Helle What? ((Sandy))

[August Reid R7]

"Well, that's not quite right," August said to himself. August checked the picture of the plant he was looking for against the plant that he was staring at. Although the piece of parchment that he was holding was not much help at all. It was a drawing of the plant that he was searching for but the drawing looked as if it were two hundred years old and not lasted through the times. Of course Snape would give them something like this. A picture that was so crude that none of his students would be able to decipher its meaning. It's as if he intentionally wanted them to fail. Why was he having them search for the stuff anyway? Didn't his cabinet have every ingredient known to man? Maybe, just maybe, he wanted the students to find the stuff in the unprocessed form so the students could one day identify it. More likely he wanted to torture the students.

On this fine sunny September day, August was searching for Hellebore. At least that is what he thought the scratched out word said on the piece of parchment. August had no idea what a plant named 'hellebore' could be used for but he was sure it wasn't pleasant. Anything with the name like 'hellebore' could only make unpleasant potions. "Maybe this one," August said to no one in particular. He knelt down and gazed hard at a this hopeful specimen. It looked almost right. Except for one minor detail. This plant was in bloom. A beautiful pink flower. Snape had told them that hellebore only blooms in winter. "What kind of plant only blooms in winter?!" he yelled in frustration. He pushed himself up and brushed the dirt off his pants. He was wearing jeans. Even though they were muggle design he found them rather comfortable. Plus, it was a Sunday and he was outside. He doubted the professors would really care that he was out of dress code.

August arched his back and sighed. Bending down to look at miscellaneous plants was taking its toll on his lower back. "Why couldn't Professor Sprout label all of you before she left?" he asked the plants of the garden. Hopefully the new professor would already know what they are, a small voice in his head answered back. The garden was huge and August had only covered a small corner although he felt like he had been out here for hours. He wondered to himself why they were not other fifth years out here searching for the plant and he imagined that many of them would try to sneak into Hogsmeade to get some or they would ask some seven years to buy them some. Seventh years could go to Hogsmeade more freely than the other students who were underage. He wiped his forehead with the back of his arm and walked toward the shade of Greenhouse Four. Five minutes rest, that's all I need, he thought to himself. He sat down with his back against the greenhouse. "Hellebore. Hella bored is more like it..."

[Sandy Hart R4]

It was odd to see a girl Sandy's age skipping through a garden. It wasn't odd for Sandy at all. She normally skipped down the halls of the castle in her own little make believe world. Blond hair danced around her head as she hummed lightly. Just like many of her fellow classmates, she held a yellow, crumpled piece of parchment in her hand. It was a scavenger hunt! It was a scavenger hunt for the unknown plant that was illustrated so well on her piece of paper. "Hellebore! Oh, hellebore! Come out, Come out wherever you are!" She held her hand up over her eyes, shielding them from the sun. It almost seemed as if the young girl expected the plant to stand up straight, raise its hand, and present itself to her like a soldier would to his queen. Wouldn't that be lovely though? Sandy could have her own little army of plant warriors! She could picture in her mind hundreds, no, thousands of tiny plant warriors protecting her from some unknown force! The wind blew her blond hair forward. It also made the blades of grass stand straight up. "Attention!" The grass stood up as if reacting to her command. She giggled playfully. In her mind, she could see the plant men scurrying around her feet to confront the enemy army that was amassing behind her. They skewered the enemy in a bloody battle that was taking place in her own head.

Now, Sandy did know that she didn't have her own plant army, but it was always fun to pretend. Real life was such a bore, and it had been especially boring today. Snape's unending lecture nearly put the poor Ravenclaw to sleep. She hated Potions! Hated it! Hated it! Hated it! Didn't they understand she had no desire to sit through that horrible class? It was torture for her to go into the dungeon classroom each day to stand over her simmering cauldron. It was tedious just like this task. Tedium was the bane of her existence. The plant army all bowed their heads to the wind, agreeing with their queen. She smiled at her guard. See, they understood her.

Sandy seemed to flow across the ground as she continued to look for the elusive plant. It didn't take her long to find a large patch of it near one of the greenhouses. A boy lay upon the ground surrounded by what could of been a living, green blanket to her. He seemed to be floating off to sleep to Sandy. He wasn't wearing the normal Hogwarts robes, but neither was she. Black footless tights expanded out from under a pink skirt. She then wore a shocking blue blouse that clashed horribly with the pink that she wore. Sandy had forgotten her shoes. That was okay though. She loved feeling the grass between her toes. She only hoped that Professor Sprout hadn't planted anything that would giver her a rash or some sort of skin disease. "August!" She knew the boy since he was in her house. She greeted everyone with this type of excitement. "My favorite summer month! Are you looking for the hellebore, too? It is a vicious plant I've heard. I believe it would make a wonderful general."

[August Reid R7]

The sun felt nice on his skin and it was pleasant here in the shade of the greenhouse. August barely noticed that he had gone from a sitting position to laying down. The ground felt so good beneath him. Almost like this particular patch of grass was planted just for him. I'll just rest here, thought August. Just for a few minutes. The soft breeze ruffled his brown hair. This wasn't so bad. If only all his Potion classes could be outside on a warm day like this. The sun shining, a nice breeze blowing. What could be better than this? Maybe another person to share the day with. August's mind drifted to people that he would love to be out here with. The first person that came to mind was obviously Belle. The last Sydwes meeting was before the summer holiday and therefore they had not spent a lot of time together since. He wished she was outside with him today but she told him she had other obligations that needed her attention. August sighed and nodded his understanding as they parted ways. Sometimes he wished that she was in the same year as he was.

The next person August thought of was Dylan. The mysterious Slytherin who made his way into August's conscious thought more than he wanted to admit. August wasn't exactly sure where they stood in their relationship. Were they friends? Acquaintances? Or nothing? August often thought of their encounter in the courtyard that one winter evening. Why had he been so shy? He often replayed the night in his mind and wished that it had a different outcome. He wished that he had told Dylan that August found him physically attractive. Then another part of his mind would kick in and tell him that he did not find other males physically attractive. Only girls were physically attractive. An argument ensued in his mind leaving him in doubt and shame.

August was so out of it that he barely even noticed that a girl around his age came skipping along toward him. It felt like it had been so long since he had last seen a living soul (Narrator's note: In actuality it had only been twenty minutes since August had left the Great Hall and wondered out to the Grounds, don't let him fool you, he's just being over-dramatic for attention). August sat up and let his eyes focus on the approaching girl. It was Sandy Hart. A friendly girl that was in Belle's year. "August! My favorite summer month!" she said with much excitement. August smiled softly at the joke. He had heard it before but he found that it was easier to smile than to become offended. "Hello Sandy," August returned the greeting. "I am looking for the elusive hellebore," he told her. He saw the piece of parchment in her hand and concluded that she must be searching for the same thing. Her next comment made August raise his eyebrow in question. "General?"

[Sandy Hart R4]

“Yes, the generals, August. The hellebore would make a wonderful addition to my army of plants. Can’t you see them all around you? They won’t attack you unless on my orders. So, don’t worry. You are safe.” She smiled serenely at the older boy as if what she had just said was perfectly normal. “Doesn’t hellebore seem quite intimidating? General Hellebore? I think it sounds quite frightening. Think of it. If you were standing over there,” she pointed to the other side of the greenhouses,” in opposition to my little plant army, wouldn’t it be horrifying hearing all of my subordinates referring to their commanding officer as General Hellebore?” She stared at August totally meaning everything she said. He didn’t believe her. She could already tell. No one understood her. She hung her head in sudden shame. Why didn’t they understand that these things in her head where just as real as anything else in this world? The wide eyed look of wonder disappeared from her eyes, and her voice even changed. Sandy didn’t sound as happy or jubilant. “I think you are laying on the hellebore.” Her voice had dropped an octave, and a hint of anger had crept into it.

Sandy bent down to inspect what seemed to be a wild growing plant. She held the piece of paper next to it. “See? Look at that. It resembles the thistles on the leaves and the splay of berries.” She pointed out both to August. “Do you know a good way to collect the specimens? I honestly don’t remember how the Professor said to do it.” She looked at August hopefully. She extracted a leather roll that was tied with another piece of leather out of the messenger bag that she carried. She undid the strip and rolled it out on the ground. Small silver tools gleamed in the now setting sun. “I think I’ve got everything we need here.” She picked up the cutting shears. She held them up to the light and eyed them almost adoringly. You could really hurt someone with these, thought Sandy morbidly. She was having another wild mood swing. It tired Sandy awfully when this happened. She sometimes wondered if she suffered from one of those awful muggle mind disease they always talked about on the television. What did they call it? ADD? ADHD? Bipolar Disorder? She was pretty sure depression and extreme fantasism wasn’t a symptom of any of those sicknesses. Well, maybe the latter.

Maybe she was broken. A perfectly broken doll. She could she see her reflection in the metal. Cracks began to appear at the top of her skull. They ran down her face breaking her porcelain skin. Her glassy blue eyes stared back at her. Yes, she was breaking just like a doll.

She touched her face; half expecting her one of her fingers to delve into one of the open craters. She turned and looked up at August who was hovering above her. He seemed just as intrigued by her visage as she was. She wondered if he could see her cracked reflection. “August, do you ever wonder why they send us on these little treks? I do so love a scavenger hunt, but this one seemed a little harder than most. Do you think we need gloves? I seemed to have forgotten mine.” Would the gloves even matter at this point? She was already standing barefoot in the patch of hellebore. The girl didn’t seem to mind. “I really didn’t think the coursework would become so much harder after third year. Many of the upper classman warned me, but I didn’t take it for what it was worth.”

[August Reid R7]

August raised his eyebrows. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Generals? Armies? He looked around and tried to imagine an army of flowers and plants but he could not see it. August didn't know Sandy that well. They were in different years after all so he wasn't exactly sure if this type of behavior was normal. August's mother was mad and the words coming out of Sandy's mouth sounded painfully familiar. His vision followed where she pointed almost hoping to see this imaginary army of weeds. But there was none. He looked back to the young Ravenclaw. "Sandy, I..." he started. He looked into her fragile eyes and could tell that he was hurting her. Not on purpose! This was really strange and August had no idea how to respond. Her head suddenly dropped in shame and August tried his best to save the situation. "Sandy, listen I..."

He was interrupted by her telling him that he was on the hellebore. That's probably why he was so uncomfortable. He rolled over and stood up. Sandy's tone had changed into sadness. Or at least August thought it was sadness. Her tone was deeper. She just asked him a question. What did she ask? His mind was reeling. "uh... I think he said that we just need the leaves. It obviously isn't in bloom so it would be impossible to collect the flower," he intended a joke to try and lighten the mood but she didn't seem to be in a laughing mood. What happened? One moment she was cheerful as a six year old and then this. How can a person's mood change so drastically and so swiftly? Maybe she was faking the good mood. Maybe she had been in the bad mood all along and she was just being sarcastic when she was talking about the plant army. Maybe?

She seemed to have the tools ready to excavate the plant. Sandy suddenly touched her face and looked up into his eyes. He didn't know what to do so he just stared back. "Obviously later in life we will be able to go to market to get hellebore, but I think for now they want us to now where it comes from. It's like History of Magic, no one really cares about the dates or names, but it is important to know the thoughts and feelings behind movements. Plus, I think Professor Snape gets pleasure from his students playing in the dirt," he said with a soft smile. He looked in his knapsack and brought out some dragon hide gloves. "Here use these." It was only then that he noticed she was barefoot. "Sandy, where are your shoes?" he asked her. Was she all right? Her behavior was unfortunately reminding him of his mother's. "Yeah, fourth year is tough. It only gets harder though."