( ) "I love your drawings! The Mandrake is pretty accurate!" Gaia grabbed the herb knife "Magnus once everyone has taken a look at the Mandrake would you like to make the cut so we can replant it?" Gaia grabbed a smaller pot and added some enchanted soil "I need to go grab our new plants for us and get everyone set up for harvest." Then turned to Aderyn () "I also need your help whenever you can. The back mistletoe is sprouting rapidly and we need to replant some and harvest the others. Don't know if you feel like flying up for them." Gaia grinned "We need to send some items to Potions Club."

He blushed lightly at the praise. "Sure!" he exclaimed brightly, "just show me where 'bouts you want me to cut." wouldn't do to accidentally make it too small or too big. Secretly he hopped Aderyn felt up to flying. He really liked seeing her flying, even if he did envy her talent a bit. "I can stand under the milstoe so you all can snog me wif no shame." His mischivious smile in place.

Aderyn glanced over from where she'd been eyeing the mandrake and nodded at Gaia's request, more than happy to get a chance to do something else. She swiftly slipped off her cloak, setting it down with her book bag so her wings could be free and making a move toward the back of the greenhouse with her earmuffs still firmly in place.

"No problem, I'm happy to take care of it!"

She giggled at Magnus' suggestion.

"That only works at Christmastime, silly!"

With a wink, she moved toward the mistletoe, ready to get to work.

He shook his head. "Ain't true, you can kiss guilt free all year round an' snogging a werewolf is good luck as long as it ain't during the night of the full moon." He watched her wings appear with awe. He doubted he'd ever tire of watching that.

"Don't let Peeves hear you say that," Aderyn said with a grin. "He'll be hanging the stuff everywhere - you may end up having to snog the headmistress or something!"

She pulled a few spare flower pots out of a cabinet and began to fill them with an enchanted, nutrient-rich soil mixture that the mistletoe could thrive in.

Gaia had places a box on seedlings on the table and started heading to the mistletoe when she heard the exchange. She grabbed one of her gloves and smacked Magnus in the back of the head lightly "Stop being weird!" Gaia giggled "Pay attention to the Mandrake. Cut in a V shape right above the eyes area. Remember to stun it first so there is no pain. Then just add the top part to this pot and add plenty of enriched water from this pot. I will be back so we can cut it to dry some Mandrake root and then keep other fresh."

Gaia still couldn't help smiling at her friend he was such a flirt turning to Aderyn "I have this basket for the berries and we also need some of the leaves. If we have plenty of seedlings then we can replant along the hanging pots. I will go get the soil and water just in case!" Gaia smiled at her friend.

( )

Now Aderyn gave him an idea and he was thinking about how much mistletoe he would need to cover all the staircases when Gaia smacked him upside the head. It was light and didn't hurt, though he still said, "Oy, that's me 'ead." He did as instructed, stunning the mandrake before cutting the V shape. What Magnus didn't expect was too feel awful about it. It looked so helpless and human that before he realised it his eyes were burning with the start of tears. He gently added the top part to the pot and then poured in some of the water. But then he quietly slunk out of the greenhouse and then slumped to the ground, drawing himself into a ball.

Gaia looked around to see if it was safe to take her earmuffs off and realized Magnus had walked out. She went looking for him and saw the bump on the floor.

"Are you okay? I should have been paying more attention. I know the first mandrake is always difficult but that is why we stun them. Think of all the people that can benefit from one plant. It is really okay. You did a great job." Gaia patted Magnus head "Need a snog'?" Gaia said imitating Magnus accent. ()

He heard Gaia coming before she arrived. He wiped a tear from his eye with his arm, though he couldn't do anything about the feeling in his stomach. "Yeah, I'm fine," he said with a strangled voice that belied his assertion. Logically he knew she was right and a healthy respect of nature was a good thing, but he couldn't help how awful he felt and his hands were shaking. His mind kept replaying his actions on the plant. He shook his head at the offer of snogging. "Nah, maybe later." Not only was what he did bothering him, but the nagging voice in his head asking, "how can you be a healer if you fall to pieces over a plant?"

"You know... to heal people you have to create the potions to heal them. That Mandrake will be use from tip to root in ways to help wizards and creatures alike. Bad would have been if it had gone to far and uprooted and gone away. If that happened we would never manage to create potions and in the end a lot of stunned or even worse people on their wake." Gaia looked at him with a smile "I think you will be a great healer." ()

"Sorry," he said trying to smile but failing, "You must fink I'm the world's biggest prat being distraught over a plant." He rubbed his eyes again and stood up slowly, leaning heavily against the building.

() "Not at all." Gaia said with sincerity and a grin "You are what makes a good healer. You care and respect all living things. It will come in handy in your future, but at least now you are able to handle mandrakes and now a lot more about them."

Aderyn watched the exchanged between Gaia and Magnus, giggling a bit as she got to work on the mistletoe. She hovered around the pots with the berry bowl in hand, picking them easily and taking the occasional short break to let her wings rest. She'd been distracted and didn't pay much attention to things around her until she suddenly saw Magnus make his way out of the greenhouse looking obviously distraught. She was about to go after him when Gaia beat her to it, so she shrugged and let the two of them be as she continued picking berries.

It didn't take her overly long to finish and soon all the berries had been harvested. She set the bowl, now heavy with mistletoe, down on the table and picked up another. She fluttered back up to the hanging pots and began carefully harvesting the largest, greenest leaves.

Gaia walked back to the greenhouse to finish helping Aderyn "Those are looking great! Do we have any seedlings ready to plant?" Gaia was grateful for Aderyn's flying abilities. It was far easier to fly up than magically bring heavy pots down. ()

Aderyn glanced back and forth down the row of mistletoe plants and spotted a few small, fresh seedlings. She fluttered back down to set down the bowl of leaves she held and nodded her head.

"There are only a few and they're very small, but I'm sure they'd be happier in their own pots!"

() "Perfect!" Gaia clapped her hands and rushed to get pots to add the seedlings. "The more we spread them out the better. It seems they are a popular ingredient!"

He nodded and thanked her. Watching Gaia return into the greenhouse he took a deep breath and steeled himself to go back in. Maybe he would write a letter to his dad explaining what happened and see if he had other words of encouragement. He re-entered the greenhouse and nearly lost it again, seeing the mandrake... He did the only thing he could think of--he went to his bag, pulled out a vial and downed it in a flash. He knew all his colour hand drained and he was still shaking.

Aderyn nodded and smiled as she fluttered down to pick up a spade. She hastily flitted back up to one of the hanging pots, carefully pulling up one of the little saplings and holding it, root ball and all, on the spade as she touched down once more. She set the spade down and made room inside the pot, watering the dirt therein a little bit before transplanting the sapling.

As she finished up, she noticed that Magnus had returned to the greenhouse looking a bit worse for wear. She smiled sympathetically.

"Alright there, Magnus? Maybe some sugar will perk you up a bit - there are jelly slugs in my bag there - you're welcome to them."

Magnus waited for the potion to work, which thankfully was not long. He began to calm. He nodded at Aderyn not trusting himself to talk until he felt better. "Anyfing I can 'elp you wif?" he finally managed, his accent noticably thicker.

Aderyn nodded to Magnus.

"If you could dig small wells for me to put these saplings in in each of those pots there, that would be a big help!"

She smiled warmly again, hoping Magnus would feel better soon.