Greenhouse 2 (Low Danger - Magical Plants)

A sibling to Greenhouse One, Ethan's filled this greenhouse with relatively easy-to-manage magical plants. Just make sure you have a good grip on the bouncing bulbs... and don't drop the puffapods!

Like with the last greenhouse, another roll of parchment is spellotaped to this door:





((There will be more in here, even if I have to make a few up! xD))

Juria wandered around the Greenhouses, trying to find the Professor just to talk and meet somewhere like they had said. Remembering some classes when she was in Hogwarts she wandered into the greenhouse and the first plant she saw was a Flutterby Bush. Smiling softly she remembered having to deal with all her classmates that would mess with the plants. Juria had forgotten most about the plants, she had read up more on the other subjects. Looking around to see if the Professor was in the greenhouse she called,

"Hello? Professor are you anywhere around here?"

Ethan was tending to the vines of a Flitterbloom plant when he heard a familiar feminine voice call out for a professor. Considering this was his field of study, and recognizing the fact that the voice had belonged to none other than Juria, Ethan presumed she was looking for him.

"Hm? Oh - Juria! Lovely surprise!" Ethan replied and peeked around a tall, bushy plant. He was at most about six feet away, but with all the flora in the room he was pretty much camouflaged despite that yellow blond hair and tye-dyed robes of various blues, greens, and orange.

Juria smiled when she saw him, the bush had practically hidden him from sight. Smiling beautifully she walked over to see what he was tending to.

"Thought I would drop by to see you."

At the present time, Juria was in fact beautiful. The light from the greenhouse was just the perfect shade to complement her hair and bring out her eyes. Anyone passing by might say that she could be an angel. This was all unknown to her at this time and just acting casual she looked around at the surroundings.

Juria noticed a small digger-shovel that was a little rusted and the handle wearing away, she made a mental note to get Ethan a new one as a present. Turning her deep blue eyes that were dancing with happiness to the Professor and said,

"Hope I’m not bothering you, I was free and thought it would be a great time to pop in and see you."

Ethan had turned back to the vine-y plant just long enough to remove his gardening gloves before he did a double take... so entranced was he by how beautiful she looked. Not that she wasn't beautiful when he'd first seen her of course! But the light was right and... everything from her hair to her shoes just seemed perfect. The wizard was stunned by it.

He'd even chance to say there was a distinct glow about her, even though he was fairly certain that - scientifically, of course - it was just the sunlight. To Hell with science... he mused, preferring to think she was glowing as opposed to the fact that his eyes could be playing a trick on him.

Glad to see Juria out and about from her normal rounds in the Infirmary, Ethan's lips curled into a friendly smile. Chocolate-irised eyes lit up from behind their corrective lenses, clearly happy to have some company. His blond hair was messily arranged, as always, but his robes were at least straight and dirt free for the moment.

"No, no-no-no-no, you're not bothering me at all," he replied quickly and stepped away from the wooden table. "You are ... absolutely stunning today," Ethan commented and kissed her hand in greeting. With a wave of his wand, the wizard turned two ceramic pots into comfortable armchairs and gestured to them.

"Please, make yourself comfy! No need to stand around the whole time," he grinned. "What kind of host would I be at this garden party for two if I didn't at least make sure my guest was comfortable?" Humor and truth were both laced in his voice.

"It is truly wonderful to see you - been keeping busy?"

Juria smiled, happy she was not a bother,

“Thank you Professor.”

She almost blushed when he said she was stunning. Taking a seat in the armchairs and laughing as she replied,

“Well, a host who enjoyed standing opposed to sitting, that kind of host.”

Juria laughed at the bit of humor that laced his voice then sighed and said,

“Yes, my little friends find all sorts of ways to keep me occupied; I almost think it is because they want the lollypops I give out.”

Juria smiled and asked,

“Have you been busy with the greenhouses? Anything to share with me?”

Juria pulled her hair back and muttered a simple spell to make a ribbon tie around it to keep it up. With her hair in the ponytail, her eyes were brought out more and stood out as two pools of deep blue.

“I'm afraid I forgot most of the information about most of the plants.”

She laughed, to ease the pain of her ‘forgetting’ something.

Ethan beamed. "Ethan, please... 'Professor' makes me sound like an old man... I'm not turning gray, am I?" he replied jovially, though continued with the antic and examined a bit of his own hair. "Nope - still blond! What a relief!" Releasing his hold on the lock of hair and returning his gaze to Juria, Ethan laughed if only to show he was just kidding around.

He might've been a Ravenclaw, but he had all the makings of being a class clown even now in his forties.

“Well, a host who enjoyed standing opposed to sitting, that kind of host.”

"And therein lies the problem: I'd rather sit and be comfy," Ethan replied with a smile and took the remaining seat. "See? Much more better!" Yes: the professor was well aware that wasn't proper grammar. One could tell he knew that just by the expression on his face. However, the man started when a honking Daffodil sunk into his line of vision and loudly honked in his face.

"What the bloody... will you stop that, Daffy?!" he sighed in mock irritation at the flower and gently pushed the stem of the plant back into its original upright position.

Ethan laughed in response to Juria's anecdote about her "little friends". Yes, he remembered whom that code phrase referred to. "I can't say as I blame them, I suppose..." he remarked with a chuckle.

"And the greenhouses do keep me busy, sometimes. I've tried to tell the House-elves I can tend to everything, but they don't really listen to that... Luckily they seem to have a remarkable talent for 'watch and learn'. I daresay that aside from Hogwarts I've not seen House-elves any place else..." Ethan rambled onward when prompted.

"I always have something to share... anything in here catch your eye when you came in?" he asked, though was interrupted by a loud honk from Daffy the Daffodil. "...or your ear, for that matter..." Ethan joked, gesturing up and over at the potted plant that had made the noise. "We could talk about a medicinal plant... or a fun/aggravating one..." he added further, giving a not-so-furtive glance to the daffodil that had 'interrupted' them. It was the only one present, as the rest of its fellows were in another greenhouse.

The subtle nuances of Juria's change in hairstyle were not lost on Ethan: he noticed the change immediately, but it was not a bad change. Not at all! She was a very beautiful woman, Ethan decided with concrete certainty. Hell, he thought, She even puts Laura to shame! Charming personality, and a good heart, too, what with being a nurse and all...

“I'm afraid I forgot most of the information about most of the plants.”

"No worries - happens to me on occasion sometimes, too," he replied sincerely. "You should see me personal library... a good quarter of it's filled with books on plants," Ethan added, punctuating the statement with a laugh.

Juria laughed at his cheery attitude and then replied,

“No don’t worry Ethan, you don’t look a day over 25… not that I know your actual age yet.”

Juria laughed, joking, but she did wonder what Ethan’s actual age was, and then realized that she herself only looked just about 22… even though she was ten years past that.

Juria wondered if Ethan had come to the conclusion that she might be 22 because of the way she looked. If he had thought that, she knew it would come as a surprise when he asked her how old she was.

Juria raised her eyebrow at his use of grammar,

“Yes, I guess I must agree it is… Much more better.”

Juria smiled, happy to partake in his clowning. Juria almost wanted to say she was “not doing nothing” but she didn’t see that it would fit anywhere.

“I was wondering about the Alihotsy… I remember hearing about them but don’t really remember much.”

Juria smiled, but looked at the daffodil, thinking how it was funny that Daffy had interrupted them. Juria almost thought it was just like it was jealous of someone else getting attention from Ethan.

Juria looked back to Ethan as he said about his library,

“It would figure you would have a few plant books, but you have your own library? Oh you are so lucky… I've never had enough resources to get enough books and I move around a lot so I couldn’t keep moving the book case.”

Juria smiled at Ethan, she had wanted her own library, and she thought it was so cool to be able to read anytime just by pulling out a book. However with all Juria did, she had to move around and didn’t have any time to deal with moving a library, even a small one, from place to place.

Ethan couldn't help the small laugh that escaped him. "Why, that is a most generous compliment to mine ears, Juria. I'm actually forty-one. You, on the other hand, milady, hardly seem a day past twenty!" he said, meaning his compliment whole-heartedly. However, he wasn't about to ask Juria her age. As the phrase goes: it's not polite to ask a lady her age. Ethan felt that if she wanted to reveal her true age then that would be her prerogative to share.

"Ah - the Alihotsy! Now, that's one plant you should be aware of, especially if our 'little friends' decide to nick some from me in the near future!" Ethan stated jovially and beamed as he summoned one of the plants from the frontmost table to him. At the same time, he conjured a small table between him and the nurse for the plant to set on. Ethan carefully made sure the potted plant was secure on its surface, though decided to speak about his library first considering she'd asked about it. After all, the topic might get lost in the talk of alihotsy. A detailed analysis of said plant would of course come afterward.

Ethan nodded enthusiastically in response to her question. "Yes - herbals, gardening, plant breeding... you name it, I've probably read it," he elaborated with a laugh. "You know, if you ever wanted to borrow some of my books... you'd be most welcome to peruse me own library sometime," Ethan offered. "In fact, I think I even have a very helpful medicinal plant book you might like..."

"You move around alot?" he asked, suddenly changing the subject. "Me mum and I tended to move around quite a bit. Didn't get a chance to start me library till I moved out of her last place of residence," the wizard laughed.


After a distinct pause, in which he'd been looking at her, Ethan cleared his throat and said, "Now... where were we? Oh yes... the Alihotsy..." With a sweeping gesture he confirmed the plant that had flown over their heads and settled moments ago was in fact the plant they were to be discussing today.

The plant, or plants, as there was more than one stem, had small spear-tip or heart-shaped leaves. On the very tips of these stems are very bright red, but also very small flowers. "Overall, the alihotsy plant looks unassuming: fairly thin-stemmed, very pretty little leaves, and teensy, bright red flowers. However, everything above-ground on this plant is anything but benevolent.

"The root can be dug up, chopped, and stewed to make a very nice but highly stimulating tea but needs to be mixed with a very small amount of syrup of hellebore or else you may as well just indulge in an extreme caffeine overload." Ethan took this moment to pause and laugh slightly, knowing very well how he reacted to having too much caffeine in his system. If his colleagues thought he talked a lot before... "The flowers are not edible by most mammals and a few birds, being poisonous when ingested. But they are safe to touch," he elaborated further and reached forward to stroke the petals of the flower to make his point. He then held his hand palm up for Juria to see that, even after a few moments, he was still just fine.

"What one really needs to know, as well, is to not eat the leaves! Within the tiny veins of each leaf is a substance that, when ingested, causes uncontrollable hysteria. An alihotsy salad is therefore simply out of the question, ha-ha-ha...

"Unfortunately the only preventative measure one can take is knowing what the leaf is and avoiding it altogether... but in the event of ingestion one can be given a simple calming draught. Or even the Draught of Peace... if many of the leaves have been consumed," Ethan continued to share, though belatedly realized that he probably should've allowed more breaks for Juria to process the information instead of providing it in blocks.

Juria smiled and laughed, he didn’t act like a 41 year old however she didn’t really care the age, knowing this was probably an opportune time to tell him her age she smiled a flashing grin and replied,

“And thank you too Ethan, you know that one phrase that goes, “don’t ask a lady her age”?...Well it might be adequate however it says nothing about the lady telling her age, I'm 33. And my birthday is actually… October 31st”

Juria laughed, normally when she told someone her birthday they would say “Seriously? Are you joking?” since it was an unusual day to be born – Halloween. And also quite recently some people were shocked when she told them her real age, she had no idea why though.

Smiling and nodding at the term of “little friends” Juria was very interested in learning about it now.

“Thank you so much, I would love to see it sometime and yes… I move around a bit, I'm glad to be at Hogwarts now, it technically is my home.”

Juria smiled, referring to both topics he had said before listening and committing the information to memory. There were three main reasons Juria had moved around so much.
1- she was afraid of someone she had hurt to find her and make a scene and shattering her heart even more
2- she was worried that she would hinder more then help because of her past
and 3- if she ever actually made friends in some area she would have to keep a VERY big secret from them of her “past” and if she did tell them, they would freak out and run away and she would feel bad again.
So to keep all that from happening, she moved around a lot. Juria wasn’t even sure she should become Ethan’s friend. If she ever told him and he took it the wrong way Juria knew it would probably break her heart.

Juria was very interested in the plant now; she had not gotten so much information from their teacher all those years ago at all. Juria also laughed at Ethan’s joke of an alihotsy salad. Committing everything to memory quite easily she complemented the handsome wizard,

“Wow you are so good Professor…er…Ethan, you know so much about the plants here!”

Juria smiled at him.

((So VERY sorry I hadn't replied to this in so long!))


Ethan nodded at her question about the common saying about a woman and her age. He knew that one quite well, actually. When she told him her real age, the wizard blinked. Thirty-three? She looked more around Amaranth Viper's age of twenty-something. Viper was somewhere between twenty-one and twenty-three... Ethan's first instinct was to remark upon her actual age, but he held off a bit so he could actually think before he spoke. Halloween... that was an interesting day to be born, and Ethan smiled at that. "In my opinion, age is merely a state of mind and one is as young as one feels... and Halloween - interesting day to be born on. One of my favorite times of the year, actually," Ethan replied. 'Gives a whole new meaning to the phrase trick or treat' he mused good-naturedly, but didn't say it in the event it was interpreted entirely the wrong way.

"Hogwarts is me home away from home, might say. The library in my quarters is about half of what I accumulated over the years. Odd how one can end up with a good-sized library in little over a decade..." The wizard laughed lightly at the bit of truthful humor.

Juria's laugh in response to his alihotsy joke was a magical music to his ears. Perhaps even more soothing a sound than Laura's laughter, back when he was dating the Italian witch. If it was one thing Ethan liked it was making people laugh, something that his young son inherited as well.

"Why thank you, Juria... it's really nothing, though... just little facts here and there, gardening tidbits, and the like," Ethan said in an attempt to be modest. However, he couldn't help but smile in return.

"Do you by chance have a favorite flower of some kind? Roses... chrysanthemums... ... lilies?" he asked, curious as to what the answer would be. And, since it was a plant-related topic, it wouldn't seem quite so obvious as to why he was asking.

((do not worry, =] you have so many other plots going I didn’t mind that you were busy. Thank you though for replying ^_^))

Juria smiled and nodded, she knew Ethan probably wanted to comment on her age and was interested that he was such a gentleman that he didn’t. It was interesting for Juria to be born on Halloween since she was not at all someone to play tricks on people. But it did work out since she was more the one to give a treat.

"I love reading, when I was a child I would read anything I got my hands on... that was of course when I had all the free time in the world."

Juria smiled while showing her teeth. The fact was true; Juria would grab anything to read, from a telephone book to a pamphlet. It is an interesting fact that as a child, Juria read 7 dictionaries and 2 Spanish dictionaries, along with all the other pieces of ligature that was in the house.

Juria smiled at his question of favorite flower and then said,

"Fancy you should say that... I know that you are into more into gardening than I am however..."

Juria paused in her sentence and reached into her pocket and pulled out her wand. She showed the handle part to the wizard, the handle was a bundle of beautiful roses and in the center was imbedded a red glittering jewel. Vines to the roses wrapped around the wand to a little over half the length.

"I think my favorite flower is a rose however there are so many beautiful ones that I dont think I could ever pick."

Juria grinned sheepishly at the handsome wizard.

"Do you have a favorite flower Ethan?"

Juria questioned back, wondering what kind of flower he favored. Juria heard somewhere that sometimes the type of flower someone liked meant something about that person. Juria's favorite flower was a rose, which meant she was beautiful on the outside and inside, but she also had thorns which meant she had a quality that someone needed to be careful about. Juria had forgotten what the flowers meant but she knew somewhere it meant something.

Ethan chuckled lightly and nodded. "That's me as well. Loved reading, and still do. These days, though, I tend to spend more time writing than anything," he replied, still grinning. "Up until recently, I had all the time in the world as well. At least... so long as the plants are able to get by without me, and me without them," the wizard added. His home in Scotland was an interesting yet rather solitude-packed existence.

"One does not need to be an expert at gardening to like flowers, or have a specific preference for a certain species of them," Ethan pointed out with a kind smile that went all the way to his bespectacled brown eyes. He was curious what Juria was about to show him, and then understood as she withdrew her wand and showed him the handle. He'd recognize roses anywhere, and the craftsmanship was exquisite. One would think, by Ethan's reaction to how well the handle was carved, that it was made of diamond or something.

The wizard nodded. "The rose is a marvelous choice regardless... and the craftsmanship on your wand is simply stunning!" he beamed, committing the tidbit of information to memory. Ethan didn't mind if she didn't really know much about flowers or if she couldn't pick a favorite flower off the top of her head. As the question was redirected back to him, Ethan took a moment to think.

"Well... my wand is made of rosewood... but I'd have to say I favor the magnolia," he said, then conjured an image of the flower in question. "It hybridizes well, and the aromatic bark has a few medicinal properties. In traditional Chinese medicine, it's known as hou po, and is a well-known element in the practice..." Realizing he was babbling on about yet another plant, Ethan let the sentence trail off.

Juria smiled and nodded her head, agreeing with him.

“I think the most relaxing thing is to read in a garden under a blue sky, perhaps with a slight breeze.”

Juria smiled but then blushed and looked down,

“I know that seems childish of me, thinking of fantasies like that.”

Juria remembered once reading pride and prejudice in a garden with roses all around her, it was divine. Another thing that made Juria happy and peaceful was the rain. She would love to watch it from her porch and just relax.

Juria smiled when Ethan complemented her wand. However she then reminded him,

“The wand chooses the wizard… or which… so I would have to say the roses might have chosen me.”

Juria smiled but seemed to have a burden on her heart when she remembered her other wand, the dark one that had chosen her. That wand had a pattern of bougainvillea on it, and the thorns were actually part of the wand, if anyone but her tried to touch it, they would have bleeding hands. However when Juria would hold the “evil” wand, the thorns would seem to disappear and would never hurt her.

“Yes, I see the magnolia is very pretty.”

Juria smiled and was fascinated with the things Ethan was saying. She didn’t even notice that he was “babbling” she was happy that he would share things with her.

Juria then remembered something she had heard in her class,

“Hey Ethan, aren’t magnolia’s from an ancient genus that evolved before bees? And they were originally pollinated by beetles? ”

Juria smiled, wondering if she had remembered something she had originally been taught. Juria knew everything, it was just locked up somewhere in her mind.

Brown eyes blinked from behind their spectacles. “Childish? Hardly. It is quite relaxing – did that myself during the summer holidays when I was a student, and even nowadays since I wasn’t moving all over the world. Though, when I was a kid such days were few and far between. Wonderful setting to read or write, actually,” Ethan replied with a cheerful smile. “I even set out on my mum’s patio to listen to the rain as I read a few times. Though, the rain made such a relaxing sound that I often got too bloody sleepy to read.” A chuckle punctuated the words.

Ethan nodded at the reminder. “That’s what I’ve heard. I was a student of wandlore at one point... well, mostly selecting the wood. But the whole process of wandmaking is rather fascinating.”

A grin threatened to split the blond wizard’s face in two at Juria’s statement, and grew even wider if such a thing were possible at her questions concerning the flower. One would think Juria had told a child that Christmas was now going to be celebrated four times a year instead of just once. “That is precisely correct!” Ethan exclaimed excitedly, making an indistinct gesture that could only be interpreted as positive given the sudden burst of energy in his voice and behavior.

Next second, he conjured a three-dimensional representative of the plant. “In fact, it is because of the fact that the magnolia encourages pollination by beetles that the plant has such sturdy carpels,” he explained, moving portions of the plant aside to get to the specific part he had named. “The earliest versions of the plant, interestingly, also had a lack of distinct sepals or petals-” again, he pointed these out. “It was Charles Plumier, a French Muggle botanist – and yes, the namesake of the Plumeria – who coined the genus name Magnolia, after another such Muggle botanist, Pierre Magnol. Though, it is indeed a very ancient plant; been around some speculate an approximate ninety-five million years.”

Juria smiled happily, knowing that he did not think that it was stupid of her to think like that. She also was happy that they had so much in common.

She wanted to tell him about her other wand, the one that was “evil”, but then she would have to explain how she got it and why she had it and that would not go well.

“I once learned how to make wands, and I agree it is fascinating. I am sure I could still make something if I had the supplies.”

Juria smiled and listened intensively at Ethan’s small lecture. Once he was done she was excited about it almost as much as he was.

“That is amazing professor!!... Ethan!!”

Juria laughed, she had learnt so much from him that she had thought she was a student again and listening to a professor speak.

“I remember now that I had found some facts very interesting about plants, I loved learning about it also.”

Juria then wondered what else they could speak of. She was worried that with all the knowledge Ethan had, he would find her dull. Sure she was very, very intelligent, however she normally didn’t explain anything because people would either find it confusing or not care at all. She had learnt to just keep a light conversation and not appear too smart in order to keep her friends. Juria also didn’t know much about herself, normal people had every year to find out things they liked and what they were like. Juria had 12 years missing, and she didn’t know about herself as much.

Juria looked around the greenhouse, not knowing what to say and hoping that Ethan would pick up another conversation.

At the word 'supplies' Ethan gestured into the general direction of the arboretum. "We've got a whole forest out there at our disposal... 'course you'd still need some sort of magical core but least we have the wood, eh?" he stated cheerily. "And I have quite the supply of fairy eggs and woodlice... Bowtruckles are fascinating creatures to watch!"

He grinned at Juria's exclamation, and almost politely corrected her that she needn't call him 'professor'. Almost. The thought of doing so disappeared after she'd said his name. Ethan was still trying to wrap his head around the idea that he was now a professor instead of just a Herbologist that gave the occasional lecture.

"It is rather fascinating, indeed!" the Head of Ravenclaw exclaimed in that same upbeat, nothing-can-bring-me-down attitude.

The pause in the conversation was slightly awkward. Ethan rather hoped it was just him and the fact that he liked Juria, and didn't want to say anything that sounded wholly and utterly stupid in front of her. "So, things have been quiet up in the Hospital Wing lately?" he ventured curiously.

Juria smiled and said,

"Yes quite fascinating."

Juria was overjoyed that she finally found someone that shared her love of knowledge. Juria liked Ethan very much, and the more she talked with him, the more she believed that they had much in common.

"Yes, quite quiet," Juria laughed at the words she said, "my friend Raven has been keeping me busy though. I am happy to say that everyone seems to be calming down and not getting to sick or hurt."

Juria smiled but then continued speaking,

"It does irritate me sometimes when the students treat me as a second hand nurse... and most people call me the school NURSE, however I am actually a doctor... I have the degree and everything!"

Juria laughed, it was sad however that the students didn’t know what she had gone through to get her degree in three years, then started for a PhD but then had to relocate. Juria thought about finishing for a PhD but she loved the place she was in now and didn’t want to go back to school.

"I'm glad that if someone does really get hurt, ill be able to help."

Juria smiled and then remembered when Ethan had given her some of the medicine for bruises and such.

"Oh, by the way, thank you so much for that medicine you gave me last time. I used it on one of the students and it worked like a charm!"

Juria gave Ethan a brilliant smile while she thanked him, for she truly was grateful.

"Do you know many different medicines from plants?"

"Wonderful! Well... relatively. I'll definitely have to make sure to get up to the Infirmary more often now that everyone's set'ling down from start of term," Ethan remarked with a small version of his trademark grin.

He listened most patiently to her speak of how the students regarded their resident medical professional as a nurse instead of a doctor. "I can see how that would get irksome... I had one bloke in my researching field that kept referring to me as an intern even long after I obtained my Master status in Herbology. Old bugger, that one," he said. "I'll make sure if any of the tykes are sent to you on my watch that they ask for the 'school doc' instead of just the nurse," Ethan added with a friendly wink.

Another smile lit the Herbology professor's generally sunny features upon hearing that the arnica he'd given her last time they met worked particularly well. "You're most welcome! In the event you need more I tend to keep some around at all times, and not at all any trouble to make."

Ethan chuckled lightly in response to her question. "I have several books on the topic, but to remember them all is... well, I'm not going to say impossible but it is rather challenging! Usually when I need the information, I refresh my memory first if there's time. But yes, I know of quite a few muggle and magical medicinal plants. Though, for the latter, sometimes a potion is more effective than a raw ingredient. Flowers can be fickle little things when they want to be." His last statement was infused with good-humored laughter.