Grounds: The Topiary Garden

[Wilber Winterbottom]

The Topiary Garden is home to creatures both magical and mundane. From Hippogriffs to rabbits and everything in between, these figures have been trimmed from specially selected plants to provide a relaxing environment for you.

Take a seat on the grass or perhaps on one of the polished, wooden benches and inhale the crisp freshness of the air. More often than not, you may find yourself being distracted by a topiary as it waves to you or it randomly scratched its nose. Once in a while, they may even resort to performing a small hilarious act if they are not receiving enough attention. Professor Khanna asks that you refrain from interacting roughly with the topiaries. None would want a broken wing or a twisted paw.


OOC: The topiaries are charmed to move about, however their actions wouldn’t be anything over the top. There will be no attacking the students and professors or dragons breathing fire. You are free to RP for the topiaries as well as to decide what sort of creatures live in the garden!

[sweetpinkpixie]

Having discovered that she focused better outdoors despite there often being more distractions than indoors, Anna brought her bookbag and herself out to the grounds only to be immediately distracted by the topiary garden. It was a place she had often passed by but never really spent much time in and instead revisited places of routine like the domes and the bank of the lake. She really did have the intention to do a bit of homework while she was out, but since she was now discovering a new-to-her quirk of the grounds it was going to take some time to refocus...if she refocused at all. "Oh woooooooow," she whispered, awestruck, as she happened upon a unicorn topiary. It had been a goal for her and Aurora to meet unicorns together but after Anna had nearly been eaten by acromantulas in the Forbidden Forest, Freddy being there to save her life and it now on the ever lengthening list of things she had to pay it forward for, she had not been too keen to venture back in there without proper supervision or at least not until she had much more confidence in her wandwork.

Shuffling over to the topiary, Anna stopped in front of it and practically squealed as the floral creature bowed its head to nuzzle her. "Oh I will have to show you to Aurora," she promised herself and the topiary as she plopped down on the grass and collected the books that had fallen out of her bag during her excitement. In true Anna fashion, she opened none of her books as intended and instead opened her newest journal to scribble down a couple reminders and soon began a bit of stream of consciousness journaling.

[Lottiepot]

Aurora’s sunny disposition was mildly dampened by the circumstances that she had found herself in and for which she had no real explanation towards her feelings other than that they made her feel icky towards people she had no reason to. It was only a couple days into term and other than her dormmates and her best friend whose presence could and would NEVER be avoided, the Ravenclaw had mostly avoided social interactions in case she would find herself in an icky situation.

But Aurora was a free bird and shutting herself away in the tower (even if it did remind her of fairytales) was not helpful to her spirits. Naturally she had spotted her best friend from the bridge and had attempted to follow the bouncy set of curls all the way to the garden, her little legs struggling to keep up with the head start Anna had on her.

“Show me what?” the blonde questioned as she appeared around the corner of a Hippogriff topiary just in time to hear her name mentioned by the Hufflepuff. With a final couple of steps, the sixth year found herself at Anna’s side linking their arms together with a soft squish.

[sweetpinkpixie]

"Aurora!" the seventh year squealed with delight as her best friend seemingly manifested out of thin air. "You know, it really IS like we have learned an advanced form of Legilimency just between us because I was literally just thinking about you!" Which the blonde obviously knew because of her question, meaning that Aurora had overheard her talking to the topiary. Anna gave the Ravenclaw an extra squish and quickly added a check next to one item on her to-do list because it was already done with the bestie's arrival. "Look! It's a unicorn! It's not a herd like we dreamed of coming across together but still a unicorn," she smiled with a grand wave of the arm at the topiary that then bowed its head again to nuzzle both girls.

Smoothing out the grass around them, Anna moved her book bag out of the way and reached for a couple of wild flowers growing nearby - to make flower crowns for both of them, of course.

"Actually...we saw unicorns once on a field trip of sorts into the Forbidden Forest with class, didn't we?" she continued with a sheepish laugh after a moment as a cloudy kind of memory resurfaced while she tied two flowers together. "And we also took care of some foals with Mr. Derf and Mrs. Chloe so...I guess we have sufficiently ticked off that 'see unicorns together'."

[Lottiepot]

It didn’t matter what mood she was in, being in Anna’s presence was like being dipped in a pool of liquid sunshine surrounded by unicorns and fairies and it was impossible not to smile at the squeal that came out her best friend's mouth. Unfortunately in this scenario, finding Anna had not been a case of the imagined telepathy between the two girls but rather a right place right time sort of thing in which Aurora had spotted the unmistakable bouncing curls from a distance and had been able to follow them all the way. Although she supposed that now Anna’s youngest sister was here there were EXTRA curls too. Anyway, the point was that she unfortunately hadn’t appeared in a puff of pixie dust and had used her own legs to purposefully arrive at the topiary garden. “I know” she giggled, not wanting to ruin the illusion. She HAD heard her name mentioned though so it was pretty obvious that she was somewhere in Anna’s thoughts. “We should ask about that, whether it’s possible to be a legilimens to specific people only.” Aurora had sadly been forced to drop Divination in favour of subjects she would actually require and could get decent grades in but she was sure Professor Rook would appreciate the interest regardless.

The Ravenclaw really should’ve been taking a leaf out of Anna’s book when it came to writing lists for she was currently all over the place. One arm clinging to her bestie, the other reached out to tickle at the topiary’s nose like she would a horse. “I wonder if these topiaries have to be sheared like you do ordinary ones. I hope it doesn’t hurt them and it’s like clipping fur.” The sixteen year old had been mortified the first time she had heard a Mandrake scream and the very real possibility that plants could feel came into fruition. It hadn’t taken at least twenty-four hours to convince her that the strawberries she had previously been munching away on were not about to cry.

She too settled on the patch of grass, a common occurrence to be nestled on the ground rather than taking advantage of the perfectly reasonable benches dotted around and plucked a couple of daisies using her nail to create the hole to loop them through in a chain. “It doesn’t matter how many times we see a Unicorn, it’s never NOT going to be exciting,” she replied, tying off the Daisy chain in a small loop and slipping it onto Anna’s wrist. “There are plenty of other creatures we could add to the list anyway and visiting Atlantis is still number one priority.” Something that they had been talking about for years and STILL hadn’t achieved.

[sweetpinkpixie]

AND if her littliest sister couldn't be a Hufflepuffle, Anna was super relieved that she was in Ravenclaw with Aurora. Of course another of her sisters was there as well so it felt doubly good. Slytherin would have been okay too with Solomon, but something told her he might not like being dubbed an honorary babysitter of sorts. "Or maybe we have just developed a seventh sense that is exclusive to our mental wavelengths," she offered thoughtfully with a couple of taps to her chin. It sounded even more plausible when you threw in a couple of fancy sounding terminology like that. "Like a special intuition...like what people talk about twins having. And since we were obviously born from the same star we are technically twins, right? Or more like...chosen twins like chosen family."

Smiling as she watched Aurora and the topiary interact, she wondered how difficult it was to shape one. She had dabbled in clay before but her hands lacked a certain finesse to make anything not lopsided or with her fingerprints and indentations everywhere. "I would imagine so...I mean...plants are always growing so to not trim and shear and all that would mean that they weren't growing anymore and that seems like a cruel thing to do to something," she considered as she reached out to touch a couple of leaves and rub it gently between her fingers. "Maybe it feels nice...like when you get a nice haircut....but then again...plants don't have a brain or nervous system like we do so it is a bit of wishful thinking too," she hummed as SOME of her Herbology OWL and subsequent review for NEWTs presented itself. "It would be pretty fun if we had a class project to create a topiary though...like a little one that we could keep on our nightstands."

Anna plucked a few more wild flowers to tie together to continue making a floral tiara because Aurora was a princess, and nodded eagerly in agreement. "Very true. AND I think I can convince my parents to have Atlantis be a graduation trip for me! Grades pending...that is...but I think I can do it," she explained while practically bouncing in place. There had been a lot of no's coming out of the Bowen-Walles household when it came to nonacademic happenings and it had only been under the pretense of a kind of work study paired with an A on her Care of Magical Creatures OWL that she had been able to continue her volunteering "So we can maybe FINALLY make good on that dream this summer if we can manage to get all parentals on board. At last, you, me, and Solomon in Atlantis!"

Of course, she now understood the new freedom she had as an of-age witch too and she didn't technically need their permission to do it at all.

[Lottiepot]

Anna shouldn’t have any concerns with the latest addition to Ravenclaw, Aurora would be more than honoured to act as a surrogate big sister whilst they were forced to be in the common rooms. She had two years of experience now, although Ander was a little more difficult to interact with considering what he liked to do was play with bricks, throw his mashed bananas on the floor and follow the family dog around the house. “I’d like to think that we were special in that way but somehow I think it was just luck” she laughed brightly. She was not a natural seer or legilimens or anything really. “I do like to imagine that we were always meant to be best friends. Like the universe planned for all of this to happen.” She wasn’t sure of the logistics of the whole thing but it made the most sense to her.

Art was not Aurora’s thing even though she tried and shaping topiaries seemed like it would be an art form in itself that the Ravenclaw most certainly should not be let loose on. She could probably manage a heart shape but no doubt it would be lopsided, perhaps it would add to the charm? “So a bit like grooming a Crup?” she questioned thinking back to her time at the menagerie over the summer in which she had been fascinated by the groomers skills whilst quite wisely not being given the clippers for herself. “Do you think that applies to ALL plants? I mean Mandrakes sound like my brother when he’s hangry, are they just crying for the sake of it?” Considering Anna seemed to be on top of her Herbology revision and Aurora had completely forgotten anything she had learned the previous term.

As a child, being a Princess AND a vet had been top priorities on her list. Unfortunately the impacts of the real world alongside the sad realisation that she was unlikely to ever meet a Prince had dampened her life ambitions but that didn’t mean she didn’t deserve a floral tiara, especially one made by Anna which she would gladly sport for at least the next two days. “You should come study with me and my new tutor. I haven’t met them yet but I’m sure that they’d be happy to have the both of us.” Or likely not, the two of them were a terrible combination for any concentration to happen. If it meant that they were one step closer to that magical holiday in Atlantis then it was worth the shot.

The second Solomon’s name was mentioned, the blonde’s face dropped like a Crup who had her toy taken away and her eyes migrated down to her hands that were absentmindedly twisting a blade of grass between her fingers. “Maybe it should be just the two of us..”

[sweetpinkpixie]

Anna's smile widened and she felt every shade of warm and fuzzy throughout her petite body. "I like to think so too," she nodded in agreement and offered Aurora another affectionate squish. "Both our names even start with A!" The moment reminded her a little of another similar conversation she had had last term by the lake with Freddy about fate and destiny and life providing you with the tools and opportunities you needed. Her caveat to the whole thing had been that things may be provided but it was also up to the person to recognize these things when they were presented. Notions of fate and destiny were kind of sort of heavily romanticized and the seventh year very much prescribed to the notion of free will and not having everything ordained for anyone. Ironically though also not ironically at all, this belief system had been encouraged through Professor Rook's lessons. "The universe definitely made sure our paths crossed and we were smart enough to notice."

Anna paused to consider the comparison and, seeing as she had never attempted topiary trimming and her own efforts for pruning and the like were not exactly artistic, she wasn't so sure that it was a good one-for-one comparison but in essence it sure seemed the same. "I think so? I mean, some people to get rather creative and extravagant trims to their pets and topiaries are the same concept," she nodded as she looked up at the unicorn topiary that had now ceased moving as it drank in the sunlight. "Pretty sure mandrakes are crying because they are pulled out from their pots and they stop once they are in a new pot with their dirt blanket...so I think that has to do with the sudden change in temperature for them and all plants have responses to that...just...mandrakes are vocal about it," she laughed.

If Anna knew any preservation spells she would have put one on the little wild flower crown so it would last longer. "Oh that would be fun! Do you think they would mind?" she asked, ears perking up a bit because she was a big fan of studying in groups even if her own tutor was a stickler for one-on-one. And, honestly, in Anna's case it was necessary considering how easily she was distracted. "I could use the additional revision since NEWTs are this year but I understand that not all tutors are particularly fond of multiple people at a time...and I'd hate to insert myself and make things awkward for you and them."

Adding a few more flowers to the crown that was still very much just a long string, Anna held it up to gauge if she had enough or if she needed more for it to fit Aurora's head comfortable...which meant that she saw the sudden fall of the blonde's features which meant that her own enthusiasm drained from her own. The events from the train had certainly not been forgotten but the Hufflepuffle was missing more than a few pieces to complete that particular puzzle. "...but...it has been the three of us talking about this for years...why exclude him?"

[Lottiepot]

Aurora was certainly an affectionate person but there were a select few whose company and physicality made her feel so at ease and Anna was one of them. She leaned into the squish, resting her head on her best friend’s shoulder instantly hit with a face full of curls. “Did you know your hair smells like marshmallows?” It was irrelevant to the conversation but felt like pertinent information that Anna should know about. Back to whatever direction their conversation was going in, as to whether their friendship was fate or destiny or sheer luck or some combination of all of them, it was all going over her head. “You were smart enough maybe, I’m not smart. I just know what I like and when other people like them too it instantly draws me to them. And we are like the same person in different bodies.. but also not exactly the same person because that would be odd. But close enough.”

She might have been a fan of all things pink but Aurora had never really understood the trend of dyeing dogs fur unnatural colours. “Like poodles with shaved bums and pompoms” she added helpfully. She thankfully had not seen any of those during her summer at the menagerie, Crup owners seemed to favour the more natural looking cut. Her eyes followed Anna’s to the Unicorn who seemed to be disinterested now the girls were engaged in their own conversation. “Mandrakes are the drama queens of the Herbology world” she giggled. Deadly drama queens at that.

Unfortunately (or perhaps really quite fortunately) Aurora was unaware of exactly who her tutor was after enquiring with one of their professors who had organised the whole thing on her behalf. If a name had been mentioned then her brain must’ve been focused on something or someone else and the information had not been absorbed. “I can’t imagine why not. I mean two brains are better than one and it’s not like it would be any extra work seeing as we bounce off of each other.” Quite literally although it was often the cause of a long tangent. “I’m meeting them on Monday, I could always ask.”

Little did the Ravenclaw know..

It HAD been a trio, Anna was right. But now it would be very much not a trio and Aurora had no interest in bringing in another party in what was already a ‘golden’ ratio. Not being forced to, not under the circumstances where they didn’t even get a consultation beforehand. “If two is company and three is a crowd then four must be a stampede and I don’t want to be crushed.” She focused in on a blade of grass which she plucked out from the ground. “He has other people he can go with anyway.” It wasn’t like he needed them anymore.

[sweetpinkpixie]

Anna giggled and fluffed her curls with both palms. "I didn't...but that might be because I am with my hair all the time and therefore I have become accustomed to and immune to its smell," she mused. "I can confirm that my shampoo and rinse do not contain any marshmallow though...but that is all fitting since we did conclude years ago that I was the marshmallow fluff in our sweetness sandwich." It was really nice...being able to talk completely nonsensical with someone and especially when that someone was someone who you felt like could really see you and therefore you could be silly and whimsy without the fear of judgement. "You know...I think too often people try to put others and ourselves in boxes for what smart means...and most of the time it has to do with your scores and examination results and those sorts of things, but that is really unfair and inaccurate because there are so many ways to be smart." The Hufflepuffle really wanted to tell Aurora not to say that she wasn't smart because it wasn't that and more the Ravenclaw was trying to shove herself in one box labeled smart that wasn't right for her but there was another box just beside it that was perfectly Aurora shaped.

Also something perfectly Aurora shaped? Anna's arms when they needed and wanted to be, which was applicable to this moment since they were cuddling in the grass in front of a very special topiary.

Annd nodded along at Aurora's examples and she could remember seeing a couple unique aesthetics on dogs when she was in London during the summer holiday. Nothing too outrageous, she supposed, but there were some that certainly were not choices she would have made for herself or her own familiar but those cuts and stylings were between that owner and their pet. "Kind of," she laughed and lowered her hands to her knees, rocking back and forth on her bum while they continued to chat. "But I think we all groan or make some sort of noise when we get a blanket pulled off us in the middle of winter, or at least I do."

Anna nodded, certainly not disagreeing and also finding group studying sessions to be so much fun even if they rarely got anything done and any chance to hang out with Aurora was a great one. "I think it would be polite to ask first, but I promise to bring the snacks when I come! Maybe ask them what kind of crisp they like so I can do my best to bring that along to show my gratitude?" Snacks were essential brain food!

Anna's eyes were widening and her brain was spinning as Aurora spoke, not following the logic at all or perhaps she just did not want to follow it. "Three...is a crowd...so has this been a problem all this time and I never noticed?" Because they were a trio but the way Aurora had just described a trio made it sound...not as sunshine as rainbows as it had always been in her thoughts. And then the clouds of confusion parted and a ray of clarity's sunlight slipped through...sort of. Anna still struggled to see how this conclusion happened and at this point she must willfully be doing so. "Wait...so...Solomon doesn't want to go with us anymore?"

[Lottiepot]

Was it strange that Aurora was hyper aware of how everyone else smelled? Or perhaps it was all in her mind and she perceived how others might smell so strongly that they actually started to manifest that way. “It must be natural then, like your blood contains lots of sugar that it just comes out of your pores and your hair.” Look, human biology wasn’t exactly her strong point in primary school so her knowledge wasn’t going to be any better now. “Does that mean that I smell like jam?” She hoped it would be strawberry in that case. Or raspberries. If a lack of judgment, a sense of silliness and a whole lot of love was what Anna was after then Aurora was her girl. “But that is what counts at school and after school and when trying to find a job and if my box doesn’t fit in their box then what am I supposed to do?” It was quite a serious conclusion for a usually carefree sixteen year old but one that would quite quickly become a very real situation in a years time.

“I guess so” she agreed with the sentiment about not wanting to be unraveled from her duvet in the dead of winter. Although Aurora was one of those people who didn’t really feel the cold, maybe it was the sunshine she radiated giving off heat. “But they don’t have to harm people when they’re protesting!” Baby mandrakes she could understand, it was all that Ander was capable of as a baby too. Screaming and crying and eating and pooping.

So what was supposed to be a study session to help the girls achieve the grades that they required was about to turn into a picnic in the library with some poor student who had been accidentally roped into their escapades. “I’ll ask” she giggled. “But maybe not crisps, they’re a bit noisy for eating when we are supposed to be concentrating.” Like those people who crunched noisily on popcorn in the middle of a dramatic scene in the cinema.

It wasn’t so much of a surprise that Anna didn’t understand what Aurora was trying to imply considering that she had no idea of it herself. It was debatable whether there was any logic to it at all. “No! Not with us it hasn’t because.. because we are basically one person anyway so we are a 2-for-1 deal and Solomon is the other.” The trio was sunshine and rainbows until the train and the sudden realisation it wouldn’t be the three of them forever and next term would be even worse when it was just the one of them. “You’d have to ask him” she shrugged sadly, she didn’t have the legilimens skills with him and couldn’t speak on his behalf but she was pretty certain that he’d want to bring another along.

[sweetpinkpixie]

"That may very well be true," Anna laughed with an elegant twirl of the wrist to flip her hair. There was surely something to actual smells versus perceived smells, sort of like how the same potion could smell like different things depending on the smeller, and the seventh year was quite pleased that in Aurora's case she smelled like something welcoming, homey, and sweet. Leaning over a bit, Anna sniffed Aurora to lean into their bit some more and could honestly say that she did not smell any jam but there was a sensory memory that came to mind thanks to certain sugary incidents in the Hogwarts kitchen. "Not so much like jam, but rather like ice cream, I say...which is indeed most excellent and some may argue behhhTuh." Anna considered what Aurora was saying, her gaze steady and ever the encouraging smile in place, though she struggled to entirely subscribe to this line of thinking and why Aurora seemed to be so concerned with fitting into one specific box shape. "Indeed... however, boxes come in various shapes and sizes, and one ought not to be like an occamy, adjusting one’s size to conform to them — not always, at any rate. Recall how Mr. Derfael recounted his journey? He eschewed the conventional path of attending university post-Hogwarts. He even left, if memory serves," she offered while rubbing her hands on the skirt of her uniform to wipe some excess sweat off her palms. "Now he and Miss Chloe are esteemed magizoologists, having crafted their own niches rathuh than conforming to a predetermined mold. One wouldn’t compel an item too large for a box to fit within it, would one? It could very well damage the box or the item itself. So, why would one desire to altuh oneself to fit into a containuh that was nevuh intended for them?"

Anna laughed and shook her head, her curls bouncing every which way as if they had come to life themselves. "One might aspire to such a notion, but I do believe it's rathuh presumptuous to project our ethics and comprehension of reality onto mandrakes. They are not creatures who exist solely to bring about our downfall; rather, they embody an evolutionary trait." It simply was the state of the world and it was on witches and wizards who insisted on using the plants for their brewing purposes - no wizarding interference and no screeching!

"Or ... I might bring some exceedingly damp crisps," she giggled with a playful nudge, her nose wrinkling at the thought and almost gagging. It really would defeat the purpose of a crisp, you know? "I'll take stock of the provisions and procure something appropriate. Something that’s good for the mind... such as berries!" And look at that! They had come back around to berries and those were in jam (and ice cream)!

And then the conversation turned serious and her brow furrowed while she struggled to grasp the whirlwind of emotions swirling in the air, but it really felt like she was trying to catch smoke with her bare hands. Her insides twisted uncomfortably and she couldn't put her finger on what exactly bothered her about Aurora's affectionate proclamation that they were a two for one deal. It was true that it wasn't like here and Aurora were like comparing apples to oranges, they were obviously both strawberries, but even fruit came in its own unique shape and size and maybe...Anna was afraid of Aurora attaching her identity too much to the Hufflepuffle's own - and Anna was realizing just how much she didn't actually know herself and that just added a whole layer of confusion in subtext to the conversation. "It seems you’re presuming quite a bit about Solomon—like you think he’s usurping our positions...." she frowned, her voice softening a bit as she rested a hand on Aurora's shoulder. "Is this in reference to what we stumbled upon on the train?"