The Herbology Assistant

Chapter One

"Are you professor McGonagall?" Clarice asked pleasantly with a kind smile on her face. The man stopped walking when she spoke to him and slowly turned to face her and raised his eyebrows.

"No," was all the man said and he went to continue on, but Clarice interrupted.

"I'm so sorry, I'm Clarice Bates, the new herbology assistant." She stuck her hand out, but the man didn't shake it. "You havent seen her, have you?"

"Severus Snape and no," He turned and walked away and left Clarice looking like a fool with her hand still out. She sighed and shoved it in her pocket. She had always had trouble trying to make friends and it gets a lot harder the older you get.

"Oh, deary, I am so sorry I am late." Clarice heard a voice and turned to see a tall woman in emerald green robes rushing towards. She grasped Clarice's hands and shook them firmly and the face came back to her. She remembered Professor McGonagall, it had just been way too long. "It's nice to see you all grown up Ms. Bates. Welcome back to Hogwarts."

"The same goes to you Professor, it feels really nice to be back here. I always loved this school." Clarice smiled at the woman.

"Let me show you to your quarters. They're going to be located near the kitchens, which is where the Hufflepuff common room and dorms are." She said and Clarice was surprised she remembered that she was sorted into Hufflepuff when she was here. They walked down towards the dungeons area and passed the bowl of fruit portrait. They stopped at a door with a tag on it that read "Professor Clarice J. Bates" and Clarice got super excited over that minor detail.

"Now you can set up a password to your door and get settled in. Dinner is at 5pm and goes until 7pm in the great hall. See you soon!" Professor McGonagall said while leaving Clarice alone. She looked at the door and said the first thing that came to mind for a password.

"Salamander," She said and her door swung open. She walked in and disapproved over how dull the room looked. She had some serious redecorating to do. She stepped in, closed the door behind her, and set down her suitcase on the floor and opened it up. She had put a series of extension charms on it to make it a a bottomless pit. She got the idea after reading Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Her pet kneazle, Lucy, popped right out and made herself comfortable on the couch in the middle of the floor.

Clarice snapped her fingers and out came her small black crup puppy, Ricky. He also hopped up on the couch and curled up next to Lucy. She backed away from her case and envisioned her room a total new way.

When you first walk in, you're in the living area with a brown leather couch and matching recliner. There was now a coffee table in front of the couch and a side table for the recliner. She added her hanging plants she brought from home around the room to make it more green and fit to her style. She was told technology didn't work at Hogwarts, but she knew a quick little counter curse to change that issue. She placed a TV in front of the seats and then turned to her kitchen area which was technically in the same room.

She added a small bistro set to the side and decorated her counters with utensils and her favorite muggle cooking appliances. She knew some wizards would frown upon her use of muggle technology, but some of these things were her favorites. Coffee always tastes better handmade than with magic.

She walked over to a closed door and opened it up to reveal a bedroom. That included a queen sized four poster bed with some boring gray sheets. She quickly switched them out for a white comforter set and added a patch work quilt her grandmother made her on top. She snaked some vines around the bed posts and took a look at the desk in the corner. She placed her Wiggentree on the desk along with some of her other plants and saw her bowtruckle peeking out of his home.