"Are you going to see Marlowe tonight?" Amelia asked. They were walking to charms after lunch, and it was just the two of them, which was rare. Amelia had pulled back from being close with Miriam, but hadn't necessarily stopped spending time with her, especially when Lila and Sophie were around. The four of them had always traveled around school in a pack.

"Yeah," said Caiti. "Last time before summer."

"Wow," breathed Amelia. "It just keeps hitting me that it's that close. I keep forgetting."

"I know," said Caiti. She was still torn between feeling relieved it was almost over and feeling like she could cry at any minute just thinking about it not coming back next fall. Every time she thought about it she got a little wobbly and simultaneously excited. It was a very strange way to be feeling all the time.

"Is your research stuff going to be like... your whole job?" Amelia asked. "Or are you going to work, too?"

"I don't know," Caiti said. "I guess for now that's it, but I'll probably have to get a job at some point. The grant isn't for me to live off of."

"You know, I was thinking you should look into mandrakes," said Amelia. "I was studying the other day and I was just thinking how the mandrake restorative draught is always described like... 'restores petrified people to their original state' and I just thought... original state. That's like what Caiti's trying to do."

This comment blew Caiti away for several reasons. First, because she had never discussed her research in any great depth with Amelia and she seemed to have really listened to her presentation when she'd practiced in front of the school. Second, because this suggestion was actually very smart.

Caiti hadn't forgotten about mandrakes exactly. They'd made their way onto a list of potential ingredients at some point, but she'd never really considered them because they seemed to have such a specific use. She didn't know of a single potion they were used in other than the mandrake restorative draught.

"Yeah," Caiti said softly. "I'll think about that."

—-

As soon as Caiti arrived, Marlowe heaved himself up off the couch and kissed her. Caiti looked a little startled, though not displeased. "Hi," she laughed, and she held out his potion to him.

"Had to get one in before I've got the taste of this concoction in my mouth," said Marlowe, already wrinkling his nose. He braced himself, drank the potion in one go, as always, and then reached immediately for his water.

"Do me a favor," he said, "and try and do something about the taste in your improvements."

Caiti laughed again. "I'll do my best," she said. "But I'm not making any promises."

Marlowe sank back onto the couch and Cait sat beside him. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pressed her face into the crook of his neck. Marlowe worked his arm around her waist and pulled her in close.

"I'm so ready for you to be home," he said. Her hair smelled sweet and her eyelashes tickled his skin and he could almost forget how achey he felt with her so close.

Caiti lifted her head and looked at him. "Three weeks," she said, like she couldn't quite believe it.

"Three weeks," Marlowe agreed, smile growing. "Are you ready for N.E.W.T.s?"

"No," said Caiti. "I feel like I didn't learn anything all year. I've been a little wrapped up in everything else."

"You'll do fine," Marlowe said. "I made out okay and I missed a whole month of school."

"Were they a lot harder than O.W.L.s?"

Marlowe thought about this. "I don't know. I guess they were because the stuff on them was harder. I mean it's N.E.W.T. level spells and stuff. But it felt pretty much the same. Evelyn made a bunch of study guides and flashcards and stuff for the written parts. I bet she'd send them to you if she still has them."

"She probably does," said Caiti. "Evelyn always kept her old notes."

"Yeah, and thank god she did, because I barely took notes," said Marlowe grimacing. Caiti laughed. "I never knew what to write down."

"What about your research? Any updates there?"

"I don't know," said Caiti through a yawn. "I finally felt like I had enough plants to mess around with one recently, but I didn't really know where to begin so I just pulled one of the flowers apart and sort of observed what happened if I cut it or tore it or smashed it... I haven't tried mixing it with anything else yet. I'm afraid to pull off any more flowers yet."

She paused, then added, "Amelia actually said something kind of smart today."

"Oh yeah? What about?"

"Just said I should think about mandrakes," Caiti said. She didn't explain any more than that. Instead, she tipped her head onto his shoulder and said, "How's quidditch?"

So Marlowe told her about his week, drawing little circles on the skin just under the hem over her shirt, and then they chatted about miscellaneous things until, too soon, Marlowe had to be heading outside to his little shed.

"Come're," Marlowe said, pulling her into a hug once they'd stood up. He smoothed his hand over her hair. "No more goodbyes after this one. Next time I see you, you're home for good."

"Thank goodness," said Caiti and then she stood up on the coffee table so she could kiss him more easily which made Marlowe laugh. "Stop smiling!" Caiti said. "It doesn't work like that."

But this only made Marlowe laugh harder. He so rarely laughed on the day of the full moon that it struck him how much better this made him feel.

"Love you little shrimp," he said, leaning in to kiss her again. Then he held out his hand for her to step down, still grinning.

"Love you, too," said Caiti.

Outside in his little shed, after quadruple checking that everything was locked up properly, Marlowe sat down on the old sofa that used to be in the living room. For once, he didn't dwell on how ill he felt, even though his symptoms were getting worse the closer it got to the full moon. Caiti would be home in three weeks and Marlowe had plans to ponder.

For once, he wanted to do something big for her.

—-

After work the following day, Marlowe headed straight to Diagon Alley. He had a pounding headache and his muscles felt very fatigued, not to mention the fact that he had just spent a full day training after sleeping maybe twenty minutes total the night before, but he hadn't been able to stop thinking about his idea.

It had occurred to him a few weeks ago, but only recently had it really started to take shape in his brain. With Caiti coming home so soon, Marlowe really needed to get moving.

Flourish and Blotts was much calmer than when Marlowe had visited each summer to purchase his textbooks, but there were still a handful of people perusing the various spellbooks.

Marlowe headed for the herbology section — an area of the store he had never expected to visit. Usually, the Hogwarts textbooks had been laid out on tables for easy access and he had sometimes browsed the quidditch section, but had never taken much note of the rest of the store.

He tipped his head to the side so he could read the spines of the books. He spotted the familiar One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi sitting amidst much more technical books like A Guide to Magical Pesticides and some that actually looked mildly interesting like Carnivorous Plants of Magical Britain. Near the bottom of the shelf was where he spotted something more along the lines of what he was looking for.

Your Home Garden and Greenhouse: Developing the Perfect Space to Grow Magical Plants at Home by Wilbur Fields

Marlowe pulled it off the shelf and glanced over the table of contents before heading to the counter.

"Big gardener?" asked the wizard at the register when Marlowe slid the book across to him.

"Not at all," said Marlowe. "It's for someone else."

This was only partly true. The book wasn't for someone else. The contents were.

He exited the shop a minute later, the book tucked under his arm, and he felt a strange excitement he hadn't felt in a long time. He couldn't remember when he'd last had a genuine idea.

He swung into the sweet shop and picked up a couple of Caiti's favorites to send to her, and then he headed home, excited to get to reading.

"Fancy yourself a herbologist now?" asked his dad when he spotted Marlowe making his way through chapter one on the couch about twenty minutes later.

"No," said Marlowe distantly.

"Where'd that book even come from?"

"Bought it," said Marlowe, flipping to the next page. Then he looked up. "D'you know where I could find a good lot to build a greenhouse?"

His dad stared at him like no more shocking words had ever been spoken.

"For Caiti," he said. "For her research and stuff."

"Didn't she win that grant so she could pay for stuff like that?"

"Well, yeah," said Marlowe. "But I'd like to do it for her. And then she can save that money for other stuff. I can afford it."

He could, too. Marlowe made decent money, even on a rookie contract, and he'd spent virtually none of it in the last year given that he lived at home and had no bills and all his meals provided for him.

He thought his dad was going to push back on the idea, but he just said, "I'll think about it. I might know people who know what's available. Where are you thinking? Around here?"

Marlowe shrugged. "I don't know. Somewhere in Ireland, I guess?"

"Alright," said his dad, frowning at him like he found Marlowe very amusing. Marlowe went back to his book after that, but he heard his dad go into the kitchen where his mum was working on dinner and say, "D'you hear that?"

His mum must have shook her head because Marlowe didn't hear a response.

"He's mad about that girl. Gonna build her a whole greenhouse."

Marlowe smiled to himself.

—-

The sunlight coming in through the windows of the Magical Menagerie was peaky and pale. Barry was lying in his usual window spot, nose perched atop a pillow. He stared outside at the quiet street, just a few witches and wizards doing their shopping.

Sean had been working alone most of the time lately, his boss coming in for the last hour of shift sometimes, but otherwise letting him run things on his own. People came in every so often looking for various pet remedies or treats and sometimes looking to adopt, but mostly Sean kept himself busy taking care of the various creatures inside. He'd become very comfortable with all of them.

Last time he had been to the library to meet Evelyn for lunch, he had stayed a bit after she'd gone back to work and checked out a book on magizoology. He'd always liked Care of Magical Creatures in school, though he'd never really looked into it beyond what they did in class.

Recently though, Evelyn's acceptance into university and her preparations for her first courses which would start that summer, had gotten him thinking.

He was very happy in this job for now. It was peaceful and he thought he was good at it. But it was part time and he knew his parents were right to some degree — he couldn't stay here forever. He had more in him. He wasn't ready just yet to step into anything full time. He was still recovering from his old job, truth be told. But eventually, he knew he'd want to move on. Eventually, he'd be ready to do something that challenged him a bit more.

There was something compelling about the idea of magizoology. It was nice, working with animals.

He had the book open next to him on the counter when his boss arrived and he hurried to close it.

"'S'alright," she said with a knowing smile. "You can keep it open."

Sean didn't open the book back up, but he gave her a sheepish grin.

"What is it you're reading anyway? A romance novel?"

She came around behind the counter and peered at the cover.

"Ah," she said, nodding. "Very good. You'd make a lovely magizoologist."

"I've just been trying to learn more about some of the creatures we have here," said Sean, though this was only partly true.

"Don't be stupid. I know I haven't got you here forever. You're talented. You'll move on soon enough. Keep up your reading," she said, reaching for where his bookmark was and flipping the book back open.

She walked into the backroom after that and Sean watched her go feeling a strange mixture of sentimentality and relief. Marlowe had the job he'd always wanted and Evelyn was taking steps towards what she wanted to do and Caiti had won all that money and until recently, Sean had felt so stuck. His first failed attempt at a career had left him feeling out of options, but he was starting to realize that he didn't have to have it all figured out yet. There was plenty of time to explore things.

It felt like he had a future, and recognizing that, finally, was freeing.