Mental Bullets and Glass Shards

[Robert Shaw]

His only recluse, his escape, was the plants he had loved for twenty-one years, since his first year of schooling at Hogwarts. And today they were paying the price for his misfortune, they were hearing him spill his now internally tortured soul once again. As they had before and would do so again and again. He had lost so much in fourteen years and there was no way to gain back any of it. No way for him to return to who he was.

A small, but clearly angered yell echoed throughout Greenhouse Eight, closely followed by a connection and shattering glass. Something Robert could, and would, easily fix. He was tired of having to remember the times form school when all was as well as could be, Dumbledore, living, the threat low, the times as good as could be. The times that were never to return.

His hand was splintered with small streaks of blood, but they were superficial, his soul, his spirit, was mortally wounded. Robert had heard the sound of running footsteps weaving through the greenhouse rows and narrow tables full of plants, but paid no regard to them. The only voice he heard was his own.

"Why...why...?" Tait, Curtis, Reginald, Lorelei, Theo. Why them? Why his friends, his family, why were they now dead? And more importantly, why had he done nothing to stop it? Why had he abandoned them?

Why.

(Open.)

[christee]

Seanna didn't know why she was heading towards the plants in the greenhouses, maybe it had to do with the fact that Potions was related to Herbology, maybe Seanna needed to be around plants more than she needed to be around people at that particular time.

Whatever the reason, Seanna was near the greenhouses and was about to enter greenhouse seven, when she heard a cry coming from greenhouse eight, Seanna made her way to greenhouse eight and gasped as she entered it.

"Profe-Professor Shaw?...are...are you okay?" Seanna stammered walking towards her Herbology Professor. "Do...do you want me to get somebody?"

[Robert Shaw]

His head turned now as the words began to drift into his senses. A student, in the greenhouse, seeing him in this condition. It couldn't be afforded to seem so major.

"No, no, I'm...I'm alright... Nothing a few Episkey's won't fix..." Robert claimed pulling himself to his feet and withdrawing his wand. In such troubled and uncertain times as these, one could not afford to let much of anything on a personal scale.

Both sides were absorbing youth into their ranks form all walks of life and cultures. House affiliation meant nothing now, or little to. For all Robert knew he could be marked at the moment. This moment. Still, the girl's voice and face showed concern, true concern. It was an emotion far too often showed now.

[christee]

"Ar-ar-are you sure?" Seanna asked the Professor again, she could see the small marks of blood on his hands and a feeling that she couldn't quite shake off, a feeling that was her's and she also felt it was one of the Professor's, she felt scared for the Professor...but for some reason she felt like the Professor was scared of her too.

"Because I can go and get the school nurse for you, so she could take a look at your hands..." Seanna trailed off, unsure if she should stay in the greenhouse or not.

[Robert Shaw]

What had she offered,a purse, hearse, the nurse? Yes that must have been it, that had to be it, it was the only thing that made sense out of all the possible answers. He had to maintain compsure, somehow, had to hold himself together.

"No, no, I'm...quite alright I assure you." He replied denyingly. Denial, was that his condition? Surely as long as it didn't become a habit he was all right yes? No matter, he had both classes and plants to attend to, and they came before himself.

"What brings you to the greenhouses Miss Marcellus?" He questioned as any other staff member would in his situation. Students did not go somewhere for no reason, behind every movement was a driven purpose. It just went unnoticed until after the fact sometimes.

[christee]

It was plain to Seanna that Professor Shaw wasn't all right, Seanna thought, for he made no attempt to bandage his sore hands and even though they were small cuts, cuts like those still could get infected, but the cuts didn't seem to bother the Professor.

"Why am I in the greenhouse?" Seanna said out loud, thinking off the main reason she wanted to come here in the first place. " I don't know really, I suppose I just wanted to be around the plants...to get away from the noisy castle for awhile" Seanna informed the Professor, walking towards him, "Do you want me to get some bandage's for your hands?"

[Robert Shaw]

(Episkey)

"No, no, I'm quite certain that the piskeys can deal, I do thank you for your concern however." Robert replied initially, though he surveyed the damage for the first real time.

As to the girl's reasoning he too could understand that quite easily. He wasn't fond of the castle much. Which is why he requested his office be where it was.

"These plants, they have no way of speaking, yet, I listen to what they say, for some tell interesting stories. That one there for example," He said motioning to a Privet on the girl's left. "...got saved from the warehouse fire in Norway."

Yes, plants could speak, just not in the ways most thought they should.

[christee]

"Your welcome" Seanna said to the Professor, giving him a small smile, while she turned to look at the plant he was pointing at, "You mean to say the plants talk to you?" Seanna asked the Professor, she was quite surprised by this, Seanna never knew that plants actually had a story to them too, nor did she knew that they could talk to people.

(thank you)

[Robert Shaw]

(No problem)

"Not in the way you'd think, they don't talk to me in a set language, they talk to me through marks, coloring." He began to explain. He had figured the girl would not understand what he meant but, all the better a topic diverter.

"Indeed, they talk through their coloring, brighter means its alright, proper lighting, water and such. Take that leaf there for example. Its normal color halfway through yet the rest of it is brighter. Why do you suppose that is?" He questioned pointing to the Privet's leaves.

[christee]

Seanna looked at the plant and eyed the coloring of the leaves as she thought about what the plant was trying to say. "The plant's saying it's happy, yet it needs more water?, or sunlight?" Seanna guessed.