Gnomes; Begone!!

[Mhairi Olaf]

Mhairi had just finished tying up her hair ready for the upcoming event with the Wild Patch Club. With summer well and truly here, it was important to keep the area free from weeds so that new flowers could be planted, and now that Valentines Day had passed it was the perfect opportunity to refresh the gardens. She hoped that with the help of the WPC members, they could make this place look a little neater, and a little less tired. Weeds however weren't the only problem, as Mhairi had come to realise they they were having an especially bad case of gnome theft and destruction. They liked to try and take the nicest plants that were growing, ruining everything else in their path, and if they were going to plant new flowers then they needed to get rid of the gnomes, too.​

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The Hufflepuff waited until the members had joined her in the gardens before addressing them. Over the holidays Mhairi had undergone a procedure that allowed her to hear, which in all honesty had been an overwhelming experience. She still wasn't able to hear anything while at Hogwarts though, as the device didn't work under the magic of the building, but it had meant she had a better understanding of her own speech, enough that she could address the group with reasonable confidence. "Hi," she waved, trying to catch their attention. "I hope that you brought your wands, we have a lot to do today," she was talking in a monotone, but it was still easier than writing all the letters in the air. "We need to clear the garden of the weeds, and the pesky gnomes," the blonde began to explain, "Those of you who are feeling a little.. brave.. I would love for you to try and catch these creatures. Once you've caught your gnome, please put them in here so that I can release them back where they came from after the session. Don't hurt them please." Mhairi motioned to a large brown bag at her side. "If you'd prefer, there's the usual tools that we can use to clear the weeds too. Any help making this place look neat again would be great!" she smiled to everyone, before stepping forward and taking out her own wand. ​

Out of Character:

To the gnome catchers:
You're encouraged to use both magical and non-magical means to catch your gnomes. If you're using spells, please only use Stupify or the Banishing Charm. Otherwise, feel free to be creative!! There are many gnomes currently sneaking around the plants, so please help Mhairi to pop them all back into the bag. Good luck!!

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[Lars van Houten]

It was with reluctance that Lars headed to the Wild Patch Club meeting today. He had always enjoyed the club a lot, but now it was just another place where he had to try to avoid Elliot. But somehow, despite his reluctance, Lars managed to be a little early at the meeting. He listened quietly as the leader told them what they were going to do. Lars didn't much feel like running after gnomes, and preferred to go clear weeds. He found a corner of the garden and got to work there to clear the garden of weeds.

 

[Jenna Jusantrea -Maxwell]

Jenna spend more time with clases and library. She walked the wild puch club and listened what today she and other will be learn today. Jenna take deep breathe and looked around.

 

[Tinny]

Tinny arrived wearing a large sandwich sign she had found lying around the Gryffindor Commonroom. She had heard that one of the students clubs were going to be removing gnomes and despite what some of the other House Elves thought, felt they deserved a treat. In big bold letters the sign read 'FREE BUTTERBEER FOR GNOME CATCHYS!'. The sign was almost larger than Tinny's body and made carrying the tray full of butterbeer quite difficult but being the good elf she was, Tinny managed it. "Tinny brought drinks!" Tinny shouted to the Wild Patch Club members.

 

[Lysander Summers]

Lysander joined the other Wild Patch members in the gardens, his plastic sword in hand and the chestplate from his knight costume during Halloween adorned his shoulders, now sporting a freshly painted rose across its breast. He was hella prepared to chase around some gnomes, or hack up some weeds, and he waved his sword at Mhairi as he walked up. He hadn't expected to see a house-elf there and supporting their task, and realised it was the odd-looking one that had shouted from the Quidditch stands, but he appreciated the free drinks she had to offer. It was nice to see one that wasn't just shying away. "Hey, thanks!" He said, taking a glass with his free hand to lessen her burden. It was the perfect start to de-gnoming.​

 

[Elliot Briar]

Elliot didn't really have a lot of experience with gnomes, growing up in a garden-less apartment or his dad's decidedly muggle place up north. His only real experience with them had been during his 2nd year in the wheelbarrow race, and it wasn't exactly a positive one. Elliot was pretty sure if he looked hard enough he could probably still find the bite marks on his elbow. He'd been hoping to just do some regular weeding and leave the gnome flinging to the more daring club members, but the sight of Lars tucked in a corner weeding made Elliot turn around, heading over to one of the spots he saw the other de-gnomers. The last thing he wanted was to make Lars feel uncomfortable in the Wild Patch, so it was probably best he kept as much distance as possible.

Rolling up his sleeves, Elliot surveyed the patch, not even sure where to begin. He knew he could probably stun the gnomes to avoid too much trouble, but he was still feeling a bit skittish about the whole idea, hoping to follow someone else's lead before he went wading into gnome territory.

 

[Jenna Jusantrea -Maxwell]

She seee house elf and walkes closed with sad eyes. Mayby some drink wouls be help hear feal better. "Hey, thanky!" She smiled mr.elf and take one drink and she hoped be better mood.

 

[Ilija Olaf]

Ilija wanted to make the most of the time left that he had with his sister, but upon hearing that they were de-gnoming the gardens, the fifth year was suddenly very aware of himself. People would be watching him, especially the younger students. With a glance to Mhairi and through gritted teeth, Ilija tried his hardest to put everyone else to the back of his mind, taking his wand out of his pocket and searching on the hunt for these gnomes. If Mhairi could do it, so could he. He could hear them running around after all. With a wand raised, he spotted something rustling in the bushes, "S..stupefy." he said, without a lot of conviction in his voice, and yet it was enough. The rustling slowed down enough for Ilija to bend down and rummage around until he found it. Things like this were often in their garden back home so that wasn't unusual to see, but he did his best not to look at anyone else near by when he went to make his deposit into the bag. ​

 

[Mhairi Olaf]

Everyone seemed to get on with their tasks with reasonable ease, and even Ilija went in search of his first gnome although she assumed he had more experience than most. She realised however that not everyone who had joined them was a member of the Wild Patch Club, and the seventh year approached one of the house elves with a large smile. "Tinny! You're too kind!" she'd never expected anyone to do this for them, and the blonde was delighted that they had her support. She took a couple of the glasses, "Thank you," she added before distributing a few to near by students. Lysander was quick to jump in too with his sword, and she hoped the knight of the flowers would be able to help anyone who seemed a little lost. ​

 

[Alice Holland]

The Wild Patch club was one of the best parts of Hogwarts, so Alice was determined to enjoy today's event. She had helped her dad get rid of gnomes in the garden before, and was glad to see Mhairi took a similar humane approach. She would prefer to do something that wasn't bad for the gnomes, even if she also understood why they couldn't stay in the garden. The best thing for Alice when she was sad was to do something, so she completely jumped into her task. Alice managed to stun a gnome, and gently deposited it in the right area. Then she started to look for more.

 

[Elliot Briar]

Elliot was relieved when Ilija and Alice joined in on the de-gnoming, watching them closely so he wouldn't hurt any gnomes (or get bitten). "Hey, have you done this before?" He asked, stepping cautiously through the patch over to Alice. He was pretty sure he'd heard her mention her dad doing things with Herbology and wondered if maybe they had a big garden at her place. There was a rustling from a nearby shrub and Elliot raised his wander cautiously, wary that he didn't want to stun a fairy or a bird by mistake.

@Alice Holland

 

[Alice Holland]

Alice smiled as Elliot headed over to her, and she nodded at his question. "I have, my dad lets us help in the garden during the breaks." She explained. "With how many plants he has, they're often trying to get into the greenhouse. I think they're curious, but we have to keep them out for their own safety too." She knew her dad at at least a few plants that were fairly dangerous, or at least poisonous. Alice took a step closer to the rustling shrug, spotting a gnome digging around. She took a step back and nodded to Elliot. "There's one there. Do you want to try?"

@Elliot Briar