The Bug Collector | marauders

Chloris, Goddess of Flowers

The Greek Goddess of Flowers stubbled upon a nymphs lifeless body in a forest, she called upon Aphrodite and Dionysus to help turn her into a flower, a Rose.

—

The night after the Slytherin vs. Gryffindor game Rose was in no mood to join the boys in their party, she could hear the muffled sounds in the distance from where she stood in the greenhouse, but was fine in her solitude.

Slytherin had lost, much because their star player(who happen to be Regulus Black) missed the match all together.

Regulus' general well-being had terribly degraded over the weeks that followed their last meeting.

He was withdrawn in the classes they shared, making no effort to sneak little chats with her like he usually would, he looked paler, almost lifeless, and Rose could do nothing, but watch him wither.

The boy who'd cried for his brother was gone.

She'd see him on the dueling grounds when she go to practice duel-wielding her wands, a skill she'd frown rather good at. She could use one spell twice or two at once if she could focus enough to think one incarnation while saying another.

Mostly she used one spell twice, Regulus seemed much more talented at dueling than she was, more so than most people in truth.

Rose had worn his quidditch jersey underneath her own Slytherin jumper to the game, but it didn't seem to bring any luck this time around.

In the greenhouse, She heard the familiar sound of padded feet trotting along the stone floor and turned her attention from the plant she was snipping to the black dog behind her, just as her eyes meet his grey ones the dog grew, and Sirius stood before her.

She turned back around to continue removing dead leaves from the dittany plant in front of her, a bushy plant that occasionally released flammable vapors from his leaves.

"Don't light a cigarette in here right now." She said blankly as she tried to focus on her task as his footsteps came closer.

Once he reached her, he sat his head on her shoulder and wrapped his arms around hers, rubbing a thumb over her healed finger tattoo.

"I still think you were coping me. Running off by all yourself to get a tattoo." He said jokingly, but Rose was in no real mood for jokes.

Or the guilt that bubbled in her stomach. Lies were unpleasant, no matter the good they were for.

"Oh, fuck off." Rose said shaking him off her a bit.

"I'm trying to preen this plant, Sirius." She said thereafter.

"You're so confusing, Thorns."

"I'm confusing?" She said twirling around to look at him, small trimming scissors still in hand

"You haven't been able to decide if you hate me, fancy me, think of me as one of your mates for long as I've known you. No tattoo or fresh rose petals has helped me OR you figure it out." She said, upon noticing she was waving the scissors around and eventually pointing them at him she sat them down gently on the table.

"And— much to our confusion, affection doesn't have to be combatant." She continued

"You think I fancy you?" He asked with a small tilt of the head

"That's what you took fro— I mean maybe?" Rose said with an exasperated sigh.

"I don't have to fancy you to kiss you. I mean, do you fancy me?" He asked

"Not particularly." Rose said sassily(and perhaps falsely).

"Right. So what's the real problem, Rosie?" He asked with an overly-cocky smile that made Rose want to toss some dirt from the nearby plant at him, but then she'd just have to clean it up. 

"I know I asked you not to tell the lads, but, I mostly didn't want them to know you were my first kiss. I really don't mind us— you know— being more affectionate around them, I mean if I wanted to only have those moments with you during breaks from school I would just—" She cut herself off. Lucky he already had something to say.

"Awe, you embarrassed one of your mates was your first kiss?" He asked with a fake pouty expression.

"I was more embarrassed of the whole idea, everyone seemed to have done it already, I even think Stephone and Ode are seeing someone." She said honestly

"That's a shocker, that one." Sirius said sarcastically

"Sirius!" Rose whined

"Yes, Love?" He asked, that smile on him again.

Rose just scoffed and leaned her hands on the table behind her.

"We're good then? We understand each other on this?" He asked after a moment.

"I think we do." She said, as he brought one of his hands to touch hers, as he did so the drunken sounds of James and Peter's voices could be heard bouncing along the walls from outside, they were seemingly going to enter the greenhouse soon.

Rose made a face and looked at Sirius pleadingly.

"Look, Padfoot, this had been a good talk, but I really don't feel like interacting with our drunk friends right now so I'm going to snake down, and chill here in my plants, and you go entertain the lads. Please." She said in a hurry.

"I've got you covered." He agreed with a smile and a playful wink.

"Great. Okay see you in the morning." She said as she shrunk down into her snake form, he picked her up and placed her gently onto the dirt of one of her favorite flowerpots before picking up the scissors and putting them back in their proper place, he'd come there enough to practically know where everything went.

Just then a drunken James peeked his head through the door, his glasses falling off his face, an even drunker Peter clung to his back.

"You seen Thorns, Pads?" James asked as Peter spoke incoherently behind him.

"Nope, probably sulking about the defeat." Sirius suggested.

Rose would have hissed at him if she wasn't in incognito mode.

"She is your brothers biggest fan." Peter said, barely able to speak at all.

And she would have bit Peter for that. They never quite let go of the time she cheered for Reg instead of James.

"Hey now Pete, bitterness doesn't suit you." Sirius said, as he joined them.

"Let's be off boys, Moons will be missing us." He continued as he walked out of the greenhouse, two of his best mates with him.