Assignment 12 – Gardening: Muggle Chic

Task 12: Greenhouse - Write a farm!AU

Word Count: 300 - 3,500

Life on the Hogwarts Farm - 924

Draco wandered down the dirt road that lead up to the main farm house, coming from town where he struck a deal with the local store to which he sold parts of their harvest. He was so lost in his thoughts about how to improve their income next time, that he didn't pay attention to where he was walking and promptly stepped into a pile of horse droppings.

When he realized what happened, he began to curse up a storm which attracted the attention of Harry, who was currently tending to the horses in the stables.

"Stepped into droppings again Draco?" He asked the blonde boy amusedly. "You really should stop wearing those fancy clothes, we live on a farm. Though then I think I wouldn't have anything to be amused about anymore."

"Sod off Potter!" Draco snarled. "You know very well, that I'm responsible for selling the stuff you Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs produce, so I have to look the part."

Harry nodded slowly, that was true.

Here at the Hogwarts farm, they were divided into four what they called houses since they lived in four different houses. So, there was the Gryffindor house, which was situated over the stables. They were mostly responsible for the livestock here at Hogwarts, horses, cows, chicken, sheep and goats. Their responsible was to feed them, clear away the dung and everything else they needed.

Then there was Hufflepuff, who were living in a farmhouse near the fields. They were responsible for the fields, orchards, herb garden and every other plant that was growing on the farm. Some of them had also taken it upon themselves to cook for everyone twice a day, for breakfast they only prepared hot water for tea and coffee.

Next was Ravenclaw, located to the side with a large workshop on ground level, the research and repair division of the farm. Some of those were constantly researching new methods to improve their yields or the happiness of their livestock. Another part was responsible for the machinery that was used around the farm, repaired them and maintained them hence the workshop. At last there were also the healer, who not only took care of sick livestock but also everyone who lived on the farm.

Last, there was Slytherin, the sly ones, who lived in the main house together with the overseeing staff. They were the ones who dealt with the administrative tasks around the farm, selling goods they produced and all the other things that surrounded buying things they needed as well as managing other expenses.

So, it might not come as a surprise that the owner of the store in town once had been a Slytherin himself and now taught the younger generation the ways of a salesman by giving them a challenge when they tried to sell goods to him.

Other Slytherins dealt with the politics, going to the city administrators if they needed the consent to expand or build something but also other political matters like getting donations.

Overseen was this by the owner Albus Dumbledore who ensured with the help of the heads of the houses, that everyone worked to their peak efficiency and helped if something went wrong

The Heads were Minerva Mcgonagall who was an older and stern but fair woman for Gryffindor, Pomona Sprout for Hufflepuff who was always kind and loved to work in the gardens, Filius Flitwick for Ravenclaw who was a small but always friendly man, and last Severus Snape who always looked a bit dour but was a skilful negotiator when it came to politics and who surprisingly was also the chef of the kitchens, he loved cooking. Besides them were also Hagrid who was a large muscular man who helped with the heavy stuff and Filch an older man who was the caretaker of the farm.

The entire farm even if divided into four different houses was one well-oiled machinery in which everyone worked towards one goal: the wellbeing of everyone in their little community. Even if there were taunting and some verbal sparring between different houses, everyone got along pretty well.

The farm produced most of the things they needed themselves and everything that exceeded this was sold.

Many that worked on the farm were young boys and girls sent there to learn certain skills they would need in their later life in a safe environment first hand.

Draco for example had been sent there by his parents to learn the fine art of politics and salesmanship. His parents are wealthy owners of a large company and socialized with well-known politicians and they wanted their son to learn from an early age on how the world of politics and leading a company works so that one day he might take over their own company.

Hogwarts farm, while certainly not the high standard the boy might be used to, gave him the possibility to learn and hone his skills without having to fear that he insulted the wrong person or ruined the company.

Hufflepuffs on the other hand consisted mostly of children form farmers that specialized in crops while Gryffindor was made up of children who would later take over a farm with lifestock.

Ravenclaw though was a bit mixed of those who want to become veterinarians, engineers, or researchers.

But no matter which house a student lived in, they all were happy that Dumbledore gave them the opportunity to live at the farm and learn first-hand how their later life would be in a safe environment.