Closed WEED Best Dig In Errand PV Simon Kincaid

@Simon Kincaid

Halloween - 2023

Conversations had been taking place all around the school the last few days about a wicked sort of weed that had become quite prevalent in the Forbidden Forest, but was now also encroaching on the school grounds near the Forbidden Forest boundary. When the wind kicked up from that direction, it was purely nauseating at times being outside.

Working their rounds, she and Simon had ventured down to see just how bad it really was. Stories in the Corridors and the Great Hall about the weeds were becoming more and more difficult to believe, so seeing, for the two, was believing. Her city boy was not all that well versed in your normal weeds, but even he, after years of Herbology classes, recognized that these were on a whole different level. Weeds were generally just annoying. These were large, and they oozed... yes oozed... a crimson substance that looked like a strawberry or raspberry jam to AngelFyre. In fact, they looked a little like some kind of parfait when she first glanced at them, but the stench of death was overwhelming. And death is exactly what they smelled like.

They both did a quick "fence-line" inspection along the forest border, and it seemed to be worse than they had imagined. At least what she imagined. AngelFyre took her free hand, the one not in Simon's, and put it over her mouth and nose in a vain attempt to filter the stink.

"This is when knowing that head bubble spell would come in realllllllllllllly handy. Ugggh. I think we can head back now, and the faster the better."

That had been two days ago. In thinking about it, AngelFyre had asked Simon if he would be too bothered by her bowing out of any Halloween celebrations like they had participated in last year. Her mood was still not leaning towards celebrations of any kind lately, and honestly, as nasty as the weeds were, she was drawn to being a bit proactive and helping to get rid of them. It just seemed a better use of her time and focus and energy.

Simon, being Simon, understood immediately. She knew he was particularly busy on Halloween day, but she told him where she would be if he wanted to join her. She even told him she would have a pair of dragon hide gloves for him just in case he decided to show up.

So here she was, sporting her own pair of dragon hide gloves, a pair of jeans, a sweatshirt with the Les Miserables logo on it (and she was feeling a little miserable so it was completely apropos), some hiking boots, and her enchanted satchel with all of the other things she might need... like water. She had come with a spade and a shovel and was ready to weed a section of fence line. She had even brought a jar of eucalyptus gel to dab under her nose to keep the odor of death at bay. That was a nifty trick Hugo Kidd, the on site veterinarian at her animal sanctuary at home, had taught her. It was not a perfect solution, but it worked well enough to keep her from retching as she came into contact with the nasty things.

Weeding was not new to her. The depth these weeds' roots reached was significant. It was hard much of the time to tell if she had actually gotten to the root's end as the roots seemed to be so intertwined. That was not good. That was not good at all. It made her think of the largest living organism on the planet. Many people, when asked that question would say the blue whale, but it was discovered some years not that long ago, but maybe before her birth, that the largest living organism on Earth is a fungus. Not because of what can be seen on the surface but because of the incredibly extensive network of root systems beneath the surface.

As she toiled and carefully tried to hold them upright while placing the oozing heads in the garbage bags, she kept praying that these smelly nuisances were not of a similar nature when it came to their roots and networking. Trying not to gag, she muttered, "These are actually the perfect Halloween frightmares." and then she turned and gagged anyway.

It went on like this for a couple of hours easily. And it looked like she had not even made a dent in the numbers still left to be eradicated.

Very dispiriting (yes, pun definitely intended).