Side quest

Chapter Seven

The main chamber of the Hufflepuff common room featured high ceilings and abundant greenery, accompanied by numerous large, arched doorways and a variety of pets who basked in the warm sunlight that filtered through matching circular windows. Every table and shelf was adorned in potted plants, books and candles, while intricately weaved rugs lay surrounded by plush sofas and armchairs. Up the winding oak staircases were the bedrooms, designed to accommodate six students each, with canopy beds and pinewood desks and dressers arranged in a spacious circular layout. The common room prioritized function over fashion, and it succeeded in that regard.

Andrea was assigned to the third room up the left staircase, and at the moment, she was the only one present. It had taken Andrea some time to get there. Despite consulting several pages of maps in her field guide, it wasn't until she voiced her frustration that one of its pages tore from the book and guided her through the castle in the form of an origami bird. Convenient, although she wished Professor Weasley had mentioned that feature prior. It certainly would have saved her a lot of stress.

Taking her place at the desk parallel to her assigned bed, Andrea meticulously stacked multiple textbooks and papers in front of her. As someone who had been a committed student at her previous school, she saw no excuse to abandon her study habits now that she was at Hogwarts, especially since she had a considerable amount of catching up to do. Herbology, Potions, Charms, Astronomy, History of Magic, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration... The workload was a bit daunting. A bit.

"Crap..." It didn't cross Andrea's mind until now, but she didn't have a writing utensil. She sifted through her belongings, searching for a pen, pencil, quill, anything usable that she might have overlooked, but to no avail. Setting aside her frustration she looked at the field guide. Given that it had already come in handy once before, so she wondered if it had any other tricks up its sleeve. Or pages. To put her theory to the test, Andrea popped the book open and said "Pen please."

Initially, there was no response, but after a brief wait, a faint shuffling sound from within the book peaked her attention. She leafed through the pages until she stumbled upon a small parchment pouch that had been glued to the back cover and was tied shut with a red string. As whatever was inside the pouch continued to stir, she untied it. Then without warning, a golden quill abruptly emerged, hovering above the desk and pivoting as if taking curious glances about the room.

"Um, hi..?" She stated. The quill shifted to face her. "Alright... let's talk to an enchanted quill then. Uh, can you help me take notes?"

The quill rushed over to scratch "yes" into a piece of parchment that stuck out between books.

"Awesome. Um, do you know where I should start?" With little room to spare, the quill punctured the corner of the paper and pulled it out from its tightly-wedged position. Once the paper was free, it began writing:

"Encyclopedia of Herbs
Chapters 2, 3, 5-7, 12, 17, 22-25"

"The Alchemist's Handbook: Potions and Elixirs
Chapters 3-5, 11-14, 23, 26-30"

"Techniques of Transfiguration
Chapters 1-2, 5-9, 14 - 16, 20, 23, 25"

"Comprehensive Guide to Charms
Chapters 1-10, 13-17, 20, 23, 26, 31-35"

"Creatures and Legends
Chapters 12-19"

"Salamander's History of Magic
Chapters 13, 16-18, 25"

"Workbook for Wizarding Mediocracy"

That last one had her feeling particularly targeted. Taking the parchment from the desk, Andrea began to cross-reference the list with the books she had on hand. Unfortunately, she found that she only had two of it's suggested textbooks: the Encyclopedia of Herbs and the Creatures and Legends, while everything else she had were specific to advanced fifth year classes. Sighing, she leaned back in her seat to view the clock that hung above the doorway which read 5:20pm. There was not enough time between now and dinner to stop by the library and inquire about the missing books, so she would have to momentarily make due with the ones she had.