The Houses Competition
House: Hufflepuff
Class: DADA
Category: Themed
Prompt(s) (theme) joy, and (location) a large mud puddle
Word Count: 1,067
Farm Animal!AU. Also warning for fluff in the extreme. I would like to take this time to thank everyone who beta read this story for me. It truly means a lot. So, thank you all very much. I hope you all enjoy Mud Wallowing Day.
The warm spring sun beat down upon the Hogwarts farm coating the world with a sticky sweatiness that none of the animals that lived there quite enjoyed. The younger ones complained the most. They'd never lived through such a humid day in their young lives and didn't know any better.
"Why is it so hot?" asked one of a trio of piglets who'd taken shade under a nearby bush.
"It's not hot, Ron," the female piglet answered, shaking its head. "It's only humid. It's not even summer yet."
"What has summer got to do with anything?" asked the freckled pig in question.
"Summer is usually the hot time of the year," answered the black-haired piglet who had the strange cut upon his forehead.
But I still don't understand, Harry," Ron said, snorting as he sniffed around the area for something to eat.
Harry snorted in reply, sharing a look with Hermione that clearly stated they didn't think Ron would ever understand. His stomach gave a violent growl and he went off in the direction that Ron had just gone.
Hermione snorted a huff and went to follow the other two when a soft voice called out to her. She turned around in a circle to see who had called to her. Standing nearby covered in a dark brown substance were two of Ron's older brothers. Fred and George.
"What are the two of you covered in?" she asked, looking them up and down. Never in her young life on the farm had she seen such a strange substance as this.
"It's this delightful thing called mud," Fred said, grinning over at his twin.
"It's very cool," George continued.
"Nice on a warm spring day like this, wouldn't you say?" they both finished.
"But you're all dirty," she said, wrinkling her nose in disgust.
"Hermione, you're the only piglet I know who doesn't like wallowing in mud," Fred told her. "Have you ever given it a try?"
She shook her head resolute to never give such a grievous thing a try. Ever. She was about to tell Fred and George off when she heard the hoofbeats of her friends returning.
The boys seemed to have noticed the same thing Hermione had. They looked at the twins drying mud-streaked forms with great awe. Not the disgust that Hermione had shown when she saw them.
"What's that?" both Ron and Harry asked, wandering closer to the older piglets. They sniffed at the caked-on much.
"It's called mud," George explained to the younger piglets with great joy. "It's nice and cool. A good way to beat this horrible humid heat we're suffering through."
"Where can we mud?" Ron and Harry asked in unison.
"Follow us, lads," Fred said, nodding over his shoulder.
"Harry, Ron, no!" Hermione called, watching in horror as the boys went off after Fred and George. Didn't they understand how disgusting mud was? Couldn't they see how disgusting it looked coating Fred and George?
"Hermione, come on," Ron called over his shoulder.
Hermione grunted a snort of annoyance as she trotted after the boys. Why could they never listen to her? She was after all the smartest piglet in her litter.
Splash. The sound of piglets splashing into the yuck met Hermione's ears. She could hear the boys laughing and goofing off and having fun. But how was mud fun? She couldn't see the allure of it all and couldn't help shaking her head.
"Are you going to join them?" asked the dreamy voice of Luna the sheepdog from behind her. "They do look like they are having so much fun."
Hermione looked towards the huge dark oozing puddle of mud in front of her. Her friends were rolling in the muck. Covered in it even. She shook her head.
"Hermione, you have to try this," Ron shouted, kicking up a wave of mud with his hoofs that hit hers.
"Ronald!" she scolded him angrily.
"What? I'm just trying to get you to have fun and relax like the rest of us are," Ron explained, splashing another gout of mud at her.
She could feel the oozy substance running down her sides. But the strangest thing occurred to her. She didn't hate the feeling of the gooey mud on her. In fact, it felt rather cool.
"Are you coming in, Hermione?" Harry asked, watching the emotions and thoughts wash over her face. "It's nice and cool in the mud."
"Hermione?" Ron asked in concern, walking over to her and nudging her on the shoulder with his snout
She blinked, startled and looked at her friends who were having so much. Even Luna and Neville, the sheepdogs, were in the mud. Their whoops of joy mixing with the others. It was kind of ridiculous not to join them, wasn't it?
"Okay," she said, taking a tentative step forward and then another until her hooves were in the cool mud. She squished them around until she felt comfortable enough to wade into the mud entirely.
Why was I so concerned about this mud before? It's really cooling me down. She splashed Ron with a clout of mud. She could see the shocked look on his face before he charged into the mud kicking a huge amount into her face.
She spluttered and blinked the mud out of her eyes. She couldn't believe he'd done that. "You're going to regret that, Ronald," she said, nodding for Ginny to join her. "Mud fight!"
The piglets and puppies of Hogwarts farm splashed around the mud puddle for the entire day. Their cries of joy and happiness are heard by all of the other animals. Some joined in their fun and others just shook their heads and walked away.
They played and they played and they played some more until their parents called them home for the night. Hermione was excited to tell her parents all about her discovery of how fun the mud puddles could be. Her thoughts raced a mile an hour as she thought of what she'd tell them.
"Hermione!" her mother exclaimed, looking at her usually pristine daughter who was standing in front of her covered in mud. "What in heaven's sake happened to you?"
"I have discovered the best substance on the farm," Hermione stated and launched into a recount of her day with her friends and the mud puddle. She couldn't wait to go and splash around again.
I hope you all enjoyed Mud Wallowing Day as much as I enjoyed writing it.
