November Cleaning the Owlery pv HVC vol 1 finished

When Marcella had gone through the club lists, she initially wanted to join one club. But when she saw the Hogwarts Volunteer Club, she immediately signed herself up. Marcella adored and loved helping everyone, so she believed this club would allow her to do so. And Today was the first meetup, and Marcella was running LATE! She had stayed up all night talking with her best friend, aka her roommate, and slept through her alarm in the morning. And she had been woken up by her best friend, 30 minutes before the cleanup time. She quickly did her necessities and rushed through her morning routine. She French plaited her hair and wore the simplest outfit she could find in her closet. Just so you know, there was nothing "simple" or "normal" in her closet. She has never cosplayed as a normal human, anyway! She wore the outfit she selected and was very happy that she was able to move easily while cleaning. She attached the volunteer badge to her shirt and started running to the owlery so she wouldn't arrive super late.

When she arrived, she quickly started to look around to see whether she knew anyone there except for their club head, Cassie. They seemed to have already started cleaning. Since an introduction was in order, she thought getting this over with would be better.

"Hello, everyone! My name is Marcella di Angelo, and I'm very sorry for being late."

"I kinda slept in, but I'll start right away!" She whispered apologetically to Cassie.

Marcella cracked her neck and got to work. First, she took the cleaning supplies to start working. She started by going to the owlery's corner, further away from everyone else, and started to clean. She was grateful for the gloves as she picked up many dead rats and bones and tossed them into the disposal bag. She picked up garbage and swept the dust from the floor. Then she scrubbed the owl droppings and grime on the floor for a better finish.

As she was cleaning, she heard Cassie talk about the hidden keys, which intrigued Marcella. Marcella loved games and challenges, and logical puzzles. But she didn't want to go out of her way and attract attention by searching for it like a Niffler. So she decided to keep an eye out for it whilst cleaning.

Marcella had returned to cleaning. Marcella loved owls, especially snowy owls, but she was more of a cat girl. She took a big brush and scrubbed the floor. Santo ade! These things definitely need a good cleaning.As she continued cleaning, she spotted something shiny.

Harumi Everdane: Dice result: 1. 2. -- You get a key! But it doesn't seem to be the right one...
Marcella Di Angelo: Dice result: 1. 2. -- You get a key! But it doesn't seem to be the right one...

Cassie can feel that the other members of the club are working with more enthusiasm after the rules of the game are introduced. Meanwhile, two new members have arrived. 'Hi Harumi, hi Marcella!' she says with a warm smile. 'Welcome to Hogwarts Volunteer Club's first meeting! It is alright to be a bit late.' she says as she hands them towels and gloves. 'Here, take these and join us in cleaning the owlery! I suppose you have heard the rules of the game, so good luck looking for the keys.'

She herself goes back to work too, rubbing of dust and collecting litter, until she hears a quiet gasp. She looks up and sees Harumi Everdane, one of the 'new-comers' is looking at the place she is cleaning. Cassie walks to her. Indeed, something seems to be shining where she just cleaned. 'Ooh, looks like you have found something. Let me help you.' Cassie says as she cleans the owl droppings with the girl. The hidden thing reveals-- a golden key. 'Congrats Harumi. Let's see if it fits in the keyhole.' She tries it on the treasure box. The lock does not move. 'It's such a pity, but anyway, this key is yours! Keep searching.' 'Only five keys left!' Cassie announces to the rest.

It isn't long before she spots the other girl, Marcella stare at her towel. Like before, Cassie approaches her. After a while, it seems that Marcella, too, has found a key. Yet it still isn't the right one. 'Four keys left. Who will be lucky enough to find the right one?' Cassie announces. The game continues.

Four Keys Left. Those who have found a key can still look for more keys.

Interacting with: @Harumi Everdane @Marcella di Angelo Mentions: @Zephyr Deakin @Diana Roberts @George Calder @Marcella di Angelo @Mirada Johnson @Denise Yarbrough @Scarlet Payne @Kylie Nguyen @Harumi Everdane @Natasha Blackwood

To say Marcella wasn't sad would be a huge lie. She was sad, but she was also happy to have been able to get a souvenir from their first meeting. After listening to Cassie's announcement, Marcella went back to cleaning. She had moved away from her initial spot. The place was filled with feathers, regurgitated skeletons of previous prey, and poop-spattered on the stones and straw. She quickly put away all the owl feathers and regurgitated skeletons of previous mouse and vole meals in a garbage bag. A Barn owl hooted at her as she cleaned up the owl's fresh droppings.

"Sure, laugh at me, but no matter what you do, I won't stop before everything is spakly clean, Mr.Hooty"

After she cleaned that area, she moved onto a nearby spot that had owl droppings mixed in with soft carcasses of rodents. She did a quick job of clearing that out. After doing some, she started to scrub the floor to get rid of the droppings and grime so she could mop it later. Then she filled a bucket with soapy water and went to find a mop. After acquiring a mop, she dipped it in the soapy water and began to mop the floor. Then she took a clean towel and wiped the floor to clear it of any remaining dirt.

Marcella was growing tired. But she was also happy that she was able to finish cleaning a large area of the owlery.

Denise never imagined joining a volunteering club, which to her was insane, but she did so anyway.

Back in Comrie, she did volunteer often at the local hospital... until she had to quit because she lit a girl's clothes on fire through accidental magic, causing her to be expelled from primary school and being shunned by her entire community as a result.

At that time, Denise decided that all that volunteering was wasteful, especially since all the hospital kids didn't believe her, and she lost all her friends at the hospital. What's the point in being good when everyone turns their back on you for one big mistake?

Denise walked, ironically, a few minutes late because she had taken a nap at her desk, which took a little too long. "Sorry about being late... what can I do?" Denise muttered. She was also wearing her new Hogwarts Volunteer Club badge as she adjusted it carefully so it would not fall on the dirty floor.

Apparently, everyone was cleaning the Owlery, which explains why the meeting location was there. Luckily, she was given gloves because the Owlery was very dirty, and she started scrubbing. Cassie Jiang, the head of the club, was very nice, as was Zephyr Deakin, whom she knew from a conversation on her first day on the Hufflepuff table, who was apparently the deputy head. She also recognized Harumi, who was on her ice hockey team back in the Ural Mountains, where they were absolutely destroyed.

She continued to clean, and at one point, she saw dead rats. Denise cleaned before, but not dead animals, so Denise hastily shoved it in her trash bag. She didn't want to think of its expression and eyes, which stared soullessly at her.

Shuddering, she continued to clean, maybe a dirty area, but no dead animals. As she continued to clean, she noticed something shiny.

STA [7] | EVA [5] | STR [5] | WIS [7] | ARC [5] | ACC [6]

Mentions & OOC Notes:

Reducio

@Cassie Jiang
@Zephyr Deakin
@Diana Roberts
@George Calder
@Marcella di Angelo
@Mirada Johnson
@Scarlet Payne
@Kylie Nguyen
@Harumi Everdane
@Natasha Blackwood

Sorry if my response took a while...

time: 2:46 pm	interacting with:
date: October 5th, 2025	Reducio @Cassie Jiang @Zephyr Deakin @Harumi Everdane @Marcella di Angelo @Diana Roberts @George Calder @Mirada Johnson @Denise Yarbrough @Kylie Nguyen @Natasha Blackwood

Scarlet was super focused on scrubbing the floor. She almost didn't hear Cassie as she said, "Hi everyone! Please stop what you are doing right now for a minute, I have something to tell you!"

Scarlet put down the towel she had been using to scrub the floors and listened intently as Cassie explained the rules of a game. It was a scavenger hunt for keys Cassie had hid earlier in the week. One of the six keys would open a treasure box. Scarlet loved games and loved scavenger hunts so this was right up her alley. She was known to get a little intense though so she hoped that she wouldn't get too competitive today.

"Now off to work", Cassie finished saying. Scarlet spun around and collected her supplies. She stood up and moved into the closest corner. She picked up some old boxes and moved them aside so she could clean the actual corner. Scarlet helped by picking up more bird droppings (they seemed to cover everything in the Owlery) and wiping off the dust. She would dip her towel in some water before gently wiping the floor, watching as the clean towel turned dirty fast. As she cleaned, she noticed that two other keys had already been found, but not the special one. As Scarlet continued to wipe, something shiny to the left caught her eye.

Cassie's announcement about the golden keys which she hid around the owlery came as a surprise even for Zephyr. Thinking about it, he couldn't help smiling, not knowing about it beforehand would mean he can participate too, right? The knowledge that there were six keys hiding there was enough to give him more motivation to clean up fast so he could also look for the keys before anyone could. It was very clever of Cassie to keep everyone motivated in cleaning the owlery. He liked her idea as it avoid the task repetitive or boring. Once he was done cleaning and washing the entryway, he turned his attention to scrubbing the patch of dirt near the owl perches.

A few more students have arrived to help with the activity. One is Harumi, whose presence somehow didn't surprise him anymore. They seemed to share a common trait, their helpfulness. No wonder, he saw her many times in different errands offered around the school, some he shared with her during the Ramadan celebration. "Harumi, hi." He greeted her and smiled to the next one, and the next, "Hello, welcome." always pointing at the tools for them to use. “Grab those tools and feel free to start.”

While cleaning, his attention was divided into cleaning the owlery and finding at least one golden key. Seeing a pile of nesting materials, he picked it up and put them all inside the bag. “How did they even leave this place so messy?” He muttered and every now and then, he would check the other students in case they need assistance. Now the place was slowly becoming clean and organised again, it was a good feeling seeing it go from a once messy place to a clean one.

Proceeding with other part, he kept an eye on the floor and corners, while secretly hoping to spot a golden key. He liked the challenge and a little competition wouldn't hurt. Cleaning a dusty area , he caught something glinting. He had to squat to check it closer, unsure if it was just a reflection from the sun or something else. Curious now, he set aside the hay and small debris with his gloved hands. It was indeed something shiny.

All the times Natasha had been to the owlery, it had been quite dirty. She was happy that someone was going to clean it up, but not so happy that she was one of those people. The idea of a volunteer club hadn't appealed to her before, but she decided to join anyway.

The only thing exciting about the owlery clean-up was that the head of the volunteer club had hidden golden keys in the owlery! Hopefully she could find some. She picked up a pair of gloves and cleaning supplies and began scrubbing the owlery.

A few other people were also there. Now where would be a good place to hide a key? She looked under the shelves and near the windows. The owlery was a lot grimier than she had been expecting. And all that bird poop was disgusting, but she kept going.

Moving to the other side of the owlery, she scrubbed a particularly dusty shelve. There were cobwebs littered all around it. She scrubbed a part of it but as she hit the corner, something moved in the shadows. A ray of light went over the owlery and she saw something shiny. Leaning closer to inspect it, it was quite shiny actually. Maybe something metallic. Could it be a key?

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Mentions: Reducio @Cassie Jiang, @Zephyr Deakin, @Julia Evans, @George Calder, @Marcella di Angelo, @Mirada Johnson, @Denise Yarbrough, @Scarlet Payne, @Harumi Everdane, @Natasha Blackwood, @Kylie Nguyen

Quote: Reducio Curiosity always leads somewhere.

Outfit: Reducio

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As she was minding her own business and cleaning away in her spot, the owlery had grown noticeably louder, with more voices, meaning that the late arrivals are now here. Introductions, greetings, and conversations could be heard, but Diana didn't do anything aside from cleaning. One thing about clubs is that there are a lot of people, Diana knows that, but there are a lot of people inside this owlery.

Above her, her snowy owl Khione remained perched, still and watchful, as Diana swept away feathers and dust. When she heard the soft hoot again, the seer glanced up again, just enough to reassure herself that the snowy owl hadn’t moved. Her gaze lingered for a second before dropping back down to her work.

Around her, the other club members were settling into their own tasks. Diana paused for a moment when she heard someone nearby gagging, before she shifted her disposable bag slightly in that direction, just in case it was to help. “It gets a bit easier,” she murmured, her voice gentle. “After a while.” Diana wasn't sure if the girl had heard, but it's alright if she hadn't.

When her towel was dirty, she dipped it in the water again, making it clean, before she wrung it out. Diana then carefully pressed her towel against the stone, beginning to clean the wall again. As she cleaned, the wall began to look cleaner now, with the original color showing through the grime.

Suddenly, Cassie's voice rang out, asking everyone to pause. Diana paused and turned to look at the club head. She was talking about a sort of game where people had to find 6 keys and only one of them was to open the chest. As interesting as it sounded, Diana was pretty sure the others had already found a key, since two people had, so four others would.

Nevertheless, Diana returned to cleaning, not really caring if she came across anything shiny. It was a good distraction, but Diana was here to clean the owlery, and maybe a break would be nice, so she decided to focus on her task more. But maybe during the next club meeting, if there's another activity like this, she'd remember to participate.

As she went back to cleaning, Diana noticed that the owlery was looking a lot cleaner than it had been when she had first gotten there. Soon, Diana had finished cleaning her area of the owlery, and Khione, who was still above her, hooted in delight when she saw that the area was clean again. "Yeah, I know, it's better when it's clean," Diana said as she looked up at her owl, who was still perched in her spot. It didn't look dirty to Diana, but who knows, maybe she'd have more cleaning to do, but Khione was just hiding it.

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Word Count: 473/200

Reducio Word count: ≈385 OOC note: Harumi did not search for the key, you can still do!

Reducio Mention: @Zephyr Deakin @Cassie Jiang @Scarlet Payne @Diana Roberts @Marcella di Angelo @Denise Yarbrough @Natasha Blackwood

Reducio Outfit:

Well, she found a key but not the correct one, which she honestly didn't mind at all, all she wanted was to find one, it was more about the fact she actually was able to find a key, and less about the key's value. Harumi always valued meaningfulness more than physical value, to her you can't buy a real smile, but you can buy whatever treasure you want.

----Therefore Harumi decided to watch the others finding keys instead of looking for the correct one, she'll be so much happier if someone who actually wants the treasure box finds it.

----So Harumi continued cleaning, scrubbing the floor and wall until they're shiny, or at least as shiny as they can be after years without proper cleaning. There seemed to be more students arriving, apparently she wasn't the only one who was late.

----Harumi smiled at the students who just arrived, trying to look friendly, hopefully she didn't look antisocial or hostile when she went far away to clean. Drowning in her thoughts, Harumi accidentally knocked over the disposable bag she was collecting all the feathers and garbage in. Harumi started at it blankly for two seconds before going ahead and cleaning the mess while laughing at herself.

----After cleaning the mess she did, she took look at the, now clean again, floor. Hopefully she did a good enough job, no actually, she did do a good job, she told herself, this time she believed herself. Perhaps signing up for this club was the best thing she did yet, she's glad her past self was brave enough to sign up.

----Harumi looked around the owlery, it really was starting to look more clean, certainly not as clean as new, but clean enough, it seems all their collective efforts were paying off. Harumi was even unknowingly smiling, she looked delighted, was it because their efforts changed something? Or was it because there was so many people here enjoying their time?

----Nobody could tell the reason for Harumi's happiness, but if you had to take a guess, it's probably the fact that everyone here was working together to do something they didn't necessarily have to do, they were doing it because they could. All her earlier overthinking seems to fade now that she's cleaning with everyone, she belonged here with them.

Natasha picked up the little piece of metal. It was a key! She grew extremely excited and went to someone to verify. Unfortunately, she found out that it wasn't the right key. Oh well, she thought. I'll get it next time.

She started scrubbing the owlery more intently and keeping her eye put for anything shiny. Anything. Please let me get the key, she thought. Moving on to the bottom couple of shelves she scrubbed the owl droppings and other pieces of grime.

As she moved on, she found a dead mouse! Ew... she thought. Picking it up with her glove she dropped it into a disposal bin. Thank god she was wearing gloves. That was very disgusting. She continued down the aisle and towards the windows. The satisfying scrubbing sound on the sponge filled her ears as she cleaned another section of the owlery.

In fact she barely noticed a shiny object near her hands. Was it a key? Or was it just something else? She hoped against hope that it was a key. Only one left, and four people still cleaning. She had a 25% chance. Which was pretty good. And there it was, the shiny object. She picked it up.

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