Pumpkin Carving

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Pumpkin Carving

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There's something wrong with this picture.

A head of black hair and red hair could just barely be seen over a mountain of books. One could draw to the final conclusion that this was none other than Harry Potter and his partner-in-crime, Ron Weasley. They were having a late night study session...which was the error in this little scenario. For if these two were studying, surely...surely...they're brown-haired friend, Hermione Granger, would be seated with them.

But alas, she wasn't.

"Hey, Ron? Have you seen Hermione anywhere? We were supposed to study for the NEWTs together," Harry said.

"How am I supposed to know? It was her bloody idea to start studying this early into the year and this late into the night," Ron replied, a bit grumpily, as he pored over his Transfiguration text book. "Really...I don't see why we need to know how to transfigure flower pots into monkeys. It's quite pointless if you ask--"

"Don't say another word, Ron Weasley!" said a voice from the other side of the Common Room. Harry and Ron looked up, and saw that their missing-in-action friend had finally decided to grace them with her presence, carrying a pumpkin. "The main purpose of this task is to transfigure household objects into animals! Doesn't necessarily mean it has to be a monkey," she explained, placing the pumpkin in front of the pile of books.

"Oh, my mistake...I guess I should be looking forward to transforming my couch into a polar bear then?" Ron said. "Because we all know how important it is to do that in the first place!"

"Think what you will...but--"

"Hermione," Harry cut in, wanting to steer clear of another Weasley-Granger yelling contest, "what's with the pumpkin?"

Hermione's scowl immediately turned into an enthusiastic smile. "Well, since Halloween is tomorrow, I decided that we should take a break from studying and carve our own jack-o-lanterns! You know, something to relieve the stress!"

Harry and Ron looked stupidly at her.

"You mean...Hermione Granger is actually taking a study break...without persuasion or coaxing whatsoever from us?" Ron said, not sarcastically, but with genuine sincerity. Hermione flushed.

"Well...yes! I'm not that uptight!" She searched the blank stares Harry and Ron were giving her. "Oh honestly! Whoever wants to carve a pumpkin, can, because if they'd rather study Transfiguration...then I'll be happy to leave them alone!"

Harry and Ron couldn't have jumped out of their seats any faster.

"That's what I thought. Anyway...let me conjure up two more pumpkins, so we can each work on one," she said, tapping the pumpkin twice and muttering a few words. In seconds, two more identical pumpkins appeared. Hermione settled herself for working on the original pumpkin, in the middle, while Harry and Ron positioned themselves on either side of her.

No one said anything. They just marveled at the orange-yellow skin ...

"Hermione?" Harry asked, breaking the silence and the staring contests he, Ron and Hermione were having with their pumpkins. "How do we carve a pumpkin?" he asked.

"Oh! Like this," Ron said. He yanked out his wand, tapped the pumpkin in various places with it and mumbled a spell. Moments later, perfectly carved features indented themselves into the pumpkin, and a candle that seemed to come out of nowhere, glowed inside.

"That's not how you carve a pumpkin!" Hermione exclaimed, yet still looking impressed at Ron's jack-o-lantern.

"It's how my mom does it," Ron answered.

"Well, I was hoping we'd do it the Muggle way. It's been ages since I've done it that way. It's how me and my parents spent the night before Halloween when I was younger."

"The Muggle way?" Ron echoed, scrunching up his nose. "Doesn't that deal with cutting the pumpkin open and scooping out all the goopy stuff?"

"W-ell, yes, it does..."

"I'm not doing it!" Ron said all of a sudden, putting his arms up as if to protect himself from the eerie glowing of his jack-o-lantern. "We tried that once...and Fred and George scarred me for life."

"How did they do that?" Harry asked, wondering how someone could be so traumatized over pumpkin goop.

"I don't want to go into details...but...remember when I told you how they charmed my teddy bear to turn into a giant spider?" Harry and Hermione nodded. "Let's just say that there was pumpkin goop oozing everywhere and--"

Ron turned a peculiar shade of green.

"Eurgh...I think I'm going to be sick. I'll just turn in for the night," he said, and bolted up the stairs, covering his mouth. Hermione sighed.

"Guess it's just you and me then, Harry," Hermione said. She got out the pumpkin carving tools and laid them out between them. "Do you know how to do this?" she asked. Harry wrinkled his brow.

"Growing up with the Dursleys...what do you think?"

"Oh...guess they weren't a big fan of Halloween then," she said. "That's alright. I can teach you, it's not that hard." She took a big knife from the carving tools and started to cut the top part of her pumpkin.

"Just cut the top here, so we can get to the messy stuff inside. Here." She handed him the knife and he did as he was instructed. They set their top portions aside, and peered into the vegetable.

"Ew...now I know why Ron was so grossed out," Harry said, eyeing the seeds and slimy orange stuff. "Can't we just use magic to clean it out?"

"There's no fun in that!" Hermione said, a sparkle in her eye as she rolled up her sleeves. "This is the best part! Usually people use scoops to clean out the pumpkin...but I like to use my hands!" She plunged her hands deep into the pumpkin and came out holding a big glob of the stuff.

"That's disgusting!" Harry said, backing away from the dripping mess in Hermione's hands.

"Come on, Harry, it feels all sludgy...quite refreshing, actually!" she said, making a show of squishing the stuff in her hand before placing the glob in a large container.

"Uh...no thanks...really--" Harry found himself spluttering and temporarily blind...because Hermione had just thrown a handful of the stuff at his face. She was laughing uncontrollably. He wiped his glasses with his hands, and glared at Hermione, who resorted to clutching her stomach (smearing her jumper with the pumpkin slime, since her hands were covered in it) for laughing so hard.

"I can't believe you just did that," Harry said quietly, rolling his sleeves up. Hermione took no notice...she was still laughing, and was wiping tears of mirth with her arm.

"You should've seen the look on your face, Harry. It was price--"

SPLAT!

"You were going to say something, Granger?" Harry asked, his hands now covered with the stuff too. The two of them burst out laughing.

"Oh...no matter. I'm already messed up with the stuff. Come on, let's empty these pumpkin heads, then we can start carving!"

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"My pumpkin head is empty now!" Harry called, raising his hands in triumph. "Who knew plunging your hands into slime would be so...invigorating?"

"See?" Hermione said, plunking her last handful of pumpkin slime into the container. "We can save this stuff...my mom sent a recipe for pumpkin pie, so maybe we can ask Dobby to make one or something."

"Good idea. Okay, master of pumpkin carving, what's next?" Hermione removed two picks and handed one to Harry.

"Just make the outline of your features with this pick. The holes will be the guidelines for the actual carving," she explained.

"Okay," Harry said, starting on a customary triangle eye.

A few minutes later, Harry and Hermione's pumpkin features were outlined. Hermione got out two small knives and gave one to Harry. "Alright, this is the tricky part, because it's easy to slip and chop off a finger," she warned off-handedly. "Just sort of stab the knife into the pumpkin and follow the pattern you set out," she instructed. "It's better if you hold the knife this way...no, like this...here, let me show you."

She took a hold of Harry's knife and his hand. She delicately positioned the knife correctly in his grasp, and with her hand over his, guided him through carving out the left eye of his jack-o-lantern. He was suddenly aware of how soft her hands were...even though they were covered in pumpkin slime moments ago.

"And...that's how you do it," Hermione said, letting go of Harry's hand (a bit reluctantly, Harry thought, but saw the expression flicker away almost instantly). "So, carve away!"

They began carving in silence...thoughts reeling through Harry's mind that had nothing to do with pumpkins. But finally, at a quarter past midnight, he was done. He was proud of himself, although the jack-o-lantern's smile was a bit lopsided...giving it an almost creepy look. Hermione finished seconds later.

"There! Congratulations, Mr. Potter, you have just carved your first pumpkin," Hermione said, sticking her hand out for a formal hand shake. Harry took her hand and shook it gently. The urge to give her a sweet kiss on the mouth passed over him.

Do it...make some excuse to do it...you have to...it'll drive you nuts!

"Hermione, I think there's still some of that pumpkin slime on your face," Harry said, looking at her face intently.

"Omigosh, there is? Where?" Hermione said frantically.

"Right...over...here." Harry wiped away a miniscule, perhaps non-existent, glob of pumpkin slime. The contact of Harry's fingers made Hermione freeze...and feel a little lightheaded.

"Thanks," she whispered.

"No problem."

The two quickly diverted their gazes to elsewhere.

"Well...guess we should place these jack-o-lanterns somewhere. Why don't we give them to Hagrid to decorate his hut tomorrow?" she suggested. Harry shrugged.

"Sure, why not." Damn you and your loss of nerve! "Goodnight then," he said.

"Night," she answered. Harry turned to go. "Harry?" He stopped.

"Yeah?" he questioned, turning around to face her. He was startled to see her right there in front of him.

"Happy Halloween," she muttered and gave him a short kiss on the mouth. Harry closed his eyes for the two second kiss, and when he felt Hermione's lips depart, he opened them.

"Happy Halloween," he answered, grinning. She grinned back, and went up the stairs to her dormitory.

Pumpkin carving, from that night, became a yearly tradition for them...and their kids.

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The End

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