Of Hufflepuffs and Puffapods Errand

@Mildred Wilson @Sola Haze

She had noticed the errand, realizing exactly who she wanted to do it with. The girls that she had met at the previous errand. They had been getting along rather well, but they had been separated rather early on. She hadn't minded, of course, but it would have been nice to talk some more with them. Not that Atlas had been horrible or anything, in honesty, she had found the other quite joyful and charming even. But still, it was nice to get to know people.

And it seemed that the rest of them agreed. Of course, coming up with plans generally take a little while, and Teiki had no clue where to really start. The campus was ridiculously large, after all. But, apparently, Sola had already had an idea. Or at least, the fragment of an idea. Teiki couldn't tell with how quickly the letter was written. Either way, though, it sounded exciting.

Since the girl had declared it to be at the greenhouse, Teiki decided to bring her protective equipment in a small bag just in case. It was a drawstring bag, that was mainly blue with little flower designs covering the fabric. Her Hufflepuff scarf was on, as always, along with her uniform. However, she had gotten rid of the robe and hat, simply wearing the polo and pants that were generally underneath. She had also gotten rid of the tie, so the scarf was the only symbol of House. Not that the two really needed the reminder, she supposed.

February meant it was almost the end of winter. So, when going outside, the air still held the chill of fallen snow. And yet, most of it had started to melt away, leaving the dead leaves to be scattered by the lonely wind. It was an interesting and lonely sight, but the young girl knew that it would soon by filled with rebirth. That- she had decided- was the most beautiful season. Especially because of all the baby animals. One could never forget the baby animals.

She pushed on the door of Greenhouse Four, peeking inside. A smile came to her face as she noticed that Sola was already within the greenhouse. "Hello!" she called, finally stepping into the greenhouse. A small shiver ran down her spine as she adjusted to the warmer temperature. Her eyes flashed back up to the Slytherin, and she gave the girl a curious glance.

"So, what's this perfect idea?" she asked, a smile bright on her face.

Word Count: 416

@Sola Haze @Teiki Laurent
Mildred had her eyes on the new errand ever since it was posted, mainly with her eyes on the prize; the house points, plus the errand seemed easy, nothing at all like the previous errand she completed. She could care less about whether the school was decorated appropriately for the new season.

The night prior while Mildred was located at the library, she remembered Sola mentioning the errand. She did express her interest in the errand however they all soon had to go to their respected partners. she was a tad hesitant to owl Sola and Teiki about the event, were they even friends? she wasn't exactly sure. Perhaps it was due to the many hours Mildred had just spent at the library, She practically could feel the walls dancing and moving around her, that definitely wasn't normal. She decided to just Owl Sola and Teiki about the errand what's the worst that could happen? she couldn't possibly spend her whole days slaving away at the library plus she was originally going to do it alone and thought it'll be easier with people helping her.

She was quite happy and excited when Sola had owled them back with details of the location and something along the lines of a big idea, Mildred was curious about what that meant, although she was sure that everything would go fine. After her long stay in the library the previous night before, Mildred could feel her head pounding still she should really pick up a hobby or something instead of reading all the time she supposed old habits die hard. she decided to just rest a bit at the common room before heading to the greenhouse, she supposed it'd be alright.

Resting turned out to be a unexpected nap in the common room, A bright blinding light awoke Mildred, sunlight streamed down below onto her face. to counter this she turned over further burrowing herself into a soft cushion, five more minutes to mumbled to really no one, Mildred had a fleeting thought that she was supposed to be somewhere but it was gone just as quick as she thought about it, although it seemed the thought just kept on coming back, she kept on thinking about greenhouses. Jolted awake, she remembered where she had to be! She jumped out of wherever she fell asleep and nearly hit her head, curse the low ceiling.

She was really panicking at this point, she quickly gathered anything she thought she'd needed, she grabbed her protective gear although she started shoving anything in her bag at this point somehow, she ended up bringing a book she borrowed, some cookies she stole "borrowed" and some of her graded homework. She threw on anything and rushed to the Greenhouse 4, while she was speed-walking there she used her hands to comb the mess of her hair and hoped the others wouldn't mind.

By the time she had reached the greenhouses she was panting quite hard, she saw that Sola and Teiki had already arrived, it appeared that she wasn't that late as she thought, they haven't started anything yet. she rushed in and said "H-Hey guys!" she paused to regain her breath, "So! what are we going to do?"

Teiki was the first to arrive, looking eager to get started. She asked what Sola's great idea was, and Sola would've loved to say right then and there, but she didn't yet. "I'll tell you soon enough. I just want to wait until Mildred is here." She knew most people at Hogwarts stuck with a last-name basis, but it just felt rude to her.

Not a moment after she'd said that, Mildred showed up, looking a bit frazzled like she'd run all the way from the Common Room. Yet she, too, looked eager to start. And thus, Sola began her plan to decorate the school the absolute best... even though it wasn't a competition. Well, not officially.

"So, I was doing some research, and I think I found the best way to decorate the school." She led the two further into the greenhouse, past some other strange plants like a geranium with fangs lining its petals and a strange cabbage that looked to be gnashing its teeth... wait, teeth? Sola lead them to the back and they stopped before some yellowish pink pods that looked like eggs. She stood before them and gestured to them, loudly exclaiming: "Tadaa!"

What she got in return were a few mildly confused expressions, which made sense. She wouldn't have known about these things either if she hadn't found them in a book. "They're Puffapods," she explained. "They're usually first taught in third year, but they're relatively harmless, so I figured it would be okay." She was just bursting with contained excitement. "And they have the coolest effect: they periodically puff out these spores that bloom into flowers the moment they come into contact with something solid!"

@Sola Haze @Mildred Wilson

“Okay, okay. I’ll try to be patient.” She laughed softly, instinctively raising her hands up slightly. But she didn’t really need to worry about waiting. After all, Mildred came in only seconds later, appearing rushed. Teiki waved softly, hoping the girl would calm down soon. There hadn’t really been anything to worry about- the others would have waited. They weren’t just going to leave a friend behind because they were a few minutes later or something.

“Oh?” Teiki said, head tilted slightly. She followed the Slytherin, trying to ignore some of the plants that they were passing by. Fangs and teeth almost seemed to be a common feature among the plants, and the Hufflepuff didn’t know how to feel about that. She was sure one of them had tried to nip at her hair. She sighed, knowing that she should’ve put it up. Instead, the quickly tucked the tufts of hair under the scarf, using the yellow and black fabric as a makeshift hair tie. It would have to work for now.

Teiki almost ran into Sola, stopping quickly. She glanced at the plant before them, wondering what in the world it was. It wasn’t normal that a plant seemed to be just a bundle of eggs. She did like their color choice however. The yellow pink was a nice hue, and overall, it looked rather cheerful. But still, she had no clue what it was.

Not that she needed to wait long.

Sola soon answered, and Teiki wondered how she had learned this. Puffapods. It was an interesting name, but after the brief description, it made sense. She glanced at its currently dormant state, giving both the plant and Sola some rather large grins.

“That’s so cool!” she called, “How often is periodically? And, where should we bring them? Oh! Can we put them by the stairs? That would look so cool!” Teiki blushed, Sola’s energy seeming contagious to the eleven year old. She hoped that Mildred wasn’t against the idea, since it seemed really interesting. She just wondered if blooming clothes would suddenly become a new fashion trend- simply on accident, of course.

“Why don’t they teach us about them in First year? They seem pretty cool.” She gave the plant a quizzical glance, before shrugging in Sola’s direction. Either way, it was obvious that the raven-haired girl was on board with the idea. And hopefully Mildred, too.

Word Count: 400

@Teiki Laurent @Sola Haze

Mildred was curious when Sola had mentioned a part of her plan, how she had found the best way to decorate the school. Following sola, as she led both of them further in the greenhouse, Mildred looked around in awe at all the exotic plants that were there. She was even able to identify some of them and was in shock at their rarity and especially how dangerous some of these plants were. Mildred kept a steady pace behind Teiki, trying not to get *too distracted* but it was quite hard due to all the plants, she could have sworn she saw a plant try to bite Teikis hair, she gasped quietly and was glad when the plant backed off, She definitely didn't want a trip to the hospital wing today.


Mildred tried her best to focus her attention back to the other girls as it would have been rude if she continued being this distracted, everyone seemed very excited for this and she didn't want to let them down. Mildred took a peek at the plant Sola had picked, She looked at them curiously, trying her best to identify them. She wasn't exactly sure what they were, although they looked like a bunch of pinkish pea pods, Thankfully Sola explained what they were.

Hearing Sola explain what they were, and the name Mildred remembered reading a little about them a while back, although she wasn't sure. she remembered seeing that when they were fully grown they exploded, although maybe she mixed them up with another plant. she knew that there were a handful of other plants that also exploded or something like that so She shrugged it off and focused her attention back to the plant and Sola.

Mildred did agree, the fact that the plants were to bloom when they touched something solid did sound exciting, Teiki soon asked about the plant and it was clear she was excited too. She was a tad hesitant although soon their excitement clearly rubbed off onto Mildred and she soon was very excited and on board, she smiled and nodded and said "When did you learn about these? They're so cool!"

Agreeing to Teiki's comment on why they don't teach about these majestic plants in the first year also made her wonder, although she supposed everything would be okay.

"I learned about them from a book," Sola said. "They seem easy enough to handle, so I didn't really think it was necessary to ask a prefect or anything." She crouched down to get a better look at the pod, smiling and smelling it. It smelled sweet and calming, but a moment later she sneezed.

She laughed, straightening up. "I suppose one thing I should mention: if you breathe them in, the spores can make you sneeze, but that doesn't seem like a huge problem. It's way worse for trolls: they're allergic to them."

She gently picked up one of the little bulbs, which shuddered a little, but was otherwise still. "If they're left undisturbed, they should produce spores once or twice a day," she explained. "From what the book said, it seems they do this to spread their spores around. An animal might come up and smell it, and the spores would puff out and stick to its fur. Or a human might smell it, and the spores would puff out, and they choose to keep the flowers because they're pretty. It's really quite brilliant." She regarded the flower almost admiringly. "We could put them just about anywhere, really."

@Sola Haze @Teiki Laurent

It was a great relief to Mildred hearing Sola telling them that she thought they were easy to handle, therefore Mildred supposed that it would be alright, Mildred definitely did not want to blow up the school. She noticed Sola crouched down to smell the strange plant, Mildred also lowered herself to smell the plant and noticed the sweet alluring smell of the plant, although a few seconds later started having a sneezing fit.

She supposed she should have waited a second or two due to Sola explaining that the spores would make you sneeze. Mildred did not notice this at first when meeting Sola however, she noticed that Sola was quite knowledgeable about certain topics, Hearing the side note of trolls being allergic to them made Mildred glad that she wasn't one.

Looking at Sola pick up one of them, Mildred was a little nervous and worried for her, she wondered what if the plant blossomed right then and there? although, in the end, the plant remained still, Mildred realized her breathe without even realizing she was holding in it due to fear. Mildred listened to Sola explain how wonderful the plant was, and she had to agree the plant did seem really cool and she was glad that Sola had picked such an interesting plant for them to use, she decided to thank sola and smiled at her and said "Thank you, Sola, for picking such a wonderful plant" and she looked at Teiki and also said "thank you for being here also!" Mildred was truly happy that she decided to attend this errand with them.

Hearing that they could plant them anywhere, Mildred wasn't exactly sure where they should go, Perhaps the corridors? or the great hall? she thought the flowers sounded truly wonderful and she would feel that the other students would appreciate them if they could see the plant in its full glory, although Mildred didn't know although she decided to throw her ideas out there, she said, "Maybe we can plant them in the corridors or the great hall? I was thinking somewhere populated"

@Sola Haze @Mildred Wilson

"Books are amazing. Holding a lot of the worlds knowledge in words." She gave a soft smile. She supposed her secondary house would've been a Ravenclaw. She found knowledge to be a valuable thing, although she preferred not having to read through thousands of pages to find it. Not that it was that tough, but sometimes the girl needed a break. Or a chance to stretch her legs.

She hadn't gone up to smell the flower. Admittedly, she would've, but she didn't want to squish the others. No use making the situation awkward. But, apparently, it had also saved her from a sneezing fit. She said nothing, rocking on her heels slightly. Her head tilted curiously as Sola spilled more facts. It was all rather interesting, and Teiki couldn't help as her smile grew wider.

"Wow, anywhere? I've got to agree with the corridors. They're generally rather bland, so the flowers would be a nice touch." Teiki had never found the corridors to be bland, but it was certainly less bland than the great hall. Plus, there wasn't much room to put the flower within the Great Hall. She had already decided that putting flowers that constantly bloomed on the table wouldn't be a good idea. What if it bloomed on the food? She gave a small shiver.

"Oh, you're welcome!" Teiki seemed a little flustered by the thanks.

Sorry for the wait! I should be able to reply normally soon.

Sola could feel herself blushing at the compliments. It truly was a brilliant idea. Now all they had to do was implement it. And who knew? Maybe the teachers might even notice and praise them for their ingenuity. She was practically bouncing on her toes at the prospect.

"The corridors sounds good," she said. "We better get started right away. Come on, grab some spades." She had brought out a few from the storage cupboard and was already getting started. The bulbs had thick, waxy roots that were tough, but could flex if you tried hard enough. She was extra careful removing it from the soil and replanting it in another pot.

"Try not to jostle them too much," she said, "or they'll bloom and you'll probably get spores in your sinuses." The little plant twitched slightly as she replanted it, its leaves flexing and shaping around it protectively. It was truly an adorable little thing, and the flowers it would produce would be magnificent. She'd heard they resembled water lilies or lotus flowers. And that they smelled absolutely delightful: sweet and fresh, almost like you could eat them. In some cultures, people might eat them. She wasn't sure, but it was possible.