Landon Carter]

Landon woke up early that morning so he could tend to his plants. With all the lesson planning, he had unfortunately been slacking a little, and he felt a little bad for his little friends. He firstly watered the ones in his lounge and the common room before making his way out to his office. He had to trim some dead areas off his Abyssinian Shrivelfig, which took a little extra time, until he was finally able to make his way over to the greenhouse to check on the second year's mandrakes.

As Landon entered the greenhouse however, Ten was already there, and he beamed at her. "Hello Ten!" he exclaimed, before his eyes glanced over at one of the bubotubers who seemed to be staring back at him. "Wait, wha...?" Landon's eyes then moved on to the other plants in the greenhouse, all of which had googly eyes. Who had broken into the greenhouse and done this? It seemed like such a silly thing to do. After a moment, the man chuckled, wondering who on earth would have the time to be able to do that. "This is definitely the most humorous thing I've ever walked in on! Do you know who could have done this?" He wondered if Ten had let someone enter the greenhouse earlier, as surely Ten didn't have the time to place every googly eye so perfectly on each plant.

 

[Amortentia Layton]

Ten's eyes lit up when her favourite professor came into the greenhouse. He was one of the few things the redhead was going to miss when she graduated, although she hoped he wouldn't mind if he sent him the occasional gift by owl. Hopefully it wouldn't be too messy. "Oh these?" Ten raised her eyebrows, glancing around the room with an expression of innocence, "I have no idea," she approached the blonde, the evidence still in her hands. He did hope Professor Carter didn't mind, because if there was anyone she was nervous of upsetting it was probably him most of all, although the way he'd entered the room made her convinced he didn't have an issue with it. She didn't try to hide her project though, instead she took another one of the googly eyes on the tip of her finger, before pressing it to the professors forehead. "Professor, now you're a seer," she whispered, the biggest grin now on her face as she admired her handiwork.

 

[Professor Landon Carter]

Landon's eyes travelled to Ten's hands which were holding the googly eyes. It was then that he realised it was actually her. At least that meant that no one broke in to do it. "Don't you have better things to be doing? Like watering the plants or pruning them, or maybe some homework to do?" Landon was aware that tending to the plants took some time, and he didn't want to take her away from her studies. However, by the looks of it, she wasn't doing much study at all. As she placed a googly eye on his forehead and proceeded to call him a seer, he immediately took it off and tried his best not to laugh too hard at how ridiculous she was being. He simply chuckled and returned the googly eye back to her hands. "Is everything okay, Ten?" he asked a little more seriously this time. He wondered if there was something she was distracting herself from, or if she'd simply had too much pumpkin juice that morning.

 

[Amortentia Layton]

Amortentia sighed, although she didn't think it was obvious enough for the professor to catch it. In her eyes, this was the better thing to be doing. "Professor.." she watched as he removed the googly eye, handing it back to her (and giving her more ammunition to stick it somewhere else) and considered her answer for a moment as he asked if she was okay. "I'm good, actually." It was true, and perhaps more true than it had been in a while. There had been times that Ten had been on the verge of tears, in this very spot speaking to this very man, which was probably while she held a soft spot for him, although she hoped he would be proud of how much she'd grown since then, like the very plants around them.

"I thought about what you said before," the words he'd told her years ago had stuck with her. "About that girl you knew, who ran a plant stand?" Ten lent an arm on the side of the plant trays, "I started working at the Apothecary, and I think you were right." Perhaps Ten wouldn't ever have her own stall or business, but she didn't need it to feel like she was succeeding either. "Once I graduate I'll keep working there because it means the things I'm growing are being used for something useful, and besides if I'm the one growing them and preparing them for the potions, I know they're being treated right too," she knew Landon shared her desire to make sure that the plants had a fruitful life for a long as possible, even if not everyone could understand it. "I just mean, I think I'm looking forward to graduating because it feels like I've found what I'm supposed to do, so, thank you," she shifted, trying not to be too awkward but hoping the professor knew how much he'd help her over the years, "besides, if you ever want to go shopping there you should ask for me, since you'll want someone who knows what they're doing," she tried to hide the smirk that appeared on her lips. It wasn't an effort to diminish her colleagues, only that she hoped the professor would come by every now and then, and that after Hogwarts she'd still get to keep in touch.

 

[Professor Landon Carter]

Landon smiled as Ten told him that she was good, and it seemed as though she genuinely meant it. He listened as she spoke. The man was extremely touched that his words from so long ago had stuck with her. "Oh, that's a wonderful place to work!" he exclaimed as she mentioned she was working at the Apothecary. He was sure that she was fitting in there perfectly, and he couldn't wait to see her working next time he visited. As she thanked him, Landon blushed slightly, and then shrugged. "I didn't do anything. It was you who put your foot forward and worked for what you wanted. I merely encouraged what you were already doing." He smiled reassuringly, not wanting to take credit for something he didn't do. Ten needed to know that she was great, with or without him.