Aldan had seldom visited the outside of Hogwarts as a ghost. He found no need really, preferring to haunt the library to discuss studies with students or peak through walls to spy on classes so that he could soak information up. He'd been dead for awhile now, the anniversary being today if his eidetic memory served him correctly, which it always did. Aldan had decided to celebrate, though it was depressing to think about. He wasn't the type to dwell too much on his death, afraid of thinking too much of those yellow eyes. When one had a photographic memory, it was hard to forget. Thus, not thinking of it often helped keep the memory at bay.

"'lo?" Aldan called out as he floated into the room with a curious look upon his face. He knew the types of plants that resided in the green house that he was looking at, but never had the chance to learn how they were tended. Herbology hadn't been a subject he got to learn much of often before his own death. He frowned lightly before making his way over to a mandrake. He remembered that the second years were getting to learn about them when he first came to Hogwarts. He never did see their results, having been forced to talk to the headmaster about his afterlife staying.

The eleven year old in body hummed a little to himself as he leaned forward to inspect the plant happily.

Mikhail bid his cat to behave while he took a stroll around the grounds before he stepped out of his office. Said cat meowed pitifully at him before he sighed and just left his office door ajar. It wasn't like there was anyone around at the moment to get into any of his stuff anyway, and if there were, he would make sure the consequences were fierce. Tigon purred happily and tried to rub herself against Mik's pants, but he stepped away in time. "Shoo now. I have plenty of work to do."

He watched the orange bullet take off before he began walking through his greenhouse. Different plants, colors, and smells greeted him as they did everyday, but there was a chill in the air that he hadn't felt before. Crossing over near the Mandrake pots, he spotted a young lad there who couldn't have been older than a first year. "You there! What do you think you are doing here?"

As he got closer, he realized that the children was more transparent than he had initially thought. "Oh, a ghost from the castle. I thought you to be a small child messing around in my greenhouses without a care in the world, but I see that I was mistaken. What are you doing out here?" Mik had visibly relaxed when he had realized that he was in the presence of a ghost. No skin to skin contact could be found there.

Aldan gave a startled jump, his feet more than a foot or two off the ground than it had been as he looked over. He calmed as he noticed it to be a professor. Professor Novikov, the herbology professor. He'd seen the professor plenty of times when Aldan spied on staff meetings or peaked in on meals. He inclined his head to the right slightly, hovering over to the professor so that he was near but not too near. He didn't want the professor to walk through him after all.

"I'm Aldan!" introduced the ghost child with a wave, remembering all too easily the consequences of touching someone when he tried to shake hands. The living would shudder, and Aldan remembered the cold feeling he himself was giving them when that happened. He disliked it greatly.

"I uhm..." he scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "I wanted to see the plants. I've never really been in the green houses before and I heard students in the library talking of how pretty some of the plants you were tending to were this year. Am I not allowed in here? If not I'm very sorry Professor."

Mik crossed his arms as the faintest of smiles graced his face before he was impassive yet again. If he had any doubts of this wizard being a ghost, the fact that he was floating at least two feet above the ground would have given it away. Stepping lightly, he circled around the boy as he introduced himself, before Mikhail inspected the pots that housed the Mandrakes. Not that ghost hands could do much, but any sudden chill would delay their repotting, and he would rather not give out homework to students who would most likely not do it.

"Mikhail Novikov. A pleasure." He touched the pots carefully, satisfied with the temperature before he also brushed his hands gently over the leaves on top. They wiggled a bit, another good sign that nothing had been disturbed. Not that he was blaming the young boy of course. If Mik had to guess, the child had most likely died in his first year, or even in his second, before the Mandrake course that was mandatory for that particular year.

Stepping back from the plants to leave them to their rest, he faced the young ghost again. "You are a ghost, young Aldan. You go wherever you please, but it is nice to see that you have manners. So many children these days do not even know the very word. As for the Mandrakes..." Mik gestured to the pots. "Please refrain from touching them. Sudden chills might delay their growth. Any other plant that's fully grown shouldn't mind the slight chill, so feel free to look upon what I have in here. I have a bit of work to do with some of them, but if you need to ask what something is, just let me know."

Aldan watched curiously as the professor peered at the plant he'd been hovering about. He chewed his lip slightly as he watched, hoping he hadn't destroyed something. He hadn't touched anything! But Aldan knew his cold aura could still affect things. It was why he wasn't allowed near the Potions area when they were brewing. He was relieved when the professor faced him again. Maybe he didn't hurt the mandrake after all.

He would have blushed if he'd been corporeal, so he settled for smiling shyly at the slight praise from the professor. He did however feel horrified upon finding out he could have delayed the growth of the plant.

"I promise I won't touch them, professor. Thank you for allowing me to still look around," promised the former first year. He was happy to hear that he could still look around as he'd wanted to. He flew himself over to hover above a rather gorgeaous red plant with large pedals and he smiled happily, flipping on his side so he could pear closer at the finer details, his head drinking in the tiny details that he could see.

"You're very talented, Professor Novikov." he commented. "I wish I had gotten to take your class."