Paisley woke up that morning thinking it was just another normal day. After all, what was there to look forward to? There was Hogwarts starting, of course, but that wasn't today, so there was no reason to be excited about that now. It was still 2 weeks until that became a big deal, and thinking about it made her stomach churn.
She got dressed quickly, shivering in the slight morning chill. The sun was barely up in the sky, but she knew she wouldn't be able to get back to sleep. That was the way things worked for her, after all. She would wake up early and not fall back asleep after that. Sometimes she would lay for hours, staring at the ceiling, wondering if her eyes would ever droop and her mind would drift off, but it never happened.
It was almost as bad a curse as her lycantropy, but of course that was the worst. She didn't use this word a lot, in fact, this was the only reason she ever used it, but the truth was, Paisley hated being a werewolf. It was the worst thing that had ever happened to her, and would be for all eternity. She was a monster. There was absolutely nothing that could fix that.
The young girl walked downstairs, letting out the family owl, Splendor at the bottom of them. She was a female tawny owl that the Brown family had just adopted. She lived at the very bottom of the stairs, off to the corner of the hall.
The hallway of the Brown family house was wide and not much of an actual hallway. On the left side coming down from the stairs was the kitchen and dining room, which were one in the same thing. There was a strip of countertops, stove, and fridge all against the wall, along with a bay window with a small circular table around it. Portraits of the family lined the walls, and Paisley looked at them every now and then, wiping off the dust and admiring her wonderful family.
On the right side of the hall was a huge archway. It's frame was black against the white walls, and it stood out more than anything else. There was a small, comfortable couch in there, with striped upholstery. In here the walls were a warm cream color, and a sewing table covered in fabrics and needles sat in the corner. It was shared by both Paisley and her mother, who both had a common hobby: sewing.
Paisley walked into the living room, continuing her latest project. It was a hat that she was sewing for the winter, which was far away from now. After all, it was only August. She picked it up and looked at it for a moment, trying to find where she had last left off.
To Paisley's alarm, there was a tapping on the window next to her as she picked up her needle, locating the last stitch. "Good gosh!" she yelped, poking herself with the needle. She opened the window only to have an owl swoop in, drop a letter, and swoop back out.
She picked up the letter quickly, realizing with a jolt it was adressed to her, not her mother or father. Who on Earth is Gargott Dunaid? she wondered, opening it.
She read the letter, her eyes widening at every word. The Keeper of Keys and Grounds wanted her, Paisley Brown, to participate in a baking competition?! It seemed almost too good to be true. She shook her head disbelievingly, staring at the letter. She read it over and over again, but the words didn't alter magically.
"Wow... I should get to work!" she thought aloud.
She hurried into the kitchen, blindly reaching for the recipe book. I could make Snickerdoodles. No... I wouldn't want to give this "Gargott" shortening. I should at least spare them with butter. How about a cake? How on Earth would I send that by owl? Wouldn't it be too heavy? Oh! I've got it! Biscuits! Do those even count as a desert? Then she found it. It was classic. It was delicious. There was no way anyone couldn't like them. Paisley would make chocolate chip cookies!
She immediately searched for all the ingredients, forgetting how early it was. She was making such a noise her parents came down, looking ruffled and tired.
"What's going on?" asked her mom, holding Claudia, who was only 1 year old. Paisley adored her with all her heart, and would do anything to protect her little sister.
"I got a letter!" she said, handing it to her parents eagerly. They read it, and Paisley waited, tapping her foot impatiently. She wanted to start baking!
When her mother set the letter down on the table, she was smiling. "Good job, Paisey Daisy. I always did say you had a knack for baking."
Paisley grinned thankfully. "Can I start baking now?" she asked, and her mom nodded, giving a large yawn.
"Yes, just don't make too much noise. I'm going to go to back to sleep." she said, and walked back up the stairs. Paisley's father followed.
Time to get baking!


Paisley grabbed all of the ingredients, lining them up in order. She had the dry ingredients along with the measurements, then the bowl, then the wet ingredients along with measurements, and then the bowl, and then the cookie sheets. She decided she would make a double batch.
She mixed it all together in under half an hour, and spooned it onto the baking sheet. She was careful not to use the wrong kind of lining paper, because last time she had done that, it had been disastrous. They'd had to call the muggle fire department, because her mother had forgotten the water spell and their fire extinguisher was expired (something they had fixed right afterwords, of course).
She'd stopped baking for awhile after that embarassing and rather scary time, but now she was determined to face her fears. She would impress this teacher, and maybe win this competition!
As Paisley waited for the cookies to bake, she realized something. She wouldn't be able to impress this "Gargott Dunaid" with just one type of cookie. Oh no, she'd have to make five different kinds!
So she got to work starting on Snickerdoodles. She'd have to use shortening, but that was ok. It was baking, after all, you shouldn't expect to be healthy.
She hurried through baking them, because she wanted to have a tight schedule. While one batch was in the oven, she would start mixing the other. She was getting these recipes from the family cookbook, something her dad had pieced together. Was it a little cheesy? Yes. Did she mind? Not really. All she cared about was making the best cookies ever. Well, the best cookies she could make. She didn't need to win or anything, she just wanted to participate.
By the time it was 11:00, Paisley had made 3 batches of cookies, not including the double-batch of chocolate chip cookies.
Almost done! First, I need lunch... she took a quick lunch break, and then got right back to working. She couldn't stop at just three, partially because her favorite, oatmeal raisin, she hadn't baked yet.
When she was finished, she had a nice arrangement of cookies. There were Chocolate chip cookies, snickerdoodles, footprint cookies, shortbread cookies and oatmeal/raisin. She was glad she had made all of these cookies, and was even happier she was done. It was already 4:00 in the afternoon, and she hadn't even brushed her teeth!
She rewarded herself with an oatmeal raisin cookies, and put the rest in a small box. It had a rose pattern along the sides and a clear, plastic top, so that you could see what was inside. She attached it to Splendor and sent her out the window.
"Send this to the Keeper of the Grounds," Paisley told the owl, who hooted in return.

Word count: 1334/800