Entry for "Herbology" at "Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (Challenges and Assignments)"
Task: Write about a club at Hogwarts. Club choosen: Knitting Club. Min 900 words
It was a quiet winter evening at Hogwarts and a constant snow falling from the dark sky covered the castle and its grounds in a thick, white blanket.
In the Headmaster's office, a cosy atmosphere was hanging in the air, created by the crackling flames in the fireplace and the candles that were spread all over the room.
The flames dipped the office in a warm, dim light and made the Christmas decorations sparkle.
A comfortable silence reigned between the two persons that currently were in the office, both being absorbed in their current activity. Even the portraits of the previous Headmasters and Headmistresses were refraining from snoring loudly.
Albus Dumbledore, resident of the office, was seated behind his mahagony desk, answering a letter from the Minister of Magic with a slightly annoyed expression.
Meanwhile, Minerva McGonagall, his wife, had made herself comfortable on a soft couch, a blanket draped over her feet and legs, and was reading a book.
The late evening was the only time of the day the pair allowed themselves something like closeness, when they had retired to the privacy of the office. They had to conceal love from everybody, as it was not professional for a Headmaster to be in a relationship with his Deputy Headmistress.
Therefore, these evenings were holy soil to them, something they did rarely allow to be disturbed by anybody. This was their time of the day.
It was the time Minerva would finally open up her tight bun, letting her long, black hair flow down over her shoulders, revealing the grey strands in it. With her hair being freed, she would also take off the stern mask of the Transfigurations teacher and just be Minerva.
On these evenings, Albus would mention his rare complaints about the burdens of his work to his wife, showing that even a Headmaster needed support from time to time and also dared to lament about things that annoyed him.
This only happened occasionally, but today, it was time for it again.
With a heavy sigh, Albus looked up from the parchment in front of him and put his quill down. Minerva's gaze met his' and she smiled at him, closing her book and placing it at the coffeetable.
"Fudge is asking for us to attend the annual Christmas Banquet of the Ministry... I fear we will have to cancel our baking day, my dear. As much as I hate it, there will be no way out."
Minerva's lips were a thin line as she stood up and walked over to her husband, slinging her arms around him from behind.
"We will find another day for that, the Christmas holidays are long enough, don't you think?," she said, pecking his cheek in an attempt to show him that she was okay with this sudden change of their plans.
"Yes, but... Minnie, I am so tired of all of this! I spent my whole day with answering to letters of people who are asking for my opinion on the tiniest of matters! Beside that, I have literally nothing to do. Poor Fawkes is already overfed and ignores me because he hates it when I give him too much attention. I ate all my lemon drops this afternoon... I am so bored, Minnie. Sometimes I wish I could teach classes again. I feel like I completely lost the contact to our students, too."
His wife frowned and let his words sink in for a moment. How had she not seen how unhappy her husband was sometimes? Had she been blind to it because she had work to do all day, preparing her classes and grading papers?
"Maybe you need a new hobby, love. What would you like to do, what would fulfill you again?"
Albus looked into her green eyes for a short moment, then stared out of the window, clearly drifting off into the depth of his brilliant mind, shoving thoughts back and forth.
Minerva smiled to herself and walked back towards the sofa, knowing all too well that a lot of snowflakes had to drift by before her husband would be done with considering what the perfect activity would be.
She buried herself in her book again, cuddled underneath the blanket.
As predicted, a lot of time passed until Albus suddenly ripped himself from his paralysed state, exclaiming:"I got it!"
The book nearly fell from his wife's hands and she watched him with her eyes wide open as he jumped from his chair with a glowingly grin.
"I will offer the students a Knitting Club, held by me!"
"What?," Minerva exclaimed, feeling like he was playing a joke on her. Albus Dumbledore, one of the most skilled and intelligent wizards of their time, actually thought that the most satisfying activity for him would be to host a Knitting Club.
But as he pulled some muggle magazines about knitting patterns out of a drawer of his desk and started to lecture about his favourites, it dawned to her that he was serious.
Shrugging her shoulders inwardly, she once more accepted the sheer oddness her husband radiated, something she loved about him, to be honest.
oOo
Only a few weeks into the new year, invitations had been pinned to the new boards of the four House's common rooms, proclaiming the first meeting of the newly founded Knitting Club. Most students were simply ignoring the announcement or laughed about it, asking if the host really believed that any student could be interested in participating.
When the evening of the first meeting had come, Albus was nearly exploding from the euphoria he felt. Over the last weeks, he had been preparing intensily for his new task, thinking about how to teach the interested and motivated students the basics of knitting. For the already advanced participants, he had organised examples of socks, shawls, hats or sweaters they could try themselves on.
A happy smile on his face and a spring in his step, Albus walked into the Transfigurations classroom where the Knitting Club was going to meet.
"Oh, looks like a few people are late for our first meeting!," he said, his gaze wandering over the four students that were seated in the front row of the classroom.
Two giggling Gryffindor girls, one Slytherin girl from Year Seven and one boy from Hufflepuff.
"Ahm, no, sir, actually, we are all who are interested – you are ten minutes late," the boy from Hufflepuff said, a hint of pity flashing across his face.
"I am only here because I lost a bet," the Slytherin girl mumbled in a bored, but honest tone and Albus' smile was a little less wide by now.
"Well... hrm... A small, but nice round, I would say! Nonetheless, I am happy you found your way here, and I am pretty optimistic that more of your friends will join us as soon as they hear how cool we are! That is the way you talk nowadays, right?"
Everybody laughed and Albus beamed at them, letting knitting needles and wool appear in front of them with a flick of his wand.
"Now tell me, who of you already knows how to knit?"
So, what do you think about this one? I would love to read your reviews :)