#3 - Pumpkin Season

"Oh dear!" MJ recognized the problem immediately. She had been schooled by both her guardians about weeds in the garden and how to deal with them.

But weeds around pumpkins seemed a bit trickier to handle.

MJ crouched by her satchel to retrieve her protective gloves as they would definitely be needed for this task. Sadly she didn't have any secateurs or a spell that would assist with her task but she had two hands and a willing attitude.

Starting with the pumpkins at the front, MJ would check around them to see where the worst offending weeds were growing and methodically remove them. Even with the gloves on, her hands easily ached from the task.

They had rooted deep, making it hard to tug them free from the soil at times. MJ even had to carefully tip or move some of the larger pumpkins out of the way. She made sure none of them were damaged as she continued moving through the patch.

More than once, MJ's grip through the gloves wasn't as secure as she would have hoped and she would fall backwards onto her bum, "Ouch!"

Not to mention, all the crouching made her thighs and lower backache and she was certain there was some sweat on her brow. MJ started to feel thirsty from the all the work.

"Might be time for a break." She said to herself and the pumpkin with dimples that kind of (if she squinted) looked like eyes. Removing her gloves, MJ went over to her satchel and found what she had hoped was still there.

Lukewarm pumpkin juice. Despite that, when she uncorked and drank it, it was still refreshing. MJ put the empty vial back into her bag and grinned.

She definitely felt re-energized to tackle the rest of the weeding now! With that thought, she put her gloves back on and got stuck back in.

Not that her break had made the task any easier. She still had to shift some large pumpkins, dig through the soft soil, tug the weeds out and then carry them over to the small pile she had made by the entrance of the patch.

Would Hagrid use them in some way, or would they be added to some controlled garden fire?

It was always fun for MJ and Max when their Granny or Great Auntie had one of those, like a miniature bonfire!

Thinking of her Granny again, she started to hum the same tune her Granny often did while gardening. It was a song by a popular Muggle artist but the name was lost to MJ in the moment.

After pulling out a few more weeds, MJ took a moment to survey her work from the weed pile and smile. Hopefully she had done a good enough job and Hagrid would be pleased.

She felt that things were certainly looking more presentable. MJ, despite her tiredness, then checked to see if there was anything else she could help with -- did pumpkins need watering? She always loved doing that chore at home!

"Aw sorry about that friend, I don't think those would be very tasty." She didn't think it would be a good idea to give the bird something and encourage it to hang around the pumpkins some more.

As bad as weeds were, they could be dealt with but some birds were stubborn. They'd keep coming back to eat no matter what.

Still, she felt bad for the creature.

Well, until it pecked her on the hand through her gloves, "Ow -- what was that for?"

Frowning, she watched as it moved away and she went back to checking pumpkins for weeds. Every so often, after she'd have a handful of weeds to toss into her pile, she'd glance over to the post the bird was watching her from.

Professor McGonagall could turn into a cat, was another teacher able to turn into a bird? MJ's eyes widened with semi-horror, mostly worry at that idea and she put her head down to work again.

The weeds seemed almost endless and MJ wondered if some kind of potion or spell was to blame for it. She tugged hard on one weed that made her arms ache from effort. She could feel her blouse sticking to her back with sweat. Ew.

MJ wasn't one to give up or admit defeat so easily. With a determined frown in place, she gripped the weed and wrapped it around her hand.

"Eugh--!" She huffed, yanking until it started to disturb the soil around it like a long snake. Or maybe a rooty rope. MJ tugged more of it free and saw that it led straight to the biggest pumpkin in the patch.

She held the weed (it was definitely a weed) and panicked for a second that it was actually a pumpkin root. MJ jerked at the weed (or root) ((no definitely weed)) again and again.

It would be a few minutes before it would be freed from the earth under the pumpkin and MJ, tired and sore, carried it back to her little reject pile. No wonder their Groundskeeper was such a big, strong man. This was tough work!