Letting time fly by *open*

[proffy]

The dank musty aroma had become something that Tyler just didn’t notice anymore, there comes a time when any smell just seems to sink into your senses and become unnoticeable. The herbology greenhouses had become nothing more than his office, the scents and the aromas mingling together to become so very familiar. The glass walls of the area he’d mapped out as his office were blocked by thick vines, stalks, leaves and blossoms of various plants he’s been nursing from the very day he arrived at Hogwarts. Already there seemed to be a new vitality through each glass house, bright colours of petals screaming for attention among the mass of greenery.

Rain pummelled the roof and a low sigh blew past the professor’s lips, there was no way he was going to be returning back into the castle anytime soon, not with the weather like this. He doesn’t like getting wet and although there are plenty of spells he could cast he would much rather sit at his desk, his feet up on the surface and just relax. A plant tendril curled around his fingers like some type of snake, the small vine seeking nothing but the warmth of his skin and he was all but willing to let it trail around his fingers, it gave him something to focus on.

Right now he knew the Great Hall tables would be burdened down with the evening meal, students filling their stomachs with whatever they can grab their hands on. Huge crowds had never really appealed much to Tyler, sitting at the head of the crowds on a heightened level is almost as bad as placing a spotlight. When teaching he’s in his own territory, he knows what he needs to say and he knows that he’s in charge of the class. When thrown into somewhere with people in a higher position than himself he doesn’t quite know where to draw the line on keeping his tongue in check. He may be a respectable professor (or trying to be) but deep down he’s still a Slytherin and nothing is going to be changing that anytime soon. Authority figures in his life just don’t go down well, which is understandable, not everybody enjoys being told what to do.

He would have a different distraction, but the student he’d given detention to had yet to arrive. The greenhouses had to be swept and Tyler would be damned if he were going to do it himself, the concentration would be too great, he’d prefer to watch somebody else do it. Even if it meant giving some poor student a detention they didn’t really deserve..

notes)) i'm aware it's a short.. and rubbish opening post xD had to start one with him though somehow.
words)) 440

[corny]

His first love in life was Herbology. He always received top marks, and looked forward to spending each second he had free in the Greenhouses, doing anything at all that had something to do with dirt, flowers, seeds, you name it. Stephen Alexander Cornfoot loved Herbology, and everything that went with it. It should come as no surprise that his favorite professor would be Mr. Grey. The respect he held for this man was so deep, and so perfect that he could almost look upon the man as a father figure. Stephen would never dare be so bold to tell the man this, but it was no less true. He adored the class, and the amount of knowledge that Professor Grey held. Stephen could even be found in the class early each day, often setting up for the days class before the teacher could get to the Green House. Stephen did not mind, in fact he wished he could be an assistant professor, though such things simply did not exist within Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Stephen had spent time with Mr. Grey telling him about his home garden, and the things his grandfather had taught him during the time they shared. He went out of his way to try to keep his stories short so he did not bore the professor. He did not want anything to come between them, and the friendship he felt they were building. He wanted so badly for Mr. Grey to become his mentor, and one day when the professor decided to leave school Eric wanted to become the Professor of Herbology. He had already looked into University and did not think it would take him much to become a degree student, and soon a teacher. He did not know when it could happen, but he knew he was going to work hard to make those dreams come true. No matter what anyone else had ever said about him, Stephen was very serious when it came to his love of all things plants.

Stephen was not at all surprised during his last class when he ended up with a detention. He had worked ahead, and got all his project done way before the other students. Stephen then could not stand it and took it upon himself to go around and help everyone else while the Professor was attending to some emergency. Corny had got aggressive and finished a project for another student, and sadly ended up in trouble for the help. He took his detention in stride, knowing that sometimes he was too passionate about the class. He closed his eyes as he stood outside, and waited. It was about five minutes before it was time to go in. He could not help feel a touch apprehensive about this, knowing that the professor would be disappointed in him. He sighed, turned the knob and walked into his beloved classroom.

Stephen was not happy, but the comfort of the room pleased him nonetheless.

Notes: I hope you do not mind me jumping in. It was too perfect for my Herbology loving Corny to avoid.

[proffy]

After a while the tendril around his hand receded back to the mass of slowly writing vines situated a few foot behind his desk, the plant having grown bored of Tyler’s lack of response to it’s attention seeking. His gaze was currently fixated upon his newest project, something that not everybody with an appreciation for Herbology would understand. It requires more than any other plant in this particular greenhouse, but it’s access is denied to anybody but Tyler himself.

A splinter of wood stuck up from his desk and slowly he pressed the pad of his index finger against the sharp broken edge. Skin eventually gave way, the wood piercing through deeply enough to create a hole big enough for a bead of blood to well up, a drop that he reached out and touched to the bulb of a small potted plant upon his desk. Almost immediately the plant split, the plain green leaves parting to reveal pure white petals, thin almost unnoticeable lines of crimson trailing down towards the center, these lines pulsated as the blood upon his finger soaked into the plant. He shouldn’t really own one of these within the school, the fully matured plants have been known to kill people in the past. This seedling though is hardly harmless, without the occasional feeding session that he himself provides like right this moment the plant would wither and die. He’d move it someplace safe when it needs repotting, better that then having it destroyed.

He let another drop of crimson liquid fall onto the flower before sticking his finger into his mouth, cleaning off the wound with a swipe of his tongue just as the door to the greenhouse opened. Tyler had some students that he preferred than others, the ones who knew what they were doing or those who had passion for what he taught were the ones he liked. The stupid or the easily distracted students annoyed him, it was always so very tempting to feed them to the Devil’s Snare located in one of the other greenhouses. One student in particular stood out to Tyler; Stephen Cornfoot had perhaps even more of a green thumb than even he himself, the Hufflepuff was simply a natural when it came to herbology and truth be told he was somebody that Tyler enjoyed being around. Stephen was almost something of an apprentice, from the stories he’d heard he even takes his love of herbology outside of the lessons and back in his home life. He’d even seen the student within the greenhouses when there were no classes to teach.

When the boy walked through the door Tyler stood himself up from his desk and moved around to welcome one of his favourite students. Usually he would have given somebody else the detention, something small is all that’s needed. However, Stephen had taken over the class and therefore other student’s project’s whilst he had a particular emergency to sort out within the greenhouse furthest from the castle; an infestation was killing the plants and at the rate it was doing so he couldn’t exactly continue his class. The Hufflepuff, regrettably had to be punished.

“Good, you’re here,” there was a friendly enough tone to his voice as he walked on over, picking up the broom within his hand as he did so, “catch.” He was only a couple of metres away when he tossed the broom over gently, knowing it was an easy enough catch to make, “you’re sweeping.. No magic, you know as well as I do that some of these plants are sensitive to magic. The last thing we need is to clear up even more.” In a way Tyler almost thinks of the both of them as a team anyway. Not many people appreciate Herbology as much as they should these days, Tyler admires those who stand apart from the crowd and learn to love his subject of choice.

notes)) not at all :D thanks for replying~

[corny]

His fingers almost slipped as he had not expected the broom to be tossed to him. Yet he managed to catch it with a confused look, which was soon explained away. Corny smiled and nodded. He began to whistle softly as he started to pile up loose bits of dirt with the broom. Stephen was no stranger to doing work without magic. He was a firm believer that this was the best way to work when it came to plants. Sometimes a wrong word or charm could be disastrous when it came to fragile leaves, or blooms. So, using a broom without magic was not going to be much of a problem for him at all. It was almost not like a detention to speak of, as Corny always enjoyed doing menial work in the Greenhouses. Sometimes he would come in and sweep up before class, just to be doing it. His movement around the potted plants were delicate, and his eyes were intent on not even touching a single pot or disturb a small leaf.

His mind began to float away as he started thinking about the girl he had met here not too long ago. Her soft blue eyes almost seemed to haunt him, and his whistle turned into a broad smile. Yes, it was true that he had made a complete bone-headed fool of himself, but she had taken his silliness in stride and successfully captured a piece of Corny's imagination in the process. All he wanted was a chance to spend more time with her, to get to know more about her... perhaps even a chance to be considered a boyfriend in a relationship for once. He sighed, and paused in his work to consider such a thing. What would it be like to have someone in your life like that? Someone who wanted to be around you, share time with you, laugh at the little things you did to make them smile? He had no idea, but Corny wanted so desperately to learn, to know, to love.

He blinked and turned to Professor Grey. "Have you ever been in love, sir? I mean, real love. Like no matter how hard to try, you can not get someone's smile out of your head. Each time you catch a glimpse of them in the hall your heart does these weird things in your chest. Or, maybe you can not talk or breathe at all when they are near?"

[/color] It all sort of just come out in a rush, and completely unintentional. Stephen did not mean to pour his thoughts, and emotions out at the feet of his mentor. He simply had no one else he felt comfortable enough to bother asking a question to, no one he felt would listen at least. He leaned on the broom, and his eyes seemed a bit far away as he gazed at the table he shared with her. Was it love, or was it that she had just been nice to him like all the other girls in his life? Corny did not know, but he had to find out.

He just did not know which direction to go from here.

---

Sorry this is so late. Been rather under the weather of late.[/size][/blockquote]