Errand Organization with a Dash of Creativity Finished

Humans as creatures made mistakes, people were forgetful, some more forgetful than others. Those people who were often air-headed, spent hours day-dreaming away, they tended to be more forgetful than others. The type of person who walks into a room and suddenly forgets what they came in there for. That was Alec. Last year he had much more trouble than he should have, trying to keep track of his schedule, his day to day activities, when he needed to study. Then especially with all the electives third year, ... It- It had been a mess. He didn't want to go through that again and Alec had many a way, method, precaution he was taking to prevent that. So when Alec saw an errand advertising one more way to make sure he was organized, prepared to head into the school year, he saw it and, well, of course he took it. He had everything ready for spin the bottle tonight, this activity was not only a way to stay organize but wrestle with his nerves for the upcoming event in the meantime. Dashing down to the great hall as fast as his legs could take him, Alec rushed in, making quite the entrance as he paused, hands on his knees. Learning forward he inhaled deeply, and exhaled, taking a few moments to catch his breath before he looked up.

That was when he saw it. Organization paradise. Dotted journals and calendars to fit inside, it was everything he could have ever wanted, anything he could have ever needed. Yes, Alec was aware he was practically drooling over see these materials like some nerd, it was only fair and reasonable that he did so! The nerd stuff that is being organized actually helps out a ton. It only made sense he gather what resources were available to him and use it to give himself the best of advantages.

Besides, it was also crafting utopia. You couldn't blame him for being excited. Stickers were everything. Alec rushed to take a seat, grabbing a dotted journal and calendar and all the materials he thought he was going to need to make the world's best planner. Alec had his go with the colored pencils, filling any space he could with various flower drawings, drawing the flowers in purple despite their true color. He was having so much fun using the colored pencils(now drawing a butterfly) that for a moment he had forgotten what he was here to do in the first place. Right... Just a few more colored pencil drawings and he'd end it there(it wasn't just a few more, Alec would spend a good half hour after that on colored pencil drawings alone). Leaning back he set the colored pencils down and took a second to admire his work, perfection. Despite the large amount of time wasted on color pencil drawings alone, Alec felt a large sense of accomplishment as he looked over his work. His art was getting better.

Setting the calendar and dotted journal back down the next thing Alec did was go for the stickers. He, just as anybody else had quite the obsession with stickers. They were nice. You put them on and they stick. No mess included. That and Alec had always like the look of stickers covering every space of the cover of a book. Something about it was pleasing to the eyes. He wanted to do it too. Alec began with the front cover, filling it with stickers of all kinds, smiley faces, flowers, any animal available, each and every stick Alec felt funny enough to go on the front cover of his dotted journal. His favorite were the smiley faces. . . And no you could not get him to admit how many smiley faces he had used, he wasn't snitching. It's not like he only used one of the other types of stickers each and then only used smiley faces from that point on... no of course not. Why would he do that? Why would anybody think that?

They had no proof! Well they had no proof if he destroyed the dotted journal! Great, he let it slip. Oh well. Time to work on the back cover. Smiley face stickers the only thing included and allowed. He took his time, carefully and precisely applying each smiley face sticker, one by one, in such a way to make it pleasing to the eyes just as Alec had wanted it to be. Ah, the joy of smiley face stickers. If only he could cover the whole world in smiley face stickers, sadly, that was not the case as he could not. Alec glanced at his dotted journal and calendar, eh, in the end there was still an amazing bright side to it all! Alec had a smiley face covered planner and he loved it.

WC: 807

Breathing in deeply, bailey yawned and stretched. Waking up to begin her day, Bailey glanced at her clock. It was precisely 6:38 in the morning- just before her alarm went off at 6:40.
Getting up and dressed, Bailey got ready for the day. It was Monday, September 5th, the beginning of their first full week of classes. As such, Bailey was looking for a good organization chart or calendar. When she spotted a sign for an errand hosted by her friend and prefect @Emma Wynn for making a calendar or a book to stay organized. It was to be later that day, and so bailey made her way down to breakfast excited to start the day, a day that would have friends, both old and new.

******************

At home, Bailey had a shelf of past journals. They ranged in color from black to rainbow tie-dye and in shape and everything else imaginable. These weren’t just her journals, but her mums as well. It ran in the family to be organized, and looking at the several shelves full of journals and calendars and other notebooks, Bailey could tell. Her brothers, unfortunately, did not share in the same organized and precise mindset Bailey and her mum shared.

Snapping out of the flashback, Bailey Bailey finished her breakfast of chocolate cereal and a bowl of fruit salad, and headed off to the library to do some homework.
The library was actually where Bailey had met Emma. She had been doing some homework, and Emma had seen that Bailey was reading Little Women, a popular muggle book, and their friendship had sparked there. Now thinking back about it, Bailey was pretty sure that she and Emma had discussed organization at one point… and didn’t she mention having trouble staying organized? Maybe that’s why she is having this errand! Bailey thought.

******************

Entering the Great Hall later that day, Bailey spotted Emma, and made her way over to say hello.
“Hey Emma!” Bailey said cheerfully. “How are you? How was your summer? Did you go to summer camp? I’m glad you’re having this- I forgot my journal at home and haven’t had a chance to send an owl home for it. You’re truly a life saver- not only for me but for so many others I’m sure!”
After talking with Emma, Bailey looked around. There weren’t many people there yet, but @Alec Mason, a fourth year whom she had met the previous spring and who she had seen on Friday, when he had been hosting a game a spin the bottle.
Waving to Alec, Bailey made her way over to say hello.
“Hey Alec! How are you?” she greeted him as she passed, heading over to find a journal for herself.
Sitting down, Bailey grabbed a light blue journal, and plenty of art supplies. Stickers, markers, colored pencils, Emma had really though of everything! There were even snacks and refreshments that she would definitely be checking out later.
Settling into her seat, Bailey put her bag on the chair next to her.
Starting by writing her name, House, year, and where to send the journal if it was lost, Bailey might have gotten distracted and doodled flowers all over the first page… oops at least it looks cool! Bailey though five minutes later, when the entire page was filled. Coloring it in took her a few minutes, so ten minutes later Bailey was finished, and flipping through. Dividing the journal into 13 sections, Bailey labeled a section for the next 10 months, one for notes, one for classes, and one for a book log.
Adding Embellishes to all of the pages, Bailey added markers on the top of each pages, dividing them up into weeks. Color coding each week, Bailey’s journal looked like a rainbow, just the way she liked it.
Putting her name on the front in Calligraphy was the finishing touch. Smiling, Bailey started to stand up, before she realized that she still had stickers that she could add!
Adding jewel stickers and rainbows and smiley faces randomly throughout her book made bailey smile now, and she was sure it would remind her to be happy and to smile and relax!
Smiling at her journal, Bailey slipped it into her bag and made her way over to the refreshment table to get a snack and to socialize a little.
People were mingling a little around the snack table, not wanting to take their drinks and snacks over to the crafts where it could and probably would spill and make a big mess.
Grabbing two cupcakes, one Pumpkin Spice Cupcake and one Chocolate Expresso Cupcake, Bailey took a bite of the former and sighed. It was so good! Taking out her new notebook, she sketched both cupcakes before writing a quick food profile down.
Bailey finished that and her cupcakes, and then stood up left, saying goodbye to Emma and anyone else she saw on her way out!

Word count: 824/800

Words: 807
Errand Status: Done

≪•◦⤜⌿ ❈ ⍀⤛◦•≫
Date: 09/05/22
───────────────────────────────────

─────Stepping hesitantly through the entryway, Avery takes a moment to take in the strange sight of the Great Hall without any of the house tables dominating the space. It certainly made the space seem much larger. She'd only just heard about this little workshop the day prior from a group of other students in passing. While she had never really been one to have any sort of specific organizational skills, she knew she'd have to figure something out this year to help keep track of everything. It'd only been a few days since arriving at the castle, and she already felt a little overwhelmed with the sheer amount of information that has come her way in that short amount of time.

The first year allows her gaze to travel across the round tables that were placed in the space in the larger tables stead, seemingly any and every craft supply one could ask for spread out across the four tables. She does clock the smaller tables that house the assorted snacks and drinks, making a mental note to grab something in a little while once she's settled. Though it's still early, a small handful of students have already arrived to work on their planners. Upon making her way to one of the round tables closest to the entryway, any eye contact is met with a small smile before blue eyes quickly avert. Noting the fellow Hufflepuff that's not seated, Avery realizes this must be the organizer and gives the girl a small wave and word of thanks as she passes.

Taking hold of one of the blank planners and settling into an empty seat, the first year leans forward to rest her elbows on the table and flip through the empty pages in an attempt to try and plan out how she wants to lay it all out. Flipping from cover to cover and back again, she sets it back on the table once she's satisfied she's got a bit of an idea. Instead, her attention shifts to the massive assortment of craft supplies splayed out in the middle of the table. Though she's never been known to have much artistic talent, with the sheer amount of choices before her she's at least somewhat positive she can put together something that's not terrible.

To at least get started, Avery leans forward and pulls a pack of colored pencils, a quill and bottle of blue ink, a calendar and a small stick of glue closer to her. Best to start off with the basics, she supposes. Flipping the planner open, she takes the ink and opens the bottle before dipping her quill in. Careful not to drip any ink anywhere, she slowly pens her name across the top of the first page. Just below, she writes the 2022-2023 in case this becomes a yearly tradition. Setting the ink and quill aside, she pulls the calendar closer.

Separating out each of the school months, she proceeds to count out the amount of days in each month and glues the calendar to the page at the start of the months. With a different colored pencil to correspond to each month, she notates the month's name at the top of the opposite page. Pausing for a moment she peers down at the pages in thought, bottom lip caught between her teeth. Using a the corresponding color for each month and a black colored pencil, she writes out each individual date and day of the week in small boxes down the length of the pages, spacing each box with upwards of seven lines within. Depending on the length of the month, usually resulting in anywhere from two to four days on any given page.

Once satisfied that the bulk of the writing is done, Avery drops the green colored pencil that was in hand to stretch both arms above her head in an attempt to relieve some tension in her shoulders. Deciding a break is in order before she gives herself a hand cramp, the first year pushes away from the table and moves to grab a quick snack break consisting of some pumpkin juice and a cookie. After taking a few moments to rest, she makes her way back over to her work-in-progress and retakes her seat. Resolving to fill in her actual schedule information later when there's more time, she finally allows herself to look to the center for purely decorative purposes.

Immediately zeroing in on some black washi tape adorned with golden leaves, Avery pulls that closer. Figuring she'll keep with the theme, a few plant based stickers follow, as well as some little notebook themed stickers. The notebook stickers are relegated to the underside of the cover in a somewhat haphazard pattern. The Hufflepuff figures they'll get used for important notes she doesn't want to hunt for. Probably. Using the washi tape, she carefully lays strip after strip over the front of the planner until the design only shows black and gold to any observers. Using the plant stickers, she randomly flips through the pages to decorate the days and calendars at a whim.

Once she's at least mostly satisfied and deems it a working product, or at least enough to hopefully carry her through the year, Avery quickly tidies up her area and rises from her seat. With her new planner in hand and tucked carefully under an arm, she offers the other Hufflepuff who set everything up another enthusiastic word of thanks before turning and making her way out of the Great Hall. Now that it's done, she's a little surprised be the excitement to actually fill in the days. Maybe this would work out for the best after all.

Word Count: 951

Alright, what I should do for my second year here at Hogwarts? Besides studying hard, I am really looking forward to the autumn ball this October. Unfortunately, I missed it last year because of sickness, but I am looking forward to joining it this year. I heard that other than dancing, there are a bunch of interesting activities and games, as well as delicious snacks for some like me who have to admit are kind of passionate about food and do not care about gaining weight when it comes to really enjoying food. Besides, some pals from other magical schools will also come to Hogwarts for the autumn ball. Can I find a love interest or a boy I may develop a dangerous crush on? Let me see what happens when the ball begins!

What else I can do? Oh, since now I am a member of the Hufflepuff quidditch team, in the position of a first-string beater, I am looking forward to the quidditch matches that I can join this academic year. Although I know I am not a sporty person and have not completely figured out the rules of this game, I may learn more about quidditch as I compete in games. I suppose that is an interesting game to play, and I cannot wait for it.

In addition to that, in this new school year, I should continue to participate in some clubs and other activities in this school, interact with people with diverse backgrounds and personalities, and make more friends making my life at Hogwarts less boring and more colorful. I should also write more letters back home so that I can learn how things are going on with my family, and my parents can be less worried about me. Oh, there are a lot of things I should do in this upcoming second year at Hogwarts!

Attire: Usual school day attire: robes, shirt (buttons mismatched), tie (undone), kilt, neck ring, no shoes.

Reducio

It was a Monday, the first of Colin's second year at Hogwarts, and his mind and heart were still reeling from the events of the last week. The train ride back to Hoggys had been a wild broom ride and no mistake! He'd gotten the horrible and heart crushing news that Liam had died in St. Mungo's; and just when he thought he himself would die from the grief, Clair stayed with him in the train. There was something magical about Clair, Colin thought. She was the girl he liked --- really, really liked. Clair Fernandez. She did a lot to help him through that first shock; she made his heart really happy; she was smart, pretty and a brilliant broom racer!

And, somehow, she didn't seem to know Colin even liked her!

Colin sighed as class was dismissed and he waited as the other kids got out of the classroom. He'd heard there was a thing going on in the Great Hall this afternoon. Not just anything, but an actual thing. Someone named Emma had set up this activity where students could make a kind of journal or planner where one can keep assignments and things organised. Colin figured that kind of thing would come in handy: not that homework especially difficult or anything, but keeping everything organised and handy was a wee bit of a challenge for him!

And so, Colin came skipping along the corridors, his bare feet pounding along the ancient flagstones. He smiled as he thought about Clair. He knew he could close his eyes and find his way to the great hall simply from the feel of the stones on the soles of his feet. Well, he could do that in the middle of the night, or early in the morning! But not in the afternoon with all these students in the way!

"Wotcha! Coming through, you lot!" Colin slipped through the groups of loitering delinquents (Gryffindors) and erudite collocutors (Ravenclaws) alike. His satchel bounced along at his hip and it went soaring out to the side as he caught the heavy wood door frame and slingshot himself into the Hall.

"WHOOAAA!!! Brilliant!!" Colin cried out when he saw all the art supplies and journals and things on one of the round tables. He laughed as he skidded to a stop right in front of Bailey Galde! "Yeep!" She'd kissed him during the spin the bottle game last Friday. "Hey Bails!" He turned bright red at the memory of the game. Bailey was a good friend, and her kiss was nice! She was on her way out of the hall so he didn't want to keep her unless she wanted to sit down for a chat.

He got a planning journal, stacked a plate of cheese and a bottle of water on top, along with some supplies, and found a place to work. He plopped everything down across from a fellow Snake and rummaged through contents of his bottomless satchel. At last he stepped up onto the wooden bench and then crouched down, arranged his kilts and at last settled into a kind of sitting position with his right foot still on the bench and his left foot resting on the cool stone of the floor.

"Oo, if it isn't Lily Blaze! hey Snakeling!"

And with that said, Colin let out a deep breath, settled down and set out setting up his own journal. He made calendar pages and class pages --- spaces where he could jot down important notations or assignments. He counted out on his fingers: Charms, Potions (ick!), Transfiguration, Dark Arts, History of Magic, Astronomy --- what was left? Oh! Herbology and of course Flying! Brilliant, all eight accounted for!

Mostly he used red and black ink because this was just a planning journal, not a great work of art, although there looked to be plenty of room for sketches in here, too! After a while he looked up and snatched a glance at Lily's work in progress. "My name is Lily Blaze, a first year Slytherin. Also, if you didn’t have permission to read it, please put this down."

"Snrrk!" Colin couldn't help but laugh and smirk just a little bit! "Girls in your dorm must be really nice, Lils! 'Please put this down?' If I wrote that in the boys' dorms, the first thing they'd do is pick it up! And then read it!"

He turned to the first page of his own journal, wrote something there, and then showed it to Lily:

Oi! If you even think of peeking in my book, I swear I shall cast incendio duo straight into your dorm mates' underwear drawers --- and they can sort you out afterwards!

Colin nodded. "That ought to prevent any unwarranted peekage!"

Then he got out his Moon phase calendar and set that aside.

Taking the pot of glue, Colin carefully dipped a swab stick into it and slathered a bit onto a page near the spine. Then he took the calendar and folded it nicely with a bone creaser. Satisfied with his job, he laid the edge of the calendar onto the line of glue and pressed it firmly into place. Not knowing what else to do with the swab stick, he wiped off the excess glue onto the hem of his robes. "There! Mischief managed!"

After finishing his journal, he decided that sketching something his new book would be a grand idea! So, he opened to the empty section of the journal, drew a red line for each margin and, taking up coloured pencils, began to sketch a picture. It was a pretty girl with long brown hair and blue eyes. He wrote her initials under the portrait sketch. C.F. When he finished the sketch, he rested his chin in his hands. "Ah, if only she would show up!..."

@Lily Blaze | @Clair Fernandez | @Bailey Glade || WC 971

@Hey, Hey! I might be pranking you! *wavewave*

's Grace (+76 = Success)
Figaro (22): Failure
Piérre (72) Failure

Both kiddoes are visible!

House Colours: Slytherin

The green-clad kid liked paper. Not even really the whole idea of a calendar to keep thoughts and ideas in order... but just... he liked paper. In that regards, Piérre was not terribly unlike the cat who was being walked by his side on a delicate black leash and body harness. He forgot some assignments on a monthly basis, which wasn't terrible. Somehow he still managed to maintain a low O grade, a grade which had wildly fluctuated in his younger years before something had finally managed to click in the head of the kid in question.

After donning Slytherin robes, Piérre had begun to start his day in the regular, way, which included the patient wrangling of Figaro and the encouraging of his feline onto his shoulders, green robes were donned and his leafy green yew wand kept in a harness at his chest, Piérre hummed to himself as he combed his fingers though his hair and then shook his head to mess up the work before shrugging and then going out to meet the Monday morning.

The errand in question was to make a planner. Unfortunately, the boy didn't think that the person responsible for forming this errand had had Piérre's presence as a pertinent part of their own agenda, and if they had... well... Piérre was wondering just how prepared they actually were for the energy that he was going to bring to the errand itself.

With a broad smile Piérre found himself right in the thick of the event that was taking place in the Great Hall, and with a small, uncharacteristic flounce of his robes just for the hell of it, the boy spun once, admiring how the black and green inseam twirled around him before fluttering into a nearby seat and leaning forward and onto his elbows as he stuck his tongue out at the person in front of him. "What if I told you that all of us were actually 15 minutes late and time is a construct created by man to restrict his imagination?" He hissed just loud enough to be heard by anyone nearby. "I'm the only one that came here on time, if that is true." He found himself grinning mischievously as he looked at all the lovely fodder that had been placed before him for the Jester's use. Hmmmmm.... Paper... scissors....

Glue and Stickers....

Mistakes had been made. Piérre hoped that everyone realized that now. Not yet, though. He needed time to enact his brilliant overarching plan, and he wanted to warm up before his debut.

Gears turning in his mind as he considered more and more of his potential options, the boy snagged a plain black notebook and idly toyed with a black sharpie, drawing on the back of his hand out of boredom. It was a strange, scribbly spiderweb without a geometric pattern to be found at all, more of an excuse to just get ink all over his hands than to actually do something productive with it. Glancing at a person's notebook near him, Piérre blew on the back of his hand that had the enormous black sharpie "stamp ink" on it for a second before suddenly smacking the notebook next to him (aiming either at a blank spot on the cover or on the center of where the two pages met if the notebook happened to be opened). Acc Roll d20(3) + 13: 16

If he managed to hit the notebook with his ink-smeared backhand, Piérre would only look innocently at the person that the notebook belonged to and then would smile softly and as if he didn't know that he had wrecked their design in some way, shape or form. He would shrug; "There was a bug. I swatted it!" He said proudly, noting the beautiful little handprint that now lived on their notebook.

If he missed, or if the person managed to pull their piece of art away from the kid in time, Piérre's hand would not be able to cease in its momentum and the kid would smack the house table with the full force of a backhand, causing him to immediately recoil as his entire nervous system sang the opening of the Circle of Life from the Lion King internally. Gripping his hand and glancing at the subsequent black spot that now lived on the table of the great hall, the kid would squeak out to the person whose notebook he had missed. "I was trying to smack a bug! You made me missit! Ah-hah!" And a small cringe would be seen. Before too long, though, the boy would shake his hand and rub the back of it, spreading the ink across both hands shamelessly and returning to his former jovial persona.

Already, glib words were forming on his tongue, and the kid was getting ready to enact the next part of his master plan, one which actively involved the glue and the stickers, as a matter of fact.

856 Words

While it certainly wasn't mandatory - the limited space at the round tables revealed as much, as when compared to the great lengths of the House Tables they were small in comparison - the idea of making a journal to keep track of everything class related intrigued him. He knew that in Muggle Secondary Schools such things were more or less mandatory, certainly Tobin had been given one each year to make notes about homework and the like in.

Well if it worked for him, certainly it could work for Sebastian right?

Only these journals weren't branded with the school name or pre-laid out with each day of the school week. Instead they were dotted, leaving room for the imagination. However they wanted to make it. That was a little bit... overwhelming? Too many options. So many possibilities.

What if he did it wrong?

So instead of reaching for a quill as he took his seat at a table following the Prefect's encouragement, Sebastian grabbed a pencil. He still was unused to using quills after all, they could be messy and certainly whatever was written was permanent. Pencils, however? Well their marks could easily be erased. It was a no brainer.

He tapped a finger on the cover of the journal and inhaled a slow breath, mind racing with all the ideas he had. Then he took a spare piece of parchment and began to write down the essentials. Planner for assignments, timetable for the week, spaces to make notes and reminders, that sort of thing.

Sebastian made the immediate decision to tackle only the cover and the month of September. If he didn't like the way he'd laid it all out? Then he could change it next month. No harm, no foul.

He began by drawing a quick sketch of Reed on the cover, alongside a toadstool or two. The chances of anyone else drawing his spotted toad on their covers were slim to none which meant that he could find his at a glance if he accidentally set it down amidst others. He made no attempt at actually finishing the sketch though, he didn't make the lines permanent nor add colour, as he was all too aware of the fact he could easily lose track of time.

No, the Common Room was probably a better place to finish it up. Or the Courtyard he'd found that first night. A quick scan of the room revealed that Alec, whom he'd shared the night sky with that evening, was also in the Hall making a planner of his own. For a moment he considered waving, before realizing that he was focused on his own project. Besides, one night of breaking curfew didn't necessarily make them friends, he was much older after all.

So he put his head down and continued to work on his journal. Linking dots into lines and boxes, creating checklists and dates. Here and there he'd pause from the more mundane straight lines and instead scribble a quick sketch in one of the corners. The weekly overview pages fast became his favourite for this reason, so much spare space, so many pictures to draw.

Sebastian wasn't actually what one would consider artistic, he'd never really put much time into learning how. Writing? Sure. But between that and the standard chores of living on a Homestead there wasn't much extra time. And he'd much rather put that time into finding critters to observe.

But there were no critters in the Great Hall that day, aside from the pets others might have brought. Just the journal. So he focused on it, and on drawing in the dead space. Little mushrooms and flowers and leaves, some with surprising accuracy. Fruits and roots of veggies grown back home. More toads and frogs and bugs - of course, Dung made an appearance in all his colourful splendour - as well as some random symbols he'd seen within the Transfiguration classroom. Not perfectly replicated, but close enough.

He quite liked the look of the symbols!

Next he took one of the offered calendars and carefully glued it into the back cover for easy finding. He made a point of going through and circling the birthdays he could remember from his family and friends back home, maybe he could send cards or something if he got the chance, using a specific colour (green) to do so in order to denote them as being birthdays and not anything else.

He'd have to think about what else to add. Holidays, maybe? Club meet ups, if he ever actually joined any clubs. That sort of thing.

Sebastian stared down at the finished journal - or as much as he was doing that day, because time isn't infinite - and chewed on the inside of his lip. It looked pretty good, even incomplete as the cover was, but it left him wondering if he'd actually be able to, well, keep up with it.

Mostly he just hoped it wouldn't end up in the bottom of his trunk forgotten about. No. He had to make a point to use it, or else this whole day was for nothing!

Clearing away anything he'd personally used, Sebastian stood up and made his way toward the snack table where he grabbed himself a quick drink and then looked around again for the Prefect. "Thanks!" he directed her way, lifting the journal to show what he meant. He didn't linger beyond that, though, she was probably busy after all.

Instead he slipped out of the Great Hall, and headed back to the Hufflepuff Common Room. Maybe he'd work on colouring in the cover picture of Reed...

944 words