"Thank you," Chastity said, handing Mr. Skeeter the shovel. She flexed her hands, musing that she hadn't realized how tightly she was holding onto the handle until she let go. "I'll have to invest in some smaller shovels," she said with a laugh. "For myself and the children." She was not much taller than some of her oldest students, after all.

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Mason should have thought of that. Putting in the garden from scratch meant they would need their own shovels. "I don't think you'll need too many until we do this again." He reasoned. "But I have some spares at the school I can send you." Just some trowels and the smaller student-sized shovels. He'd have to fix up a few, and probably shouldn't just be giving away what he had, but he really did have plenty. "I think they can handle weeding by hand." Mason chuckled. It was one of his favorite detentions, but some students genuinely enjoyed it.

After he dug a few good-sized holes, Mason moved to remove the plants from their pots and put them in. "Been a while since I've done this by hand," Mason often used magic just to expedite the process. It was a lack of time more than anything else most of the time. "I forgot how much I enjoyed it." He liked the physicality of it, it felt like the hard work made the end result that much better.

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magic by MJ the magnificent

"I think it's probably good for us to do things by hand sometimes," Chastity said. She smiled. "Though I've spent most of my time around muggles, so perhaps my view is a bit skewed that way." There was a balance to it, probably. Chastity enjoyed doing things by hand, but had also spent a childhood with family who hated the idea of magic, and she didn't think that was right either.

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"I agree, pending whatever it is we're doing." Mason would much rather do some harvesting at the school the magical way, but mostly as a way of not getting bit or stung somehow. This was perfectly reasonable to do by hand. "Sometimes I think it's more rewarding to put the physical effort into things, but I am not above taking the easy way out sometimes either." So he supposed it depended on his mood as well.

He stood back for a moment to survey their progress. "It's coming together easily enough," he said with an approving nod. "Do you like it here in Irvingly?" Mason didn't have much experienced over here, but had gotten caught up in helping to figure out that blasted fog a few years back now, so maybe his own perception of the town was a little biased as well. Now it seemed perfectly nice, however.

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magic by MJ the magnificent

"I'd be a hypocrite if I disagreed with taking the easy solution sometimes," Chastity said with a laugh. She could be remarkably lazy when she was really of a mind to be--it was hard to muster the energy to search for things, for example, when she could just summon them. Still, she thought it was good for her to do things for herself sometimes.

"I do," she said. "After I left school, I spent several years living in the country, and being so close to wizarding society again has been nice." She smiled wryly. "And in Irvingly, it's not an overwhelming transition." She didn't know that it would have been overwhelming, but nonetheless.

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It wasn't hard to see where Miss Bentley was coming from. One of the perks of magic was ease of use sometimes. Mason tried not to let himself get lazy with it, but it did often make things much easier and much faster. He kept working as Miss Bentley explained her time in Irvingly.

"I can understand that, I spent quite a bit of time out in the country after I graduated as well and the transition back to Hogsmeade was interesting." His time on the farms had been eye-opening in a variety of ways, but he had grown to like the lifestyle, the work and the people. Moving back to the much larger and busier Hogsmeade had been an adjustment to say the least. Irvingly, with its smaller charm would have been a nice reintroduction to magical society, and well, society at large. It was a quiet little town, which Mason would certainly enjoy, if he spent the majority of his time anywhere other than Hogwarts.

"Nice and quiet, at the very least." He enjoyed the quiet, though was now used to the hustle and bustle and noise of the school. So much so he could typically tune in and tune out of it, depending on the need.

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magic by MJ the magnificent

Chastity smiled. "It is," she agreed. "And I certainly get enough chaos on a daily basis, regardless," she added with a laugh, gesturing toward the schoolhouse. Children certainly made for a livelier existence, especially when one found themselves surrounded by them all the time. Chastity found that it was tiring in a way she still found ultimately rewarding, at least. "I'm sure you can relate to that, up at Hogwarts."

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Mason finished up the last plant in front of him, and paused, looking at their progress. It was close to done and he leaned on the shovel for a moment to catch his breath. "Chaotic indeed," Mason nodded. The school itself was some barely controlled chaos most of the time, but he hadn't realized quite how much until taking on the Head of House Position. He must have been more removed from it when he spent the majority of his time out in the greenhouses.

"Not always a bad thing, it is rarely boring." Mason chuckled. Teaching students between eleven and eighteen left a lot of room for shenanigans in a wide variety of forms. "I think once we finish these last few, a quick water and it'll be all set." Mason motioned to the last section that needed to be planted.

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magic by MJ the magnificent

"You are right there," Chastity agreed with a laugh. The children certainly kept her on her toes, and Chastity would be lying if she said she didn't find it amusing sometimes. Life certainly wasn't dull, at any rate. Looking over their work, she commented, "This certainly goes fast with more hands to do it." She hadn't expected it to go so smoothly, if she was honest.

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"That it does," doing things the physical way could take longer, but help halved the work. Mason dug the holes for the remaining plants and set them in. "Do you have a watering can?" He tended to do that in the greenhouses anyway. They littered the different sections of the greenhouses so that the students had access. It was easier than trying to rely on them to get the aguamenti charm correct.

He stood back, looking over their hard work with a broad smile. "I do hope you and the students enjoy it and get something out of it." It would be a good learning experience even if it didn't yield anything much.

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magic by MJ the magnificent

"Yes, we've gotten a brand new watering can just for this little experiment," Chastity said. "Well, brand new to the school, I should say." It was, in fact, charitably donated. Chastity had had to repair a hole in the bottom, but she wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

"Thank you." She offered Mr. Skeeter a smile. "If you don't mind, I could send you an update during the year." She laughed a little. "Though I have to warn you it might be an effort to get more advice."

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Mason should have thought to include a watering can in his supplies, but he was relieved to see that Miss Bentley had been thinking ahead. "I look forward to it." He would enjoy hearing about what the students were doing with the garden and how things went. "Never too many questions, comes with the territory, as I'm sure you know." Mason lost track of how many questions he was asked in a day. Between questions and making a ton of decisions every day, Mason was often fatigued at the end of the day from doing so. He was glad that he did not have to think about dinner or a household or anything of the like most of the time.

Still he was pleased with this endeavor and truly hoped it went well for Miss Bentley and her students.

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magic by MJ the magnificent