Back in the greenhouses again for her daily check-up of the plants, Nadya made her way among the rows of leaves and branches and blossoms and the occasional moving tendril of something magical, pushing those gently away from her face with gloved hands, but always gently, never wanting to destroy or anger the plants. If she had any inclination to deal with noisy first-years on a regular basis, she might have been aiming for Professor Skårsgard's job in a few years, but as it was, she was simply one of the more dedicated Herbology students at the school. What would they do when she was gone? Would the professor take care of all the greenhouses herself, or was there really anyone as good with green things as Nadya felt herself to be?

A short cry of pain snapped the blonde out of her thoughts, informing her that she was not alone in the greenhouse after all. Well, it was true that they were all allowed to be in this one, so she shouldn't be too surprised. It was one of the girls who had newly joined the N.E.W.T. class this year in front of the Bubotubers, collecting pus, and really Nadya would have thought that by the sixth year someone should know to be careful with that sort of thing, but she held her tongue. Perhaps it was just an accident. Even Nadya had accidents in the greenhouses, though this was something she preferred not to admit.

"That looks like it hurts." The Slytherin's words were simple and straight to the point, no need to say anything other than the truth as she looked down at the girl. "I think there should be some plants with healing properties in here. Try not to spill any more while I look?"

GRACE LONGBOTTOM

"Hold still. I'll find something." Nadya turned to look at the plants behind her, searching for something that would take the sting out of the injury. She was only half listening to the Hufflepuff speak at first, her eyes trained on the leaves all around, looking for the patterns of those that could heal skin. While Nadya herself could not remember touching Bubotuber pus, she had plenty of experience with other stinging plants, and was already thinking of a few that had worked for her before. Her eyes landed on the thin leaves and purple flowers of a fluxweed plant, and bending over it, she took off her gloves to deal with the little plant more delicately. She broke off a few flowers at the stem, making sure there was enough liquid inside to apply, and stepped back over a set of pots to find the injured girl.

Putting her gloves back on just in case touching the boils would cause her to have the same, Nadya held out the flowers. "Shall I put it on for you, or would you rather do it yourself?" While she thought that she would probably apply it better with both her hands than the girl could with only one, she didn't want to cause extra pain to someone who seemed nice enough. "I don't really need repayment; I just took some flowers. But perhaps, if you wanted, you could help me with some of the plants I've been growing?" Nadya loved the time she spent in the greenhouse alone, but having some help would get her done with the work early, giving her a chance to sit and enjoy the greenery later.


GRACE LONGBOTTOM

"Sure. I've used this before, it should work quickly enough. I'll try not to make it hurt any more than it needs to. Hold out your arm." Nadya was not the most patient caretaker, and even if she did know plenty about healing plants, she was better at picking the right ones than being soothing to those she was using them on. Even having a little sister didn't teach her how to be comforting. Still, Grace seemed nice even if she babbled far more than Nadya ever did. Most times, she found that incredibly annoying, but she could put up with it while she applied the herbs. The girl was in pain, after all, if she'd compared it to a stinging hex.

Squeezing some of the liquid to the outside of the flowers and stems, which was the real source of their healing powers, Nadya prepared to lay them on the boil. It really did look unpleasant, full of nasty yellow swelling, something so painful coming from what had seemed to be just a little drop of pus. She studied Grace's face, wondering why she needed just so much pus as she was collecting--her skin didn't need all that, especially by the time it would be diluted!

"Ah, and yes, we do share a few classes," she said as she worked. "Just Nadya is fine, if you want. That's the short form. It might be easier to pronounce." She took Grace's wrist, starting to dab the flowers on the boil. "I'm growing dittany in greenhouse four, actually. Since I used healing herbs for you, I'd like help with that one."


GRACE LONGBOTTOM

Nadya blinked. Perhaps Grace was more perceptive than she'd thought a girl who spilled Bubotuber pus on herself would be, because she hadn't yet met anyone who guessed exactly what her plans for after school would be, especially not so quickly! It wasn't really a secret, but Nadya did know it didn't seem like the most obvious career for her. Yes, if she had her way, she'd probably live in a hut in the woods instead of having any job at all, but the world needed her. Specifically, beings needed someone to help them out in a London controlled by a Ministry who clearly didn't care for them.

"You're actually just right, about the healing thing," she said, but then her voice got softer. "It's just--I don't tell people that, because I don't know if my N.E.W.T. scores will be good enough to work at St. Mungo's." Nadya hated so many of her classes that she knew this was a reasonable worry. She was sure she could pull off an Outstanding in Herbology, but with everything else, she wasn't so sure. She hoped Grace wouldn't mock her for it.

Finishing dabbing the crushed flowers onto Grace's skin, she stepped back, taking off her gloves. "There. That should start working in a couple minutes. We can start walking to the other greenhouse." To her eyes, the boil already seemed to be shrinking, but only Grace would know when the pain actually stopped.

"Of course, dittany is the most powerful healing herb there is," Nadya murmured, half responding to the other girl and half talking to herself. "But that's why it's so important to grow--it can heal injuries from nearly anything." She hoped very much that her own efforts at growing it would be successful, so that she could donate it to those who might need it. That was something she could actually do from the castle that felt so much like a prison.


GRACE LONGBOTTOM

Nadya smiled softly when she heard that the healing herbs were working after all, and turned back to Grace. "That's a good sign. I hope the boil goes away soon. It still might take a bit more time, but it's better than going to the hospital wing, isn't it?" Nadya did not like the hospital wing, because being stuck in bed was practically torture to her. And they always insisted on that, for even the most minor injuries--it was awful. Better to fix things herself, as she had just done. And that was a good sign for her healing capabilities, wasn't it? If only she could say the same for other magic...

"You're right, maybe we could help each other with classes," she added. She hated asking for help, but if Grace had offered, it wasn't really asking, right? And besides, it was better her than most of the others in her classes. Even to her friend and roommate Scarlett, she could never admit her struggles. She knew it was mostly because she hated school, not magic, but somehow it was still hard to convince herself to concentrate on her studies. "As long as we do it in private. Maybe in here sometime? I don't need help with Herbology, but it might be a nice place to study." She bit her lip as she turned back around to walk to the other greenhouse, continuing to consider the offer. Was Grace too talkative? Would she tell everyone about the girl who was supposed to be a magical creature but was still confused by her Charms homework?

Grace's next words were about something far more comfortable to the Slytherin. "It's always good to keep many kinds of herbs around, just in case. What do you use to make the bruise removal paste? I could make that, too." Nadya spent enough time leaping in and out of trees that she knew it might be useful.


GRACE LONGBOTTOM

Maybe, Nadya thought, studying together might be even more useful than she had thought, because she was the total opposite: she could do alright with practical things, but the second she had to sit down and memorize pages of boring information, all hope of success was gone. She was especially glad she'd been able to drop History of Magic at N.E.W.T. level, knowing that even the help of a classmate wouldn't fix how much she hated the subject in the first place. Her favorite part of Herbology, too, was actually working with the plants, no matter if she had to wear earmuffs or dragonhide gloves just to re-pot them. Yes, this could work out, if Grace actually had some way to help memorize things once and for all.

"I think I'm better with practical things, honestly," she explained. "It's always essays and exam questions that cause me trouble."

She thought it was strange, too, that Grace's wand seemed to be the problem. "Are you sure it's not an issue with your wand? I know they can backfire pretty badly if they get broken, or if they don't bond to you." Nadya's own wand was a rather steady combination of oak and unicorn hair, so at least she had never had those issues. She felt perhaps it was able to balance out the veela temper she was supposed to have.

"But are you good at Potions then, since you don't have to use your wand much?" Help with that would be best of all if she wanted to work in healing, because Nadya's hatred of the dungeons had caused her much trouble with that class. "Maybe we can start with your healing paste."


GRACE LONGBOTTOM

"As easy as following a recipe? It never feels so." Nadya wished that her potions always turned out like her cooking. It seemed like it should be the same sort of skill, but her Invigoration Draughts never turned out quite as good as her pancakes. But she really did need to improve her potions if she wanted to get anywhere with this healing plan. A bruise paste would be much simpler than more difficult healing potions, and she had the rest of the year to catch up with those. "We can harvest dittany here, of course, and there should be shrivelfigs around here as well... Does it take a long time to make?"

She rather hoped that she wouldn't end up getting irritated by Grace's cheerfulness eventually. It would be good to have another person willing to help her out with school things. Her older sister, Vera, had always done that, but then she had graduated; her younger sister, Lyuba, would never be able to, even if she had been Nadya's age. She was more hopeless than Nadya herself with a cauldron.

But Grace reminded her a little of Lyuba, Nadya thought, just without the intense air of confidence that the youngest Kareva liked to exude. The realization made her like Grace a little bit more, though. She wouldn't have to put up so much defensiveness around the sixth-year--at least she hoped it would go that well.

"I like walks in nature, picking berries and mushrooms--but of course, that's a little bit like even more Herbology," she told Grace, smiling. "I like singing, but I'm not really that good." Nadya could guess that she would be a natural at dancing, but singing was more of a question. She had never done it in front of enough people to judge if she was any good. "And what about you?"


GRACE LONGBOTTOM