Not Yet In Bloom

[Solomon Mordaunt]

Like most eleven year olds, Solomon Mordaunt enjoyed frequenting parks and exploring the outdoors, though unlike most of the other children his age, he didn't like to do so in order to run around and play games, or swing on planks of wood attached to a metal frame by pieces of frail rope, nor did he enjoy the sports that were commonly played. No, if Solomon Mordaunt was outside, he was busy foraging for specific plants at his step-mothers request. Herbs, flowers, weeds and ferns. Sometimes, more uncommonly, he'd be sent out for non-plant related items, such as the feathers of a native bird, or the tails of newts, all to take back to the woman's endlessly bubbling firecrab cauldron.

Adjusting the straps of his slightly worn sling bag, Mordaunt entered Tâkarokaro Park, tasked with setting out to find a fresh batch of crocus - small poisonous purple flowers which were relatively unpleasant when ingested. He wasn't familiar with the area, but Brightstone Village was populated by wizards. If he didn't find what he was after, he was still bound to come across a small variety of other magical flora he could take home. Removing a dirt-stained trowel from his pack, the boy found a patch of common, albeit useful herbs, and got to work digging them up to take with him.

 

[Merrill Piper]

Merrill watched the other children run around, and play while she sat quietly by herself on a swing. She figured most of the kids here had been friends for their whole lives, and Merrill was so jealous of them. Merrill thought she might have had friends at some point, before her parents had started moving them to a new country every week. In fact the only reason she was here at the moment was because her parents had to go gather some information, and they didn't want a bored 10 year old bothering them. Once they had found what they needed they would come scoop her up, and it would be a week of camping in some part of the forest. She wished Rhys was here. Before he had started school she at least had her older brother to keep her company. Thank-fully in a few short months he would be done school for the year, and she would be starting in September. Until then she just had to deiced which one she wanted to go to.

Merrill dragged her feet along the sand to slow down the swing until she stopped. While she was watching the other kids play she noticed a boy around her age who was also hanging out ny himself. She had watched him look around for something at the tree line until he had dropped down, and started digging through the dirt. Merrill's curiosity got the better of her, and she jumped off the swing, and wandered over to the boy. She walked up quietly, a skill she had been practicing for years, and watched over his shoulder as he dug up some local plants. Now Merrill was very curious. "What do you need those for?" she asked while tapping the boy on his shoulder.​

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[Solomon Mordaunt]

As a shadow fell across Solomon, he initially took it to simply be a cloud passing across the sun, and thought nothing more of it. After all, he was never usually bothered by anyone when he spent his time foraging. But as the shadow spoke, and tapped him on his shoulder, the boy gave yelp of surprise and turned around, clutching a heart-shaped leaf to his chest. "For potions." He muttered quietly, as if it was already so obvious what he had been digging in the dirt for. His own heart settled its pace, recovering from the initial shock, and he unclenched his fist to show her the plant. "It's kawakawa, you use it for healing salves." The leaf had a variety of properties and was both useful in magical and muggle communities, relieving pain and easing boils and bruises. It wasn't the most potent of herbs, but it was one of the easiest to find.

 

[Merrill Piper]

Merrill raised an eyebrow at the boys response. He was right it was a herb her parents often gathered for healing purposes, but why would he know that? If he was old enough to be at school, well he wouldn't be here right now. She supposed his parents could have taught him, but why would they send a kid to go dig it up in the park when they could just buy it? "If you're trying to make potions on your own it won't work you know. You need a wand." Merrill commented. Rhys, and her had learned that the hard way when they tried to brew a potion from their mothers book, and all they got was a foul mess of ingredients.​

 

[Solomon Mordaunt]

The young Mordaunt withdrew his hand as the girl responded, not at all fond of her particularly know it all attitude. A future Ravenclaw for sure. "Myeh myeh it won't work you need a wand." Solomon mocked her in an annoyingly high pitched voice. Who did she think she was? "I know that, I'm not dumb. I'm collecting them for my step-mother so she can show me how to use them. That way I'll be better at potions than everyone else before school starts." He continued, dropping the leaves he had dug up into one of the open slots of his bag. "She's the best witch at brewing potions I've ever seen, so I have to learn to be as good as her." Sol didn't think she understood how important it was to him, probably because her parents weren't as good at magic as his were, he thought. He knew how versatile potions were, and he wanted to make all of them, maybe he could even brew his own, original concoctions.

 

[Merrill Piper]

Merrill scrunched up her nose when the boy began to make fun of her. She was just trying to help him! She had been super disappointed when she couldn't brew a potion. Merrill put her arms on her hips in an attempt to look more sturdy. "I was just trying to help! You don't have to be so rude!" Merrill shouted back. Her face had turned a bright red. She hated confrontation, and had always had a hard time keeping her emotions in check. "You aren't going to become the best potions brewer ever just by watching someone. If that's the case then I'll be the best because I've watched my mom forever!" She added after the fact. Her mother was constantly brewing healing potions, and wolfsbane, and that was a really hard one to make.​

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[Solomon Mordaunt]

Solomon folded his arms across his chest in response to the girl's own body language, scoffing when she insulted him. She wasn't doing a very good job at helping, she appeared to be more fond of criticising him. He didn't know why she was getting so angry about what he'd said, but it was a shame he wasn't out hunting around for some tomatoes instead, because at this point she was starting to resemble one. "I didn't say that! But it'll help me when I go to school because I'll already know what to do, obviously". Ugh, she was so annoying. "The only thing your mum probably knows how to make is stew. It takes talent to brew a potion." The boy continued, then turned his back on her to try find more herbs to dig up with his trowel. "If you wanted to help, you can start digging up some plants, otherwise you should go away." If she was going to hang around, she could at least do something useful.

 

[Merrill Piper]

Merrill mumbled under her breath about how his mother only knew how to make stew. What did he know anyways? Her mom, and dad saved people. Without them lots of people would either be dead, or werewolves. Merrill crossed her arms when he told her to help out. As if she would help him after he was so rude. She stood there for a second trying to think of something to say back, but then she realized that this boy was the first person her own age she had talked to in weeks. Merrill sighed, and then sat down beside him in the dirt. She dug her fingers into the dirt, and pulled the plant up from the roots. "There's Kūmarahou around here too. It's good for pain soothing potions." Merrill said quietly. "I'm Merrill by the way." she added. She figured if they were going to hang out they might as well know each others names.​

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[Solomon Mordaunt]

Solomon's eyes shifted to Merrill as she sat down beside him, but he didn't turn his head to face her, pretending to be too distracted by the trowel he was digging with. He could see her shoveling into the dirt with her nails, and the brief thought of offering her one of his other gardening tools crossed his mind, but he shook it away. She hadn't been nice enough, so far, but the very action of helping him boosted his opinion of her. When she began to tell him about another medicinal plant, he wanted to tell her he already knew that, but thought better of it. He didn't know exactly where it was, just that it grew on the North Island. Perhaps she'd show him. "I'm Solomon." He responded to her, uprooting another leafy plant and showering his shoes in soil. He shook it free of the rest of its remaining dirt, before pocketing it inside his bag with the others. "Are you going to go to school here, next year?" He glanced up at her, then towards the towering castle in the distance. The wait to be sorted and start practicing his own magic was almost at an end.

 

[Merrill Piper]

Merrill dug another one of the plants out of the earth enjoying the satisfying sound as the roots ripped out of the ground. She brushed the dirt off, and added it to the growing pile next to her. "I think so. My brother wants me to go to school with him, he goes to Ilvermorny, but I like New Zealand." Merrill told Solomon. She had been reading up on the wizarding schools of the world trying to decide the best one to go to. Hogwarts Scotland seemed like it would be too cold, and she didn't know the native languages required to attend the other schools. Plus she liked the idea of houses. It was like being in a club. Merrill looked over at the beautiful white castle that loomed over the village. She wondered how they kept it so clean. It would need to be one powerful janitor. "Are you? What house do you want to be in?" Merrill asked. She figured she might find out more about him by what house he valued.​

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[Solomon Mordaunt]

The Mordaunt boy nodded along as Merrill told him that she liked New Zealand, unsure if she had come from here or America, where her brother was attending. "I wanted to go to Castelobruxo. They have an advanced Herbology curriculum and the school is protected by Caipora." He informed her, dusting his hands of soil. The academy was quite out of the way, and while it had its share of pros and cons, they had settled on the more conveniently located Hogwarts. After all, it had its share of students who were exceptionally skilled. At least three of their professors were animagi, too. "I'll be going too, so we will be in the same year. I had a look at the houses, but I don't think I like any of them. I'm smart though, so I bet I'll be in Ravenclaw or something." He hadn't given it much thought. The Sorting Hat would do the thinking for him. "What about you? What do you think you'll be in?"

 

[Merrill Piper]

Merrill nodded when he talked about Castelbruxo. She had looked it up in a list of schools, but never really payed it any mind. "What's a Caipora?" Merrill asked. She had never come across the term during her reading. Of course you would be hard pressed to find a book her parents thought was important enough to carry around that wasn't about werewolves. Merrill thought for a second when Solomon asked what house she thought she would be in. She wasn't particularly ambitious or cunning so Slytherin was out, and she had never been much for studying so that dropped Ravenclaw. "I guess Gryffindor or Hufflepuff." Merrill responded with a shrug. It seemed to her that your house didn't really matter. It just determined who you shared a bedroom with, and who you cheered for in Quidditch. You could spend your whole time at school with friends from completely different houses. "It'll be nice to know at least one person before sorting." Merrill added. She had been dreading getting to school, and learning that everyone already had friends, and didn't need any more.​