Flight of the Birds Errand

Events happened so frequently around Hogwarts, and yet Nessie usually felt like a wallflower, watching the others and too shy to make her presence known or really get involved. Classes, homework, and duelling were enough for her, of course. She was quite happy with everything she already had on her plate. But Nessie couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to try out some of the activities and social events - and even though she was nervous as to how it might go, Nessie did want to try something out eventually.

So, when she noticed the poster and the professors in the courtyard, Nessie wondered if ornithomancy might be a chance for her to try getting involved in an activity rather than watching from afar. Admittedly, she did hold back at first and watch a few others, to try to build up the courage to dive in. But after the moments of hesitation, she steadied her nerves and approached.

Fortunately, there was nothing to fear, and Nessie gratefully collected a journal and a pair of binoculars, before re-reading the informational poster and retreating a little ways away to observe where she hopefully wouldn't bother anybody else.

Nessie pocketed the journal for now and clutched the binoculars tightly, holding them up to her eyes. Her attention was drawn to a flock of birds in the distance, and she peered closer through the binoculars, trying to bring the birds into better focus. Nessie decided she liked this flock: she wondered if they acted like a family, if they cared for one another, if they were friendly. It looked very nice, to be part of such a group and belong in that way. She observed as the birds flitted along, pecking at things on the ground, and then flitting over to nearby spots to try again. Much of the flock would flap their wings a few times as they repositioned, taking off and then landing again.

Although she'd looked at the poster, Nessie didn't quite recall what this meant in the moment, but she did know that she'd need to interpret both the flight patterns and the color of the birds, so she also took notice that the flock she was observing were black in color. She watched for a while longer, as the observation itself was quite soothing, and she thought she could've bird-watched all day if she had nothing else to do.

However, there was plenty more for her to do right now, and Nessie eventually pocketed the binoculars and pulled out the journal to write, taking careful notes of what she'd seen:

Observed a flock of black birds, at least twenty
Seem quite social, and possibly also hungry
Many took numerous short flights to move around while staying near the rest of the flock

Nessie thought this summarized what she'd seen, and so she returned to the poster. She returned the binoculars along the way, figuring that she'd seen what she needed to see and could focus on the interpretation now. But when she reached the poster, what she saw wasn't encouraging.

The Hufflepuff's stomach dropped as she read. There was no question that the behavior of the birds she'd observed was closest to that described in the fourth list item of the actions. Nessie wasn't sure if she knew exactly what her goals were, but still she didn't want to face unforeseen problems! But maybe it wouldn't be so bad? Perhaps the color would be more reassuring?

Nessie kept reading, hoping that the colors would provide good news, but no: it was more of the same. The black birds she'd seen symbolized danger or the unforeseen. This was a little bit disheartening, and she opened back up her journal to add one word, the commonality between both the actions and the color that she'd seen:

UNFORESEEN??

She added a few extra underlines for good measure. Whatever was going to happen, whatever Nessie was going to face, it seemed that today's ornithomancy wasn't going to fully reveal the future to her. And that was alright: it wasn't as if she'd known before doing this anyways. At the very least, she'd gotten to spend some time watching the birds, right? She'd just have to try not to think about the interpretations that were linked to danger and problems ...

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Date: 1st December 2022 Outfit: Uniform

It had been quite a while since Adelaide had participated in the errands Hogwarts had to offer. At the start of her first year, she had attended every one of them, eager to get a taste of everything that Hogwarts had available for her. But then she had just gotten too busy, putting more focus on her studies and other extracurricular activities that the thought of errands had just completely slipped her mind. Though, when she heard about the errand that the new Professor of Divination and Professor of Care of Magical Creatures was doing involving Ornithomancy, she was intrigued, and didn't want to pass up the opportunity.

Adelaide was only a second year, so she wouldn't be able to study Divination until next year, but the subject still interested her. She had read a tiny bit about Ornithomancy before, but she's never actually practiced it, so this errand seemed right up her alley. After listening to Professor Bardot's explanation, she grabbed herself a pair of binoculars and a journal. First things first, the Ravenclaw thought it would be easier to copy down the actions and meanings of the birds from the poster instead of having to walk back to the poster every time she wanted to know what a specific type of bird signified, so she spent the first few minutes copying the meanings down into her journal before heading off to start bird-hunting.

Ignoring the other students around her, Adelaide found a nice spot to sit and wait for any birds to show up. She lifted her binoculars up to start scanning the skies for any birdies that want to appear and tell her what her future holds. It took quite a few minutes before she spotted a bird in the sky, it was a little black bird that was flying horizontally, and Adelaide recalled that neither of those meant anything good. She glared at the bird until it flew away, as if that would make any difference. Jotting down her findings, she couldn't help but chew on her lip anxiously. It might not actually mean anything, at least, she hoped to Merlin it didn't mean anything overly terrible. On second thought, maybe this wasn't such a great idea after all.

The first bird was a black bird flying horizontally, meaning it'll be tough to achieve my goal and there's a warning of danger ahead. Not entirely comforting, but I'm hoping it doesn't mean anything too bad.

With her first finding jotted down, she turned her attention back to the skies, using the binoculars to search for any other birds. It didn't take long this time around for her to spot another bird; this one was a cute little yellow bird that was trying its hardest to fly against the wind. Yet again, according to the notes she'd written down from the poster, those two also didn't signify good to come in her future. Clearly, the birds were not on her side today. It pained her curious side to know that she'll probably not be able to find out what these birds were referring to until the events actually happened, which according to these birds, isn't going to be entirely pleasant. The second year let out a sigh before grabbing her quill to write down the second bird she had spotted.

A yellow bird was flying against the wind, which signifies a warning to keep my guard up as people might not be who they appear to be. How amazing. These birds are loving me today, I can't wait to see what my future holds, which is clearly nothing good.

She's half considering leaving now, because these birds are not on her side today and everything she has jotted down is highlighting a very unhappy future ahead. But her curiosity inevitably gets the better of her, so she points her binoculars to the sky again, hoping that this time whatever bird she spots will be a good omen.

Luckily enough, she quickly spotted a little brown bird. Admittedly, it was flying sporadically, flapping its little wings so hard and yet it still couldn't fly in a straight line, which meant that there are unforeseen problems in Adelaide's future that she needs to resolve, but hey, at least the brown meant good health. It was the first good omen she'd gotten today, so she'd take it.

A little brown bird was flying sporadically, which means good health in my future but also unforeseen problems that I need to resolve before I reach my goal. It's the first half-good omen I've gotten today, so I'll take it.

Looking down at the notes scribbled into her journal, she has to admit she's no longer in the mood to look for any more birds. What she has is sufficient enough anyway, and a quick scan around the area showed no more birds for her to study. There wasn't much she could do about that. So, she wrote down a thank you to the Professors because even if her findings made her feel a tiny bit uneasy, she was still thankful for the ability to try out something new, a year earlier than she'd actually be able to start learning Divination. It was an insightful experience, and it was definitely fun to try out Ornithomancy.

Closing her journal after she finished writing in it, she walked back to hand her binoculars and journal back to the Professors, giving them a smile and a final thank you before she headed back to her common room to contemplate her future and probably have an existential crisis.

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Mentions: @Kim Sato || @Colin McCoire

When bailey arrived to ‘kidnap’ Kim for the errand, Puffoe squeezed happily at her.
at least someone’s happy to see me- and not sick of my face. I wonder if Kim’s tired of me dragging him places… maybe I should stop
Deciding to speak up, as they were walking Bailey said “You know, if I’m ever invading your space or time, you can just tell me to go and I’ll leave you alone. I might pout about it, but I’ll let you have the space that you need.”
Bailey pulled Kim’s hand and arm closer, leaning in to hug his arm.
Kim was taller than her, if only by a little, which was something Bailey realized in this moment.

After the errand was over, and Bailey was done she sat reading, waiting for Kim to finish. She wasn’t sure how to leave- she had brought him there so maybe she should return him to his dorm? He had looked like he was going somewhere so maybe she should just leave?
I’ll just ask she thought, and when Kim asked if she was ready to go, Bailey jumped up with a smile.
“I’m ready if you are!!
Grinning, Bailey dropped her enthusiasm.
“so… do you want me to go? I should prep for the meeting later probably- i was going to make some grilled cheese and tomato soup, among other things. I can go do that if you want some time alone with Puffie-“
Smiling at the little puffball, Bailey scratched him on his head and then hugged Kim. She squeezed him tight, and whispered in his ear
“If you ever need me- when you need me- just let me know. I will be here for you, no matter what. Even if you don’t want to talk about it and just need me to chatter endlessly about something, I can do that- I will do that- FOR you. I want you to know that “
With that, Bailey leaned back, tucked her book into her bag, and left. She turned her head, and smiled at Kim once.