Errand Autumn Cleaning PV Group 1 Fin.

Griseldis immediately put Juniper at ease with her friendly manner, and after a brisk set of instructions she was off to meet the second group. Juniper took a deep breath and looked around their little group. Okay, Juniper thought, now is when you try talking to someone.

To her surprise, someone talked to her: “Ello there. Awesome choice of footwear, by the way. Those boots I can really relate to.”

She examined her boots. Her old wellies? Was... was she being made fun of? Because Margo had a panther on her head, and was clearly a connoisseur of style. Juniper had unthinkingly paired teal with red and gold. For the fourth time this week.

But she seemed sincere, and Juniper found herself tagging along behind her to the supplies tree.

Grabbing her rake and gloves, she marveled at how easily Margo made introductions. Why couldn't she do that? Here she was just hovering around behind her, waiting to catch the Hufflepuff's name, when there was another Hufflepuff standing right beside her...

She abruptly jutted out her hand to the girl with the luxurious black hair. "Hi, I'm... what was your name?" Uhg. So awkward.

As soon as the Ravenclaw bundle began talking, Juniper had a funny feeling she'd seen him before. Wasn't this that adrenalized kid from her own Gryffindor? Unless... there were more of them. Did Ravenclaw have one, too?

He was off like a whirlwind through the leaves. Perhaps the smallest member of the group, staking his claim in the deepest part of the leaves, was so comical it livened Juniper up a bit.

She turned to the three around her. "That's no Jedi."

word count 261... 502 total

@Griseldis Edelhardt | @Lindsey Bush | @Piérre Marchonné | @Margo White | @Juniper Irving

"Oh! My name's Teiki. Nice to meet you." She shook Juniper's hand, a little apologetic that both of them had already put on the gloves. She inwardly cringed slightly at the whispering noise the gloves made. Looking around a bit, she watched as the scarf bundle staked an area of land which he would be raking, suggesting a leaf pile. And here at Hogwarts, there were certainly enough leaves to do so. It was one of the activities she hadn't properly done before. Sure, she had tried, but it never quite worked.

"If he was, he would have a lightsaber and be using the force with all those leaves, no? Then again, not sure how that would work with the magic bubble and all." She winked at Juniper's comment, before leaving the small group to find herself a spot to rake leaves as well. Quickly remembering her question, she let her rake fall, before cupping her hands around her mouth.

"SCARF PERSON, CAN I CALL YOU RAVEN?" He was the only one who hadn't given a name, as she assumed Steward Stewart was probably not his, and more of a joke. Hopefully he wouldn't take the name Raven the wrong way as they were considered the symbols of ill omen. But as some said, 'Don't kill the messenger.' It wasn't as if the raven themselves had ever done something bad, they were just there to warn others. At least, that was her opinion.

She grabbed her rake again, creating a perimeter for her raking area, bringing all the leaves towards the center point. Soon enough, a small leaf pile had started to emerge; not enough to jump in, but certainly a start. She smiled, continuing to enlarge the perimeter and bring all of the leaves together. She suspected that it might be a little hard to move, but decided that she could grab some leaves and dump it onto the main pile using the compost bin she had been given. She was glad that she was doing this with a team. For one, the work would faster. Two, it was better when someone had a group of people to laugh along with. Finally, it was autumn, the best season to be out and about with the crisp air.

@Teiki Laurent, @Margo White, @Juniper Irving, & @Lindsey Bush

Piérre smiled behind the scarf as he watched each of his own group members picking up a rake and interacting with one another near the tree which held all the equipment they were supposed to be using. It seemed that he wasn’t the only one who enjoyed the fall weather. The only person who seemed to be daydreaming seemed to be one of the Hufflepuff girls @Lindsey Bush, who had been quiet ever since Piérre joined up with the group. He didn’t really care, though. He knew what it was like to enjoy one’s own time alone.

However, caffeinated Piérre didn’t, and so he shouted in the direction of the quiet girl, pulling down his scarf to be heard easier. ”Hey, hey... Hey! You wanna make a leaf pile!? It’ll be lots of fun!” Piérre raked a few of the knee high leaves closer to himself, making a mini pile. He would, of course, spread out and reach some of leaves closer to the tree’s trunk and the radius in that area, but at this point he was just trying to make a visual point.

It seemed that his actions had also encouraged others to join in as well, as the other Hufflepuff girl @Teiki Laurent, who was raking other leaves nearby, cupped her hands and shouted to him:

"SCARF PERSON, CAN I CALL YOU RAVEN?"

Piérre too, dropped his rake and shouted back. ”YEAH! I LOVE BIRDS!” The thought never even crossed his mind that maybe he should share his real name, but between the excitement pumping through his veins and the fact that subconsciously he had somehow remembered that he had sworn his name away but weeks ago, that somehow reminded him that he would have to go by a pseudonym until he fulfilled the promise to the Dhampire he had sworn his name to. He had, funny enough, neither seen nor heard of the boy ever since the incident on the Masquerade night, and it had never occurred to him to seek him out. And being in his caffeinated state, it certainly didn’t occur to him.

Smiling, he watched with inquisitive, sparkling green eyes as the Hufflepuff brought a large cluster of leaves to herself in a small radius. Piérre dashed over to a large cluster of leaves in his own area, and with swift, practiced movements formed from raking both in Mathilda’s yard and in his country homes located all around Italy. He was glad to know that someone was able to put up with his eccentricities. He knew how difficult it was with some people to deal with his outgoingness, and even though he had met a lot of people and had made several shallow bonds with some people, he never seemed to be able to stay in contact with them for long.

Maybe this time would be different? Well, at least he hoped that would be the case. What better way to get to know people than to ask some questions, though?

Piérre continued to rake, smiling and humming to himself, and then after a short pause, he looked up, pulling the scarf down enough to speak aloud to everyone else. ”So, what’s everyone’s names? If we’re gonna work together, maybe we could meet up later and do other things? You know how big this school is, after all. It’s good to have lots of people to talk to if you need to, right?” After nodding to his own statement, he pulled the scarf up again, raking quietly and waiting for others to acknowledge his words.

601 words

@Teiki Laurent @Margo White @Griseldis Edelhardt @Piérre Marchonné @Juniper Irving

She smiled at everyone. " nice to meet you all " she said re-wrapping her black and yellow hufflepuff scarf around her. She got her rake and started raking the leaf into a mound.

Shen then put rake against a tree and took her hair out of a ponytail. She put her hair tie on her wrist then got her rake and started to work again. She loved this time of year well not the cold. She hates the cold but loves the colors of the leafs.

She starting thinking about how she would love to be on the hufflepuff quidditch team or be a prefect or be head girl one day she thought about how cool it would be. She shivered she was so cold.

She knew as soon as they got done she'd wrap up like a burrito in blankets with hot chocolate and a book by the fire in the common room for a long as she could. She hummed a she raked.

She looked around at her classmates. She looked happy to help out. She shivered once again. " its so cold" she said then she got a idea. She jumped in her leaf mound she laughed and threw leafs in the air.

211+222=433

"Oh! My name's Teiki. Nice to meet you."
@Teiki Laurent was a gracious person, showing no notice of Juniper's awkwardness and warmly introducing herself.
"If he was, he would have a lightsaber and be using the force with all those leaves, no? Then again, not sure how that would work with the magic bubble and all."

Oh, that was a good point, actually. Did wizard kids use magic to rake leaves? Were there spells she should know for this errand? There didn't seem to be; the supplies they were picking up seemed pretty standard. @Teiki Laurent finished speaking with a friendly wink and went to work raking.

Juniper was sure there was something more to this "Stew" character. She was a little wary, but also intrigued. And while she normally steered clear of anyone she considered hyper, she liked his energy today. He had the right idea, anyway. He dove straight into the task at hand without an ounce of hesitation or reserve. She wished she could be so self-assured and... energetic. She'd always been one to hang back and observe at the outset.

”So, what’s everyone’s names? If we’re gonna work together, maybe we could meet up later and do other things? You know how big this school is, after all. It’s good to have lots of people to talk to if you need to, right?

"I'M JUNIPER!" Juniper shouted back @Piérre Marchonné whether she needed to or not. "I MOSTLY JUST STUDY, BUT I LIKE TO DO OTHER THINGS!" His enthusiasm was a bit contagious.

"And it's @Margo White , right?" she turned to the fashionista beside her. "I really love your hat." She studied it a bit closer. She felt like it could be staring back.

"Do you want to team up a bit?" Juniper asked Margo. Maybe she could make a friend in this snazzy dresser, or at least a friendly acquaintance. Juniper was drawn to people with story potential. This girl seemed to have it in spades.

She surveyed the area they had left to rake. "Stew" had staked out the deepest pile, and had already suggested they build the main pile there. Off to the side there was still a large area left where the leaves were less deep but scattered farther. She pointed with her rake. "I'm thinking that spot, working in towards Stew." She headed off to start raking, hoping Margot would follow.

There was another girl from Hufflepuff whose name Juniper had missed @Lindsey Bush who had also been quick to get to work raking on the other side of Stew. She seemed friendly, if a little quiet, and Juniper smiled as she leapt laughing into her pile of leaves.

She got busy building a pile herself. It was quick work, with such a clear autumn day and everyone in such high spirits. Starting on the outer edge of what she considered "her corner," she raked in towards Stew, staying back aways so she'd have a pile of her own until the very end. A gust of wind shook a few more leaves from the branches above, and Juniper collected these, too, savoring this crisp fall weather and the cozy, rustling comfort that came only from a big, satisfying pile of leaves. Autumn was definitely her favorite season (although she tended to gush about whatever season she was currently in, so long as she was spending ample time outdoors). Juniper wondered, a little sadly, if there would be as many opportunities for errands outdoors now that winter was setting in. She'd enjoyed the recent spur of them and hoped there would be more to come.

Having a nice little mountain of leaves to herself now, she picked out a few of the most colorful leaves that caught her eye and slid them down the sides of her boots to save. She looked around for someone to combine her pile with and talk to.

word count 560 ... 1,062 total

@Teiki Laurent @Margo White @Griseldis Edelhardt @Piérre Marchonné @Juniper Irving

She stood up out of her leaf pile. She wanted to make conversation " should I try to talk to them or wait for them to talk to me that may never happen so I should talk to them but what about maybe about classes no that's boring maybe about books " she thought to her self

She continued to rake the leaves " so what's your favorite book mine is fantastic beasts and where to find them I know a school book is favorite boring right " she said the person closest to her with a smile.


Then she picked leaves out of her hair and off her robe but couldn't get them all off. She shivered again she has never been a fan of the cold she loved to be outside just not when it's cold. She would rather be in the hufflepuff common room next to the fire place with hot cocoa and a book or maybe parchment and a quill to write a story since she loved to write short silly stories. She got an idea for a new story once she has free time to spare she'll write her story. " that's a brilliant idea once I can I'll write it down oh how wonderful it will be " she thought to her self.

433+221=654

Margo playfully narrowed her eyes at Stewart. Perhaps it would be a good idea to get his real name before departing- she couldn’t call him Stew forever. 

“I won’t confront your secret Jedi identity any longer Stewart, but beware... I’m watching.” She tired to look menacing, and then grinned at Juniper. “Wanna join my sleuthing? And thanks for the compliment, by the way.” She reached up and stroked the black fur of her hat. “He really appreciates it.” 

She couldn't express how nice it was to observe some new faces and imagine their backstories. Who knew, perhaps Stew was distantly descended from some jungle king who wore monkeys on his head to hide bald patches. Or maybe Teiki’s great grandmother was once locked away in a tower in deepest France and managed escaped on the shoulder of a giant. Okay, so perhaps some of her silences were a bit too lengthy to seem normal, but Margo didn’t really care if the others thought her strange. Oddness was not- and never would be- bad, and that was an ideal that Margo was pretty sure she’d never lose. 

However, she couldn’t pretend that excessive daydreaming didn’t have some disadvantages. After what had only seemed like seconds, Margo looked around sharply to realise that Juniper had just addressed her and was now raking leaves towards Stew. The problem was, Margo had no idea what the girl had just said. The rules of politeness declared that she couldn’t blatantly admit that she hadn’t been listening, and though she wasn’t actually a big believer in rules, she did value Jumpier’s company. Best to go with a general response.

“Errrr, that sounds great. I like marshmallows.” That was pretty general, right?

Margo smiled victoriously to herself and started to rake leaves towards Stew too, humming slightly as she raked. Raking really was a wonderful way to spend an afternoon. But... she couldn’t leave without properly acquainting herself with some leaves. Flopping backwards onto the ground, Margo gazed up at the sky and grabbed a handful of crunchy red leaves. Pausing to smile fondly at a nice white cloud, she launched the leaves into the air, watching them flutter above her.

It was a shame it didn’t rain leaves, Margo thought as bits of red leaf stuck themselves in her hat and hair. Just like it was a shame that one couldn’t really have a pet panther on their head... but it never hurt anyone to dream. 

WC: 1025

Lindsey got bored so as she raked the leaves she started humming. Hoping on one minds her humming. She then started dancing around as she raked too. She was always goofy when she was bored. She smiled very very happily. She stopped being bored she was now having fun. She looked silly dancing around. " it's like mom said 'all you have to do to make something not boring is dance around it will make it fun and make you happy' she was right this fun and I'm happy now " she thought to her self. She still had leaves in her brown hair but didn't care this time since she was having fun. " you know what would be fun " she thought to her self then she put her take against a tree and looked at the leaves then she ran a bit to the leaves and flipped in to the leaves. Smiling and laughing she threw leaves in the air once again. She got leaves all over her self all over robes and in her hair again. " this is so fun I love Autumn " she said happily with a big bright smile. She then looked around at the trees she was in awe of how beautiful they are. " isn't it amazing how beautiful they are it's incredible really how the colors change it oddly reminds me of home i really miss my family and pranking my siblings they would love it here especially Sal I wish he could be here it would make making friends less scary since he always pushed me to talk to people it's so unfair he should be here not me I don't belong here he does maybe they made a mistake and ask was meant to come not me " she thought to her self. Then She stood up and once again picked leaves off her robe and put of her hair and then she fixed her hufflepuff scarf. She then got her rake and started raking the leaves and dancing as she did.

654+346=1000

@Lindsey Bush, @Margo White, @Teiki Laurent, @Juniper Irving, & @Griseldis Edelhardt

It appeared to Piérre that most of the leaves had fortunately been taken care of, and the rest of his partners shared the same enthusiasm as he did. Either they were holding pent up excitement within themselves, or perhaps a bit of his caffeinated excitement had rubbed off on them. Either way, it made Piérre happy to know that he was being considered a valuable part of the group.

@Juniper Irving, that was the girl who had responded to him first, shouted at him from across the grounds. Fair enough, the boy was already buried in a pile of fiery orange and scarlet leaves, creating a snow angel with crinkly vegetation and pure excitement that soon snow would be on the way. Hopefully a lot of it. "I'm so excited for Winter!!! Haha!" Piérre sat up suddenly, scattering leaves he had worked so hard to rake together. He took a handful of them, and, mimicking @Lindsey Bush, threw them high in the air and watching with enchanted green eyes as they settled back on the ground, in his lap, or in his tangled brown hair.

It seemed everyone was slowly working their way to him and his small fortress in the leaf pile, and Piérre was happy to have company. He knew that the more people that were together, the easier it would be to sneak off when the time came. For the time being, though, he kept burying himself in leaves and coming shooting out of them once again like a breaching whale.

If and when the time came that the group would come together, whether to have conversation together or simply to enjoy the brisk autumn day and lump in leaves and the sort, Piérre would slowly look around to make sure nobody was watching before stealthily standing and creeping off towards the Whomping Willow, which had dumped all of its leaves when the first Winter chill had hit it. Piérre had heard tales of there being a certain knot under the tree that was slightly unprotected, but it would take a person who knew exactly what they were doing in order to get to it in the first place.

Piérre aimed to be that person.

If @Griseldis Edelhardt came back now, she could find the lad away from the group, his blue scarf barely showing against the green as the near skipping shape drew closer and closer to the dangerous branches of the, ancient, rather moody and often violent, Whomping Willow...

427 words
2,251/1,000 words
Word Count Complete

@Piérre Marchonné @Teiki Laurent @Lindsey Bush @Juniper Irving @Margo White

During the time when the two groups were doing their errand, Griseldis went to find the House elf she knew from first-year who worked in the kitchen of Hogwarts, he was also one of the House-elves who agreed to bring some desserts for the tea party she hosted in the Gryffindor Common Room. And this time, the same House elf was generous enough and gave her what she asked of him this morning. It was a basket that seemed to be filled with something but it was covered with a purple blanket so what was inside the basket remained a mystery for now. After she placed the basket back in her dormitory she went to inform her Head of House, Professor Pendrast. Griseldis told her with a confident smile that she trusted that both groups would be able to complete their errand well and asked that she would hand the rewards to them. Professor Pendrast believed her and gave her 100 sickles to distribute to the 10 participants of her Errand. She thanked her Head of House and quickly went back to her own dorm room and wrote 10 letters, what she wrote she would reveal it soon. Another hour had passed and Griseldis realized it was time for her to check on the groups. With hope and excitement in her beating heart, she packed her things in her bag and left the Gryffindor dormitory.

When Griseldis arrived at the destination, she saw that the once covered crimson and golden path was now clear of leaves. That really made the Gryffindor Prefect very proud, she shouted to get their attention, "Hey, I'm back!" Griseldis praised the first group, she noticed the atmosphere around them seemed a bit playful, which was a good thing. She, of course, noticed there was one person not in the group, she looked around and spotted the boy with the Ravenclaw scarf who tried to approach the Whomping Willow, Grisleidis quickly called out to him loudly enough for him to hear, "Piérre! I suggest that you come back to us, cause I don't want you to get knockdown by the Whomping Willow before you can claim your reward for the errand." Hopefully, he would be wise enough to turn around to get his reward from her. Griseldis happily took out five small pouches from her bag and each was filled with 10 sickles. "Well done, I knew you all will accomplish well as a team so here are your rewards.", Griseldis said and handed each of them the small pouch.

"Oh, there is also something else I want to give it to you before I leave to check on the other group.", after giving them the rewards, Griseldis took out five envelopes from the bag and handed it to each of the participants. If they opened it, they would see the following:

The Yam Party Invitation

Dear participants of this month's errand,

First, I would like to give you my biggest thanks to you for your hard work and willingness to clean up the path that was once covered by the fallen leaves. So in order to show my way of gratitude I will host a Yam Party at the Great Lake tomorrow afternoon at 3 pm, we will roast some sweet potatoes together and simply have some fun. You all worked so hard so I think it would be great to at least let you guys enjoy a little fun time. Of course, it's your decision if you want to come to this small party, I'm not even sure if you like sweet potatoes or not. I will fully understand if you can't or don't want to come, but I want you to know how thankful I am for your selfless and kind act to help out.

Again, thank you so much for participating my errand and I hope to see you again.

Sincerely,

OOC: Yes, you are all invited to the Yam Party! At the moment, I'm a bit busy but will create the Yam Party thread later and you will be tagged by me once the thread is posted. It's up to you if you want to join or not.