"Shhhhhhhhhhwwwsh"

The bracing cold water from the shower snapped Ben out of his sleepiness, reminding him of the jinx he had placed on the island last night.

'Shit, I forgot about that,' he cursed in his mind. A cloud of dark mist emerged from his chest and quickly enveloped his body, transporting him to the Nirn island.

Stepping onto the island, he found himself amidst a heavy downpour from the thundering clouds.

"Meteolojinx Recanto," He incanted, dispersing the gloomy clouds and returning the island to its sunlit splendour.

The sun's warmth touched his skin, making him aware of his lack of clothing. Swiftly, he concealed his remarkably muscular frame with a flowing robe. Despite his minimal exercise routine, his physique appeared to grow stronger with each level-up, filling his compact frame with well-defined muscles.

"Let's get this party started. Let there be life," he announced, waving his wand and casting a growth-initiating spell on the ground. 

"Virenesco" 

A soft green glow enveloped the surrounding ground, slowly sinking into the earth. Soon, small seedlings started protruding out of the ground. Getting on his broom, he waved his wand around a dozen more times, covering the entire island in small sprouts.

"This place is finally starting to come alive," he commented, as he wiped the sweat from his forehead. The growth-initiating spell kick starts the growth of plant life, causing it to grow faster. Although it is relatively mild compared to spells that can expedite the growth and blossoming of plants within minutes, these spells can also produce unusual mutations or exhaust the plant.

Ben was quite happy with his work. Until now, Herbology 101 had not disappointed him, but there was one last matter to attend to before leaving the island.

With the enchanted shovel, he dug a hole near the house and deposited his only bag of dragon-dung compost. He then turned his attention to the small potted plant he had picked up yesterday.

"Mobiliarbus"

With a simple flick of his wand, a small peach tree freed itself from its pot and established its roots in the compost pile.

"I doubt this will go as planned," he stated, aiming his wand at the plant.

"Herbivicus" 

Shooting up like a bamboo shoot, the small plant quickly grew as tall as him, pausing its growth only as its newly formed branches burst into full bloom. The gentle aroma of pollen wafted through the air, evoking the freshness of spring.

"Well, I'll be," he murmured in disbelief. He had feared he might exhaust the plant, yet evidently, the Dragon dung compost proved every bit as miraculous as its name.

Unfortunately, before Ben could fully appreciate the beauty of the peach blossoms, they withered away, giving way to nascent fruits that quickly matured into fat, succulent peaches.

"Not the worst outcome," he sighed, plucking a ripe peach, which prompted the rest to follow suit and fall to the ground. In a matter of moments, the tree shed all its fruits and leaves, returning to a state of dormancy.

"Murphy you son of a bitch," he cursed under his breath. Frustrated and with a slight headache, he stepped out of the island, only to find himself under the running shower.

"Just splendid," he sighed. He walked back to his room, soaked wet like a sewer rat.

It hadn't been the most pleasant morning, but at least Ben held a succulent peach. As he bit into the juicy fruit, its fragrant juices flooding his senses, he caught a flash of light out of the corner of his eye.

Reacting instinctively, he threw up a ward spell with his left hand and summoned his wand with his right, swiftly casting a stunning spell at the attacker. The peach still held between his jaws. 

The attacker fell to the ground with a "thud" and Ben's eyes and wand then travelled towards another presence in the room, standing near his bed. The peach still clenched between his teeth, its sweet juices mingling with the tension in the air.

"Cho!?" he exclaimed, his voice a mix of surprise and confusion as he took in the sight of her in his room. She stood there motionless, staring at Ben with her eyes wide and pupils dilated.

The peach, forgotten in the turmoil, dropped from his lips and rolled across the floor, coming to a stop near the stunned Marietta lying on the ground.

"Um, hi Ben," Cho finally managed to say, her voice barely above a whisper as she attempted to break the awkward silence that hung in the room. Her eyes flickered between her friend lying on the floor and the wand in Ben's hand that was still aimed at her. Ben finally realised his mistake and lowered his wand.

"That-was amazing spell-casting, Ben," she said, trying her best to maintain eye contact but finding it difficult not to glance at the pecs peaking through his loose robe. Although a year younger, Ben was already taller than her, and quite the looker. But looking at the way he blocked the jinx and retaliated at a moment's notice, there seemed to be a lot more to him than his looks.

"Thanks, I've been preparing for something like this," he said, pointing at poor Marietta still stunned on the floor.

"Oh, I'm really sorry about that, Ben. I really tried to stop her, you know, but... Marie, well, she can be quite stubborn at times. It was only a Jelly-Legs Jinx, and she didn't mean any harm," she explained in a rush, almost running out of breath.

Ben found it almost amusing. "What exactly are you doing here? If you don't mind me asking."

Cho's face turned a few shaded redder, "that- I was visiting Marie-and she asked me to tag along, and- I heard that you have baby rabbits here- so I-"

Ben raised an eyebrow at that. "I meant, what you were doing up here in my room?"

"Oh, you see, we were waiting for you downstairs, but you took so long, so we came to check up on you. I'm terribly sorry for intruding without permission. We just wanted to take a quick look. Marie said she'd never seen a boy's room before, and I-" Her face flushed red with embarrassment, and Ben could almost see steam rising from the top of her head.

Ben couldn't help but find it amusing. He had never seen Cho talk so much or lose her composure before. However, before Ben could tease her further, Thea's voice called out from downstairs.

"Benedict, could you join us downstairs?" It was never a good sign when his mother's tone turned so polite.

-End of Chapter-

A/N: Hey everyone, I'm still alive, but unfortunately my chicks are no longer with us. Yeah, I recently moved back to my family's abandoned farm. I bought a bunch of chicks, but things didn't go quite as planned. A mix of bad weather, power cuts, and a vicious cat took them out.

Anyway, now that I'm properly settled and have visited most of my relatives, hopefully, I'll be able to update this regularly.

Check out an extra chapter and Cho Chang images for free on patreon.com/DreamyApe.