On the path between two greenhouses, Ted hesitated long enough to wonder just what he was doing out here. Actually the ‘what’ question wasn’t hard: he was here to talk to Neville. It was the ‘why’ that bothered him.

It was so stupid. It’d been over a month since the incident in the “Terror Dungeons” or the “Lost Dungeons” or whatever they wanted to call the blasted boggart-infested place. Everyone had gotten out alive and safe, and even their friendships managed to hold together in spite of everything they’d seen and said. And yet…

Out of the corner of his eye, Ted caught sight of his own reflection in the foggy greenhouse glass. Condensation and snow run-off trickled down the warm surface, dripping steadily over his reflection’s pale face, as though his features were melting right off his skull.

He snapped his head away and closed his eyes, blocking the image from his mind. He set off down the path again, testing each of the greenhouse doors until he found the one that, unlocked, opened at a touch, indicating that someone was working inside. Ted pushed it open and stepped into the greenhouse’s humid warmth, scanning the rows of plants for signs of anything dangerous and-or a glimpse of the man working inside.

“Nev…er, Professor? Are you in here?”

Neville looked up at the voice and his dirt smeared face soon cracked into a smile. He got up to his feet and wiped his gloves on his scuffed jeans. He then took his gloves off and placed them on the nearest trolley. He was dressed in his usual gardening jeans and sweater, though his sleeves were rolled up due to the warmer climate in the greenhouse than the snow covered grounds outside.

"What's going on Ted?" He wasn't all together surprised to see the turquoise haired Gryffindor. Out of all his students he had a special connection with Ted, mostly because he had known him his entire life not to mention having known his parents before they died. Professor Lupin had always been one of his idols, he had been one of the few Professor's (other than Professor Sprout) to encourage him during his Hogwarts days and help him grow rather than just expecting him to fail like everyone else seemed to. Essentially Ted was family and so it was a little weird to hear him call him anything other than Neville but he supposed the teen was just trying to be proper in a school setting. After all it wasn't like he'd be able to play favourites or anything either.

"Need help with your homework?"