Daddy Dearest - (No Update, Edit)

Disclaimer: All recognizable characters belong to JKR. All situations are mine. No $$$ is being made from this fanfic.
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Chapter 71 ~ In the Gee-goh Fields

When Maria woke Jasmine, it was dark outside. She could see flickering firelight through the windows. She hopped out of bed and had to go to the bathroom.

"Um, Maria…where's the loo?" she asked the muggle.

Maria crinkled her brow, perplexed.

"Loo? What is a loo?" she asked Jasmine.

"A bathroom…where I can…"

Jasmine jumped around a little. Maria's eyes widened.

"Oh, a place to shit," she said, grinning.

"Yes," Jasmine said reddening.

"Follow me," Maria said, smirking.

They walked to the door leading outside. A little spade was hanging next to it, with a loop of rope in the handle. Maria took it down and slipped the rope over Jasmine's wrist.

"What's this?" Jasmine asked her.

"The bathroom," Maria said, smiling broadly at her. There was also a flashlight hanging there, which she handed Jasmine.

Jasmine looked at the flashlight, then the spade, and then at Maria, her face contorted in disgust.

"You don't mean…" Jasmine said.

Maria pushed her out the door toward the jungle.

"Yes I do mean. Go dig a hole if you have to shit, use it then cover it up so no one steps in it. If you just have to pee, don't bother. The earth will drink it."

"What about toilet paper?" Jasmine asked.

"We have very big leaves here," Maria replied, wanting to laugh badly at Jasmine's expression. No porcelain bowls in the jungle, princess.

Jasmine really had to go, and walked gingerly into the forest.

"Don't go too far, and watch out for buttbiters," Maria called after her, grinning broadly as the flashlight clicked on.

"Buttbiters?" Jasmine called back, but Maria was gone.

There were no such things as buttbiters but Jasmine was new in the camp, so of course she would be teased. Jasmine walked until she found a relatively clear area. Holding the flashlight in one hand, she dug a small hole with the spade..

"This is disgusting," the witch thought as she pulled down her pants and knickers, squatted and pulled a huge leaf off a nearby bush.

Jasmine didn't have very good aim. Plus she was nervous about the buttbiters. So she missed the hole completely. The witch wiped with the huge leaf, dropped it into the hole as best she could, pulled up her pants and used the spade to cover everything with dirt then push it into the hole, her nose wrinkled. Jasmine had never thought of a loo as a luxury before. To make things worse, she heard giggling in the bushes. She shined the flashlight toward the sound and saw several sets of grinning teeth and bright eyes.

The children.

"Get out of here!" Jasmine yelled at them. They all scrambled, their laughter fading away toward the camp. They might not understand English, but they understood the witch was angry they had watched her poop.

Jasmine shined the flashlight on the spade to make sure she left nothing untoward on it, then walked back to the barracks and hung both the spade and the flashlight back in their spots, then she walked out into the center of the camp. The workers were sitting in circles around several fires, talking and eating. Their plates appeared to be made from large folded leaves. She smelled something exotic and delicious and her stomach growled. She looked around, not knowing where to sit.

"Jasmine, over here," called Maria waving her chubby arm.

Jasmine saw the muggle seated among several other women and walked over. All of the women cooed and shook their heads, making room for the witch, who sat down on the ground beside them. Immediately her hands were filled with a large leaf that had a brown steamed fish in it, with some strange vegetables and a flat piece of coarse bread. Jasmine stared at it. The fish still had its head on.

Maria said something to the women and they all laughed as they looked at Jasmine's expression.

"Go on, taste it. It's very good," Maria urged the witch. "It's snapper."

Jasmine would have never eaten this at home, just because of the way it looked. But she was starved.

"Can I have a fork?" she asked.

Maria translated this for the women and they fell against each other laughing again. A woman of about twenty years of age made a motion with her hands, telling Jasmine she had to eat with her fingers. Jasmine gingerly touched her fingertip to the fish and tasted the sauce. Her face split in a smile…it was delicious. She broke off a piece and put it into her mouth. It was flaky, meaty and tasted like a dream. She began to eat hungrily, egged on by the women who smiled in approval and commented to each other about the witch's hunger. Jasmine put some fish and vegetables into the flat bread and bit it. Oh, so good.

As she ate, Jasmine felt fingers lifting her hair. It was the young woman next to her, exclaiming over its color and softness. She said something to Maria.

"Anna wants to know if she can braid your hair, Jasmine. It will help keep your head cool when you are harvesting tomorrow. Otherwise your scalp will sweat and stink," Maria said, looking at Jasmine intently.

If the witch declined, the other women would think her unfriendly and not offer her help.

Jasmine realized Anna was trying to make things easier. She never had her hair braided before.

"Yes, I would like that," Jasmine said. She smiled at Anna. "Thank you."

Maria translated and the young woman blushed, then moved behind Jasmine and sat close to her, her brown legs spread out on either side of her, and began to comb through her hair with her fingers. Jasmine finished her food and Maria took the leaf from her. The women began to sing, and Jasmine listened, her eyes half closed as Anna gently and deftly braided her hair back in cornrows. Her hands felt wonderful and Jasmine leaned back against her body, feeling sleepy again.

All the women knew Jasmine's situation and found it horrible that her father would force her to lay with a man and not marry him.

"They are a strange people," they whispered among themselves as they looked at Jasmine. She was pale, but fair. "Our fathers would kill a man for even suggesting such a thing even if his daughter were ugly."

"Then to send her here when she has never worked. We must pray for him and for her," the women said to each other. And they did.

Anna found that Jasmine's hair would not stay braided at the ends on their own, so she made up a mixture of red clay and spittle and twisted it on the ends. Jasmine didn't know this, and perhaps it was better that way. She had dozed off.

When they were done, and the fires doused, Maria and the women gently woke Jasmine and walked to the barracks. They all stood around while she climbed into her bed, then said a prayer for her to have strength for the coming day, and retired.

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The women were expected to pick one hundred pounds of "Gee-goh" per day, a plant that had a variety of uses for salves and potions. It was used to make general potions bases as well and was always in demand. The plant had a bulbous prickly flower that looked a lot like clover…and the stem was prickly as well. There was one smooth place near the root. The plant was to be pulled out of the ground, root intact and the dirt shaken off. The stem had to be held firmly or the plant would tear and the root would have to be dug up by hand.

Each woman was given four numbered sacks, which they tucked into their waistbands. Each sack when filled held about twenty-five pounds of Gee-goh. When they were full, the children would come and haul them to the overseer, Juan, who notated whose sack it was by the number, and how much it weighed.

Poor Jasmine was left far behind her first day, and was badly sunburned and sore as she bent over and over, trying to pull the plants and having to dig up almost every root. The women looked back at her sympathetically, but they had their own harvesting to do and could not stop to help her. At the end of a fourteen-hour day, she had only collected thirty-five pounds of Gee-goh. Juan looked at her. She was completely red, her fingers were raw and the witch was obviously in pain, unused to the standing and bending. He shook his head as she teetered toward the barracks.

Everyone was already seated around the fires eating when Jasmine staggered into camp. Every part of her ached and her hands were killing her. Maria and three other women came and helped her into the circle, exclaiming as she hissed when they touched her skin. The women clucked, and one brought over a salve and rubbed it into her cracked fingertips. Jasmine gasped at the burning sensation, then her fingers began to cool. She looked at the woman gratefully, and accepted her meal. She ate only half, and Maria looked at her worriedly.

"You must eat it all, Jasmine," she said to the witch.

Jasmine looked at her with bloodshot eyes. Anna moved closer to Jasmine.

"Eat," she said, picking up a bit of fish and pushing it to her lips. Jasmine opened and took the fish from Anna's fingers and ate it. The woman sat there and fed the witch until the food was all gone.

"Buena," she said softly to Jasmine, pulling the witch against her shoulder and caressing her head gently.

The women began to sing again, as Jasmine leaned against Anna and ached…but she found their voices soothing. She fell asleep. The next thing she remembered was waking up naked, and hands on her body. She was in the lower bunk bed and the women were covering her sunburnt body with salve gently. It cooled her skin, and Jasmine fell back to sleep.

The next morning she woke and Anna was by her bedside. She had a roll of tape and some bits of leaf. She helped Jasmine up and examined her. She was still red but not as bad as the night before. The salve must also have been for pain, because she didn't ache as badly. Anna gave Jasmine her clothes, and the witch pulled on the skirt, underwear and tunic, no bra. Then the woman placed bits of leaf on her fingertips and bound them in place securely with the tape. Breakfast was passed out. It consisted of fruit, warm milk and the flat bread. Jasmine didn't know where the milk came from, but she drank it down and felt strengthened. Then they went out to work again. And Jasmine returned in the same sad state, and once again the women tended her.

After about a week and a half, Jasmine improved. She ached less and her skin became less sensitive to the sun. She was actually tanning. She was up to sixty-five pounds of Gee-goh a day, which was almost double what she had done in the beginning. Of course Juan wasn't satisfied, because the loss added up. He would also have his pay cut in half if the workers did not deliver.

"You must work, harder, Jasmine. You are not pulling your weight and everyone can suffer because of you. Our budget does not cover another worker, plus it is too late in the season to get one at a good rate. You must improve," he said to her, his dark eyes hard. He spat at the ground and wiped his mouth as the witch walked past him.

Jasmine walked to the familiar circle of women now, greeting them and sitting down. A plate of food was handed to her and she picked at it. A woman across from her said something to Maria, nodding toward Jasmine.

Maria looked at the witch.

"Rosa wants to know what is wrong with you tonight?" Maria asked her.

"I'm not pulling my weight. I am not picking enough Gee-goh. All of you are going to suffer because of me," she said glumly, her eyes glistening. "I am slowing the harvest down."

Maria translated for all the women, who looked at Jasmine, shaking their heads. Another woman said something.

"Jasmine, don't worry. We have been cramming our bags with extra Gee-goh to cover you until you can pick your own full weight. You are not getting credit for it, but we are bringing in the right amount each day. Juan just wants you to work harder," she said comfortingly.

Jasmine looked around the circle of women, who sat quietly…the firelight flickering across their faces. These were the kindest people she had ever known, magical or otherwise. She felt her heart catch. How could she have ever thought that muggles were less than wizards and witches? That they were a blight on the earth? Gods, she had been so wrong. These women knew she couldn't keep up, and instead of being angry at her, they willingly picked up her slack without a word about it. Voldemort was wrong…so wrong. A muggle-born witch or wizard could have all these wonderful qualities plus magic. That seemed more a blessing than a curse to the wizarding world.

"I'm going to work harder," Jasmine promised Maria. "I'm going to pull my weight and help you get this harvest in without working harder than you have to."

Although Jasmine did not have her wand, that didn't stop her oath from taking effect. The women all gasped as they felt the magic swirl around them.

"What was that?" Maria asked her, her dark eyes wide.

"A wizard's oath. I have made a promise that I am bound to fulfill to all of you. If I do not fulfill it, I will pay for it," Jasmine said.

"You should not have done that, Jasmine," Maria said quietly. She explained what happened to the other women and what it meant to Jasmine. They all gasped and scolded the witch, who shook her head.

"You all have been so kind to me. I will be able to do what I said I'd do. I will pull my weight. I am going to pick a hundred pounds of Gee-goh tomorrow or die trying," she said with conviction.

Maria translated this, and the women all looked at her quietly for a moment, then began to smile and laugh. One woman said something to Jasmine and fell over laughing.

"Why are they laughing? What did she say?" Jasmine asked Maria, who grinned.

"She said you won't be the first worker to be buried by Juan in the Gee-goh fields," she replied.

Jasmine scowled at the women, which only had the effect of making them laugh harder. Then she too broke into a smile.

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A/N: Another chappie. Please review.