flashback when you met me
Everyone was glad that it was finally spring. The Scottish Highlands were never incredibly warm, but the winters were always brutal. The season was a flurry of scarves, runny noses, warming charms, and, of course, the buzzing excitement every student felt for the hols. But after the break, it was clear that everyone, even the professors, were eager for spring to come. And come it did.
Lily's favorite season had always been spring. She loved to see the ground thaw and flowers to appear - almost as if they'd never been gone. She loved frolicking about in her mother's garden (ever since she was young, she had felt some sort of calling to the Earth and its plants, which she later came to realize was her witch's intuition. This habit had always made her parents laugh lovingly) with Petunia, back when they were close. Lily would sit and examine the flora while Petunia would pick flowers - much to both Lily and her mother's chagrin - and make crowns for both of them.
When she reached Hogwarts, she'd been ecstatic about Herbology and the greenhouses, and the subject had become her best throughout the years. Lily was especially excited for this spring, as her prior and current year's role of prefect (and next year, hopefully, Head Girl) had convinced Professor Mullein to give her a spare pair of keys to the greenhouses. She could have gone before, in the winter, because the greenhouses were charmed to accommodate the environment needed for the cultivation of the plants, regardless of the weather outside, but Lily had never found it as thrilling. To her, nothing compared to the chirp of birds and the smell of morning dew resting in the grass.
So, on the first Saturday of spring, Lily Evans woke up early -- or at least early for a weekend -- and shoveled some hot porridge down her throat. Then she remembered her forgotten totebag in the Gryffindor commen room, ran back to go get it, gave Remus a kiss on the cheek (he was sitting in the common room with a textbook open, furiously scribbling something down while looking half-asleep), and hurried outside.
Although it was spring, the cool air chilled Lily, who had decided on not bring a scarf, but she walked on, pulling her sweater - Remus' actually, he had the best sweaters - closer.
The morning air was foggy, although not as foggy as it usually was, giving the landscape a sort of liminal quality. The grass looked greener than ever, despite the fact that snow had covered it just a few days ago, and when Lily looked closely, she could spot the beginnings of flora. Specifically, she spotted a spot full of green leaves. Common Chickweed; otherwise known as Stellaria media. The plant was part of the Caryophyllaceae family (also called the pink family or the carnation family), a group of flowering, and mostly herbaceous plants. They are quite easy to recognize as all of its plants have simple and opposite leaves. Chickweed was able to survive for the entire year, which Lily had always found fascinating, and flowered through March to December.
The plant was one that Lily probably knew the most about, as on her 7th birthday, her parents had gotten her a book on botany, which she had religiously studied every day. Common Chickweed had always grown in her mother's garden, no matter how many times she had tried to get rid of it - it was a weed after all, and an invasive one, too. The sight of the plant always brought her back to her childhood. the sun shining down on her face, the sweet smell of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies wafting though the air, and ladybugs crawling over her pale skin. The memory made Lily smile faintly as she continued to her destination. She was going to visit Greenhouse Three today, because she'd heard that Professor Mullein had acquired some Mimbulus Mimbletonia (a small cactus looking plant that was incredibly rare; it was native to Assyria, and the only time Lily had seen one was an illustration in her copy of One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi).
Upon arriving to the greenhouse, Lily was surprised to see the presence of another person. From her position at the door, Lily couldn't actually see the girl but she made out that she was in about 4th year, and was sitting on the floor with a potted dittany infront of her (which was the only thing in Lily's line of sight).
Turning the lock in the door, Lily walked in, and saw a clearer view of the girl (who hadn't flinched or looked up at the sound of the door).
The girl had smooth dark brown skin, with blonde dreadlocks framing her face, the rest put up in a ponytail. She wasn't in her robes, almost no one was on the weekends, instead in a coffee colored shawl (although the material looks much thicker compared to most shawls), faded flair jeans (almost everyone was wearing those) with embroidered suns on the hem, a striped tank top, and an array of clunky necklaces.
Lily recognized her from Regulus Black's close-knit group of friends. Whenever Regulus passed by in the Great Hall or in the hallways, Lily would see Sirius stiffen, as everyone tried to act as if they didn't see the younger boy. Those moments seemed to be held in suspension, with wandering eyes and awkward coughs. Sirius had left the Black Household last year, and he had yet to bring up the topic of his estranged brother to anyone, at least as far as Lily knew. She was confident that if he had, she would know by now (Peter and Marlene couldn't keep a secret to save their lives, James never kept anything from Lily since their breakup, and resulting companionship, last year, Remus would have asked her for advice before telling Sirius anything, and Mary would have roped in Marlene and herself into some plan to get the brothers to reconnect).
This girl, though, stood out from the group of Sytherins. She wore Ravenclaw robes and the matching blue tie, but throughout the time she'd been at Hogwarts (one year less the Lily, making her a 5th year) she had not sat at her own house's table even once. Lily had reason to believe this was due to bullying, and her friend Emmeline Vance, conveniently also a Ravenclaw, confirmed this theory a few years ago. Lily didn't know a lot about Regulus' friends despite him being the brother of Sirius, one of her closest friends. Even before he had run away to the Potters', Sirius had never spoken about Regulus or his family in front of her (though he probably did with James, as they were the closet out of all the boys. He probably also purposely didn't speak of them to Lily, in an effort not to make her feel uncomfortable).
What she did know about Regulus' friends was that, 1) there was five of them in total and counting Regulus, 2) they were all 5th years, 3) all Sytherins except for the one blonde girl, 3) two of them, said girl and another blonde guy, were twins, 4) one of them was named Dorcas Meadowes, a chaser, probably soon to be captain next year when Emma Vanity, the current captian leaves. Dorcas was also Marlene's self-appointed "arch nemesis", although it seems more like a crush to Lily.
"Hello," the blonde greeted, not turning away from whatever she was hunched over, seemingly sensing Lily without even seeing her.
Her voice was soft but clear, it washed over you like a breeze of air on a hot summer day.
"Um, hello?" Lily said tentatively.
The girl turned around, revealing a small leather-bound sketchbook, a rough drawing of the dittany already underway. She stood up, and reached for Lily's hand, breathing out a, "I'm Pandora. Pandora Rosier".
The girl, Pandora, had sepia-colored eyes that Lily swore were seeing into her soul, stripping her of all defenses, leaving her helpless and bare.
Lily raised her hand to shake the other girls', repsonding, "Lily Evans. It's lovely to meet you.. Pandora"
Pandora grinned, revealing slightly yellow-tinted teeth, and front teeth that were clearly crooked, but that seemed to be in the perfect position. She fumbled with her book and pencil, carefully placing them in a crochet bag that Lily hadn't noticed before, before pushing a piece a hair out of her face.
"I'm off to breakfast. Perhaps I will see you here again, Lily Evans" announced Pandora as she strode by Lily and out of the greenhouse door, the exit so unexpected to her that she let the blonde leave with any other comment. Sighing, Lily sat down where Pandora had been before, staring at the dittany with a contemplative gaze, left alone with only her thoughts and the plant keeping her company.