Herbology, Class 2-A (yrs 1-4)

[Minerva McGonagall]

Professor McGonagall looked over the lessonplan that Andromeda had left when she'd advised she was taking a short leave of absense from the school. She would have felt more sorry for the young woman, but she personally thought that the girl should grow a little back bone and stop behaving like a child. If she loved the young Tonks so much she should do something about it, not wallow in her sorrow. As for Mr. Tonks, she didn't believe one word of that Daily Prophet article.

She remembered when both of them had attended school, being in her fifties had some advantages... she remembered Ted Tonks when he was still a student. And she had no doubt that he was trying to do something noble. He was a fool and Andromeda Black was just as much a fool. A shame they weren't students she could do something about it, especially if it was affecting Andromeda's work.

After going over the lesson plan for today for the younger students she began getting some empty pots ready for the class assignment and filling them with all but the plants as she waited for the students to arrive. She already had other plants she'd need for the class ready. The sun was out today and she hoped the class would go smoothly, however unlike many of the younger professors Professor McGonagall wasn't about to let the class get out of hand, but she'd let them talk until class began.

She also hoped that all the students would be on time today, she was well known for taking away house points for tardiness.

[Sirius Black]

Sirius was unusually anxious to get to Herbology class that afternoon. He hadn't seen Andi since the ceremony, and despite the reports he had from Molly and even Narcissa, he needed to see how she was doing for himself.

He practically ran out to the greenhouses, leaving James, Peter, and Remus in the dust. But when he entered the classroom, he stopped short. Professor McGonagall was standing at the front of the room, and Andi was no where to be seen.

"Professor McGonagall!" he blurted out. "Where's And--I mean, Professor Black?"

[Minerva McGonagall]

Minerva turned to look at the young gryffindor. She already had a minor soft spot for the boy but she'd never let on. And she suspected more than she let on too. The two were cousins and apparently fairly close for him to slip like that, she wanted to put him at ease but really there wasn't much she could say to make things better for him where his older cousin was concerned.

"Mr Black, I'm afraid Professor Black had to take a leave of absense for personal reasons. I'm substituting for her today." She softened just a bit since no one else was around. "There is a Hogsmede weekend tomorrow you know. I expect you'll have a signed permission slip so you and maybe your cousin Alice will be able to go together?" She would never outright suggest interfearence but she would hint at it and hope the boy caught on. He was clever enough, if his pranks were any indication to figure out what he should do. Maybe if Alice and Sirius could talk to Andromeda, they could help get her to come to her senses and grow a little backbone. If anyone could do it, she had a feeling it might be those two.

[Sirius Black]

Sirius sighed. It had been a week, and he had really thought that Andi would be back to her old self again by now. This was really getting serious. Professor McGonagall was right... he and Alice needed to go and talk to Andi, to help her snap out of this. They'd talked to Ted, an obviously it had done no good at all. Now it was time to talk to Andi.

He gave the professor a slight smile, letting her know that he had figured out the hidden meaning behind her suggestion. "Thanks, Professor McGonagall," he said. He walked over and took a seat in the middle of the room, to wait for James and the others.

[Minerva McGonagall]

She nodded slightly and turned to back to her task. She still had a few things left to do if she was going to keep Professor Black's class on task. "You could help me if you would like, I still need a few more pots filled." She indicated the empty pots that stood on the bench table. It wouldn't take him long to do and then she could direct her attention to writing on the board. And perhaps earn his house points along the way for being early to class and helping until the other students arrived.

[Sirius Black]

"Of course, Professor McGonagall," Sirius said, smiling at her. Professor McGonagall was someone that he always felt it was wise to be on the good side of. Not only was she his head of house, she was also the assistant headmistress. And she was, in all things, completely fair. She remained as impartial as possible all the time, and he had to secretly admit that he admired that.

He stood up and headed over to where she was standing. He picked up a small hand shovel and began to scoop up some of the soil and pour it into one of the empty pots. As he did so, he allowed his mind to wander. As usual, he found himself thinking about the situation between him and Kris. He was getting confused, because he felt like his feelings for Kris had changed somehow. Was that what had happened between Ted and Andi?

[joey]

Joey came into the greenhouse quietly and snuck up behind Sirius who's back was turned doing something at the workbench and covered his eyes from behind. She was half bouncing, half trying not to laugh. "Guess who?" She tried to use a fake voice to disguise herself.

[Sirius Black]

Sirius jumped slightly at the gesture. He knew who it was instantly, Joey was the only one who would be so familiar with him. Most of the other girls he knew stayed back a bit, for fear of Kris. "Joey!" he said. "You can't be doing stuff like that... if Kris sees me flirting, she'll be mad."

He pulled away and glanced at the door, checking that Kris was not there yet. "You look nice today, though," he said, turning towards her.

[joey]

"Oh poey yer no fun... wait you're flirting with me?" She gave a huge teasing grin and laughed. "You know I wouldn't do that if Kris was around. I'm not suisidal." She laughed again. "Oh and thank you, you're looking handsome as ever yourself." She always thought he looked handsome, especially when he smiled like he was now. It was a shame he didn't smile as much lately though.

"You need any help?" she nodded to the plants, not afraid to get her hands dirty and always willing to help out.

[Sirius Black]

Sirius grinned. "Yeah, sure, you can help. I thought maybe I'd see if I could get some house points. Since we're so low... I figure every little bit counts. We can't let Slytherin beat us, you know?"

He filled another pot with dirt, then glanced over at her. "About Kris... she wouldn't do anything to you, if she caught me flirting with you. Just me. And I'd deserve it. I suppose you read in the Daily Prophet what happened to my cousin? She's so upset, she has to have a substitute for her class today. And I wouldn't want to hurt Kris like that. She doesn't understand I'm just being friendly."

[joey]

"I never have quite understood what you see in Kris... she's so.. different." That was putting it mildly in her eyes.. the girl seemed almost on the verge of stalker status if you asked her. But Sirius was her friend and she knew that if he was still dating her he'd likely side with his girlfriend and it wasn't really her place to say anything. All she could really do was be there as his friend and try to support him, even when he made what she thought was a mistake. But that was her private opinion.

"I can't see you ever purposely hurting anyone, Sirius." It was true too, if he didn't it would be only because he couldn't hurt one person and make another happy and would likely end up hurting both in the long run. He was a boy and boys were sometimes out of their league when it came to thinking clearly as far as relationships were concerened. They usually made most of their mistakes when they 'thought' they were doing the right thing, which was usually the wrong thing.

[Sirius Black]

"She used to be different," Sirius said evasively. "She changed over the summer... and maybe so did I. But I care about her... she's Remus's sister, after all. And she's needy... she can't help it. She had a weird childhood... was separated from her brother and raised by a nutter." He stopped, realizing he probably shouldn't have said that. Now she would wonder why.

"Um, anyway, I know she's kinda clingy and possessive, but she's got her reasons. And I don't want to be another one in a long line of people that disappoint her."

[joey]

Joey looked at him then... "You mean you're dating her because you pitty her and just don't want to hurt her." What kind of a relationship was that? Surely sirius wasn't so shallow as to just be with a girl because he felt obligated? She frowned at him. "And why was she raised by a nutter?"

[Sirius Black]

Sirius scowled. He was starting to get a little annoyed with everyone questioning his motives on this. Even Amy hadn't questioned him; she'd agreed he was doing the right thing.

"Hey, I'm trying to be honorable here," he said. "You know, I fell in love with her when we met... she was happier then. And we joked around and had fun... it was nice. During the summer, though, I was confined to my house all summer and couldn't contact her. Sometimes I think she still holds it against me. But I thought about her all summer... and when I came back to school, she was different. But I still love the way things were, and I have hope they can be that way again. And besides, she's Remus's sister. If I hurt her, he'll kill me. He never wanted us to go out in the first place."

He carefully avoided the question about the woman who'd raised Kris. That wasn't something he could talk about, and he wished he hadn't mentioned it. Besides, if you wanted to get technical, he'd been raised by a nutter, too.

[joey]

She saw his scowl and listened to him explain himself. All it sounded like to her was that he had loved her, she'd changed and now he didn't love her.. and now he was staying with her to keep from hurting her. "If you say so mr. honorable... don't get so defensive I was just giving my interpretation, which I still hold to. It's none of my business who you date anyways." She just shrugged and continued potting her plants. She was only eleven and Sirius was twelve. Maybe he knew more about things like love than she did. She just didn't didn't understand staying with someone you didn't love anymore. It was like trying to be friends with someone who was mean to you just because you'd been friends as toddlers. She didn't see the logic in that.

She didn't even notice that he skipped over the nutter part. It hadn't been more than a cursory question and was forgotten once he started defending himself.

[Gage Oliver]

Gage walked into class, tired and sore. He hadn't slept a wink last night and he was exhausted. He dragged himself to a seat and sat down, waiting for Seth to come and keep him awake.

[Minerva McGonagall]

McGonagall finished writing on the board in time to look over to see that Joey and Sirius had finished getting the pots ready. "Thank you both for helping, and you've done a wonderful job. Five points to Gryffindor, each, for helping. Please have a seat now until class begins." She moved on to her next task of getting things ready according to the lesson plans that Andromeda had left behind. She saw Gage sitting there and nodded to him as she passed. One of the advantages of being Deputy Headmistress was that she generally knew each student by name, having to keep school records for each of them.

[joey]

Joey grinned as Professor McGonagall awarded them points and sat down at a nearby chair and waited for class to begin. She watched Sirius though and sighed inwardly, boys were so silly sometimes with girls. She still didn't quite understand it all.

[Gage Oliver]

Gage saw Professor McGonagall and acknowledged her with a nod. He looked to the door, but Seth hadn't shown yet. Joey Taylor and Sirius Black took a seat behind him and Gage turned around in his chair. "Hello Joey, Hello Sirius."

[joey]

"Hey Gage, where's your partner in crime?" Gage and Seth always seemed to be together in class and she wondered where Seth was. She actually liked Gage, he was a good person, sweet and smart too. She gave a sidelong glance at Sirius though. She wondered if he would ever notice her, really notice her. Maybe she really was too young, she still needed to fill out and grow up but she still had feelings. She returned her full attention back to Gage though smiling.