errand Faith, Trust, and a Little Bit of Pixie Dust! PV Della Barfield

Winter at Hogwarts was unlike anything Della could have dreamed of. The castle grounds were covered in snow and the holiday decor appeared inside the castle—it was difficult to stay in a sour mood. Della had been wandering around the castle and grounds, looking for patches of light hitting the snow or a suit of armor just right so she could practice painting. She usually only sketched, but something about the dawn of a new year inspired her to try a new artistic skill.

As she turned the corner in one of the outer corridors, she saw a long line of armor glinting in the winter light. Looking at their heads, Della began to walk along, trying to pick the perfect one. She felt the sudden urge to look down. Her foot was about to make contact with another student—someone was crouched on the floor and Della hadn't seen them.

Upon closer inspection, Della recognized the fellow first-year as the Slytherin girl, Maggie. They had competed in Ming's duel, where Maggie had kept a mostly amicable disposition during the fighting, which Della had appreciated in hindsight. Maggie seemed frustrated. It seemed she was also doing arts and crafts here. Della considered leaving Maggie to her project and finding another corridor to paint in. But then she noticed Maggie had two glowing jars—and they contained fairies.

There was nothing like a magical creature or even a normal animal to inspire Della to find her confidence to talk to people. Plus Maggie hadn't noticed her, yet, and really did seem frustrated, possibly in need of assistance. "Hi Maggie. Do you need any help?"

♡

MAGGIE HAWKINS

♡

interacting with: @Della Barfield mentioning:

December 22, 2021

XXXX"Little jerks. Stop knocking around the jar, you sound like stupid little bells," Maggie scolded the inhabitants of her jar. They probably didn't understand, and if they did, they weren't listening. Still tinkling away, flitting those little fairy wings and knocking against the sides of the jar. Almost as if complaining that they were stuck inside, as if Maggie hadn't left the top completely off to allow for more convenient escape if so needed. Should just shut up. Maybe this agreement, to actually do the little activity provided, was stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid. "Maybe if you'd stop distracting me, I'd be able to actually make your house. Yeah? Yeah? Jeez. Calm down." From her bag, she procured a wooden birdhouse big enough to fit the two fairies and a handful of pom-poms. The pom-poms, white, would serve as snow, which would then be dusted with a layer of silver, blue, and white glitters to enhance the effect. On top of that, she had faux-pine trees and tiny plastic beads for the tree, to use as ornaments and the star at the top. Little red ribbons would line the bottom and hang off the base, as well as serve as streamers along the top of the little porch. Altogether, it should look pretty cool! If the fairies would quit making so much noise and irritating Maggie, that was. The approach and subsequent arrival of Della Barfield was something both surprising and altogether a relief for Maggie. A friend, or, in better words considering their current relationship, simple company, was much appreciated in this particular scenario. "Oh, Della. Della, right? Della," the brunette greeted, sitting up a bit taller and smacking her palms down on her thighs. "Howdy. Take a seat?" The suggestion was more of a pleading statement, a cry for help because she really, really didn't know what she was doing. Not an artistic bone in her body. Hopefully, Della Barfield was more of an artist! "I'm trying to make a holiday fairy house, but I'm not exactly the most colorful crayon in the bunch if you know what I mean." Miss Barfield was more than welcome to lend a helping hand, because Maggie did feel like she was drowning in all this. "If you want to help, you can. Really, I'd love for you to help. Please help. Please," Maggie punctuated this request by grabbing the jar of fairies and peering inside the top. "Shut up! God, I don't think they like me very much. Do you?" WC: 418

Maggie's response to Della's offer was a little shocking—Della was used to people shrugging off offers of help, even if they really needed it. Maggie's transparent and frustrated pleas for help were honestly refreshing. Della hadn't thought much of the Slytherin girl in their previous run-ins—not in a negative way, more that their paths had barely crossed. She didn't seem uptight or snobby or superior like many of the other Slytherins Della had met.

"Of course!" Della plopped down next to Maggie. "Yes, it's Della. Maggie, right?" (She really did know her name was Maggie, but Della was trying to match the tone of her fellow first-year.)

As Della began to study the supplies Maggie had brought, the faires were knocking about in their jars. Maggie was annoyed by this, yelling at them to shut up, and the fairies seemed to revel in her response. "Oh, they really are like the muggle cartoons!" The fairies heard this, and seemed insulted, both turning their backs on the girls and making tiny tinkling huffing noises—still proving Della's point. "I don't think they like me either . . . ." Della tried to laugh it off, but she was hurt to encounter a magical creature that seemed to dislike her almost immediately.

"Oh it looks like you have a really good start." Maggie had a wooden birdhouse, pom-poms for snow, a tree with a string of lights and a star for the top, and a collection of red ribbons. Della's mind instantly began whirling with the possibilities: the placement of the tree, where pom-poms could go for the most natural-looking snow, and how best to tie the ribbons. Before she could even realize what she was doing, she was sketching out an idea of the finished product in her sketchbook, on the sheet across from her rough painting of the snowy castle grounds.

"If we put the tree in the front left corner, then people will see the star first when they walk the down the corridor . . . and we could tie the ribbons in bows under the eave of the roof going all the way the around . . . we could add a few pom-poms to the top of the roof as if the snow had just fallen . . . and maybe we could add a few inside to make two comfy beds . . . have you learned the bubble-blowing charm? It's not my specialty, but maybe we can make a few bubbles to float around the house . . . and if there's any light string leftover from the tree, we can put some around the opening . . ."

Della finished the sketch. The fairies couldn't resist turning around toward them, looking at the sketch. To Della's satisfaction, they both gave little nods of approval—skeptical nods, with little smirks on their faces, but nods nonetheless.

Della looked over at Maggie, awaiting her response. Suddenly her cheeks got red, and her chest felt tight. She usually didn't talk this much. Especially unprompted. Della realized that she might be steamrolling her classmate. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to hijack your project. You probably already had a great idea already. You can ignore all that—I get carried away. Just tell me what to do and I'll do it!" She hastily put her sketchbook back in her bag.

WC: 559

♡

MAGGIE HAWKINS

♡

interacting with: @Della Barfield mentioning:

December 22, 2021

XXXXNo, no, Della wasn't stepping on Maggie's toes. Maggie had a vague idea, a concept in mind, but nothing was set in stone. In all honesty, the ideas she had never quite came to fruition. Either they didn't work out the way they were supposed to in her head or she simply didn't put the required work in. Procrastinated, didn't feel like it, all the things. What wasn't Maggie doing to self-sabotage her own goals? "Aren't they? I've named them Tink and Dessa. Like from Tinker Bell. Tinker Bell and Iridessa, or whatever," Maggie didn't watch little kid cartoons. Absolutely not. She would never. Never at all. "Sure are annoying, though." Maybe the little guys didn't want to be named. Maybe they already had given names and the very concept of human beings giving them new ones, like pets, was insulting. Or something. Maggie didn't really care, but she could feign concern about their wellbeing. Normally, she wasn't so heartless and believed that every life had merit, but now? With the little buggers irritating the life out of her? They could suffer. Or something. As Della began drawing, Maggie watched. Huh. The pencil moved over the paper so easily, as if art and crafting came easy to Della. Better the other girl than herself, she figured, without the means to truly create. Sure, Maggie had ideas, but were ideas any good when you couldn't put them into effect? Couldn't utilize them or carry them out in a meaningful way? Tink and Dessa seemed to like the idea, too. Maybe Della had been looking for a partner to complete the assignment with all along, faking innocence and cluelessness, because the idea was good. "What? Oh, no, no, no! Those are all great ideas! I don't know the bubble-blowing charm just yet, but I have some of the stuff we might be able to use. Ribbons and pom-poms and stuff," Maggie gestured broadly to the satchel bag. "I think they're good ideas. Let's get to work?" She grinned, placed her hands on her hips. Finally. They were getting somewhere. WC: Errand requirements fulfilled. No longer needed for moderation.

AN: I'm so sorry for the lateness! I had COVID-19 and have been super busy getting back to school and catching up with all modded posts on here. Hopefully, I'll get back to my normal post order soon!

@Maggie Hawkins

Fortunately, Maggie reassured Della that she did appreciate the ideas. Phew. Maggie did have such a relaxed air around her—she was frustrated by the fairies and building their house, sure—but her overall disposition was pretty cool.

"Okay, Tink and Dess, we'll start making your home!" The frustrated fairies banged against the jar, probably encouraging them to hurry the hell up. "Okay, girls, hold on, good art does take time!" Della grinned at Maggie and pulled her sketchbook out from her bag, laying out the plans next to them.

"If you want, you can start on the tree and the star, and ribbons going around the eaves. I'll start with the pom-pom snow and beds."

She began to make rip the pom-poms and flatten them into different shaped snow clumps, adding some to the roof and around the outside. She left some spots blank where the snow wouldn't be able to reach, feathering out the pom-pom at the end to create a gradual slope.

When Della got to the beds, she must have made the pom-poms too thin or even the wrong shape because Tink (or maybe it was Dessa?) flew out of the jar and began tugging throwing the bed pieces out of the house, her little arms crossed and unsatisfied look on her face.

"Hey! Be nice! We're building you a new house!" Della smirked back at the fairy, sneaking her wand from her pocket, and whispered, "Bullarum Immortalem." The fairy now was locked in a little bubble prison. "You can wait in there until we're done!"

She turned to Maggie, "I think the bubbles do look good!"

No worries about the lateness! (I take some time to reply usually anyway as you can see.) I'm glad you've recovered!

Also, I'm going off the assumption that the fairy can breathe inside the bubble, as Della wouldn't be that cruel lol.

♡

MAGGIE HAWKINS

♡

interacting with: @Della Barfield mentioning:

December 22, 2021

XXXXMaggie folded one of her legs beneath her, the right one, and sat back on her heel as she examined the way that Della had sketched out the house blueprints. A real architect, now, that's what Maggie was. A surefire way to get on someone's good side was to completely improve their plans, everyone knew that! No sarcasm intended, honest. In fact, Maggie did quite like Della. Sure, they hadn't spoken much, and Maggie was unsure of whether Della would call her a friend, but they were acquaintances with a positive connotation for certain. Brown eyes squinted down at the plans and the materials gathered, Maggie nodded as she was told what she should do in order to fulfill the project. Operation: Fairy House was underway. Tree, star, eaves. That was easy. With impatient fingers, tremoring with nerves and general impatience, Maggie grabbed one of the little strips of yellow paper. Origami stars were simple, weren't they? Maggie had seen videos on them, seen them be made in muggle school, and, though she'd never attempted it herself, how hard could it possibly be? The edges of her fingers, and, therefore, her nails, bend the corners of the stars in, creating five points along the sides of the object. Well, it was an attempted creation. Maggie wasn't very good. Her efforts to bend in the edges yielded minimal results, and, instead, she just squished the paper band between her fingertips with a little groan of frustration. So much for the creative element! Instead, Maggie grabbed one of the little star-shaped gold beads and slid it on the top of one of her mini trees, regarding it with a satisfied 'hmph' when it stayed. That satisfaction didn't last, however, because one of the fairies flew out of the jar and began tugging at Della's hard work. "Oh, you quit that, Tink! Little brat," luckily, Della was better at spells than Maggie. Now restrained in a bubble, Tink babbled angrily from inside, though she seemed plenty fine with breathing within. Good riddance. WC: Errand requirements fulfilled. No longer needed for moderation.

AN: I'm so sorry for the lateness! I had COVID-19 and have been super busy getting back to school and catching up with all modded posts on here. Hopefully, I'll get back to my normal post order soon!