Unexpected Research :: OPEN

15 Sept 1921
7pm
In the Stacks

The quiet was deafening. Living with a horde of rowdy Gryffindors made the silence weighty and ominous. Working in the library wasn’t her first choice of extracurriculars, but most of her friends also volunteered, so it was a good way to spend time with them outside of class.

Fifth year was a tough one, studying for their OWL’s was already worrying her. Never one for homework or studying, the seriousness of the year was daunting.

Walking the stacks, rows and rows and rows of books, Tilly was finding books that didn’t belong in the section and replacing books that needed to find their homes. It was an easy task, but one that was neverending. Stopping at a section of books, one in hand that needed to be returned to its rightful place, Tilly noticed she was in the Herbology section. Of all the sections of the library, this was the one she knew the best.

Mindlessly running her finger over the leather spines, reading the titles in a whispered mumble. Many had been opened by her hands at one point or another, but not all. Returning the ancient text, 'A Field Guide of Magical Flora and Fauna,' to its spot, Tilly’s eyes fell on a much older, tattered spine on the top shelf of the section. Summoning the book with her wand was easy, the tomb landing in her hands with a thud and a cloud of dust.

‘Bio-Kinetic Properties of Amazonian Flora’

Why it never occurred to her that the Library might hold some truths was honestly stupid. Holding the book in her hands, she opened the cover with a creek. The leather was stiff, having been closed for a very long time. Skimming the pages, flipping from chapter to chapter without really taking in the words, Tilly realized this might actually have some information to help her.

Since her accident/attack in the Amazon, things have been happening that no one could explain. The tingles in her fingers, the throbbing of her scar, the ability to just know what is wrong with a plant by touch. It was all very strange and a little exciting. Over the summer she played with the ability a little. Every time her fingers dug into the dirt, she would know what was needed by the plants around her. If the soil needed nutrients, if a plant was sick, if there was rot or disease. Every time the encounters drained her of energy, but with more work, it was becoming easier.

The sound of someone else behind her caused a small scream to escape. Slamming the book shut, a cloud of dust wafting into her face, setting off a stream of coughs and sneezes. “Oh my goddess, you scared me. What are you doing here?”

"Meow."

"I know."

"Meooow."

"I know!"

Echo was hungry. So was she. It was the start of dinner and the end of her shift in the library, but Rae wasn't done just yet. There were a few more books on her cart – no more than four – that needed to be returned to their shelves. Even just a year ago, her rumbling stomach would've been reason enough to stick the cart somewhere no one would find it too quickly and then leave. Hell, even now the thought had crossed her mind no less than eight times since she'd left the front desk.

But she wouldn't.

Rosie and Cassian were gone, and they'd been two of Julia's most responsible library head assistants. The pair had left big shoes to fill, and having been a volunteer herself since her second year, she knew better than most that the majority of the others weren't in any position to fill them either. Was she? She...didn't know, but Julia had always been in her corner and was now obviously facing a small crisis. If she could help, she would. If that meant showing up to dinner a few minutes late, well...that wouldn't be the worst thing in the world.

Merlin knew the girl had gorged herself plenty during the free period that had opened up where Charms should've been. While she'd never skip the meal entirely, it wouldn't kill her to delay.

The half-kneazle trotted on ahead of her, resigned to her role in keeping Rae company until she could be through with the last of the returns. She'd let her sit with her at the Hufflepuff table after, a treat for being so understanding. For now, dark eyes searched the shelves, looking for the place she knew the book held in her hand belonged.

Herbology. Something about plant life and ecosystems of West Africa. She remembered seeing a sixth-year reading it earlier. It figured the boy would leave without returning it. If he kept it up, he'd be on his way to a ban.

The girl had neither time nor desire to be anyone's maid.

The scream as she entered the aisle startled her and had Echo bristling until she appeared nearly twice her size.

“Oh my goddess, you scared me. What are you doing here?”

"I could say the same for you. Circe, Tilly, what were you expecting to come around the corner? A dementor?" Rae got that the library was quiet and that sometimes, when you were lost in a good read, the rest of the world disappeared. In large part, she couldn't relate. Reading had never been her cup of tea. Even so, she didn't think she'd be so startled unless she was actively expecting the worst.

The Slytherin lifted the book in her hand for her friend to have a look. "Just returning a few books. Two of 'em belong in this aisle." It took a moment more for Echo to settle, and when she did, she tentatively moved closer to Matilda to sniff at her.

"What about you? A reaction like that, I'd hope it's at least scandalous."

Heart returning to normal, but taking its sweet time. The pounding in her chest slowed with each beat. Thankfully it was only Rae popping around the corner. "I could say the same for you. Circe, Tilly, what were you expecting to come around the corner? A dementor?"

Tilly placed the book down that had pulled her in so thoroughly. It was rare for her to get so completely consumed that the squeaking of a cart and footsteps didn’t catch her attention. Well, at least in the library. Reading was not one of her favorite pastimes.

"What about you? A reaction like that, I'd hope it's at least scandalous."

Tilly’s face heated. She hadn’t intended to keep a secret from Rae and Benji, but the situation with her scar was difficult to explain. After discussing it with two professors, that blew her off saying it was residual pain from the attack, it was hard to confide in anyone. Evander knew, because he was in the right place and the right time.

“No, sorry, I was just reading this book. It caught my attention, being from the Amazon. It’s stupid, but it never dawned on me, with everything going on, to look here for more information on my…”

Shit.

“... umm, the attack. On what happened. Last summer.” Yeah, that was a totally convincing lie. Crap.

How did you approach the subject of a throbbing scar? Knowing in your bones what a plant was suffering with. That feeling that there was something different about your magic. It was all very strange, and the last thing she wanted was for people to look at her differently. That being said, Rae was one of her best friends and whip smart on a lot of things. Maybe, just maybe, it was time to open up.

Rae noticed the colour creep across her friend's face as she moved by her to replace the first book. Always a promising start to any conversation. The Slytherin reasoned it must have been something grand to have the blood pouring into the girl's face like that.

Naturally, she was curious.

It had always been a roll of the dice whether Matilda Nordstrom would turn into a blushing maid or double down and chuck things at someone to reassert her cavalier veneer. No rhyme or reason behind it except perhaps the girl's own internal compass on what she considered too salacious to be met with a wry grin. Sometimes, it set Rae's mouth hanging. Other times, she could only stare and wonder how the girl could possibly have herself so worked up about seemingly nothing.

She wondered which this one was.

“No, sorry, I was just reading this book. It caught my attention, being from the Amazon."

The latter then, a book.

It didn't surprise her that Matilda had found herself nose deep and distracted by a book on plants. While Rae wasn't aware of her friend's reading habits, she knew well her affinity for flora. If she could, the girl would make herself a second dorm over in the greenhouses if the herbology professor wouldn't kick her out.

"It’s stupid, but it never dawned on me, with everything going on, to look here for more information on my... umm, the attack. On what happened. Last summer.”

Walking by her again, with her half-kneazle now in tow, Rae went to collect the second book. This one belonged on a higher shelf – the very top if her memory served her.

"The attack?" she questioned, summoning the ladder from the other end of the aisle and ascending it. Echo waited at the base, her plaintive mewling insisting that the girl be careful. "Oh, right, from the summer before when you and Benji had that trip. Bad luck, that had been. Did you ever find out what that plant was? I'd have thought you'd have full documentation on it by now." What with how thorough Tilly tended to be when it came to her ground-bound friends.

With Rae scaling the ladder, reminding Tilly why they were in the library to begin with, she took a book off her cart and handed it up to Rae. “Can you put that on the 3rd shelf from the top for me? Since you're up there.”

"The attack?" Rae asked, while being interrupted by the creature waiting below. "Oh, right, from the summer before when you and Benji had that trip. Bad luck, that had been. Did you ever find out what that plant was? I'd have thought you'd have full documentation on it by now."

Tilly, looking through her books that still needed to be reshelved, nodded. Not looking up, as if on autopilot while her brain sifted through her memories of a summer adventure gone wrong. “Yeah, Toxicodendron voraxfolia maleficus, but the locals call it Brazo del diablo, Arms of the Devil. Which I find very fitting.”

Sighing, Tilly looked up at her friend. There were a handful of people she trusted in the castle and one just so happened to be in her presence. There was no way to keep the secret long term, might as well get some help with the issue.

“So, Rae… I have been having some issues lately. Of the magical variety. Only Evan really knows about it, because he was there when I was testing some things.” She didn’t want her friends to be mad that she had kept it from them, but with so much unknown about the power, she also didn’t want to jump the gun and tell the world.

“After the attack, my scar throbbed for months. Then it subsided, but now there are times that it tingles or throbs. There is so little information known about the plant, but I think it altered me in some way. There are… umm… Other feelings I get. Like, if I’m working with a sick plant I can… I don’t know… Feel it? Not physically, but mentally?” Ugh, she wasn’t describing it right at all. “No, not mentally, plants don’t have a brain so that’s stupid. I swear Rae, I’m not crazy. You think I’m crazy don’t you.”

Moving the books around on her cart, eyes downcast so that she didn’t see the inevitable look of judgement in Rae’s eyes. Her hands moved the books mindlessly, not organizing them in any way, just keeping her hands busy, the color of embarrassment rising in her cheeks. “You know, just forget it. It’s fine. I’m just being silly. Everything is totally fine.”

Not there...not there...

Rae pulled herself along the shelf, searching for the spot the book belonged. When Julia had first explained library classification systems to the Slytherin, it was for the practical purpose of preventing the girl from jamming the books wherever she had a mind. Apparently, one couldn't just group books by colour and hope for the best. It had taken a while for her to get it and a while longer to be bothered with going along with it. Years later, it was almost second nature – annoyingly so.

Now, even when she preferred to jam the books into the first shelf she could find, the nagging voice in the back of her head – the one that sounded suspiciously like the librarian herself – prevented her from doing so.

Ah. There. Creating space on the shelf, Rae slid the book in.

“Can you put that on the 3rd shelf from the top for me? Since you're up there.”

Hm? Rae glanced down to find the book extended. Third shelf? The girl lowered herself, taking the book and scanning the titles for its proper place. She listened while she searched, vaguely hearing the complicated names her friend rattled off. Only one of them stuck.

Arms of the Devil.

Rae whistled, a reaction so unladylike that she could almost see her father scowling from behind his polished desk in his office back in New York. "You sure know how to pick 'em, Tills," she said, distracted until she found the place for this book, too. Eventually, her mahogany gaze came to rest in a spot where a space still remained. She shoved the book back into place, returning her attention to Matilda when she said her name.

Her friend was having issues, and, without being asked to or even knowing what kind, her mind was already trying to come up with solutions. Were they the people kind? The pair could have a chat with whoever it was at dinner and get them to understand why they needed to leave her friend alone. If it were studies, she'd find her a dependable Ravenclaw.

Rae made her way back down the ladder, leaning against the shelf while she listened. Magical problems. They wouldn't need to throw hands at anyone after all.

Shame.

“After the attack, my scar throbbed for months. Then it subsided, but now there are times that it tingles or throbs. There is so little information known about the plant, but I think it altered me in some way. There are… umm… Other feelings I get. Like, if I’m working with a sick plant I can… I don’t know… Feel it? Not physically, but mentally? No, not mentally, plants don’t have a brain so that’s stupid. I swear Rae, I’m not crazy. You think I’m crazy don’t you.”

"Crazy?" Rae repeated. Convoluted as Tilly's explanation had been, she'd been following right up until the part where her friend suggested any of this warranted such a label. To call what the Gryffindor described 'unusual' would have been an understatement, to be sure, but even then the world was filled with many unusual things. There were people who turned into animals, wizards who ripped away at pieces of their souls, and armies of the undead guarding ancient ruins.

Benji had a scar, too. Years later, it still throbbed without explanation, occasionally causing him pain. She remembered him saying on occasion that it made his casting feel...different, stronger, but he had fewer words for it than Matilda.

How typical of the boy – of boys in general. Something carved into their skin, influencing their magic, and they gave it nothing more than a shrug before heading off to their next meal. Tilly, to her own benefit, was much more thorough and was actively seeking answers.

Then her eyes fell, and Rae became all the more confused.

Rae collected the remaining pair of books from her cart, dropping them atop Matilda's books on hers. It was both her declaring an end to any desires she held for restocking shelves and a bid to gain her friend's attention. She leaned in, hoping to catch her gaze.

"It doesn't sound like you'd like to forget it," she started. "And it's not silly. But..." Rae searched her expression. "Is there something else? I thought you'd be thrilled to talk to plants, what with all the time you spend around them. Instead, you seem kinda...I dunno...worried. Circe, you're not dying, are you?"

"It doesn't sound like you'd like to forget it. And it's not silly. But… Is there something else? I thought you'd be thrilled to talk to plants, what with all the time you spend around them. Instead, you seem kinda...I dunno...worried. Circe, you're not dying, are you?"

“Oh, no, or course not.” Tilly laughed it off, giving a strained laugh, ending on a choked gasp. “Wait, DO YOU THINK I AM?!” Eyes wide at her friend. Things clicked in her brain then, her last checkup with St Mungo’s had been great, so no. She wasn’t dying.

Shaking her head, red hair flying in every direction. “No, NO. I’m not dying. Ugh, NO.” Her hands came up in the universal sign for stop. Stop what? She didn’t know. It just felt right. She didn’t yell, but her whispers were very dramatic. They were in the library after all.

That was the final straw, she needed to tell her the whole thing. It would be easier than trying to pick and choose what she said. Rae might come out and say she was nuts at the end, but at least she would have all the info to make an educated decision on the matter.

“It’s not really talking. It’s hard to explain, but it’s like being an empath, but just with plants. If my hands are in the soil or touching a plant I can sense what it needs, if it’s sick, needs fertilizer, has root rot, that sort of thing.”

She was trying to make it sound not weird, but just by the nature of the issue, it was strange. “The book I found didn’t mention the plant, but there was so little known about it after the attack, I’m not sure I will find information in the library.”

It was a new avenue to look down though, possibly even going to the magical library in London during break. There had to be someone in this world that had studied the beast of a plant.

“If it wasn’t strange enough, when I’m reading the plants my scar throbs. The sicker the plant, the more it tingles. There was a plant over summer, at home, that was almost dead from dehydration. I tried to, I don’t know, heal it? I watered it, then… I guess, I tried to force the healing? God, this sounds weird, I don’t know how to explain it, but just when I felt like something might be happening my scar became super painful and I almost passed out. I haven’t pushed it since.”

With all that out, Tilly felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. It was nice to tell Rae everything, even if it meant a trip back to St Mungo’s to get her head checked. “So, there ya go. See… not dying.”

Did she think that Matilda was dying?

Well. No. Not a moment ago, at least. Her friend hadn't been giving off the impression she wasn't much longer for this world. Upbeat, energetic, and no lethargy in her movements. Granted, someone could appear fit as a fiddle and still drop dead but the thought hadn't crossed her mind until the girl explained some hidden and developing plant powers with a look like she held the weight of the world and all the anxiety that came with it. They were conflicting images at best.

"We could always head over to the hospit—"

“No, NO. I’m not dying. Ugh, NO.”

Ah, not dying then, just a little out of sorts. On most others, Rae may have understood the level of hesitation Matilda displayed, but the girl practically breathed herbology. For her to be looking the way she did while talking about something that suited no one better was the hardest thing for Rae to reconcile within the conversation. It wasn't adding up. It was no wonder the Slytherin thought the girl had been dying. What other reason would she have to hold her back from what Rae expected should've been a more exciting outcome for her friend?

“It’s not really talking."

Rae let her take another stab at explaining, but it still sounded an awful lot like talking to plants to her, albeit not in any conventional way. She understood. Her confusion remained in regard to the girl's contrary disposition. It was almost as if Tilly were...expecting the worst, but Rae couldn't figure out why if it hadn't given some indication that it was negatively contributing to her health.

Maybe the Gryffindor just didn't like the ability. As much as she liked plants, it occurred to Rae that she might not have wanted to be so intimately acquainted with them.

Curious.

“If it wasn’t strange enough, when I’m reading the plants my scar throbs. The sicker the plant, the more it tingles. There was a plant over summer, at home, that was almost dead from dehydration. I tried to, I don’t know, heal it? I watered it, then… I guess, I tried to force the healing? God, this sounds weird, I don’t know how to explain it, but just when I felt like something might be happening my scar became super painful and I almost passed out. I haven’t pushed it since.”

Echo pawed at her leg, and she scooped her up. Content, the feline purred low as she made herself comfortable in her mistress's arms. In that pause, Rae thought over Matilda's words.

Had her friend always been so self-conscious? She hadn't noticed it before now, but the girl spoke with clear hesitation and almost seemed to be trying to defend herself or soften her words into something more palatable. At first, Rae couldn't understand why; then it occurred to her that her friend might be...embarrassed?

"I won't tell anyone, if that's what you're worried about," she said after Tilly gave a second confirmation that she wasn't dying. Dark eyes searched the girl, washing over her once before settling on her friend's gaze. "And if you're worried about it or things going south, I'm sure it's something me and Benji could help you with." Which required telling Benji, but he didn't count.

She wouldn't tell anyone else.

Rae shrugged lightly, adjusting Echo in her arms. "He probably won't tell anyone either."

Shelving the last of her books for this section, all on the lower shelves across from where Rae was working, Tilly turned and looked at her friend. It felt like just yesterday they were hating each other. Their first year was rocky, at one point telling Benji to marry Tilly. Which was just… eww… no.

Thankfully, they had put aside their differences and became tight friends. When Ren was at the castle, they were an unstoppable group, it felt different now. Tilly was just happy she still had Benji and Rae on her side.

"I won't tell anyone, if that's what you're worried about. And if you're worried about it or things going south, I'm sure it's something me and Benji could help you with."

Rae cuddled the half kneazle in her arms. Tilly wanting to reach out and pet the creature, but they could be temperamental so she kept her hands to herself. "He probably won't tell anyone either."

Crossing her arms, Tilly nodded. She felt lighter somehow, letting Rae in on the secret. Sharing the load with friends would be nice in the long run. “Yeah, I want to tell Benji. Maybe the next time I have some sick plants to work with you guys could be there. I’d like to see what else I can do, past just knowing what is wrong with them. And thanks, for listening. I should have told you sooner.”

Looking over her cart, Tilly rearranged the books that were left. Thankfully, not many remained. “I’m going to finish up putting these away then head out. See ya later?”