The Art of Making Flower Crowns (Charlie)

Ember was content, in fact, he was better than content. He was THRILLED. The boy pranced into the library. It was his first week at Hogwarts and he was excited. In fact, he was so excited that the day after his sorting, he went to the library and checked out a bundle of books on different types of flowers and what they meant and why and which ones were best for flower crown making. He had decided that the make all the first years happy about school and not scared that he'd offer to make flower crowns and hand them out, however, no one wanted one and it made Ember really sad, but he didn't give up, oh no. He just tried harder and even asked some of the older years, excited when a few of the older girls accepted them gratefully.

That was how he ended up where he was now. The Hufflepuff common room was much too crowded to work and he needed more books but he couldn't check out anymore and he still needed the ones that were checked out. Ember spotted another boy that looked to be a first year and pranced over to him, taking a seat as he sat the rather large basket full of flowers on the table. His hands began to work to form a flower crown, much like the one that was in his moppy hair, only slightly different because his was white and the new one was mostly large blue flowers with small yellow flowers tangled in here and there. The boy meticulously worked, his tongue occasionally flicking out to lick his lips as he occasionally glanced up to make sure the boy was still there and he was! Finally, the crown was done and it was magnificent like his and all the other ones he had made and he was PROUD.

"Hi, I'm Ember," the boy whispered to the other boy, excitement piercing his voice. "I'm making flower crowns to help make all the first years happy and not scared and I made one for you," he said handing him the flower crown he'd just finished. "But no one has accepted them," he said, his hazel eyes turning sad as he gave the boy a pitiful look. "It's blue and yellow because I saw you're a Ravenclaw," he smiled, "and we're all princes and princesses and we deserve crowns!" The boy's eyes lit up as he spoke, his hands clasping together. He was proud of his work and surely his Mumma and Poppa would be too. As a child, his Poppa and Mumma used to allow him to stick little flowers in their hair and his Poppa's beard and then once he was older he learned the art of flower crowns and they were now doing the same with Briar and it was so exciting to him.

Unsurprisingly, the Hogwarts Library quickly became Charlie's favorite place in the castle. Or, his favorite place that he'd found so far that is. Which wasn't saying much, because Charlie had been too afraid of winding up somewhere he wasn't supposed to to do much exploring. But now, as he sat amidst a huge pile of books - a mix of studies and personal interests - Charlie felt sure that he would not like another place as much, ever. It was quiet, first of all, and it was usually easy enough to get a table without having to approach someone and ask them if he could share their table. If that ever did happen, Charlie probably just wouldn't study in the library that day. His dormitory was plenty secluded, but not as nice to work in. Now, it was very dead, and there were plenty of free tables, so Charlie could sit in peace and not have to worry about anybody asking to share his table. He wouldn't know what to do if some older student sat down at his table - he'd feel like he should leave, but wouldn't want to look like the terrified first year that he was by running away. Thankfully, it hadn't happened so far.

But then, as though his thoughts had summoned just the thing Charlie was dreading, somebody did join him. And the boy didn't even ask, he just sat down. Not like Charlie would have had the nerve to tell him no anyway - not that he even wanted to tell him no, but instantly the extra presence made him uncomfortable. Charlie froze, not sure if he should say anything, but luckily the other boy beat him to it. And Charlie released a small breath of relief at the kind tone of the boy's voice, but still hesitated when he introduced himself as Ember. Charlie thought that was a weird name, but was too afraid to say so and offend the boy. Charlie's voice was a little nervous as he replied back. "I'm - I'm Charles Edwin Wellin - Welling- " Charlie couldn't even get through his entire name, because he suddenly had to sneeze. Turning away from the boy so that he wouldn't sneeze all over him, Charlie sneezed into his elbow - like his mum had taught him - and then sniffed deeply to clear his sinuses. "Um, sorry," Charlie said, reddening. "Charles Edwin Wellington the Third." Charlie was so used to introducing himself to important people by his full name, like his parents wanted him to, that he didn't even realize how long winded it was.

Wait, what was the boy doing? Making flower crowns? Charlie was pretty sure that he would get made fun of even worse if he walked around with a flower crown - but what was he supposed to do? Ember had made one for him, and Charlie couldn't tell him no. So, he took it. "Er, thanks," he said, slowly lifting it up to set it on his head, his face reddening as it settled on top of his hair. He felt like a girl, but he didn't think saying so to Ember would be a good idea, because the boy was already sad that nobody wanted his crowns. But when Ember added that it was because they were all princes and princesses, Charlie looked at him in confusion, not understanding. "I know the prince," Charlie said, because he didn't know what else to say, and his parents had always told him that it would make people like him if they knew he was associated with the British Monarchs. The prince was much older than Charlie of course, but he'd still met him more than once. "What house are you in?" Charlie asked him. He knew the boy was a first year, from the sorting, but Charlie hadn't paid any attention to where he'd been sorted. At the time, he'd been too busy breathing into a paper bag to control his anxiety and his asthma.

Ember couldn't pick a favourite place in Hogwarts. They were all great for something! His common room, well that was mostly good for sitting around a fire with close friends, chattering about everything and all things. His dorm was perfect for sleeping and the library, for studying. The lake was great for swimming and thinking and classrooms were great for learning. However, as the boy thought, he thought about the fact that maybe he did have a favourite place, well not favourite because picking favourites wasn't nice but a preferred place. Ember's preferred place was the gardens of Hogwarts. Usually, girl's would like it the best but Ember liked it because it was a perfect place for making flower crowns. He didn't use the flowers from the garden because they were magic and he didn't want to make the garden ugly nor did he want it to die because then his future children couldn't enjoy it. Instead, he kept a window box in his dorm that he grew magic flowers in every day. The flowers were enchanted to never die and to forever grow so he'd always have plenty of flowers waiting for him to weave them into crowns.

Most people would have hated the thought of walking up to random people and sitting with them. Most people also hated talking to strangers and speaking in front of classes, but not Ember. Ember was different. Ember enjoyed getting to know people and talking to strangers. Ember loved speaking in front of crowds and declaring his passions and he loved having some form of attention. Ember didn't often care what people thought of him but he was sort of relieved when the boy didn't laugh at his name. People thought Ember's name was silly and girly but he didn't mind. Ember was a nature related name and he was proud to have it, just like he was proud to have his middle name of Grove. People often laughed because his voice was also high pitched, but his Mumma said that when he was in his third or fourth year it would grow deeper, more man like because he'd go through something called puberty. When the boy had spoken, he sounded a bit nervous so Ember gave him a reassuring smile. Ember felt a bit disgusted when the boy began to sneeze but he did use manners so that made Ember feel a bit better. Ember gave him another slight smile as the boy reddened then finally got his full name out. It was quite a mouthful and Ember wondered if he had a nickname. "It's nice to meet you!" Ember grew more excited now that he knew the boys name. It was one step closer to being friends, Ember was sure.

Ember's hands weaved the flowers so carefully, delicately so as to not bruise the petals or break the stems. It was really a matter of patience, which a lot of people didn't have but Ember had tons of patience. In fact, it was his best virtue. However, he really hoped the boy wouldn't turn down his flower crown because it was special. He made each flower crown to match the person it'd belong to, or hopefully belong to. As the boy took the flower crown, Ember smiled and he did so even more once the boy had placed the flower crown on his head. Ember noticed the boys face turn red again and wondered if maybe he was embarrassed. He didn't want the boy to feel like he had to wear the crown, he simply was upset that no one had wanted any of his other ones. The blues and yellows of the crown stood out brightly against the boys dark hair and it framed his face well. It was perfect! Ember couldn't help but beam. "The prince?" Ember said tilting his head. What prince? He was a bit confused because in his mind, they were all princes and princesses, there wasn't just one prince. "I'm a Hufflepuff," he smiled, excited to be in the House of the badger. Loyalty was the thing Ember honoured the most, but intelligence was high on his list as well.